Last week on a beautiful evening, my husband and I had dinner at The Crown Tavern on Hanover Street in Manchester NH. Their patio out back is one of the nicest in downtown Manchester, totally fenced in and enclosed with mature trees, a grassy area, stone pavers, bistro lights…… I mean it’s lovely. They accept reservations for indoor dining, but not the patio, so if you want to make sure you get a table outside, go early.
Some of the items are flagged on the menu as “Crown Favorites,” so those are what we ordered: The Roasted Garlic appetizer, the Crown Cheeseburger, and the Pep N’ Hot Pizza.
Appetizers and Cocktails on the Patio at The Crown Tavern
The Roasted Garlic appetizer was calling to me! This is a full head of garlic, roasted until it’s soft and spreadable like butter. They give you these cute wooden spears to fish out the individual cloves, which you can shmear on the crostini rounds. Top with the beautiful ricotta cheese and some tomato chutney and you have some incredible bites to start your dinner! This is a unique appetizer and I haven’t really seen this done in this area.
My first cocktail was the Grey Gardens: Earl Grey Infused Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Honey, Lemon, Ginger Beer. Loved it!
The Crown Cheeseburger
My husband ordered the Crown Cheeseburger which is two patties, American cheese, and special sauce. He also added bacon. The burger comes with plain fries, but you can also get their truffle fries, or the Hot Honey & Butter fries, or even a couple of different salads as your side.
He chose the Hot Honey & Butter fries which have Chili crisp, scallion and furikake. They were amazing. I had been looking for chili crisp back in the winter all over the place and let me tell you, it is not easy to find such an “exotic” ingredient in New Hampshire.
Patio Dining at The Crown Tavern: Pep N’ Honey Pizza
The Pep N’ Honey pizza lived up to its name. The pepperoni pizza is cooked beautifully, and drizzled with hot honey although I couldn’t really taste any sweetness. It was slightly spicy, but no more than if the pepperoni was just spicy. I enjoyed it pretty well, but then I remembered I’m just not a pizza person too much. I’m not sure why I ordered it other than just to try it. But it was great, don’t get me wrong. Just get a stack of napkins! This thing drips everywhere. I had half of it to take home for breakfast!
My 2nd cocktail was the Three Amigos which is Mi Campo Blanco Tequila, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Fresh Lime, and Fresca. It’s not actually a margarita, it’s like a margarita-ish cocktail. This was probably the least favorite thing of the night that I tried. At first I was like, why is it carbonated? And then I realized it was full of Fresca. It was nice, but not very strong and it wasn’t what I had been looking for. I wished I’d gotten the Heat of the Night which I think is a more proper margarita.
We thoroughly enjoyed our first visit to the Crown Tavern and will definitely be back! The patio is stunning and a great option, but let me tell you: the interior is just as lovely. It’s as beautiful as anything I’ve seen in Europe. I would be happy to eat anywhere at that restaurant!
More Great Dining in Manchester NH
New Hampshire Food Photography
Erika Follansbee is a published Goffstown, NH food photographer whose job is to make food look amazing. She is available for hire to help small restaurants and cafes to create beautiful images of their dishes to use for marketing, websites, and social media. Magazine-quality food images are the best form of advertisement.
Erika is also a wedding photographer. Visit www.erikafollansbee.com for more information.
