Restaurants in Concord

The Creperie on Newbury's chefs fill their versatile canvas, the crepe, with upscale international flavors both savory and sweet. For dinner, forks tuck into crepes filled with seafood or inspired by normally crepe-free dishes. For instance, the chicken burrito crepe conceals black beans, pico de gallo, romaine, and cheddar, and peking duck crepes brim with cucumbers, jasmine rice, and ginger-hoisin sauce.

Most of the dessert crepes are lavished with chocolate or fruit; chefs also whip up their own chocolate mousse with rum and coffee in-house. Tables can peruse a list of wines almost exclusively from France or hop on the bar's smooth white countertop to request a signature cocktail by tap-dancing its name in Morse code.

Upon seeing the iced and sprinkled goodies that glisten under the display case at CB Scoops, it's obvious that the bakery excels in the art of crafting inventive sweet treats. Behind the counter, staffers scoop generous portions of ice cream in seasonal and mainstay flavors such as butter pecan, death by chocolate, and coffee almond fudge to cool down maws or overheated laptop batteries. The flavors pour into cupcakes as well as ice cream cakes and festively decorated ice cream pizzas divided into tasty slices. In addition to its celebratory dainties, the kitchen also churns out sandwiches, salads, and soups.

A medley of traditional American cuisine and German tastes has brightened Jacob Wirth's festive European dining room since 1868. The kitchen prepares a smattering of traditional offerings, such as paper-thin-sliced pastrami piled high between slabs of sourdough bread, and five types of wursts crowned with red cabbage or sauerkraut. Surrounded by traditional steins and thirsty gnomes, barkeeps pour an extensive selection of imported and domestic beer from tap and bottles.

On Friday evenings, Jacob Wirth hosts pianist Mel Stiller, a Boston mainstay whose sing-along show has attendees humming and shouting along to hits such as “Build Me Up Buttercup” and “Folsom Prison Blues.” Jacob Wirth’s location within the Theater District makes it a premier spot for a preshow dinner before heading off to watch Mary Poppins 2: Spoonful of Revenge.

Throughout the past millennia, the Iranian city of Shiraz has been celebrated for its nightingales, its poets and philosophers, and its wine, with the oldest known wine discovered just outside the city. Shiraz Cuisine seeks to capture this heritage of refinement amid its ambient-lit dining area, replete with vibrant paintings depicting grapes and Persian cuisine. To complement the bounty of traditional kebab and soltani plates, belly dancers swivel their hips inside the premises on Thursday night. On Friday, musicians strum guitars in time with the most rhythmic chewer in the restaurant.

The open flames beneath Molana Restaurant’s grills lend a distinctive smokiness to the restaurant’s signature kabobs, but the closely guarded combinations of imported spices is what gives each dish its true Persian essence. Beginning with halal cuts of chicken, lamb, and beef, the chefs carefully roast meat-laden skewers on the grill tops. Appetizers of housemade pickles and yogurt add a refreshing touch to the savory meals, and fruit-accented sides of basmati rice can feature raisins, sour cherries, or sweet orange peels.

The restaurant occupies two floors, securing ample space for tables and a separate bar area. Wall sconces gently illuminate the dining room’s brickwork to help set the mood and alert guests if their shadows are running away.

Though its menu is sprinkled with common dishes such as shrimp tempura and salmon teriyaki that you might find at any Japanese restaurant, Ponzu is anything but typical. Elements of Japanese, Malaysian, Indian, and even European cuisine flood each meal, from roti prata Indian bread topped with curried chicken and potato to more than 30 house special maki rolls and Portuguese-style fish baked in tinfoil. The chefs take a keen interest in their diners’ health as they prepare entrees in vegetable and soy bean oils, avoid adding MSG to dishes, and add weights to the end of chopsticks to boost patrons’ strength. As diners dig into the spread of Eurasian cuisine and clink glasses of sake—Ponzu offers a choice of more than a dozen types including hot and sparkling—they’re surrounded by pale yellow walls and the calming luminosity of pendant lights.