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June is a great time to visit our seaport. Any and all are pretty good. Bob's Clam Hut in Kittery on Rt 1 is reliabily good and Robert's Resturant nearby should be great considering the prices. Be sure to take a whale watch boat so you can see the harbor and coast and maybe some whales. Drive down to Ordiorn Point and visit the science center and old fort. Lots to do.
Breakfast: Friendly Toast.....this is non-negotiable.
There are TONS of dinner options. For nice, sit down restaurants: Jump'n Jays is great seafood. Brazo's is EXCELLENT Cuban/Latin cuisine with plenty of seafood options. The Green Monkey is another one...sort of a meld of American and ethnic cuisine. The Blue Mermaid is a great seafood option with sort of a Carribean flair. Also the Oar House for traditional American/New England seafood.
If you want a good atmosphere and outdoor seating go to Saunder's on Rye Harbor. They have a great outdoor seating deck right on the water. Also, the Carriage house is good a little farther south, but no outdoor seating.
If you want good old fried New England Seafood or lobster then shoot down Rt. 1A to Petey's in Rye. Right across from the ocean sitting on the salt marsh.
Definitely go to the Friendly Toast for breakfast, put it on your list, it's great there. Bob's Clam Hut is without a doubt one of the best best places for seafood, it's right beside the Kittery Trading Post on the left hand side as you drive up toward the Kittery Outlets. Robert's Maine Grill is owned by the guy that owns Bob's Clam Hut, both gems, so put them on your list.
Another good one that you would like for their seafood is Chauncey Creek in Kittery Point, ME., it's the exit right before the Kittery Outlet exit, you take it and go around the rotary, you'll see the Dairy Queen there and go up that road about 7 miles and you'll see Chauncey Creek, it's a really pretty winding, scenic road, stay along the river, it'll come up on the right very quick on you, just stay along the river for it, don't turn off to the left at all. One key with this place though is to remember to pack a cooler, as it's BYOB. People are so funny with this place lugging in their coolers & stuff for their table! They have a large deck with an open picnic table area and even a screened in area with tables. There's a 2 hour limit, but that's plenty of time actually. The other key is to go when it's not busy as the parking up on the road can be a real pain, so remember that. *Try to go to this place around 3 in the afternoon just after the lunch crowd and before the dinner crowd kicks in.* It's very picturesque here, the staff are really friendly too. People bring table cloths, flowers for the table, salads, their own deserts, beer and/or wine for their table they grab and believe me a lot of us are on a mission here with this scenario! Their view is great and their seafood is quite good here, you'd like it where it's just a fun place to go & relax, they have lobster, steamers & fried seafood here as an added bonus with what you bring. It's opening on Mother's Day in May and closes by Columbus Day each year:
Do you like Italian food? You would enjoy Ronaldo's some night, they have awesome seafood plates that are out of this world good. It opens at 4 PM most days. It's not fancy or anything, it's a little restaurant inside a shopping plaza along Rte 1 in No. Hampton. It's extremely good. It gets packed on weekends, so make reservations, we love it so much we get it to go, here's info on it below, there fried ravioli's are incredible, actually no matter what you get here you'll like a lot:
I've eaten at Bob's in Kittery, and while I admit it's good (most fried seafood is ), I've never been big on the location. Not much appealing to me about eating at a walk up stand next to 5 lanes of Rt 1 with heavy traffic and the outlets. I only eat there when I have to go to KTP for something.
Funny, I live near Ronaldo's and hear so many people say the same thing about it, yet I've never eaten there. We keep meaning to but it always falls off our radar. You've officially put it on my to-do list.
Thank you all for your help. I was wondering on somewhere romantic to eat. I am getting married in June and my honeymoon is going to be in Portsmouth. Are there any cool lighthouses to check out? We are thinking about driving into Maine for a day where should we go?
All the restaurants I mentioned have really great atmospheres inside. Pretty romantic as far as a restaurant goes (perhaps not Jump'n Jays so much though). The Oar House is very cozy and darkly lit...very much the intimate colonial tavern feel. If I recall they have a piano player as well.
The deck on Saunders at sunset would be really nice. Since it's on the harbor there is water facing westward for sunset. It's really a great setting. Whale watches leave from the harbor as well if you wanted to do that during the day. It's almost impossible not to see whales out of there.
Another option is to pack a picnic and find a nice secluded area on the rocks in Rye. The sunsets are obviously on the opposite side of the ocean but it's still a great setting and the skies turn brilliant oranges and pinks up and down the coastline.
Prescott Park in Portsmouth is another real nice picnic spot. It has one of the best gardens I've ever seen....very romantic setting. It can get crowded on weekends though.
If you go to Maine check out Ogunquit...just try to go on a weekday. It's very popular with tourists and for good reason. Very quaint Maine waterfront town with a fantastic little walking path along the coastal cliffs.
Another great place to visit would be Newburyport MA. It's only 25 minutes south of Portsmouth with just as much, if not more New England charm as Portsmouth. Tons of restaurants, shops, and a much bigger waterfront too. Plum Island is just down the road and has some incredible and quiet sandy beaches and dunes too.
If you want VERY romantic (and pricey), stop in at the Wentworth hotel in Newcastle (just a few minutes from Portsmouth). It's a gorgeous restored hilltop hotel overlooking water on 3 sides. I haven't eaten there but the inside is gorgeous. It's worth stopping in for a cocktail at least, and the drive along Rt. 1A/1B is gorgeous. I know they do a sunday brunch there as well.
I am going to check out these place while I am there Friendly Toast, Junpmin Jays, Roberts Maine Grill, and Bob's Clam Hut. Ok you might think I am CRAZY but Arizona restaurants just doesn't make good clam chowder. Where is the BEST clam chowder at?
Fishnfool I like your idea about this:The deck on Saunders at sunset would be really nice. Since it's on the harbor there is water facing westward for sunset. It's really a great setting. Whale watches leave from the harbor as well if you wanted to do that during the day. It's almost impossible not to see whales out of there.
How far is Rye from Portsmouth? I will be staying at the Fairfiled Inn.
Thank you for your help! Its nice to get inside info.
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), I've never been big on the location. Not much appealing to me about eating at a walk up stand next to 5 lanes of Rt 1 with heavy traffic and the outlets. I only eat there when I have to go to KTP for something.
