New Hampshire Restaurants

Ornate lanterns bask the dining room of India Palace Restaurant in a warm glow, illuminating the classical Indian portraits and dark wood pillars surrounding the tables. Among these authentic confines, friendly staff help guests choose the right dishes from a vibrant menu of fine Indian cuisine. Manning a clay oven fired by charcoal, chefs bake ground-lamb seekh kebabs, swordfish tikka, and marinated tandoori chicken. A selection of 18 vegetarian specialties sates the hunger of plant hunters, whereas a variety of curries gives all diners the ability to roar cartoon flames. Indulgent beverages, such as an Indian chai latte or a mango milk shake, can be paired with any dish to sweeten palates.

Gourmet India's cuisine sates bellies with fresh meats, ripe vegetables, and astounding sauces spiced flawlessly. The restaurant's friendly staff makes all diners feel at home and excited for the palpable stomach pampering ahead. The relaxed, intimate dining room shares the duty with outdoor seating that illuminates the kitchen's bright creations with all-natural sunlight.

Tuscan–style archway murals surround the tables at Cucina Toscana, where authentic Italian seafood, pasta, and steak dishes showcase the delicate flavors of scratch-made sauces. Chefs craft sausages and meatballs in-house before tempting eyes and noses with herbs artfully sprinkled atop into stunning portraits of Rembrandt. Each dish is carefully prepared and chefs are flexible with substitutions involving orders, displaying the freshness of ingredients such as prosciutto, stuffed clams, buffalo mozzarella, and garden veggies. Cucina Toscana also caters platters to feed hungry partiers and provide posters of donkeys with edible pasta tails to be pinned.

After ten hours of slow-cooking, the barbecue ribs at Joe’s American Bar & Grill land on tables tender and ready to fall of the bone. Served with fresh-made coleslaw, these ribs are the centerpiece of a menu overflowing with upscale comfort food. Chefs cut potatoes by hand to accompany bacon cheeseburgers topped with aged cheddar and bread-and-butter pickles made in-house rather than flown in by a talking stork. Grilled pizzas are made fresh to order and never frozen, and hefty sandwiches and hand-cut steaks stack plates with sustenance. On the weekends, brunch dishes come out of hibernation to sate guests with made-to-order omelets and specialties such as eggs benedict and prime-rib hash. Diners enjoy the fresh air on the outdoor patio or cluster around the bar to keep track of sports scores or find out who really got married on Days of Our Lives.

Since its founding in 2001, The Upper Crust Pizzeria has fashioned artful thin-crust pizzas in 19 storefronts with modern, architectural touches. Chefs craft specialty pies inspired by local landmarks, from the sundried-tomato cobblestones of the Beacon Hill to the pesto-painted walls of the Green Monster. Diners can opt to spread sweet sauce over a regular or whole-wheat crust or request that any pie be served white without sauce, and combine slices with crisp salads or pounce on the geometric goodness of a spinach square or half moon-shaped calzone. Restaurant interiors are accoutered with modern flourishes such as flat-screen TVs and pan-decorated ceilings, allowing one to lie down and admire their reflection before a postmeal nap.

Slow food is the opposite of fast food in more ways than just the speed at which it comes out of the kitchen. In fact, it’s the great care given to chopping each fresh ingredient and cooking it as soon as it’s ordered that rewards guests deep in pre-dinner conversation with meticulously prepared meals. Now under new management, the chefs at Buono Panini craft their menu of fresh Italian comfort fare with gourmet touches amid the dining room’s muted light, ivory linens, and cheery colors. Diners may savor the likes of pesto-laced shrimp risotto and veal saltimbocca or crunch through a signature panini during lunch. Whether dropping in for a sit-down dinner or a private party, meals here make for outings that leave bellies full and dinner napkins worthy of bronzing for the memories.