New England's Tap House Grille — Restaurant in Hooksett

New England Taphouse and Grille - June 21 2025

It was actually somewhat close to dinner time, which is odd for us. The place wasn’t too busy and we were seated immediately at a table near the front.

Our server, Victoria, greeted us quickly and asked if we’d like any drinks. My wife got the Double Raspberry Puckerbrush from Coos Brewing. I got the Jakobus from Schilling. Both were served expectedly cold.

We ordered Squeaky Cheese to share, which came with a side of marinara for dipping. I only had a few pieces, but about half of the ones I had were virtually empty of actual cheese, only the breaded portion was left. They were fine. I also ordered a half dozen oysters. Victoria asked what kind, and I just told her to decide, so she did. I still don’t know which ones I got, but I don’t really care either. There was a very interesting mix that covered the spectrum, from sweet, to buttery, to briney. A nice variety. Served with Cocktail Sauce, Horseradish, Mignonette, and another sauce that I didn’t try.

For a main she ordered the Chicken Tenders with fries. I told Victoria that I was going to have whatever she recommended. She said “Really, like anything?” I said yes. My wife added “But don’t tell him” Victoria responded with “Ohh, this is fun. Is there a budget?” I said that I didn’t want to spend $100 on a plate, but mostly no. I added that if it came up, I like my burgers medium, steak medium rare.

As we were waiting for our mains she ordered another Raspberry Puckerbrush, and I asked Victoria for something with Rye. I’m relatively sure that I got a Whistlepig poured over a large ice cube (which is just fine with me).

When the mains came, hers was just as expected. Tenders were solid, maybe just a touch dark, but that also made them nice and crispy. Fries were well cooked, maybe a touch more salt would have helped, but solid none the less.

When mine was delivered it was the Butcher Block, and even though the online menu says it’s a strip steak, mine was a Bone-in Ribeye, served with a variety of mushrooms, some microgreens, and a side of Truffle Fries. The steak was maybe 1 minute past medium rare, but still very good. The fries were a little too truffley (I don’t love a strong truffle flavor, a hint of truffle is more to my taste) for me, but my wife devoured them, so I ate (mostly) the ones that came with her Chicken Tenders.

As we finished my wife asked Victoria to pick a dessert for her to take home, but not to tell her what it was. We ended up with a very good Carrot Cake that I failed to take a picture of but fortunately my...

A bar scene without bar food.

This used to be my favorite place to go to enjoy a good drink and good food before a movie, or sometimes just because. I sampled most of the menu in the past and loved many of the items offered, such as the spicy Korean chicken sandwich, the buffalo chicken dip, and the pork belly tacos (before they changed them and ruined them). I've even gone out of my way to order takeout over the phone for the Korean chicken sandwich in the past, simply because I was craving it. None of these items are on the menu any longer, no doubt due to the egotistical head chef, who thinks he is Michelin star worthy, completely changing the menu into some sort of unfocused gourmet drivel.

Please note that none of my negative comments have anything to do with the service staff, who have always been, and will always be, lovely people that are the one and only shining light at this establishment. If I ever come back to this place, it will be to have a drink and enjoy their company, not for the food which has become abysmal under the new head chef.

The food is overpriced for what it is now, the beer menu mainly caters to IPA lovers, and the restaurant has completely lost its identity. At one point, I considered recommending this for a Food Channel tv show visit, but now that I find myself seeking out other establishments with food that actually suits the atmosphere it projects, I simply hope that this restaurant will one day find its way back to the roots that made it so popular to begin with instead of the mangled version of what it once was that it is now.

EDIT: "Sorry we missed your mark. This is not typical of us." Literally posted on every negative review word for word; this restaurant does not care about its patrons. Replacing popular items with worse facsimiles is not "branching out", it is cutting cost while charging the same amount regardless. Do not eat here, go to 99 or Applebee's down the road instead for a less expensive meal of the same quality and go on with your day. Terrible...

Where should I start…looked at the menu and decided on either the baked haddock or the margherita flatbread. It all was determined by the vegetable of the day for the haddock. Only waited 10 minutes to be seated but waited 17 minutes before someone came around for our beverage order. We opted for water with lemon. I asked what the vegetable of the day was. I was happily informed that it was butternut squash. With that I decided in the baked haddock with butternut squash and wild rice, like described on the menu. Husband ordered baked haddock as well but opted for fresh vegetables to dip. Water came quickly but no lemon. It tasted like pool water…super chlorine tasting. The lemon for our waters arrived with our meals. I looked at the meal and asked the waitress about the butternut squash. She said that apparently they changed the vegetable. I kindly told Her that my meal decision was based on the vegetable and was originally going for the margherita flatbread. I also noticed that the meal had mashed potato’s and not wild rice (not as if a substitute was asked). She told me that she would order me the margherita flatbread and I could take it home (no charge). My husbands also came with mashed potatoes but he didn’t mind. Now onto the food. My husband said his meal was cooked perfectly and tasted good. I asked him to fast my haddock. He agreed that it tasted different than his. I ended up leaving the haddock on the plate and packaged up with vegetables and potatoes (in my own take home container). I was brought a dish of wild rice about 5 minutes after my meal was delivered. So my dinner consisted of wild rice 😡. My flatbread came and I did not inspect it. Wasn’t until I got home I realized that they gave me the Buffalo chicken flatbread and NOT my margherita one I originally wanted. Don’t think we’ll be going back here anytime soon. SUPER DISAPPOINTED IN THE WHOLE MEAL. Don’t know how it is that they are getting ready to celebrate their 10 years...