Portsmouth Restaurant Tips by moiraistyx

The Oar House: My First VT Meeting

From the outside this restaurant appears to be a little hole in the wall, but alas looks can be deceiving. When you walk it the restaurant opens up and is quite spacey. We were all seated upstairs. It was a bit disappointing because there didn't have enough chairs and table prepared for us in spite of the fact that Emily went to great lengths to work with this restaurant to arrange a special menu and make reservations for our large group. Well long story short, we ended up having to seat the children at their own table away from all of us, just because there weren't enough seats. This made my dinner crazy. All in all the food was really tasty. I don't remember exactly what was on the menu, but I had a salad which was really big and some clam chowder. I haven't a clue what anyone else order, I know it none of it was picky kid friendly.

Thanks again Emily for a great meeting.

Favorite Dish: Mixed field green salad which was mesclun greens topped with dried cranberries, red onions, crumbled blue cheese and tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette.

Address: 55 Ceres St.

Comparison: about average

Phone: (603) 436-4025

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 3

Theme: Local

Website: http://www.portsmouthnh.com/oarhouse/

The Portsmouth Brewery: GREAT BEER AND FOOD

When Patrick, Nolan, Tony and I first arrived in Portsmouth we walked around for a bit scoping out some of the restaurants. All Patrick cared about was being able to have chicken nuggets and I wanted a yummy snack. Tony was a beer lover to say the least and wanted to try a new beer. We just happened to walk right in front of the Portsmouth Brewery as Tony stated he wanted a beer. We walked in and were greeted by the usual brewery atmosphere. It was a bit loud, but not bad for a Saturday afternoon crowd. I can only imagine how loud this place is on a Friday or Saturday night. Nolan and Patrick got their usual chicken strips and I got an order of scallops in a maple syrup sauce. I checked the website for an up to date menu, they no longer offer the scallops. Tony tried the Barleywine beer which was rather good. Tony also got an order of the crab rangoon dip. It was alright, but nothing great to write home about.

Favorite Dish: The barleywinde beer is deep amber in color with the flavors figs and dates. It had a bull body and an intense after taste. It was really good, but a bit strong for an ale.

Address: 56 Market Street • Portsmouth NH 03801

Comparison: about average

Phone: 603-431-1115

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 3

Theme: Local

Website: http://www.portsmouthbrewery.com/

Molly Malone's: STOP THREE OF THE PORTSMOUTH BAR CRAWL

This was our final stop of our Portsmouth bar crawl. There is a dining room downstairs and an informal lounge upstairs. We went upstairs, although I advise caution to the tipsy traveler on the stairs, they are rather steep. The wait staff here were very friendly and helpful. The table decor was very nice. There was a beautiful candle setting that I fell in love with, I tried to take a picture but it didn't turn out well.

Favorite Dish: I had the best margarita ever here, it was a peach margarita. Absolutely fantastic.

Address: 177 State Street

Comparison: about average

Phone: 603-433-7233

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 3

Theme: Pub/Brewery

Website: http://www.mollymalonesnh.com/index.html

Blue Mermaid Island Grille: STOP TWO OF THE PORTSMOUTH BAR CRAWL

The Blue Mermaid really wasn't anything special as far as the decor and atmosphere is concerned. They did have great beer though. I believe I had the Tuckerman Pale Ale, which reminded me of a Sam Adams. This place must serve up quite the menu though, because I researched it and found out that Rachel Ray from the food network is featuring it on her show Rachel Ray's Tastey Travels. Be careful of the steps, they are slippery when wet.

Address: 409 The Hill

Comparison: about average

Phone: 603-427-2583

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 3

Theme: American

Website: http://www.bluemermaid.com/

Poco's Bow Street Cantina: STOP ONE OF THE PORTSMOUTH BAR CRAWL

Poco's was our first stop of our Portsmouth bar crawl. It has an upstairs dining room, downstairs bar area and a patio. We decided to get out of the heat and hang in the bar area. After a quick visit to the lady's room, which I would like to say was nasty and the toilet was broken, we were greeted by Josh. An extremely trashed patron of the establishment. Within ten minutes, we learned that Josh had been there all afternoon and that he was hanging out with his life long friend Laura. We also learned that Josh made a hobby out of being a dog to Laura's friends. Anyway, we ended up having a good time talking to Josh and Laura, they made our time at Poco's quite enjoyable. The view isn't very great from the patio or the bar, since the tourist boats board and leave from right outside the window.

Favorite Dish: We actually ate while we were here, I insisted since we had only had a yogurt earlier in the day. We ordered nachos. These chips were great though, they had some kind of seasoning on them that made them extra tastey. As usual we had margarita's on the rocks with salt. They were about average.

Address: 37 Bow Street

Comparison: about average

Phone: 603-431-5967

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 3

Theme: Mexican

Website: http://www.pocosbowstreetcantina.com/