Thirsty Moose Taphouse — Restaurant in Dover

The Thirsty Moose is a great place for a casual meal with a beverage or two. Being enticed by the trivia night and Kenzie (our favorite wait person) we've spent several weeks experiencing the entertainment of trivia night and the casual entertainment in the local community. This was election night... The bald headed dude with the Moist Towelettes made it ugly. We were seated next to the Moist Towelettes (a group who regularly gather for trivia). The moment we sat at our table the first member of the "Moist Towelettes" who had arrived earlier than the other members began chatting with us. The bald one turned and engaged as if he were sitting at our table. Being polite we engaged in conversation, although the depth and nature of the conversation immediately revealed the Moist Towelette bald headed member was clearly out for a conversation to tutor us on "the ways of life." He claims to be an unemployed military man with worldly views, albeit from the conversation he is clearly myopic in world matters.

The conversation began with news that the Moist Towelettes lost trivia the past week and they claimed another table of patrons were cheating with the use of mobile devices to win the trivia game. The bald one couldn't talk enough about or share enough about the group they claim were cheating. Although we were polite with the conversation, we've noticed the Moist Towelettes using mobile devices regularly and extensively during the trivia night events in the past. For weeks we've suggested the Moist Towelettes were taking advantage of electronics to gain favor (they always win).

The conversation with the bald headed man with the Moist Towelettes move on to him embarking on an effort to force his views on members of our table. As he continued to turn and engage in our table while waiting on other members of the Moist Towelettes to join him, there was effort to politely ignore the bald heading person, but he continued to engage. We should have just told him to turn around and get the fk out of our face.

It seems that the Thirsty Moose at this location has a small group of regulars, with the Moist Towelettes engaging with other groups tainting the experience for those looking for a casual enjoyable evening out.

Often the regulars deter others from engaging or continuing to patronage the establishment to partake in the events, which is clearly the case at the Thirsty Moose. Fix the establishment cultural support and the business will grow. Between the loud music and the bald headed loud mouth patrons can't even order meals because the wait staff can hear the customers orders.

The Moist Towelettes won't increase trivia engagement or revenue for the Thirsty Moose if they have these regulars taint the experience.

Education is the most important matter in our society. Trivia can be a positive influence if we can encourage rather than dominate. Bald man needs...

Around the end of July my party of three came in around 5pm and were seated right away in a relatively empty restaurant. The server greeted us after some time but that was fine. We did have to ask for food menus a few times but again that's fine. What wasn't fine was that the server had to tell us multiple times that she was new which she should never have to apologize for. I noticed she had a 6 top and eight top and eventually tables out side. A new server should never be sat that many people all at the same time. I know short staffing has effected most restaurants, as I work at a busy bar in downtown Portsmouth but that is not an excuse to over seat a new server. The food was great (as always) but took a while to get out to us and I did not receive my side until after we had all finished our meals. Again food and service was great given the circumstances.

Wait there's more...

I came in about a week or so ago. We were sat in the that little side bar area despite there being a sign that said "private party." This waitress was the rudest waitress I have ever experienced. She seemed as though she absolutely did not want us there. She barley looked at us when taking our order and dropped off our food so quickly and walked away. We had ordered another round of drinks that did not come until after we had finished both meals. When we politely reminded her that we ordered another round she went over to the POS system to ring it in... We asked for a round before our meal came. When it was time to give us back the check book to sign, she dropped it off and didn't say one word. Just dropped the check book and walked away. We don't know what we did to make her act like she had no time for us and did not want us there.

Wait there is more..

I want to give this place the benefit of the doubt every time. The food is so good and who can go wrong with their selection of beer. I came in very recently and sat at the bar with a friend. After a few minuets went by one of the bartenders said to the other "are you taking care of those girls?" and then a few minutes later on of them finally came over. We ordered food and barley had any interactions with the bartender. Both completely ignored us but was serving the rest of the bar guests. We wanted a second round but both girls would either look at us and walk by or just completely walk by as if we were not there. We had clearly empty glasses but no one even attempted to ask us if we wanted another round. We even nicely stacked our plates to make it easier to clear AND STILL not one of the bartenders even looked in our direction. Finally someone came up to us asking for another round. This type of service is Completely...

We just moved to Dover and were initially delighted to discover the Thirsty Moose, only to be a little disappointed by misunderstandings. The two servers we've had were both really friendly, the beer selection is FABULOUS, and their sales are not bad if you understand the small print. The two for one pizza on Mondays is fairly self-explanitory, and the pizza is above average.

The "$10 Burger + Beer" on Tuesday was not clear to us. Given that their burgers cost north of $15 and their beers north of $5, the deal sounded too good to be true. We were especially confused when our waitress informed us that we could not choose a beer that was over $7 as part of the deal. This led us to believe that it truly was $10 as a combined price for both the beer and burger (and side).

Unfortunately, that's not how it works. The burger is $10 ($11.50 if you ask for some included topping on the side) and the beer is charged at full price. So instead of a $15 burger and $5 beer costing $10, it costs $15 (unless you ask them to put some topping on the side, in which case it will be $16.50).

Additionally, you need to be VERY clear with the server as to which side you order with your burger. One of us ordered sweet potato fries and we all received normal fries nonetheless - one of our party wasn't even asked which side she wanted. Also, don't assume that the server actually knows how the prices will come out. I specifically confirmed multiple times during our order that it would only cost $10 per person for both any burger and the beer and received confirmation, despite it ultimately costing $15+ / person. It is still a reasonable sale, just not the sale I had expected.

Perhaps the most confusing was the price ceiling on the beer. If the beer is not included in the $10 price, then wouldn't it benefit the restaurant to encourage customers to order the most expensive beer possible?

Were it not for the multiple $10 burger + beer misunderstandings, none of which were addressed by the server with more than an apology, I would rate Thirsty Moose four stars if you're focused on beer and three stars if you're focused on food. Their regular fries are extra crispy + copious, which I like, and their burgers are above average.

They have trivia on Tuesday nights and the outdoor dining options are lovely. Although the interior dining area is filled with TV screens, the volume is generally low and you can ask for a quiet corner somewhat removed from...