always thought the hanover street chop house in Manchester was the sine qua non of steak houses. As good as the big boys in Philly and chicago (Palm, Morton's, capital grille, Ruth's chris, etc). Then someone told me Buckley's was even better.
Figured I'd take...a chance; this was for a wedding anniversary. Got a table for 7pm. Showed up.
I'm impressed.
Big sprawling rambling type house. outdoor, indoor seating, bar. Pleasant reception.
Only negative? TV on in the room we ate in. Hate it. I guess maybe we were in the bar? Unplug it and throw it away.
So now that is out of the way....
This place was all that. Service friendly, a little slow out of the gate, but once things started to show up, dishes showed up at a good and reasonable pace. Server was samantha, she was there when you needed her, but not in your face.
Bread with olive oil and herbs always is a good start. Butter is great. Olive oil is better. Good bread, kind of a fougasse; not really heavy French or Italian bread but very fresh.
We started with a couple good draft beers. they had about 8 on tap, another dozen in bottles, a good representation. My wife started with a maine beer co Lunch, I started with Henniker Kolsch (which was terrific). Both then moved to a Lord Hobo boom sauce double IPA, also excellent. But you knew that.
Had the onion ring appetizer and it could've been a meal in itself. Pretty much perfect; served with ketchup and a house aioli or ranch? Perfectly fried.
My wife had a caesar salad and I had a Seasonal house salad. If anything was "weak" it was these. The caesar was solid but could have used a bit more dressing; same with the seasonal salad. Both very good but neither would have brought the house down if they were main entrees. Maybe with a smidge more dressing, anchovies and a protein topper the Caesar might've stepped up. I think I just had a preconceived notion of what the seasonal was going to be like and it wasn't, but it had good fresh ingredients and there was nothing wrong it at all.
My wife had the special - two 4oz filet mignons with asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes. Perfectly cooked and a good deal - $43 for the entire entree. She couldn't finish it.
But then again, she is a lightweight. I had the 12oz filet. Now a year ago we started looking at restaurants for a visit to Charleston SC and I was shocked at the post covid prices. It wasn't unusual for a steak to be 60-80$ and up. Not for me.
Here, the 12oz filet was $53 including carrots and garlic mashed sides. I added black truffle butter for $3.50. I think I could have skipped that. The filet stood on its own. A perfectly cooked perfect filet and a reasonable deal at that.
Having finished her caesar as well, I was absolutely stuffed. Total, with 25% tip, $234. I've spent a lot more for a lot less.
We, for some reason, choose steak houses for big events. And up until now the Hanover street chop house was the one to beat. I'd say Buckley's is even up with it. And has a bit more diverse menu, should you just not be into steaks. chicken, salmon, pasta, burgers. We were too stuffed to even consider dessert or coffee.
but we'll go back. I can't imagine what a burger would be like at this place.
And the crowd there confirmed that this isn't a hidden gem. People know about it. We were just late to the party.More