Bavaria — Restaurant in Hooksett

My mom and I made the journey from Hampton to Hooksett today, looking forward to experiencing this restaurant. We made a reservation for a lunchtime seating. A friendly woman who was on her way to her holistic office nearby directed us to the upper level of the building where Bavaria Restaurant is tucked away. The restaurant decor is whimsical German with plaques, knick knacks and other Deutsche relics. The hostess/owner is welcoming firsthand and looks pretty sharp in her traditional costume. We were seated in the middle of the main dining room and served by Jill. Jill was attentive and pleasant, keeping the pace of the lunch crowd quite well. My mom and I started with the delicious brightly dressed mixed salad. She ordered the cordon bleu with roasted potatoes and I had the special of the day meatloaf covered with a mushroom sauce and fluffy spaetzle on the side. I had a brown doppleale and she had a glass of Chardonnay, both winners. We brought the light and savory apple strudel home. The food tasted delicious and probably very authentic to its roots. I have not traveled to Germany to experience their cuisine first hand but like to try any German-style restaurant wherever I am. When served, the food looks bland but it does taste good....I would have liked a sprinkling of parsley on my dish, but probably not necessary. The food is a bit pricy but we did have leftovers for dinner (I made an unctuous mushroom sauce to ladle over everything on the dinner plate.) Here's why I give the place 3 stars. I noticed the hostess checked on other parties to see how they enjoyed their meals. She avoided my mom and me. Yes, it was our first time at the restaurant, but wouldn't it have been prudent to check in on all of your parties? It wasn't that busy and the flow seemed manageable. We waved to the chef and complemented him on our delicious food!; he smiled.and said thanks. As we were leaving our table, none of the staff nearby made eye contact with us or said anything. Too bad about the attitude as I really wanted to like the place. I should have said dankeschein but only...

This whole heatedly hurts me to write this. I feel like I'm betraying my own family. My girlfriend and I drove 3 hours for an overnight getaway, solely based on and around this restaurant. Being of a very strong German lineage, I've wanted to come here since the day I found out about it. Massachusetts has 2 "authentic" German restaurants and NH has this place, which is supposed to be the creme de la creme.

We walked in the door 40 mins after they opened and asked for a table for two. We were informed that the bar was closed (no reason given, only safe to assume COVID? Who knows) and they had a very small dining area. The lady scanned her piece of paper and said that they didn't have anything available for us. It's 445pm!!! I'm not asking for prime time seating without a reservation. We explained that we had come from cape cod and the lady honestly couldn't have cared less. She claims the website says to "call at least a week in advance". That's not true. The website states to "call in advance for reservations". Nothing said you absolutely need reservations or you won't get seated.

I wanted so badly to like this place. Don't get me wrong, I understand Germans can be cold and uncaring but in the service industry? C'mon. We were turned down time and time again due to "having a small dining area". We finally gave up and decided to go elsewhere. This seriously pains my heart because I have no doubt this restaurant would probably remind me of my childhood. Unfortunately, we weren't even given the chance to experience it. Bottom line, we will be going back and you can bet your last dollar I'm going to critique this place as if we're back in Deutschland and my oma is cooking. Don't go here without a...

Perhaps open hours should come with a warning or limitation or just not have any hours at all if reservations are a requirement? Did not get to experience dining since we were turned away on a Sunday @6pm so the one star is for poorly set expectations for people passing through. They close at 8pm according to posted hours at the time. We were on a road trip, driving through the town and noticed this spot from google maps. We did not know of the "requirement" to reserve ahead of time until we got there to be turned away for not making reservations. Extremely hungry and severely disappointed, we tucked our tails in and left, along with the family who came in after us. Lost business but from all the good reviews I'm sure they won't suffer. In hindsight, we would have been fine having a drink at the bar while waiting for seemingly delicious and authentic German food...except we weren't offered any choice but to leave. Would have been awesome if everyone had known...