Omnium Brewing - Somersworth, NH — Restaurant in Somersworth

I can smell Spring in the air Seacoast Eaters!!! What about you???

Date night Saturday, brought my wife and I to a brand spankin' new restaurant in an old familiar location. We talked it over, jumped in the car and headed over to Omnium Brewing at 460 High St in Somersworth (The former Bad Lab location Pic 1).

We were brought to our seats, given menus, water and a smokin' hot potato sticks and peanuts mix(Pic 2) for a nibbler snack. After looking over the drinks menu, my wife decided on her go-to Vodka Collins and I ordered the Maple Banger(Pic 3). This drink was made of a concoction of Knob Creek Smoked Maple, lemonade, Sprite and Peach nectar. This was a unique combination for me and I found it to be enjoyable and quite flavorful.

For an appetizer, we ordered the small Cheese & Charcuterie Board(Pic 4). As usual, this board included a host of fresh local cheeses, meats, jam, honey, pickles, candied nuts, mustard and assorted crackers. This had great combinations of flavors and textures and was completely satisfying. The fact that this was a small, blew our minds.

We both looked over the extensive, 2-sided menu and had a tough time making a decision. My wife decided on the Omni Burger(Pic 5) for dinner. It was made with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, house pickles and Omni Sauce and it was served with an onion bun and waffle fries. Unbelievably fresh, juicy and incredibly flavorful....not to mention, huge. My wife loved, loved, loved this burger.

For my dinner, I ordered the Salmon(Pic 6). This beautiful piece of fish was grilled perfectly and set atop a fennel purée and served with seasonal vegetables, forbidden rice and accented with an orange miso sauce. It was a perfect choice. The salmon was seasoned just right and the flavors were fantastic.

It was heart warming to see this great, central location open again. Based on the number of people on hand, others are feeling the same way. Omnium Brewing is off to a roaring start. We were greeted warmly and our waitress, Caitlin, was unbelievable. She was so pleasant, cheerful and incredibly helpful. If this is an indication of things to come, there are great things in store for Omnium. Be sure to get them on your list. You'll be better off for...

Omnium has huge shoes to fill in the old Bad Lab space. They succeed, mostly, on the strength of the brewer and the turn-key they inherited. Beer is a big departure in style from the Bad Lab days, but not a drop in quality. The DIPA menu is both broad and deep. The dark beers are plentiful and flavorful. There are tasty sours on offer. Omnium has a brewer who cares about his craft and delivers. He carries this business, in this reviewers eyes. If you are looking for well-executed, well-priced beers in a welcoming setting, look no further.

The food is adequate. It is well-prepared and the menu is sufficiently interesting, but feels very cookie-cutter; as if someone read a Forbes list about 'what your new brewpub needs' and executed it exactly. It is competently done but uninspired. I have been to a thousand "local brewpubs" with this exact menu across the country. It has the requisite 'nashville hot chicken sandwich' and the requisite 'bao buns', etc. at time of writing. The decor and atmosphere is entirely inherited. No effort was made to change the feel of the location from the (now previously mentioned) inhabitants. Even the glassware is the same, though nice touches like the local mural and lighting have been removed. This, ironically, is to be commended. The previous tenants did plenty of work to create an open, welcoming, and usable attractive space. This has not changed.

"Omnium" feels half-complete. They have an excellent brewer who is making excellent beer, but that effort shows the rough edges on everything else. The fully-realized beer menu shows the weakness in the food menu. The competently-done beverage side of the house throws the rough food side of the house into harsh relief.

I'm late to the party with this review, but Somersworth is in need of a community-oriented, community-focused business to fill the hole the previous tenant left. I hope Omnium can grow to fill that space. The audience exists for great food and drink in the Somersworth / greater...

We had high expectations since the last tenants were our absolute favorite, but Omnium totally passed the test. The food was amazing starting with the fried pickles and homemade ranch. I was a big fan of the glassware. The old fashioned’s were very tasty as well and appealing to the eye! Loved the tequila version.

Our entrees were the Omni burger and the jackfruit bbq sandwich. The Omni burger was a 10/10 and cooked perfectly mid rare. The jackfruit bbq had a lot of larger chunks and the sauce was on the sweeter side. My only critique of our meal was to shred the jackfruit more if possible. But as a vegetarian, I absolutely love having more options than the standard veggie burger that’s on most bar menus ❤️ Our fries were fabulous and perfectly crunchy.

We really loved the service and being back in this space. So exciting to see them actually brewing in the back again as well! We will look forward to trying the sour beer when it’s back on the menu. I’d love to see some art or murals to differentiate the space from the previous brewery. Best of luck and can’t wait to come back!

Edit: Revisited 2/23/23 and was a bit disappointed . We tried the falafel burgers and they were almost inedible :( we were also served an odd little dish of chips. Will probably try one more time during the summer to sit...