The River House

On a beautiful sunny day last week, my husband I decided to go for late lunch "on the decks" in Portsmouth. If you are not familiar with the area, the decks are a row of restaurants with river front seating on the Piscataqua and amazing views. It's a very popular spot - Locals know you need to go off hours in order not to wait forever to be seated.

We settled on the deck of The River House, a new restaurant that opened in the old Stockpot space. It gave me a chance to explore this new spot and see if they are able to accommodate my dietary restrictions.

There was a particular asian salad that caught my eye, so I asked our waitress, Suzanne, if it would be safe for me, given that I cannot have gluten. She said, "We just talked about gluten issues in our staff meeting today!" She proceeded to fill me in on which dressings would not be safe. Turns out, the one recommended for the asian salad contained gluten, so I switched to the caprese salad with grilled chicken. Suzanne let me know that they have a corn based coating with which to create "fried" chicken (done in a clean saute pan) if I wanted. I actually did order it that way, but, due to a miscommunication, I got the grilled kind. It was safe, so no harm. Next time!

Also, Suzanne knew that the fries were done in the same oil as wheat coated foods. Bummer that I can't have the fries, but great that she knew!

The food was fabulous! My husband also enjoyed his - he got the fried clam roll. They have a large drink menu, too. ...and the view...you just cannot compete with the view!

This is a spot we will definitely come back to!

The River House
59 Bow Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
431-2600

* photo courtesy of Philip Cohen, www.thedailyportsmouth.com