We had a fantastic dinner. An extra bonus was watching the chefs cook, they were like an orchestra so coordinated. The sitting had 26 diners. The menu changes every week. We had bean soup, a choice of smoked salmon salad w potato or polenta with pork ragu, chicken with spinach or cod with carrots, beef with potato and red cabbage or pork and lentils, toffee pudding or funnel cake ( fried dough). Everything was delicious, there was not a single dish that we did not love. Service was attentive and friendly. We will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joshua Rosen
Absolutely fantastic. It's a five course menu with two choices per course. I had the white bean soup, the polenta with regular, chicken, beef and the sticky toffee pudding. Loved everything.
Our 5 course meal was delicious. I enjoyed every bite and brought food home because the food was ample! It is important to know beforehand that they seat everyone at the same time. Our reservation was for 7:30, but we were not greeted or seated until 7:45. We stood, smooshed in with all the other waiting guests (because it was too cold and windy to wait outside) while the first wave left and the resaurant was reset for the 2nd seating. We were 20 people all totally in the way of diners leaving and the servers resetting.It didn't seem like it was just an off night for customer service. We were accidentally given the wrong menu- that's a bummer. We also had such a hard time reading the menu, and thought it was just the dim lighting, but then the server applogized for the menus being printed poorly.
Absolutely phenomenal, both Chef Lee & Jonathan are super talented. The atmosphere is very welcoming & friendly, 10/10 Will be coming back!~
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gabriel Cueva
The prix fixe tasting menu was amazing! We had 1+1 and shared... The shaved Brussel sprout salad, the scallop, and the squash soup were especially good. The pork and beef were amazingly prepared and the portions were generous. Cocktails were top-notch.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lisa Powers
Incredibly honored to be seated at the counter of James Beard Best Chef semifinalist Chef Lee Frank tonight! It was a most inspiring experience watching each unique and delicious course be created right in front of us, and then getting to enjoy every tasty bite while conversing with him and his delightful sous chef, Jonathan. THANK YOU for a lovely evening, and we wish you continued success and all the best in your culinary journey!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shelly M.
Wow! I don't know where to start. We were a party of 5 for the 7:30 seating. It's a great concept, either a 5:30 or 7:30 seating, $75pp for an amazing 5 course meal where you get to choose between two items in each course. Service was friendly, relaxed, very well run and efficient. And then the meal. Perfectly executed, beautiful and simply delicious. The menu changes weekly, and this week I chose the sweet potato soup, the spatzle with local cheese, the chicken with a beautiful spinach sauce, pork tenderloin that was the most tender pork I have ever had, sitting on a bed of grits and the sticky toffee pudding, which was so rich and filling I couldn't finish it. We'll definitely come back and this time maybe bring our husbands. Thank you Otis!
Charlie Strater
Piling on with more praise! Food & Service are excellent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ethan Wilson
When people talk about a perfect dining experience, they're describing what it's like to eat at Otis. A new five-course tasting menu every week, thought up by the genius Lee Frank, created from fresh local ingredients. With regularly rotating drinks all of which are served by a friendly and helpful wait staff. Otis will ruin every other restaurant for you
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dan S.
One of the top dining establishments in the Seacoast, better than anywhere in Portsmouth! Exeter is becoming the best town for dining, in fact, Ambrose, next door to Otis also makes my top 5 in the area. We frequent Otis and love to sit at the chef table and watch Lee Frank do his magic. If you want romance, request the two top by the window. The menu changes weekly so it's tough to recommend anything. Anthony Bourdain used to warn about ordering chicken at a restaurant. Chef Frank has mastered making chicken the highlight of the evening.
My bf and I used to try a new restaurant every month - but once we tried Otis, it became our go-to! The menu is always different; Chef Lee Frank and his sous chef are AMAZINGLY talented! The service is top notch - many thanks to Shara and Maggie! Btw, Maggie, the bartender is wickedly talented - her Hot’n’Dirty Martinis are the best around - thanks to her secret ingredient! ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sticky Toffee Pudding
E. I.
I gave them heads up way in advance that we’ll be celebrating a birthday. I wanted to be something special for a special person. They didn’t even acknowledge the birthday. The desert options were underwhelming. When I asked for a birthday candle they didn’t even know if they had any. It was not a pleasant experience.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Michelle Schwartzberg
Dined at Otis. In Exeter for the first time. Shared the tasting menu with 2 selections per course with my husband so we got to try one of everything (menu in photos). Everything was fresh, seasonal, local and delicious. Sat at the chef’s table so we got to see each dish as it was prepared. The food was innovative and delicious. The service was impeccable. Definitely must try if you are in the area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Linda S.
!I'd been wanting to try this place for a few years. Finally had the opportunity to take my son, his wife and two kids. Although there were like five courses, I only enjoyed two of them. So it is not a place I will ever go back to. The kitchen is open to the diners so in the middle of summer, in the hot humid room, you get to enjoy all of the greasy smoke from the grill! You have to pretty much shout to one another because the noise inside the room is overwhelmingly loud. The ventilation is not great apparently. Now some of you may feel this review is a bit too much. Yet consider the price of the place. if I am paying over five hundred dollars for a meal, I expect alot!
Zachary Butenas
Some of the best tasting food I’ve had in a while. Service was fantastic and they were very good with allergies.
We had a fantastic dinner. An extra bonus was watching the chefs cook, they were like an orchestra so coordinated. The sitting had 26 diners. The menu changes every week. We had bean soup, a choice of smoked salmon salad w potato or polenta with pork ragu, chicken with spinach or cod with carrots, beef with potato and red cabbage or pork and lentils, toffee pudding or funnel cake ( fried dough). Everything was delicious, there was not a single dish that we did not love. Service was attentive and friendly. We will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Absolutely fantastic. It's a five course menu with two choices per course. I had the white bean soup, the polenta with regular, chicken, beef and the sticky toffee pudding. Loved everything.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak, Sticky Toffee Pudding Bourbon Caramel Vanilla Creme Chantilly, Soup
Our 5 course meal was delicious. I enjoyed every bite and brought food home because the food was ample! It is important to know beforehand that they seat everyone at the same time. Our reservation was for 7:30, but we were not greeted or seated until 7:45. We stood, smooshed in with all the other waiting guests (because it was too cold and windy to wait outside) while the first wave left and the resaurant was reset for the 2nd seating. We were 20 people all totally in the way of diners leaving and the servers resetting.It didn't seem like it was just an off night for customer service. We were accidentally given the wrong menu- that's a bummer. We also had such a hard time reading the menu, and thought it was just the dim lighting, but then the server applogized for the menus being printed poorly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Sticky Toffee Pudding Bourbon Caramel Vanilla Creme Chantilly
Absolutely phenomenal, both Chef Lee & Jonathan are super talented. The atmosphere is very welcoming & friendly, 10/10 Will be coming back!~
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The prix fixe tasting menu was amazing! We had 1+1 and shared... The shaved Brussel sprout salad, the scallop, and the squash soup were especially good. The pork and beef were amazingly prepared and the portions were generous. Cocktails were top-notch.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Incredibly honored to be seated at the counter of James Beard Best Chef semifinalist Chef Lee Frank tonight! It was a most inspiring experience watching each unique and delicious course be created right in front of us, and then getting to enjoy every tasty bite while conversing with him and his delightful sous chef, Jonathan. THANK YOU for a lovely evening, and we wish you continued success and all the best in your culinary journey!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wow! I don't know where to start. We were a party of 5 for the 7:30 seating. It's a great concept, either a 5:30 or 7:30 seating, $75pp for an amazing 5 course meal where you get to choose between two items in each course. Service was friendly, relaxed, very well run and efficient. And then the meal. Perfectly executed, beautiful and simply delicious. The menu changes weekly, and this week I chose the sweet potato soup, the spatzle with local cheese, the chicken with a beautiful spinach sauce, pork tenderloin that was the most tender pork I have ever had, sitting on a bed of grits and the sticky toffee pudding, which was so rich and filling I couldn't finish it. We'll definitely come back and this time maybe bring our husbands. Thank you Otis!
Piling on with more praise! Food & Service are excellent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
When people talk about a perfect dining experience, they're describing what it's like to eat at Otis. A new five-course tasting menu every week, thought up by the genius Lee Frank, created from fresh local ingredients. With regularly rotating drinks all of which are served by a friendly and helpful wait staff. Otis will ruin every other restaurant for you
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
One of the top dining establishments in the Seacoast, better than anywhere in Portsmouth! Exeter is becoming the best town for dining, in fact, Ambrose, next door to Otis also makes my top 5 in the area. We frequent Otis and love to sit at the chef table and watch Lee Frank do his magic. If you want romance, request the two top by the window. The menu changes weekly so it's tough to recommend anything. Anthony Bourdain used to warn about ordering chicken at a restaurant. Chef Frank has mastered making chicken the highlight of the evening.
Restaurantji Recommends
My bf and I used to try a new restaurant every month - but once we tried Otis, it became our go-to! The menu is always different; Chef Lee Frank and his sous chef are AMAZINGLY talented! The service is top notch - many thanks to Shara and Maggie! Btw, Maggie, the bartender is wickedly talented - her Hot’n’Dirty Martinis are the best around - thanks to her secret ingredient! ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sticky Toffee Pudding
I gave them heads up way in advance that we’ll be celebrating a birthday. I wanted to be something special for a special person. They didn’t even acknowledge the birthday. The desert options were underwhelming. When I asked for a birthday candle they didn’t even know if they had any. It was not a pleasant experience.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Dined at Otis. In Exeter for the first time. Shared the tasting menu with 2 selections per course with my husband so we got to try one of everything (menu in photos). Everything was fresh, seasonal, local and delicious. Sat at the chef’s table so we got to see each dish as it was prepared. The food was innovative and delicious. The service was impeccable. Definitely must try if you are in the area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
!I'd been wanting to try this place for a few years. Finally had the opportunity to take my son, his wife and two kids. Although there were like five courses, I only enjoyed two of them. So it is not a place I will ever go back to. The kitchen is open to the diners so in the middle of summer, in the hot humid room, you get to enjoy all of the greasy smoke from the grill! You have to pretty much shout to one another because the noise inside the room is overwhelmingly loud. The ventilation is not great apparently. Now some of you may feel this review is a bit too much. Yet consider the price of the place. if I am paying over five hundred dollars for a meal, I expect alot!
Some of the best tasting food I’ve had in a while. Service was fantastic and they were very good with allergies.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5