Puritan Backroom Restaurant

Loved the dining room feel. Wife and I shared Chicken Finger platter. We should have brought two hungry teenage boys to help!! Proportions are ridiculous. They were excellent but we wasted a mess of chicken because we had no mini-fridge in our hotel. The corn chowder was perfect!! It was hot and tasted fresh, which is not a typical chowder characteristic. They serve the right soup crackers. Our server was phe Everyone else around us had good looking food. Highly recommend.

Best chicken tenders in the state

I finally had the chance to visit Puritan Backroom in Manchester, NH — and wow, it completely lived up to the hype!

The famous chicken tenders are hands-down the best I’ve ever had. Perfectly crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and paired with their signature duck sauce, which is somehow both sweet and savory at the same time. Just incredible. One plate came with crispy golden onion rings that were light and not greasy, and another with fries that hit that perfect salty crunch.

Service was friendly and fast, even with a packed house. The atmosphere is welcoming and full of local charm, you can tell this is a spot people have been coming to for generations.

If you're in New Hampshire and haven't eaten here, you're seriously missing out. Puritan Backroom is a true local gem and worth every bite. 10/10, I’ll be back again (and again)!

Everyone told me the chicken tenders are the best. They are not.

I’m extremely disappointed with the experience I had. I placed a takeout order and simply requested that one of the toppings on my burger be put on the side. Instead, I received a completely plain, overcooked burger—missing three toppings and cooked well beyond what’s acceptable. When I called to request a refund, the manager was dismissive and unprofessional. She only offered to refund the burger itself, even though the entire $30 meal was affected. My dinner was ruined, and I was left watching my partner enjoy their food while mine was inedible. A partial refund for such a poor experience is unacceptable. This will be my last visit to this restaurant.

Old establishment with good and traditional character.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Broiled and Fried Chicken Tenders

Some damn good chicken fingers

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Famous Chicken Tenders

Went on a Sunday afternoon chicken fingers usually usually a really good. These things were dark hard and really dried out very disappointed for the first time ever wait to spray it back then they bring a new one and she told me that the grease gets old in the afternoon why didn’t they change the grease and why is the chicken finger look like a chicken nugget and hard as a rock very disappointed will not go there again it’s not worth $22 to eat that I should’ve stayed with the salad in the bread and water

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 1

A real great place to eat, friendly and personable waiters and waitresses. It is handicap accessible. Anything on the menu is great. And the best is the ice cream, all homemade.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Absolutely no reason why you leave here hungry. The food is excellent, but please for the love of all that's holy, leave room for ice cream. It is incredible.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Famous Chicken Tenders

A New Hampshire institution. They serve what I call evil comfort food. They're menu is pretty consistent. The burgers are great, but you can't go wrong with pretty much anything on the menu. But the real reason to come here are the chicken wings. Last of diners can call their wings "famous", but here they really are. The wings here are pretty much the best in the state, but don't take my word for it, ask anyone from NH. The duck sauce is pretty damn good, but again, you can't really go wrong. They also have a banana split here that is probably most people's childhood memory of a banana split.

Warm friendly staff and just an overall fun diner to go to if you like this kind of food. If you're in Manchester (which is proclaimed by locals as the chicken tenders capital of the world), give this place a visit. Highly recommend!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Famous Chicken Tenders

How do you review one of your all-time favorites? I grew up coming to Backroom it's quite simply an irreplaceable institution in Manchester. It is truthfully one of the things I make an dedicated trip back for. They have many specialties of the house but for me my love will always be the fried chicken tenders with spicy fries and duck sauce. If you've never experienced them you're thinking "woo hoo chicken tenders" but I can assure you these are the benchmark by which all others are judged. Good news is they reheat very well and you'll almost certainly have leftovers thanks to the generous portion sizes. It's also worth mentioning that their Ice Cream is also some of the best in the area and worth consideration as well. If you find yourself in Manchester for the first time there is no question that Backroom is a must do.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: French Fries, Broiled and Fried Chicken Tenders, Famous Chicken Tenders, Chicken Tender Plate

Best Prime Rib, great prices great quality of food and quantity I love this restaurant and I will be back again next time I come to Manchester Casey was our waitress and she did an excellent job serving us tonight. I Highly recommend this place to eat.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The Puritan has always been one of our go to’s for the 15 years we've lived in New Hampshire. My wife even hosted my 50th birthday party there but unfortunately, we're done with them.
Over the last year and a half they have really gone downhill. Prices keep going up and portions keep getting smaller. What's even worse is that the kitchen doesn't even seem to give a damn anymore. Everything seems to come out either overcooked or undercooked. There used to always be fresh oil in the fryers, but now you can tell by the taste of what's coming out of the kitchen they don't change it nearly as frequently as they used to. Service is terrible but it always was that way even when the food was good. The food was what made you put up with the service and the 50 year old decor. It's a real shame we had a lot of good memories there, but there are so many better choices now we won't be back.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 1

After living in Manchester for over a year we decided to stop by the puritan for the first time for lunch. My wife, and in-laws and I stopped in for what we assumed would be a quick lunch. The restaurant was not too busy for a Saturday lunch, so we were seated without too long of a wait which is a positive. We all ordered sandwiches, so again, we assumed it would be a quick lunch. We waited about an hour for our food and honestly, we were all pretty disappointed. Both of my in-laws and my wife ordered wraps, and they all had the same complaint that the chicken was dry, and it just didn’t taste good. My sister in-law ordered a burger and it was very overcooked and the bun was really hard. Myself, I ordered the fried fish sandwich. It was a really big mess, and it did not come the way I ordered it. My in-laws took their leftovers home to give to their dogs. One saving grace is that our server was nice which is why I gave two stars. We will likely not be coming back for a second visit.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 3