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February 2023 by Eugene G.
I have eaten at the oar house for more than 20 years. Whenever I have to spend time in Portsmouth New Hampshire, it is one of my go to restaurants. Every time I go, I order exactly the same thing - the big stuffed lobster.Today was no exception. I started with a cup of corn and clam chowder and then the baked stuffed 1 1/2 lb lobster. The stuffing is rich with pieces of shrimp and scallops and the based of ritz crackers was moist and delicious.
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February 2023 by Tommy T.
Man oh man do I love having lunch on the dock of this restaurant during the summer. And, each time I've enjoyed salad with some type of protein (fish, chicken or meat) - just lovely and worth the trip.Now I've lived in the area for 20+ years and would you believe I've never stepped inside, not even once, until recently. Well let me tell you, the bar area just screams coziness and warmth and comfort. I was like, how and the heck did I manage to never experience this wonderful room. The upstairs is equally charming unless your over 6ft because the ceiling is that low. So if your tall consider reserving a table downstairs or be prepared to duck.My constant companion and I started at the bar while we waited for our guest. The bartender was appropriately friendly, engaging and welcoming which is always appreciated. Constant companion ordered gin concoction that she really enjoyed, I ordered a more expensive glass of red wine with a request that if the bottle has been open for a few days, I'll choose something else. He delivered a glass of wine that clearly had been opened for awhile - couldn't finish it and he never checked back. Too bad because he missed an opportunity to turn a marginally poor experience into a good one.We were seated by the host who seemed a little frazzled but a least kind and accommodating, to then be greeted by a very friendly waitstaff. Okay, we ordered a couple of appetizers to share. The apps were friend calamari and crispy ribs. The ribs were good, tasty, not too much fat and the seasoning didn't overcome the flavor of the meat. Could they have been a little hotter, definitely but not that big of a deal to us. The calamari on the other hand was terrible, tasteless, tepid and just a waste of money. How any chef could taste these morsels of fried cardboard and allow it to leave the kitchen, blows my mind. AND, check out other reviews, I'm not the first to complain. Our entrees were, the Oar House seafood delight (backed seafood casserole) and it was good enough and the person who ordered it would get it again, another guest had the chicken sandwich which he enjoyed. Both of these dishes could have been hotter but still okay. But, but, but my burger was friggen delicious, cooked exactly the way I wanted it with the perfect amount of blue cheese, really fresh crunchy lettuce and sweet red onion - it clearly was the best of the all that we ordered. So there you have it, the negatives could be easily fixed and like I said before the cosiness if the bar itself is worth a visit.
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February 2023 by Kim J.
What a disappointment! First of all the waitress was excellent and the food was just ok. When I called for the reservation, I requested a nice seat and the women who answered told me she had a seat by the window that would be perfect for my husbands 60th birthday dinner. And she even asked what kind of dessert he would like and they would put a candle on it. But, neither happened. We got there and the hostess said that table was already taken even though they wrote it down under our reservation. Our table was in the middle of the restaurant. The escargot were not great. My husband ordered the filet mignon and it definitely was not medium rare and of course no dessert was brought out even though during the middle of dinner I reminded the hostess of the birthday dessert. But the waitress was very pleasant. We definitely won't be going back.
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February 2023 by Halley B.
Food was great! Tuna was the perfect color and sashimi quality, and the Parmesan chicken sandwich was delicious! Nicole the bartender was hilarious and I'll be back to try more of the options they have on the menu. Beautiful stone and brick interior that shows off what Portsmouth is all about.
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January 2023 by Kristen L.
This restaurant was highly recommended, we where highly disappointed on the food only ! Waitress was perfect and drinks where perfect ! Started with the corn and clam chowder, had zero flavor ... ordered the lobster Mac and cheese , it was the size of a cat dish with 3 small pieces of lobster and god awful Mac and cheese.
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November 2022 by Patrick D.
The Oar House Thanksgiving Dinner...$65 a plate....mashed potatoes and gravy were good but $65 for pressed and processed sliced turkey turkey breast, not so good. Not sliced turkey off a real roasted turkey as expected but processed and pressed turkey. C'on Man. It does not take a Culinary Institute of America (CIA) graduate (me) to figure that out, and my wife who is not, IMMEDIATELY knew it was not sliced from a real, honest to goodness roasted turkey from the oven. We both knew it as was precooked turkey meat which came to the restaurant in a plastic bag, then reheated, sliced and served as presumably real roasted turkey. As soon as it was placed in front of me, I knew as well. My wife and I have dined there before and thoroughly enjoyed our meal but this Thanksgiving dinner at the Oar House was a bust - and for $65 a plate. I expected more. CIA Class of 1973
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November 2022 by Jenna J.
I came in with a reservation for a group of 10 and the waiter was in a horrible mood. We could hear him cursing under his breath about there being 10 of us and complaining to another waitress about how he had too many tables. His mood improved eventually and he congratulated the bride and the food was awesome but docking a star for how unprofessional he was
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September 2022 by Jeremy L.
The place had an interesting ambience to it, and my group got a great table for the evening. I had the Salmon, and I was very impressed by the texture of it. The flesh was not dry, didn't fall off the wrong way on the fork, and had the fatty Salmon umami to it. I will say the portion size was a tad small for my liking. My group did not order any appetizers, as they did not really seem like foods that would work well for group appetizers. Overall the quality of the food was great, but that was expected for the price tag.
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August 2022 by Donna M.
Food is just ok. I got the shrimp scallops and fish baked with a sherry sauce. Very small portions. Left hungry Price for that meal$36. Bloody Mary $14 very thin and water downed. Chourice pizza $14 - very smallToo many better choices in the area to go back. Will not return. Nothing that special. Table next to me ordered lobsters ($58). When I was finished, the lobster table were also leaving, they went directly to the ice-cream store and waited in line. I am assuming they were not filled either. Oh, and what restaurant has fine dining and does not offer mash potatoes or rice as a side. Save your money and get better food elsewhere.
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August 2022 by Michelle L.
I ate at the Oar House on a Friday night for dinner with a group of eight people. Our server handled it like a champ and it was a hot day and a little warm in there. We had some shareable plates to start including the calamari, fried ribs, oysters, and a few chowders. The dinners we had were a Shrimp Scampi special, Children's Pasta, Scallops, Haddock, Several of the burgers, and I ordered the Salmon (creamed corn - fennel - leek & orange agrodolce.) I really wasn't expecting that much but my salmon was perfectly cooked and the creamed corn agrodolce under it was summery and refreshing. It was a perfect dinner. The pacing of the meal was great and our server kept our drinks filled. Nice place on the water in downtown Portsmouth. Very New England.
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February 2022 by Killeen D.
Been coming here for years and have always been very happy with service, food, and love the atmosphere. We were looking forward to going again this year, but were a bit disappointed. We felt the server was very unfriendly. Definitely did not feel welcomed. They also made changes to their menu and the meals we looked so forward to, were not on the menu. The meals we did have were decent but not as great as we expected.
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December 2021 by Larry C.
Sat at the bar on a Sunday evening and the bar service was slow almost uncaring as to what we wanted for drinks or food. She often served other tables that came in following our arrival than us sitting there for over a half hour. Ordered the scallops wraps and came luke warm to cold. Would have been great if heated properly. Was never asked how we enjoyed our apps. Not more than 6 people besides us in the bar area. There are other places that want our business.
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October 2021 by Nancy T.
Waiting for the boat decided to check out the oar house lovely experience nice outside deck had scallops wrapped in bacon absolutely delicious great service waitress very obliging would go back in a minute
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October 2021 by John T.
Not good. Made a reservation for the "dining room", and was seated in the bar. Is that really the dining room? I know servers are tough to find these days, but having been seated in the bar, the bar tender waited on us. Nice enough person, but he's a bar tender, not a professional server. Plus, small portions, had to get more to eat elsewhere afterwards. Wife had to put her jacket on at dinner because of the vent blowing cold air on us. There are just so many great places to go, there's no need to stop here.
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October 2021 by Fred w.
Inside atmosphere and location are tops. Historic building with lots of natural wood walls and exposed beams. Food is just OK. We had the Lobster Mac and Cheese (small portion = $32) and it was fine. The Caesar Salad ($11) was good too. Asked for Bread and was told that I would have to pay for it - I got 5 small rice-paper thin pieces that you could read a book through and it was half-frozen, so don't ask for it if you go. As is pointed out by others, the portions are a bit small and the food is just OK, but not worth going out of your way for. In this town, there are many 5-star options. This one probably survives due to it's seaside location.
