Stage Restaurant — Restaurant in Keene

I've been to The Stage several times and have never been disappointed. This time was no different. Actually, it was different. On Saturday, July 3rd, I had the best experience I've ever had at The Stage, and probably one of the top five culinary experiences I've ever had! It was my girlfriends birthday, so we decided on our "go to" place. We don't go out to eat often, but when we do, we don't mind spending the money on a quality experience, and The Stage more than delivered. We arrived a bit early for our reservation, but were seated promptly by a friendly hostess (don't recall her name). Enter our server, Nate. Can't say enough about this fine young man! He was friendly, attentive, knowledgeable, and had a good sense for his customers. We started with a couple cocktails. I got a drink special. Don't recall the name, but it was a spicy pickle dirty martini. It was delicious! Just the right balance or ingredients. We then ordered a soup as an appetizer. My girl got the tomato cheddar and I got the french onion. Both were excellent and served piping hot. Now here's where knowing your customer comes into play. We hate to feel rushed when at a restaurant. I want to order in my time, and enjoy the experience. Nate never once asked us for our entre choices. In fact, when he brought the soup, he told us to enjoy the appetizers, and that he'd be back later to see if we were ready to order our entrées. When we finally decided, I got the Ciopinno Bianco, and my lovely date got a pork shank special served on (if I recall correctly) a smashed rutabaga, with a brussels sprout bacon hash. Being a "meat and potatoes" girl, she also got a side of chive mashed potatoes. I also explained to Nate that I'm a "bourbon and beer" guy, but enjoy a good glass of wine with a fine meal. Nate came through and helped me choose a glass that was to my liking. The food was served hot and was amazing! The problem I usually have with dishes containing multiple seafoods, is that one element is inevitably over/under cooked. Not on this day! The scallops were tender and sweet, the calamari was not chewy at all, the shrimp were tender, and the fish was flakey and delicious! The pork shank dish was equally cooked to perfection. The meat was "fall off the bone" tender and delicious. Everything was seasoned perfectly and the servings were generous and well proportioned. As I stated earlier, I never have a bad experience at The Stage, but on this day, all the elements I look for in a dining experience came together perfectly! Great job Team Stage! Keep up the good work. ...

I cannot say enough about the food at Stage!! The crispy brussel sprouts are some of the best I've ever had, especially with the maple aioli, and I get them every time I come. The nouveau burger was flavorful and juicy, and cooked perfectly to a medium rare temp. Excellent wine selections and a well crafted specials menu as well! It was so hard making a decision. Everything was pretty reasonably priced, too.

The outdoor dining area was nearly full, so the restaurant was still busy. My party came an hour before closing, and the host was very communicative and pleasant and seemed happy to seat us outside. The rest of the service, however, was unimpressive. From the moment we were "greeted," we felt like a burden. Our server seemed impatient when we said we needed a bit more time with the menu to decide. Each of our interactions felt rushed, and she provided the bare minimum in the steps of service, not a single pleasantry more. I felt like a bother asking for a to-go box. She was very eager to drop off the check (I did not feel comfortable to ask her to separate the checks) and as soon as the clock passed 9:00 PM sharp, other servers were quick to clear away every single dish, bowl, napkin, and glass from the table. Without asking, they even took our full water glasses and threw the water out on the street in front of us, leaving us only with our 2 wine glasses. The lights were turned off, the doors were locked (so when we needed to use the restroom, we could not) and no employees were anywhere in sight. No one had told us "We are closing, so please leave the glasses on the table and if you need to use the restroom you can knock" or anything of that sort, and we were left with no instruction. Again, feeling like a huge burden. In all my experience in the restaurant industry, never has a manager let the closing staff turn off all the lights, completely close down the restaurant, and disappear while there are still guests (even if they are seated outdoors), regardless of how late it is. We definitely did not feel like we were prioritized or valued.

Bottom line is that I would definitely come back for the delicious food, but no later than 2 hours before closing and hopefully with a...

I don't know how this place has good reviews. The food was some of the worst I've had in Keene over the years. The calamari was chewy and had both the tomato and honey mustard underneath it mixed. I asked the waitress for a recommendation and upon her advice I ordered the signature sirloin topped with rok shrimp and a rum sauce. The shrimp were not rok shrimp, put cocktail and were over cooked. The steak would have been fine but it was drenched in the rum sauce that was so sweet it should have been on a dessert. It tasted like a Malibu soaked pineapple coconut sauce all over the steak and potatoes. My husband's chicken was rubbery and full of nasty tendons and tasted like it came out of the freezer. After the waitress took a long time to check in, I nicely explained how the sauce is not advertised correctly and not something she mentioned when she went into detail about her recommendation. I had 3 bites and she told me, "oh no, I probably should have mentioned how sweet it is." She asked if we wanted dessert and I told her no because we were not happy with our meals and would just like the check. It then took her over 15 mins to bring the check which nothing was taken off. I am not mad that I paid for it, but if your going to make us wait at a table for that long only thinking about how hungry we still were, you better at least be talking to the manager or something. She then finally dropped off the check but from a distance. She didn't walk up to us, she stood far behind my husband and dropped it on the corner like she knew we shouldn't have paid. To be honest I shouldn't have but my husband and I haven't been on a date night in almost 3 months and I just wanted to leave. It took her another 10 mins to come back for the check which makes no sense because we were done 15 mins before so there was no need to wait. No one cared that we had a bad experience. Would...