Surf Seafood, Portsmouth NH

Surf Bar

Desperately needing a change of scene, myself and my friend Kerry decided last Friday night to get out of Boston for Saturday day/night.  I think of all of us who live in Boston have just gotten used to the desperately horrid and very cold absolutely miserable weather, so going to another cold city seemed like an okay thing to do and with that thought in mind we picked Portsmouth, NH.  Less than hour away, lots of outlet shopping and a pretty darn good food scene.

We set off before lunch and stopped in York ME for lunch on the way at Stonewall Kitchen.  Love this place!  Fully fueled and ready for a good few hours of outlet shopping where I did a little bit of damage, especially in Crate & Barrel.

Arriving in Portsmouth around 5ish, we decided to make a quick turnaround at our  hotel and head out for the evening.  It was seriously too cold to change into anything other than more warmer clothes.

We started our evening with appetizers and a glass of wishing it was summer Rosé at Black Trumpet Bistro.  Feeling very happy to be out of Boston for the evening we came up with a plan for a few more places.

Walking very carefully along the snow and iced filled streets, our next stop and the focus of my review was Surf.  I had not tried this place before so was excited to see what was on offer.

The place was a warm buzz when we arrived, which felt so welcoming walking in from the cold street.  We seated ourselves at two open highchairs at the bar and immediately started talking to the people around us.  Portsmouth seems to be a very friendly town.  The huge center bar is surrounded by tables and booths and I believe it has a great view of the water, however on this cold and very dark night we didn’t get to experience it.

Kerry noticed that they had Bloody Mary Shooters on the menu so we thought that would be fun start for us before ordering.  I love oysters and I love Bloody Mary’s so why not enjoy them both together.

Bloody Mary Shooter
Minced celery with a shucked oyster, Absolut vodka and our house Bloody Mary mix – $4.50

Shooter finished it was time for a glass of Chenin Blanc to enjoy the rest of our dishes with.

We decided on sharing a few dishes starting with the Chorizo-Braised Mussels.  Fresh, plump mussels in a super flavorsome broth and with yummy grilled ciabatta.

Chorizo-Braised Mussels
In a white wine broth with red pepper, tomato, garlic, herbs and butter; served with grilled ciabatta for dipping – $9

For our next dish we enjoyed the Fish Tacos.  These are really good and surprisingly filling.  The haddock is seasoned perfectly and just lightly fried wrapped in a tortilla with sweet salsa, crisp cabbage and sour cream.  A delicious combination.

Fish Tacos
Seasoned fried haddock in flour tortillas with house mango salsa, guacamole, napa cabbage, cheddar cheese, & sour cream. Served with jasmine rice – $14

With no room for dessert, we ordered another glass of Chenin Blanc and enjoyed the conversation with our very funny bar neighbors.

Chenin Blanc

Our bartender was friendly and very accommodating to his customers and I really liked the vibe of this place.  Next time I am back in Portsmouth I am definitely going to enjoy more of the menu at this enjoyable restaurant.

Not quite done with our evening out in Portsmouth we ended our night at the always great Portsmouth Brewery.  I am not really a beer drinker so after my exhausting explanation to the bartender of what I did and didn’t like, he absolutely nailed with what would be to my liking.  I just cant remember the name of it.