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Dining in Portsmouth

 

Please enjoy my opinions - I can have them because I have no sponsors! What you want is the best food, best service, and above all: the most reliable and consistent places so you know you can't have a bum time. All of these restaurants are in walking distance of Downtown Portsmouth unless otherwise noted. By the way - I do update this frequently so let me know if you agree or disagree with my selections (I haven't been everywhere, close, but not everywhere). So here we go:

 

Overall Top Ten (If you see 'em, go on in)

Best Fine Dining

Best Beer and a Burger

Cheapest

New England Clam Chow-dah

Pizza

Places to Avoid

 

 

Overall Top Ten

Lindbergh's Crossing - $$$$ - Simply the best. French flaired New American cuisine with great wine and knowledge of both. Upstairs is the coolest wine bar around. Enjoy such things as rabbit sausage or fresh Beaujolais. Their homemade bread is the best I have ever had.
Anthony Alberto's - $$$$$ - Formal old school Italian. Wear your best outfit, shine your shoes, this place is the real thing. No corners cut here.
Porto Bello's - $$$$ - Quaint old school Italian. Perfect date restaurant - for those dates whose partners have exceptionally good taste. All others meet at the brewery. Strangely romantic tables remind one of the Mediterranean, yet overlook Tugboats and salt piles. It just works so well. Reserve a window seat way in advance..
43 Degrees North - $$$$$ - Formal 'Bostonian' New American. I call it Bostonian because the ambiance parallels many of Boston's finest. Lots of dark colors and wood - mahoganies, cool lighting, great service. Very Cosmopolitan.
The StockPot - $$ - A longtime favorite for Good old local New England fare. Go upstairs, get a water table and a beer. Head out on the deck in the Summertime.
Sakura - $$$ - Great Japanese, incredible Sushi. What it lacks in ambiance (though there are semi-authentic sit in/take-off-you-shoes tables) makes up for in Sushi - that in my opinion - is far better than any of Boston's more established Sushi joints.
Roxanne's - $$$ -Homey New England fare with an eclectic feel. Small, quaint, not typical by any means. There is zero pretense at Roxanne's, just well prepared food.
Blue Mermaid - $$$ - 'World grill' Eclectic - quite unique, spicy food choices you just can't find elsewhere- Caribbean, Southwestern, everything in-between. Best Homemade Salsa and Chips on the planet.
Bella Luna - $$$$ - Italianesque Bistro. Right in the heart of Market Square with great windows onto the sidewalk - a tiny room with the chefs and kitchen mere feet from your tiny table. For those willing to earn their culinary wings - not those who like to complain.
Jumpin Jaye's Fish Cafe- $$$$ - Chef made Seafood that takes our Ocean friends to the next level. No 'fried, baked, or broiled' headings on this menu. Well prepared Seafood selections. Jay knows what to do to make fish sing...

 

Best Fine Dining

Lindbergh's Crossing - the best.
Anthony Alberto's - the best formal Italian.
Porta Bello's - the best quaint Italian, Mediterranean feel. Less formal, more intimate.
43 Degrees North - fine cosmopolitan dining, more creative, less traditional.
Bella Luna - I love this place, so crowded, so busy, such quality original Italian.
Dunfey's aboard the John Wannamaker (it's an old tugboat converted to a floating restaurant) Very cool idea, interesting menu, though slightly overpriced for the quality delivered.
Molly Malone's - Good hearty Irish formality. Take that as you will.
Cafe Mirabelle - Chef owned and operated (he's probably cooking your dinner) this place serves up traditional French cuisine with zero pretense. Though formal, it is very comfortable

 

Best Chow-dahs

Geno's - a Seacoast legend. Overlooks the Piscataqua. Lunch only. A chowder purists ideal - thin milky broth, no thickeners to speak of, the slightest bits of garlic and herb. Focus purely on the Seafood, light, very yummy. Lobster, clam or fish chowders available.
The Stock Pot - What I call Traditional. Thick, hearty, creamy, fattening, and full o' clams. Not the most unique or divine, but consistently tasty and above all satisfying. It's where I bring visitors because you can't not like Chowdah that comes in a coffee mug.
Cheffy's Meal Market (take out - South on Rt 1) - a chef's twist on Chowder, hints of herbs in a somewhat thick base. Extremely tasty though not what you would think of as traditional, surprising winner of a number of Seacoast chowder contests - though you can't buy it in a restaurant - it's for takeout only right now.
Jumpin Jay's Fish Cafe - yet another variation, light on clams, heavy on a great flaovored base. This one is worth a try - somewhat smokey, very unique. Very rich. Does not feel like clam chowder as we know it at all.
Blue Mermaid - Smoked Scallop chowdah, no clams here!

 

Best Beer and a Burger

The Stock Pot - Overall winner of the casual category - Good drinks, small but perfect selection of Cold beer, Pub Food with a flair. Best bet: Mussels and Chowders.
The Press Room - An institution. Downtown Portsmouth's Live Music Club. Surpassingly decent Pub Fare selections - great beer selections, Cool old school ambiance. A bit of 'roughness around the edges' makes you feel at home.
State St. Saloon - As close to a saloon as you'll find in these parts - A real bar with tons of cheap meal specials -many with a Greek flair. Good ol American brews and specials. Hangout for local Portsmouth working class.
The Rusty Hammer - Don't go in unless you're going to have at least one beer (preferably a Guinness) and something Fried and/or bad for you. Think meat smothered in extra cheese.
The Portsmouth Brewery - The brewery is the place for guys with picky girlfriends - you know who you are. You can find a lot better Man food and beer elsewhere, but this place has everything imaginable on the menu - especially things like salads with walnuts and pomegranate seeds and citrus-mango dressings and funny lettuces. Oh, but they do have some decent beer, so drink up, smile, and you'll have a great time. Also check out the tiny outdoor patio in summer - the sheer strangeness of it's cramped space makes it a cool place to hang.
The Muddy River Smokehouse - About as good as New England BBQ can get. Throw down some fine beers and pig out. Fried pickles make this place for me. Stay at the bar, the back room is a bit unstimulating
The Coat of Arms - Think England. Think English Pub. Think things like Bangers and mash and a few Pints of Double Diamond - before lunch. The food, like any English cuisine - is not exceptional, just really fattening, but they have one of the best beer selections in town (mostly English of course) - and usually 3 Hand Pulled, Cask Conditioned Draught ales (often Shipyards) on tap at time. Impresses me!
Molly Malone's - Upstairs- Now think Ireland. Only Order Guinness this time. More fine dining selections than The Coat, and a lot better menu and food, but also a bit more pricey. Once again, Great mastery of the meat. Head upstairs for the less formal and more interesting Pub (complete with wonderful fake gas fireplace), Downstairs if you're taking the family out. For those who try everything, look into their annual Wild Game Dinner (think tortoise stew) - they have a lot of surprises.
The Tiki Bar - Though they don't have burgers, they do have a lot of random Hawaiian Pub Food (no Spam though if I recall). Live music, pool, foosball, and an unparalleled collection of way tacky Tiki gear (velvet Elvii and Hula girls await!). Also check out their flagship - The Friendly Toast, the prime late night / hangover nursing mecca for Breakfast favorites and awesome Lunchtime treats. They have burgers - but no beer. Lots of UNH kids swear by this place - plus it's all newly renovated and chock full of kitsch. Excellent Diner fare - think Mel's Diner meets the Four Seasons with furniture from a garage sale. Probably open for Dinner too, but who wants a Mexican omelet at 8PM?
Banana's - though I've never been, and probably never will - Banana's seems to make a lot of folks happy with its Top 40's dancing on weekends and basic Food and Beer in a kind of place that would have top 40 dancing shtick. If you like the chains, head for Banana's, though just the thought of saying 'let's go to Banana's' out loud makes me cringe.

 

 

Cheapest

Gilleys - What can I say? Cheap, greasy, and heavy on the Pork. Hot dogs and burgers in what looks to be a mobile home dropped on the street. Legendary.
The Sausage Man - Down near Strawberry Banke/Prescott park you'll find him on the street.
The StockPot - Just go there. It's in practically every one of my recommended categories.
State St. Saloon - Killer cheap specials - especially at lunch
The Friendly Toast - Stellar portions of cool and interesting diner fare. Not dirt cheap but worth a shot. Newly remodeled with major kitsch resembling an explosion at a flea market in the 1970's.
Moe's Italian - Fat, loaded Italians (New England Italian that is) subs. If you don't know what I mean by New England Italian, you're from New England. Ask for one of the special oils and go for the extra meat version to get the most bang for your buck.
Sandwiches from Home - Very little in Portsmouth is cheap - if it exists, I'd assume I could find it - I'm as cheap as they come.

 

Pizza

Hop the first Plane to New York or Chicago of you're after Pizza. New Hampshire and pizza, in my opinion, shouldn't be spoken in the same sentence. Your best (and only) bet for a serious pie in this area is the Portsmouth Gas Light Company on Market Street) head downstairs, off to the back by the patio - the upstairs is slightly depressing. The closest thing to a real pie that Portsmouth has to offer, imaginative toppings almost make up for the fact that real pizza is so much more than crust sauce and cheese.

 

Places (and situations) to Avoid

 

The Oar House - Way overpriced, poor food quality, average service. There's a reason the storage spaces outside are full of SYSCO boxes (the generic food distributor).Quite nice to look at though, water deck in the summer is OK because they all are pretty much notoriously bad. Great incredibly overpriced wine list, but not all wines are available so you may end up ordering a couple of different bottles.
Poco's Bow St. Cantina - Poco's is so close to getting it right, interesting menu, cool atmosphere, great drinks - though the food is always cold, bad, and delivered with terrible service. Ironically, it's Portsmouth's hottest summertime attraction, the waterfront deck being the major draw - and the singles. My suggestion, go here only for drinks and to be seen - eat elsewhere.
Dolphin Striker- A lot of folks may get mad at me for this one(actually for all of these I can safely assume) but the Dolphin Striker is here for sheer inconsistency. I have had some perfect experiences here, and then some memorable not-so-perfect ones, so I leave it up to you.
The Stockpot - Hey - it's in every other category! If it's summertime, and the place is mobbed, and you get stuck in the downstairs dining room, call it quits.This place loses it's merits in the chaos which is summertime. If you can make it onto the deck outside, it's worth the added wait, but avoid the little dungeon room they call the formal dining area.
Joe's NY Pizza- Just like in Manhattan, they sell slices, but I think they were actually cooked somewhere in Upstate NY and delivered on a bike to Portsmouth. It just isn't good. Go down the street to the Gaslight for a pie (no slices though) or grab a sub at Moe's or drop in a bakery/coffeehouse if you want something quick.
The Muddy River Smokehouse - This place is great if you can sit at at the bar, the back room is a bit unstimulating and really kind of depressing. Murals painted on the walls in an otherwise square empty room don't seem to help, they make things worse...
Dunfey's in bad and/or windy weather - its on a boat - remember that. If I ever hear another person complain about the weather or the rocking - you get the idea.
Blue Mermaid - Though the Mermaid is awesome, my suggestion is to stick downstairs and share appetizers and have drinks. The all out meals here are inconsistent and quite pricey.
Jumpin Jay's Fish Cafe - Much like the Mermaid, the apps are oh so good, but then the pricey entree leaves you unsatisfied. Go for one of the stews or chowders, and they do wonders with Scallops on the grill.