Restaurants in Manchester

The police aren't on to him––yet. But Capone can't leave anything to chance. He's bullet-proofed the hardwood floors with sand. He's dug secret tunnels, and rigged escape hatches on the roof. Despite his preparations, though, he never feels quite secure. With a final glance over his shoulder, he heads to the stone patio to kick back some contraband suds with Dillinger.

A lot of stories like this one fly around High Point restaurant, where the digging of the tunnels in the basement may or may not have been funded by Al Capone. Though these rumors are gospel to owners Ron and Jama Turner, they make sure that their eatery offers visitors more than just stories. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the three-story compound brings to mind a quaint ski lodge with its large courtyard and verdant hedges. Inside, the dining room is flooded with natural light from large bay windows, and a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace sits atop the original 1920s hardwood floors.

Then, there's the food. At dinnertime, dark wood tables populate with fresh seafood and steaks in wine and butter sauce. The menu also bespeaks bayou influence, with zesty preparations of jambalaya, crawfish, and New Orleans–style barbecue shrimp. While spooling seafood pasta around their forks, patrons can question servers about High Point's catering services or question the owners about whether the fountain out front was ever used by Capone to make homemade gin.

Though Mexico is our neighbor, O.K. Jose's menu is extensive enough to read like a letter to a long-lost relative. In the kitchen, cooks top grilled nachos with shrimp and chorizo, stuff tortillas with spicy chicken and sauteed onions, and smother baked potatoes with cheese sauce and salsa. On karaoke nights, guests take a break from their meals to belt out tunes into a microphone topped with guacamole and sour cream.

The chefs at Sauce create a menu of Italian dishes with an American twist, from cheesy garlic bread to chili spaghetti. Their pizza specialties, made with a generation-tested family recipe, range from classic pepperoni to chicken alfredo and hot barbecue chicken. The eatery’s minimalist decor allows guests to focus on the important things, like gooey melted cheese. A ladle and a spatula bisect a wall of framed art, including empty frames that showcase momentous occasions yet to happen, such as the world president dubbing California the world's most beautiful island.

Pad Thai Cafe's menu of popular Asian plates and authentic Thai cuisine crafted with fresh, delectable ingredients heeds the call of grumbling bellies with delectable dishes. Rice noodles, peanuts, sprouts, scallions, egg, and garlic tango in the pad thai dish, and chili, garlic, jalapeño, basil, egg, and scallion congregate for a savory conference in the spicy basil Thai-fried rice ($8.50–$16 depending on choice of protein). Order an appetizer, such as the crab rangoon ($5 for six pieces), house fresh spring rolls ($4.50 for two), or fried spring rolls ($3 for two), and nibble on tasty bites instead of chewed-up pen caps. Stop by the café to sate a midday craving or eschew afternoon soap-opera viewings to enjoy a lunch special such as the kung pao chicken, a spicy mélange of chili, nuts, baby corn, and chicken ($5.95).

Unlike unmellow mushrooms that make you take hour-long showers and nag you for tracking mud in the house, the Mellow Mushroom makes pizzas. The joint specializes in surrounding your dining experience with a dazzling atmosphere, artwork oozing with pizzazz, crisp bottles of happy beers, and the kinds of pizzas that got all the best solos at the fifth-grade choir demonstration. Sip on a cold draft of beer while ogling the Mushroom’s spread of Kosmic Karma pies that merge sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, feta, fresh tomatoes, and pesto ($10.99 for a 10’’); gourmet white pizzas with the harmonious offerings of olive oil and garlic, sunny-dried tomatoes, provolone, mozzarella, feta, and onions ($11.99 for a 10"); and the Magical Mystery Tour, brining pesto, portobello and button mushrooms, spinach, feta, and jalapenos back together for a reunion jam in your mouth ($10.99 for a 10").