The Hammer Pub and Grille — Restaurant in Portsmouth

This was my best friend's favorite place to eat, so we went there, a group of 6 for her birthday. The waitress(middle aged, light brown hair maybe) was okay but wasn't I would say good at her job, instead of dropping off plates to those who ordered them she stood at the edge of the table and handed the plates to us to pass down the row(it wasn't busy) sure, fine, whatever, not the important part. So part of our party left early, paid their portion, leaving four of us, all four of us left at the same time however our bill was split two ways. I tipped $4.50 about, a little under 20% I felt bad but it's all I literally had, the other two tipped on their receipt before leaving and the birthday girl and her boyfriend didn't leave a tip because she never even brought them drinks. Anyways.. everyone else has left and I know how much it sucks cleaning up a table so I'm trying to organize the plates and clean up from the cake I brought in with us and the waitress comes over clearly annoyed she steps in front of me before I have even cleaned up my space or walked away at all and asks me if she did something wrong because she doesn't want a bad review online. I told her not to my knowledge, she expressed to me that I was the only one in our party who tipped as if I should give her more money. She said this at a decent volume in front of other customers and it was extreme embarrassing as I'm usually the type to give massive tips and always have at the Rusty Hammer. I didn't have any more money to give so I stood there with the cake knife in one hand purse in the other, feeling really horrible about it and apologizing, she then after holding me up told me I looked weird with the knife in my hand and to go. Come to find out she outright lied to me about the tips because the first two to leave the party tipped her very well. This is a long winded boring review but the service sucked, as did she and we won't be coming back. What a lack of hospitality. I'm giving two stars because your wimpy sandwiches always meet expectation, they...

Ate here with my husband last weekend and enjoyed good food at a reasonable price--a difficult find these days in Portsmouth. As a 35+ year resident of Portsmouth, I remember 'The Hammer' back when Rusty owned it, then expanded it, then sold it. My sons, now 27 & 24, loved going 'out to eat' at The Hammer; they would order a 'Wimpy' burger and hotdogs. But those wonderful days were lost when Rusty sold his restaurant and the new owners (this was years ago) turned it into an overpriced, sound-box that we went to once and vowed never to return. Long-story short, we ate outside with friends this summer and were pleasantly surprised; my salad was a good size with mixed greens, tasty protein and unique additions, and my husband's burger as good as the old days. I ate Fish & Chips last weekend--large fish, not overly breaded or oily, with good, crunchy fries, decent coleslaw; my husband ate a tasty turkey club with the same crunchy fries. A definite pub atmosphere--it's not quiet with many sports tvs and bar patrons but it's no longer an echo-chamber as previously. The prices are decent and the food, albeit nothing fancy, is reliably good. Definitely a 'go-to' again for us when we don't want to break our bank but don't feel like cooking. Welcome...

Formerly the Rusty Hammer 🔨, I'm glad they kept the original sign, I visited the previous restaurant a few times in my past. This is my first 🥇 visit to the Hammer Pub and Grill. Friendly service! Bar atmosphere. I was craving French onion 🧅 Soup 🍲, man, I hope 🤞 I'm not pregnant, and a Google search 🔍 mentioned this restaurant. They have seven TVS downstairs tuned to sports shows. The soup 🍲 had a kick to it with the right amount of black pepper added to the soup. Tasted good 😋. The chocolate mint cream pie was a good dessert. Prices reasonable. They have a rotating specials menu. The music 🎶 was classic soft rock played at a reasonable volume. It was actually a baseball ⚾ team that showed up and became loud. You can pay your tab at your table. Seasonal outdoor seating available. Only issue, they do clean the tables, but, they feel a little sticky from the cleaners. The seat I sat on I had to dust the crumbs off 📴. I...