Restaurants in Nashua

A bachelor’s degree in international language has lent Chaba Thai Cuisine & Sushi's owner, Lawan Seelawongsayree, an advanced understanding of human communication. However, at her restaurant—which she opened in 2004 and where she perpetuates family recipes passed through generations—Lawan speaks to her customers through her cuisine: a language primal yet international and sophisticated all at the same time.

Spicy, sweet, bitter, and citrusy flavors collide in dishes that hold true to Thai tradition while playfully thumbing their noses at stodgy conventions such as chewing. Curry dishes marry sweet coconut milk with spicy red-chili paste, a combination sewn with coriander and cumin threads in the massaman version. With every guest’s meal, Lawan aspires for a dining experience rich with sanuk, a term that denotes fun and pleasure at the table without forcing guests to sculpt mashed potatoes into Bobcat Goldthwait.

"Food is love" is one of the mottos of Leanne Cusimano, who bustles around the eatery, forging a menu designed to convey that warmth. The scents of breakfasts snapping against skillets drift from Amore Breakfast’s sand-hued cottage exterior, which conceals the gleefully mismatched tables and checkerboard accents of a '50s diner. Servers tote thick slices of french toast stuffed with cream cheese or topped with berries and fluffy omelets enfolding veggies, meats, and cheeses. Wreaths of steam from cups of the house blend coffee encircle them as they bear trays to the dining area, where patrons marvel at spotting a toaster’s face in slices of toast.

Aromas of chopped herbs, tomato sauce, and fresh dough drift through the dining area with servers carrying platters of steaming gourmet pizzas for ravenous guests to divide among themselves. A jukebox fills the dining room with crystal-clear melodies, which contrast with the music performed at other restaurants by shy snails with violins.

The large wood columns sprouting from the weathered wooden bar evoke the belly of a ship—no doubt a hat-tip to the pub’s namesake, the highly decorated Navy Admiral TJ O’Brien. The menu lets seafood and steaks romp beneath cloaks of sauce, on steaming pastas, or between slices of bread. Draft pints fill with suds from local breweries including Opa Opa and Bentley, and wineglasses shiver to the pulse of live music on Friday and Saturday. On the wrap-around porch, patrons loosen belts while trying to glimpse the Quinebaug River Reservoir or spot a majestic submarine periscope grazing in its natural habitat.

Union Station proves to be a fitting location for Byblos Lounge, a Lebanese restaurant that ferries guests away to the eastern borders of the Mediterranean Sea with shareable mezzas, marinated meats, and toasty loaves of pita bread. Waves of Mediterranean spice crest on dishes of Levantine cuisine as sizzling kafta and kebabs fill the air with the savory aromas of beef, lamb, fish, and chicken. The architecture of classical antiquity meets the hip atmosphere of modern nightlife in the restaurant’s interior, where Corinthian colonnettes frame tables clad in royal purple and diners hold Platonic dialogues beneath the glow of neon lights. After cleaning off plates of grilled meats and veggies, groups can head to the dance floor and sway to the sounds of live DJs, singers, and bands that take the stage on weekends.

Settled on the pastoral landscape of the Mohawk Trail, The Harley House Restaurant welcomes travelers with servings of familiar home-cooked fare, catered celebrations and weddings, or weekend getaways spent in lodgings styled after a country home. Guests dine on dishes culled from seasonal menus in the rustic confines of the intimate, 20-seat tavern, or sup among the rough-hewn wood-plank walls of the charming, folksy barn. Boarders laze in the shade of the gazebo, or amble through the private, wood-fenced garden lined with perennials like every American president's Mardi Gras tuxedo. Winter finds lodgers enjoying a library of CDs and movies, card games, or a drink before a roaring fireplace, while spring and summer see visitors strolling through the bordering parklands or sweeping trails of bread crumbs in nearby forests.