FIVE81°NE — Restaurant in Portsmouth

We went last night for a special dinner and it was a great first impression. Izzy was our server and was super helpful and polite. We tried the laab duck, moo ping skewers, chive pancake with shrimp, korat noodles with chicken and their ube flan cake to finish the evening. Everything was incredible. I love Thai because of its sour, sweet, and spice profile and Issan food is more in line with these pungent flavors. As a former cook it really makes my palate happy when I get a dish that delivers on all three things and does so with balance. Issan food is part of Thai culture and is similar to that of Cambodia and Laos.

For the price point I think the quality is there. Out of all our dishes the cake surprised me the most - they put fried shallots on top of the flan! At first my brain was like, "huh, what?" As soon as I tasted it all together however the combination made sense. The crispy and salty shallots blended beautifully with smoothness of the flan, the sponge cake and the ice cream. It's one of those dishes you can keep getting a bite of and it never gets boring. And that I can attest goes for everything else we tried. The pancakes, too, had an interesting texture. The center was soft from holding the shrimp but the other rim was still crunchy. There was also a sweetness in that dish that kept me guessing and going back for more. My partner loved the rice crisps on the noodle dish, though he only wished it was spicier! (Which isn't a bad thing!)

I also recommend getting a dealer's choice cocktail. Mine was sweet and spicy (just like my personality! 😄)

Overall, this was a wonderful treat and a welcomed addition to the Portsmouth food scene. We will definitely keep this one in the running when we're...

We had sat at the bar for our reservation. The atmosphere was quaint. We ordered our drinks and tried to order a few apps but they were out of ingredients (we had reservations at 5:30 on a Saturday night) so I’m unsure as to how they were already out of ingredients. Instead of the appetizer selection we wanted, they told us to order other menu items - which were nothing like what we wanted to order. Even though sitting in front of the bartender, he never once asked us if we wanted to put food in or asked us if we wanted another drink. We waited another 15 minutes and decided that we should go somewhere else with the lack of service at this spot. It was not busy - there should have been no reason the lack of service occurred. The bartender had been displeased all night with other staff shown by his attitude, lack of communication, and multiple huffs and puffs when other staff members would approach or become involved with an order. He had huffed and puffed and was not pleased when we had asked another server for our tab - as our server (the bartender) had not been bothered to check on us once. We will absolutely not be back and will not be recommending this spot to anyone we know in the Seacoast area. We were extremely disappointed with the service, food, and drinks. The pork was chewy with pieces of cartilage/tendon and the lack of ingredients at this time of day was unacceptable. Do...

From the start I felt I was walking into a dream. Beautiful and unexpected decor. Stylish, Upscale, Modern. Not what I'm familiar with in most Asian restaurants. Enchanting and romantic.

As they say, 'you eat with your eyes first', and right off the bat, my eyes were telling me we were about to dive into something flavorful, delicious and satifying. The Pho noodle bowl with shrimp was steaming and presented with a side of garnishes; basil, mint, jalapeno, bean sprouts, lime wedges and a little dish of the best house made hot sriracha. Wow! Packed a flavor-filled punch. We used every bit of it. (Will take tums later). The grilled lemongrass chicken thighs were juicy and so, so good. Excellent alongside a perfect bowl of garlic ftied rice.

The servers were so friendly and helpful when we asked questions about origins of some of the dishes.

If I lived anywhere near this place it would be a frequent dining choice. Or even to come for cocktails. The bar is stunning. We had a 3 hour drive to home ahead of us so we couldn't induge. But, if they put as much care into making a good drink as they do into everything else, I'm certain it's worth a visit to just relax and enjoy a drink while sitting at the gorgeous bar.

I hope we travel this way again soon. Will be a top choice on my list of dining...