Restaurants in Andover

Ruben’s Mexican Grill’s cheerful sign invites diners inside the casual family-owned restaurant, where plates of steaming, freshly made Mexican dishes tango with chilled margaritas on the palate. Chefs whip up classic burritos, tacos, and enchiladas, and extend their culinary prowess toward specialty carne asada dinners and shrimp rancheros with fresh peppers, onions, and guacamole. An accommodating wait staff tends to indoor and outdoor dining areas, making guests feel like family even if they believe people come from storks.

Owners Chris and Sheila Hare keep their menu simple, comforting, and hearty. Signature homestyle dishes include the Kitchen Sink omelet, plumped with five eggs, ham, sausage, bacon, and enough healthful veggies to help a child grow to the size of a small adult in just a few years. Amid burgundy booths and golden-tiled floors, tables populate with syrup-slathered pancake stacks, juicy burgers, and entrees of chicken-fried steak and meatloaf.

After noshing, guests can put their reflexes to the test on the dining room's air-hockey and pool tables or retreat to the sun porch, where a video-game room features such vintage classics as Area 51 and ATM Here.

More than 81 beers settle into glasses at Pour Haus before making their way into the lineup of German-tinged pub eats. Boneless buffalo chicken wings receive an infusion of Tallgrass Buffalo Sweat stout, and beer-cheese soup combines aged cheeses with Fat Tire ale. In addition to the alcoholic edibles, the kitchen also churns out meaty burgers such as Lucy’s Other Brother, a beef patty stuffed with cheese, bacon, and jalapeños that tests sibling rivalry when placed between fraternal twins.

The kitchen staff at Bann Thai Restaurant has nary a can opener. This is because they craft each dish from scratch using the owner’s family recipes—brought straight from Thailand—rather than using bottled ingredients procured on internet auction sites. Thai-style curry dishes smother chicken, beef, and pork with brightly colored sauces, while the flavors of thai basil, ginger, and chili peppers energize plates of duck and seafood.

The first IHOP—the dream of founders Al and Jerry Lapin—opened in 1958 in Toluca Lake, California, and was originally dubbed the International House of Pancakes. Since then, rapid expansion has led to myriad milestones across the company's colorful history, from introducing its modern IHOP acronym in 1973 to its 1,000th restaurant opening in Layton, Utah, in 2001.

Today, the company stands strong with around 1,500 locations across North and Central America, each one an enthusiastic dispenser of pancakes, french toast, and tables constructed entirely out of bacon. Though IHOP is known as a bastion of breakfast, it also stays open during the day and into the evening, delivering lunch and dinner as well.

Big Larry's Burgers proprietor, Larry, and his wife, Heather, serve up classic soda-shop snacks in an Americana-themed eatery with checkerboard floors and booths lined with red vinyl. Patrons can sink teeth into hefty 3/4-pound burgers, philly cheesesteaks, or hot links and round out meals with sides such as fried pickles and bacon-ranch cheese fries. A children's menu offers pint-size meals served with fruit and special surprises.