Portsmouth, NH lies only about 1:15 minutes from downtown Boston, and provides a nice day retreat from the busy city life, to a relaxing and friendly north country coastal town. Portsmouth is a small and quaint town/city that has an overwhelming amount of excellent restaurants and bars that makes it very hard to choose which place. Luckily its close enough that you can come back frequently.

When you walk around the streets of Portsmouth, you get the feeling of a very relaxed and friendly community with a rich and diverse artistic side. The downtown area is kept very clean and the shops are all very unique. With the exception of a Banana Republic and and a few others, you won’t find any retail or restaurant chains in these parts. The city strives to maintain a unique and eclectic group of stores whose contents can only be found on Market Street and the surround streets in the downtown area. There is a pleasant mix of both shops and restaurants among the storefronts providing ample choice for whatever cuisine or item you might be in the mood for.

My first stop on this occasion (i’ve been there quite a few) was to the local coffee shop/ hangout spot, the Daily Grind. With an ever flowing line of customers you can be quite sure you are getting the best cup of joe or fresh brewed tea in the area. They also have a wide selection of delicious and fresh-baked pastry items for you enjoy on the go. The Daily Grind is located in the center of the downtown area.

After walking around a bit and exlporing the shops it was time for a light lunch.  For this I choose to get a sandwich at The Works Bakery Cafe, where they have freshly made bread and sandwiches, and a very friendly staff.  Most of all very reasonable prices.  After some more exploring and shopping, we decided to head to Dover, where we were meeting some friends for drinks at Brick House and dinner at Thai Cuisine Restaurant.

The Brick House is a neat bar with comfy couches, great beer selection, and pool tables.  There are two floors and it seemed they always have live music of some kind or another, even bands on the national platform occasionaly.  Thai Cuisine Restaurant, on the other hand, was very nice and moderately authentic feeling, but the overall, the experience was just ok.  The food was good, don’t get me wrong, just lacked a little something to give it the “Great” tag.

All in all, I love day trips to Portsmouth, as there is such an array of restaurants and shopping that every visit can be different.  Let m e know what your favorite restaurants are in the greater Portsmouth area.

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