7th Settlement Restaurant Review

Well, I am not sure where to begin with this review it is full of good and not so good!  I really, really desperately wanted to bring all positive reviews for this restaurant.  I really like what they are doing by supporting local farms and fundraising for various groups. Also, I love the idea of a chefs whim menu or dessert item. Growing up in Dover I also really love that they have included so much Dover history in the restaurant. For anyone that is not familiar with this restaurant it is located in Dover N.H. directly across from the Children’s Museum in Henry Law Park.  Address is 47 Washington Street.

So, we have been into the restaurant a couple times with some things that we really like and things well…not so much! The particular evening we went was on a Saturday night at 5 pm. There were a handful of patrons already enjoying food and beverages. Speaking of beverages this is a brew pub, they make their own beer and even give tours.  They also sell many other local craft beers and have full bar service. We sat at the bar this particular  evening.  The two bartenders were very nice and did their very best to accommodate us! So first up were the drinks. Mr. MCYM had a diet coke, that was easy.  I asked for a light beer.  Our bartender came over with three small taste’s of three different beers.  Jim and I both tried all three and both liked the white Alagash the best so that is what I had….so far so good!

Next was dinner.   Mr. MCYM was pretty easy with his choice he ordered their settlement burger. I was really in the mood for fish something not fried. My eyes went directly to the Lobster Beignets!  I was so excited to give this a try! We placed the order only to have our server come back and tell us they are out of the Lobster Beignets…..oh NO! say it’s not true…ugh,  okay…so I had to pick myself up and move on…so a cup of fish chowder was going to have to do.  I was okay with that and had made a full recovery not having the Lobster dish!  Things were back on track, well , for the moment!  Just a short time later our dinner arrived, all looks good! Mr. MCYM confirmed his burger was very good and cooked well.  Yes SCORE!

I took a spoonful of my  fish chowder and oh, no!   No, this can’t happen…it was COLD! Ugh, so disappointed. I stirred the chowder just hoping, praying, pleading that it was nice and warm, it just was not so. I tried the homemade cracker it came with that was good.  Much different from your typical soup cracker you would buy at the store. This cracker was more dense with good flavor. This girl could not live on two small crackers for dinner though.  I sent the chowder back and ate the best french fries ever off of Jim’s plate!  These fries and homemade ketchup were positively delicious! Crispy on the outside tender inside and the homemade ketchup was sweet from tomato flavor… not from the sugary stuff you buy at the store!
So all in all, it was not a total disaster, but pretty close! Running out of food with a limited menu is not good, serving cold food again disappointing. The shining star were the crispy french fries! I hope you have better luck that we did!