Machina Kitchen & ArtBar — Restaurant in Keene

We went here Saturday night before a show at the Colonial with a couple of friends. It was our first time there and we had high hopes for this place. It had a nice feel upon entering. The host greeted us right away and sat us immediately as we had reservations and said our server would be right over... We were brought a couple of glass bottles with water with juice size glasses! Why are the water glasses so small??? We waited almost 15 minutes for our server to even greet us and asked if we knew what we wanted for drinks. I asked for a beer\wine menu as the cocktail menu stated they had a separate one for beer and wine. The server told us they don't have one because they change them all the time...??? I said I'd like a glass of red wine and asked what they had and she said they had only 2- a malbec and a zinfandel. Three of us ordered a glass of the malbec the third person in our party wanted an old fashioned with Makers Mark and they didn't have it but offered something else which was okay. The server left the table then came back a few minutes later saying they didn't have their typical large cube ice for the old fashioned but could offer earl grey or spicy saffron (what???) cubes or could offer regular cubes. It took almost 15 minutes to get our drinks...3 glasses of wine and a mixed drink. The restaurant was NOT busy but there certainly was a lot of talking among employees at the bar. Once we got our drinks we ordered food which took about 25 minutes to get...a burger, thin steak, a sandwich and pasta. The pasta alfredo came without protein but you could add chicken or shrimp (or something else which I don't remember) for an extra cost and got the shrimp. It came with THREE shrimp! The steak came with 'whipped' potatoes which were dry mashed potatoes. The food was not great, steak was fatty. The alfredo had good flavor but the pasta itself was a bit undercooked. We wanted to order more drinks and had to flag down our server after we ate much of our food. We wanted another round of the malbec and another mixed drink. It was only then that our server ask how the food was. We apparently got the last 3 glasses of the malbec so they were out and only had the zinfandel left. What restaurant only carries 2 red wines, runs out of one of them...early on a Saturday night! They also didn't have common liquors such as Captain Morgan, a common tequila or the Makers Mark! We were there for an hour and 45 minutes for a simple meal and a couple of drinks. We had to flag down the server again to ask for the check as we had to get to our show. While I may sound like someone who expects a lot when I go out to eat, I assure you I'm not. I'm no different than most in that I like attentive service and variety. We will never go back here. It's also a bit pricey which is fine but for the quality of food and the lack of good service, I would not nor would I recommend. Keene doesn't have a lot of restaurant choices of this kind so it was very disappointing to go some place new (to us) and have...

We were traveling from out of town and had great expectations for this restaurant based on the online menu presented and reviews. It was my spouse’s birthday and we ordered bourbon espresso martinis which were different but good. For an appetizer, we ordered the bruschetta. The ingredients seemed to be chopped up, too busy and thrown on top on toasted bread. My spouse ordered the cod fish from the specials menu. I ordered the NY strip (which they explained they only had steak tips avail). There was nothing special about the cod unfortunately. It was supposed to be wrapped in paper and have aromatic flavors, if it was it was extremely light and came out unflavored. The first red flag should have been how small the actual plate itself was physically (for both entrees). The entree was not served on a traditional dinner plate. The steak tips I ordered medium but they came out raw and chewy. I ate the mashed potatoes and broccoli only (although I chose asparagus initially when asked if I wanted brocolli or asparagus ). The mashed potatoes seemed to be instant and the second steak tips brought out were more well done but still very chewy. I had less than half a piece (not even) and couldn’t eat it. I paid about 27 dollars for mashed potatoes and some broccoli. We aren’t ones to complain or return food but unfortunately this place wasn’t what we expected. I felt bad for the server since we know the issue lies within the kitchen. We decided on no dessert in the chance that it would be just as bad. Nothing was comped and we didn’t want to address any further since it was clearly known the food wasn’t up to par based on the food not eaten. My spouse ate her cod and butternut puree due to being very hungry but the meal was extremely bland. Unfortunately, for this “art bar” the drinks were the highlight and we didn’t see much art or music/ performances etc. We ended up having to go get a pizza down the street since we were...

The service is great, and the vibe inside is very nice. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, which is why I am giving any stars at all. However and is , the food was extremely subpar and ridiculously over priced. We got one appetizer that was &10 for five potstickers. One small plate of Alfredo pasta that my partner described as “ok” was $21. The plate that really encouraged me to leave this review was the “chef’s sauté.” The dish is described as a rice bowl with fresh seasonal vegetables and is the only vegan entree on the menu. The vegetables were carrots, white onions, and a small amount of steamed kale. It was very small, and it was $16. I ordered tofu as well for $7 extra, and it only came with 3 very small pieces. The worst part was that there was quite a bit of rice that was very undercooked and literally hurt my teeth. I had to eat super slowly because I was afraid of the rice. It was not the worst food ever. It would have been decent if it had come from a food truck whose thing was fast and cheap food, but it was pretty awful for a fine...