Exeter Fine Dining: Fireside Restaurant
Snugly situated on the corner of Water Street and String Bridge is Fireside Restaurant, an up and coming family dining experience for downtown Exeter. The building itself replaces the space of the former restaurant Pimentos, which sold only two months ago. Having only been open for a month, renovations and transformations are still taking place to suit the new restaurant’s brand, but the restaurant has already developed a warm, cozy atmosphere and is ready to make its mark.
Upon entrance to the upstairs of Fireside, guests are greeted at a small servers stand with friendly smiles and introductions. The restaurant is split into two levels—the top floor is a quiet, fancy room with white tablecloths and floral arrangements on each table. Two fireplaces add to the classy, cozy atmosphere. The bottom floor resembles more of a lounge area with two televisions and a long bar. Bottles of spirits behind the bar are illuminated by string lights, creating a glossy glow in the crowded room, which has a loud and moderately informal vibe. However, tucked away on an outcropping of downstairs is the “river room.” It overlooks the Exeter River and has a quieter atmosphere that matches the first floor’s sauve.
The menu for the restaurant was pricey, but offered a variety of meals split into four sections: appetizers, soups and salads, sandwiches and wraps and entrees. The appetizer list consisted of classic tavern foods such as chips and salsa, nachos, spinach and artichoke dip and shrimp cocktail. The restaurant also served several creative soups on their soup of the day menu and a different mix of salads. The nightly specials included shrimp scampi, pasta primavera and grilled salmon. Wine, beer and cocktails were listed for adults separately.
The sandwich section of the menu offered less expensive alternatives to a large meat dish found in the entree section. It featured different cuts of steak, chicken marsala, scallops, pork chops, haddock and salmon. The menu presented a wide variety of surf and turf, but unfortunately it was confined to these options. When we went, there was no vegetarian or vegan dishes on the entreé menu, a deal breaker for many diners. Additionally, there was not a full dessert menu and the only one option for the evening was a brownie sundae.
The size of each portion was satisfying, but the price tags seemed to exceed the value of each dish. The appetizers were pricey and we suggest people share them among the table. Entreés were priced reasonably for steak or scallops but likely still out of the average student’s dinner budget. The most expensive entree on the menu was $32, and the least was $16. However, the menu did come with an the option to customize your dish with delicacies like rice pilaf, garlic mashed potatoes, a vegetable medley or french fries.
When we visited, we ordered French onion soup and a Caesar salad to start. The soup had a good, rich flavor but needed extra salt for more taste. It was topped with melted cheese and pieces of soaked bread with sauteed onions floating in the broth. The Caesar salad was a larger portion—a plate of romaine leaves and iceberg lettuce embellished in shredded cheese, toasted croutons and Caesar dressing covered the whole plate.
For the main course we ordered a cheeseburger. It fulfilled classic expectations of a burger, and was cooked to satisfaction, pink on the inside and grilled to be crisp on the edges served with a hearty pile of housemade fries. Altogether, it was definitely a gratifying step outside of the burgerless dining hall diet.
Throughout the meal, our server was attentive, checking on the table periodically. She demonstrated strong experience and knowledge of the restaurant business.
Fireside Restaurant opened on Dec. 26, 2015 and has had business rolling in steadily since. We suggest the secluded tavern as a great place for students to retreat for a nice, calm night out. It is also the perfect place to share a fancy meal with a parent or gather to celebrate togetherness with a group of friends over a special meal.
To Fireside: Exeter welcomes you and we will undoubtedly treat you with our gatherings in return for the communicative atmosphere you have designed for us. Congratulations, and welcome to the community!