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- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 2 am
Sun 11:30 am - 9 pm
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage, Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Music:
- DJ, Live
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Wed, Thu
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- Yes
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
65 reviews for Portsmouth Gas Light Co
Review Highlights
"We at at the Street Level, and all got great food and drink."
(in 7 reviews)
"I've only ever eaten downstairs, but I love it."
(in 25 reviews)
"...was regular crust pizza made in a brick oven with wood fire."
(in 4 reviews)
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65 reviews in English
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Review from Mara R.
Newburyport, MA
1/29/2012
Great atmosphere, great selection of local brews, and FANTASTIC burgers!!! Being American does in fact mean I love my burgers and I am always on the search of a good one. This place makes a great Wood Fired Burger and it comes on a ciabatta roll with tomato relish. I was skeptical about the relish at first, but one bite and it was really flavorful and complemented the meat without overpowering it.
The atmosphere is casual and fun. In addition to the burgers, we also had The Gas Light Salad that was really well prepared (fresh) and I especially loved the combination of the dried cherries with boursin cheese.
We also had their Beer Battered Chicken Fingers with their "house" bbq sauce. Honestly we were disappointed with them. They were a bit greasy, the batter wasn't seasoned enough, and the barbecue sauce tasted burnt. When you see something on the menu that suggests it is their "house" made whatever it should blow your mind.... in a good way. I think they need to re-work this ap.
We definitely will be back for lunch for another one of those tasty wood fired burgers and a beer to wash it down! -
Review from Chi N.
Portsmouth, NH
12/28/2011
WOW- what a great spot to get 1/2 price drinks during happy hour!
Now about the food....The appetizers reminded me of the frozen finger food one might buy in bulk at ALDIS for the purposes of catering a party at a call center.
PROS: happy hour drink specials, outdoor seating area (when it is warm), ambiance
CONS: sad appetizers -
Review from Scott M.
10/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
I had a short window of time to eat and go. I asked the bartender if I could get in and out in twenty minutes and he said no problem. I ordered the lemon grilled chicken wrap which was a special. It came with fries. I asked what the alternative was and coleslaw was offered. Coleslaw in general is not my bag so, I stayed with fries, which were good. I would loved some cottage cheese in place of the fries. The wrap was good but not great. The amount of ingredients inside the wrap was plentiful. I'd give the wrap three stars along with the fries.
The bartender was great. He got me in and out quickly. I'd give him four stars. The venue was nice. I'd give the venue three and a half stars. Overall I felt the food, service and venue was A-OK. If I were in a hurry for another lunch I'd go back. Otherwise, I would try a different option and explore a bit more. -
Review from Lyn H.
Durham, NH
1/8/2012
My wife and I met four friends at the Portsmouth Gas Light last night because they were hosting a Throwback beer takeover and we decided pizza and beer would be a perfect Sat. night outing. From the start it was bad news. My friends had arrived before us and got a table on the first floor. We joined them about 5 minutes later. The waitress, whose name I still do not know despite asking twice, came by the table and just stood there. Not, "Hello and welcome to the Gas Light," not "Hi, my name is ___ and I will be your server." She just stood there. I looked up and she mumbled something that equated to do you ant drinks. We ordered our drinks and commenced reviewing the menu while catching up with our friends. I quickly noticed that there was no pizza on the menu and asked another passing waiter, who was equally as short, if we could order pizza and his answer was "No." We pointed out that it is pictured on the front of the menu cover and he even more briskly said "they are a different business, so no you cannot get the pizza served up here." I have to say their menu is very limited. We had a vegetarian with us, who had been looking forward to having pizza, and the only options were a salads and a red pepper hummus app. There was not a single meatless entree on the menu.
Despite our waitress who never spoke loud enough to be heard or broke a smile, we ordered some food. It was all very mediocre, the dressing on the house salad tasted like pure vinegar.
This was my first trip back to the Gas Light since having an equally disappointing meal there a couple of years ago with friends. I will not be venturing back again as there are too many eateries in Portsmouth that are more than willing to server their patrons with a pleasant attitude and who provide far superior food and drink. Two thumbs down!!! -
Review from Chris D.
Salt Lake City, UT
12/30/2011
Meh... In such a unique town as Portsmouth, you should spend your hard earned money elsewhere. This seemed like an overflow restaurant, and the menu is designed as such. Nothing unique, the beer menu is pathetic, I'm just not sure what this restaurant wants to be other than mediocre. We ate upstairs. The service was unpredictable. We were not allowed any pizza from the downstairs menu even though there were plenty of "wood fired" menu options. There are so many better options in Portsmouth. I suggest using them.
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Review from Thomas R.
Manchester, NH
12/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
Food took forever and their "rotating" beer list had one rotating beer. I thought we were going to have a nice outdoor meal but it got noisy and they made us wear bracelets to indicate that we were 21+.
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Review from vanessa v.
Portsmouth, NH
Updated - 8/23/2011
So much drama at the Gas Light! The deck is amazing on a weekday night in the summer, but otherwise I find myself actively avoiding the whole place.
First off, we came by with a bunch of friends in early June. We had just gotten dinner at the 100 Club, and everyone was in the mood to keep drinking and just have a good time. We got a round of drinks, then a bucket to share (which tasted like watered down fruit punch). I decided to go home, and M walked with me. He jogged back and was probably a little bit out of breath when he tried to re-enter. The bouncer wouldn't let him back in! He was accused of being too drunk, even though he was completely sober. He spoke to a manager who agreed that he was sober, but "had to stand behind his guys" and still wouldn't let him back in. A bouncer escorted him in to find our friends, who had just purchased over $200 in shots, and they were all aggressively escorted out.
The whole thing was completely ridiculous. There were so many overly drunk people in the club, who I'm sure were going to drive home, and they kick out the people who were behaving themselves, trying to have a chill night, and had one block to walk back to the hotel.
Then last week we were at the Coat of Arms with another group of friends, and someone decided we should all move to the Gas Light. I rolled by eyes but went with it. We ended up in the club on the 3rd floor which is ghetto as it gets in NH. Strobe lights, Jersey Shore-style hairdo's, inappropriately short dresses, and lots of people who think they can dance but can't. The music was super loud but just taken from the top 50 list, and the DJ was a jerk. We watched some of our friends get kicked out for trying to order too much from the bar, and then decided to head out.
I know the liquor control in Portsmouth gets crazy, but NOBODY treats their customers worse than the Gas Light. I can't promise I'll never go here again, because they are still the only people with a beautiful outdoor bar, but it's definitely become a one-drink-then-leave kind of place instead of somewhere I would hang out all night. Such a shame...Listed in: life in the seacoast, sutton it up
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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1/26/2011
The Gas Light redeemed itself this summer with the amazing back deck. Live music, buckets of… Read more »
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Review from Bill E.
Saratoga Springs, NY
9/12/2011
We ate pizza in the basement, called the Downtown Pizza. Nice loud room with snappy service. Pub like atmosphere and the pizza oven in sight.
Beer fresh and varied.
Pizza was regular crust pizza made in a brick oven with wood fire. It was a full rise dough and was soft not crisp. When wood fired oven pizza is right, the dough is crisp, flavorful and standout. This isn't. It's a nice place with nice food and nice people.
I'll try upstairs next time in the real restaurant. -
Review from Adam J.
Weymouth, MA
11/15/2011
Ive been a few times...
Food always aims to please. Sometimes a bit miscooked. Ive never eaten downstairs where the pizza is served so i wont comment on that but I do have to say upstairs isnt bad.
Calamari is usually good.
Outside during summer is best atmosphere especially when there is live music.
Sometimes the bartenders are quite rude. -
Review from Ryan R.
5/23/2011
As someone who finds himself in Portsmouth every once in awhile, I have made it a point to try out several of the restaurants and bars in this great little town. As usual, my partner in crime and I left our car in the municipal lot (75 cents an hour!?! To this New Yorker, that's a parking orgasm!). We could hear a cover band screeching out the lyrics to "Jesse's Girl" somewhere near by. Ugh. I requested that whatever that place was, we don't eat there. And just because my life works out that way sometimes, that's exactly where we found ourselves 15 minutes later, as it had the shortest wait (hmmmmm).
The Hostess asked if we wanted the pub on the main floor or the pizza downstairs. We opted for pub grub (Sorry, pizza in New England most often doesn't cut it for this NYer) and waited at the bar for a table. I was content as we could not at all detect the cover band music outside. The decor is cool - copper tables and brick walls adorned with wooden fish and whales - very Portsmouthy and kinda cozy.
As we were waiting at the bar, I noticed that the beer menu is sorta lacking. Just your basic light beers, Coors Light, Bud Light, etc. I guess they try to peddle the mixed drinks as they may have smartly realized that they cannot compete with the far superior beers next door at Portsmouth Brewery.
We get seated, and I am sitting right behind a palm plant, and the whole meal, the plant is tickling my neck. Annoying. The server is sweet and attentive. We order the grilled chicken and black bean quesadilla and it was damned good. I had the ribs and they were tasty and well-cooked, but kinda just like the ribs at TGI Fridays (not necessarily a bad thing...just sayin'). My partner had a burger, and said it was...a burger. All in all the meal was ample. Nothing to write home about, but certainly adequate and satisfying. Comfort food done decently.
Of note - we noticed 2 separate groups of 20-somethings get thrown out by some 5'5 steak-neck Napoleon type who appeared to be the MOD (manager on duty). They appeared to have done nothing wrong as far as we could see. After reading some other reviews on here, apparently they were kicked out because one of their party was "too drunk"? And that this place notoriously decides when you've had enough and ejects you rudely? Now, I'm all for ejecting people who are sloppy, falling down, puking all over, starting fights and being belligerent, but being a bit tipsy at a PUB (hello...??!!!) is totally acceptable. I guess they want to keep it cleaned up for the tourists, but it rubs me the wrong way. -
Review from Will P.
Portsmouth, NH
11/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
Pizza buffet is still good, service is terrible!
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Review from Jennifer C.
Dover, NH
5/9/2011
We went downstairs at the Gaslight and has some pizza on a Thursday night. I really liked the chill dark atmosphere. Specials were being served up until 6pm...it was 605 and our waiter still gave us the discount. When we asked for drink suggestions, he told us about a new drink not on the menu yet...IT WAS AWESOME!
The next night we went street level for some drinks. The place was really busy but we found a quiet place in the corner. Our waiter was very sociable. We later went outside. It was also busy but had a few small tables open. It was a cool night, but the outdoor heaters they had were great!
The food is excellent and the drinks are amazing. At first, I thought the drinks were a bit expensive but they definitely don't go easy on the alcohol! Each section of the Gaslight is different so there's a spot for everyone. It's nice to be able to change atmosphere without leaving the place. Did I mention they are also the only place that serves a decent dessert after eleven?... -
Review from Lauren F.
Amesbury, MA
10/20/2011
Will not be going back. Very mediocre food at best. Ate upstairs - it was expensive and I left feeling like I wished I could take it back and go somewhere else. Look elsewhere if you want a good meal!
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Review from Jerry W.
San Bruno, CA
10/3/2011
Went here on 10-2-11 3:20pm,my fellow instructor and student brought us to this establishment for late lunch. I ordered the lobster roll with dries+Belgian style beer---they're both good!
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Review from Brad H.
Ann Arbor, MI
8/20/2011
Fine for lunch, standard bar food. Our youngest liked the mini hotdogs, my lobster roll was fine though nothing outstanding. The watermelon feta salad was very good.
Our waitress, however, seemed to want to be anywhere but there. -
Review from Robert M.
12/24/2010 1 Check-in Here
So, I have not even had my food yet and I can tell the is going to be trouble. The one thing I know for sure is that they are well trained in saying 'no'. NO Pepsi, Coke products but NO Mr. Pibb or Dr. Pepper, NO happy hour on holidays, NO frozen drinks, yes there is snow outside but NO, we will not do the $1.99 Guinness because it is not actually snowing.
Oh, the do offer to take a dollar from you if you want cheese on your sandwich, or two bucks if you want sweet potato fries.
The food better induce a friggen orgasm. Or I will be taught a lesson, read Yelp first. (As a side note, we were going to go to a couple of other places that were Yelp recommended but they closed at 4:00 or 4:30 because it was Christmas Eve.)
So now to the food.
First, we have a child. A mini hot-dog and mac & cheese. So it arrived. It was a warmed up kids lunchable. Actually, the mac & cheese was one of those $1.00 Kraft cups dumped into a bowl and a really small hot-dog. Nice return on the $6.00 it cost us. This I am afraid to admit is common though. I remember when I used to be able to eat out for $6.00.
Burger for me, Chicken sandwich for the wife. First, sweet potato fries, burnt. The two sandwiches were good. Mine was cooked medium as ordered. So we have no complaints there. They were nothing to write home about, but certainly nothing to make it a place I would come back to, except for the pizza which seems to have a lot of great reviews.
All in all, very disappointing. -
Review from Hilary G.
8/28/2011
I was looking for a place in Portsmouth that had a nice patio that allowed dogs. Sadly, the Portsmouth Brewery does not have outside access to the patio (you have to go through the restaurant). The Gas Light Co. allows dogs on their patio which is a great area to hang out in the summer. The waitress even brough out two pails of water for our two dogs. The servie was good but the beer selection is definitely lacking. My husband enjoyed his fish and chips but they were a bit pricey ($19) and I found my haddock sandwich to be lackluster. The size of the haddock was very disappointing.
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Review from Christopher M.
South Grafton, MA
I would give the Gas Light a solid 3.5 stars, but alas, Yelp only allows for whole numbers. Furthermore, I would say the upstairs can be rated a 4 star experience, while the downstairs is 2 or 3. Any-who, the Gas Light is a good spot to grab a beer or some mixed drinks.
The upstairs atmosphere is awesome with the wood fire grilled situated in an open area right beyond the bar. If you're lucky enough to get a seat at the bar, you won't want to leave. The upstairs has some good food, including tasty pizzas and burgers. The night we went they ran a Kobe beef burger which was good. The burger was cooked as requested - medium. Added some Gorgonzola on top for a nice twist. The only drawback to the burger was being served on a soft ciabatta roll. I think it was too doughy for me. Brioche bun would have been perfect.
Downstairs leaves a lot to be desired. It seems kind of an afterthought to the upstairs, and they serve a different food menu. They have fish tanks down there in the dining area, which some people like, but I'm not a big fan. The food downstairs was decent. I ordered essentially a tomato, mozzarella, and pesto sandwich which was served on aforementioned ciabatta roll. This time, the ciabatta worked perfectly with the sandwich.
Service in both dining areas is good. Plus, they serve $1.99 pints of Guinness when it snows out! -
Review from Fernanda K.
Wrentham, MA
I had just gotten to Portsmouth and was looking for an outdoor place where you could order a beer, after being completely surprised to find out about NH laws. I enjoyed the patio outside, but there was a cheese Jimmy Buffet cover band on. I had a beer and left.
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Review from Tom D.
Beverly, MA
12/25/2010
A lazy list review of the Gas Light Co.
The bad:
-Confusing to have four different venues under one roof with different menus. The friends we were meeting really should have been more specific when they said "Let's meet at the Gas Light".
-Service was super slow on our visit. Seems to happen a lot to me when I visit restaurants for a late lunch, which I don't much understand as they weren't exactly crawling with customers at the time.
The good:
-The smoked salmon caesar wrap was quite good, and is now one of my favorite things to make for a quick dinner at home. My dining companions' burgers looked big and tasty, too.
-I enjoyed the copper countertops and overall decor of the Street Level restaurant. The place felt very casual, but had a touch of class. A nice spot for people watching from the Street Level restaurant.
-Drink specials! As a lifelong Mass resident, sometimes I ponder moving over the border so I can get tipsy on the cheap without having to cross state lines.
I wouldn't hesitate to give this place another try on my next visit to Portsmouth, but as counterintuitive as it may seem, I may try to go at a busier time when there are either more servers on or the servers on aren't distracted doing midday side work. -
Review from Bethany B.
Worcester, MA
6/21/2010
I'm just going to lay out the facts b/c our first and only visit to the PGL Co. is clogging my memory with sadness.
The "gazpacho" is a bowl of salsa surrounded by stale corn chips. We had to ask for spoons. ( Also, my lucky Mom got a hair in her first portion :P)
The calamari wasn't bad -- overflowing plate -- needed way more peppers -- but pretty tasty.
The Thai Duck Rolls were the best thing we had. However, 2 rolls measuring 3 inch rolls, cut in half and floating in a thin, sweet sauce for $9?
The Prozac Punch was okay -- $8.50 -- might order it again.
Service was lackluster. We asked for a table as soon as we walked in...he led us to a booth. I asked for a table again and he looked at us and said "I misunderstood you". Really?
Considering the number of other dining options in downtown Portsmouth -- we'll never venture into the PGL Co. again. ( Fool me once....) -
Review from S L.
Portland, ME
6/5/2011
Keep walking is my suggestion. A chicken wrap and an order of sweet potato fries- standard food. But you're telling me I paid $5 for a order of sweet potato fries when the side of fries that came with my friends overpriced wrap (that only had chicken and lettuce) was the same amount? The SPF were limp and stuck together. Just don't waste your time, this 'pub fare' they were trying to class up with special names but no special flavors are not worth it for the prices they were charging.
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Review from Sarah C.
11/30/2010
Breadsticks.
That is about the only thing here that I would ever eat, and that is a stretch. I can't get into their pizza. It could be good, but it simply isn't. It tends to lack flavor, and the crust doesn't do a great job holding up the toppings.
The sad part about this is that they offer such (or at least they used to) a variety of stuff, that it has the potential to be great.
Go to flatbreads instead. Spend the money and get a decent meal. -
Review from Aisling H.
Portsmouth, NH
3/21/2011
where do I begin..
I've been here twice, once to eat dinner in the main dining area, the food sucked and the clam chowder was horrible. Our server disappeared many times while we were there and had to flag her down for refills.
The other time was on a thursday night in the summer with a friend, we had a drink in the patio area. The live music was great and loved the atmosphere. Watched a few people get kicked out for being "intoxicated" they didn't appear to be a problem to me, they weren't causing a scene or bothering anyone but who knows. It started to rain so we went inside to the bar. I ordered a sex on the beach and when me and my friend were done with our drinks we ordered some kind of fruity shot. Ten minutes later my friend tries to order another drink and the bartender with blonde hair and glasses rudely says "no". My friend asked why and she talked down to her like a little baby and said "because you just had one". We decided to take our buisness elsewhere and after having 3 watered down drinks there I wasn't even buzzed. If you want to go to a place with horrible food and pay for overpriced watered down drinks and get babysat this is your place! -
Review from Sarah F.
Littleton, NH
8/15/2010
I could go on and on about how awful this place is but I'll leave you with three reasons why I will never go again...
1) slow and horrible service - waited for over 20 mins for the "waitress" to take our order. She only had 2 other tables!
2) The food was disgusting...unless you like well done /burnt burgers when you ask it to be prepared medium. Oh yeah bun was burnt to a crisp too!
3) the final straw? They charged me $3.50 for a scoop of mediocre coleslaw!!
The owners of this place need to step back and get some perspective! They need to decide if they want to be a nightclub or a restaurant. Because they CLEARLY cannot do both! -
Review from Kate B.
Gardner, MA
1/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
Not knowing much about Portsmouth (I've only been a few times, passing through on the way to Portland, ME), my husband and I decided to brave the cold and walk around town to check out the local good eats.
Luckily, not far into our trek, (really, not too far, as it was about 15 degrees outside!) as we were checking out shops and different menus and finding that nothing was really grabbing us at all; TA-DA!! We came across the Portsmouth Gas Light Co.!!! We looked at the menu and were actually intrigued by the different menus; a bit confusing when you're as hungry as we were, but definitely interesting nonetheless.
We decided to eat on the main floor (the more upscale/"dinner" menu), and were pleasantly surprised at the promptness of our server, and how knowledgeable she was about the menu, as well as the local beers. The food was great! Both of our steaks were cooked perfectly, and the sides were wonderful (Perfectly cooked & seasoned green beans and not-too-sweet butternut squash puree). My side salad wasn't the ho-hum run of the mill blah greens with a generic vinaigrette; no, no! I got fresh, tender mixed greens (including arugula and mustard greens, two of my favorites) tossed with candied pecans & plump dried cherries in a sherry vinaigrette, and a Boursin drizzle.
Next time, we may venture downstairs to check out the Downtown Pizza menu, or perhaps (weather permitting) the Deck, for some delicious pub grub! -
Review from jason T.
Newburyport, MA
5/3/2010
This is based on food and drinks. The service and atmosphere is great.
My appetizers of mussels was decent, however the calamari was cold and chewey, very cold I might add. Then my meal comes and I am still annoyed.
I had the worst steak of my life there on Saturday. It said it was a rib eye (well it was the worst quality rib eye I have ever had-lots of tendons, very little flavor, not tender) -They obviously don't buy good steaks, they try to cut corners and buy bad quality and jack the price up, for real this is what they do.
The steak was covered in coffee grounds and I know some cook thought this was a cool idea but it's not. I know I picked it off the menu but the menu needs to do a better job of describing it. Its gross and It took my 5 minutes in the bathroom to get the coffee grinds out of my teeth. My 3 guests also tried the steak and they spit it out.
I couldn't take it and after 3 bites, I just gave it to the waitress and said, "fire whoever came up with this piece of bs! also, please get me a new menu because I still need to eat."
-later on I was shocked that they charged me for it, but whatever, I rather just trash the HORRIBLE food they have. (thanks owner)
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As for the drink, I ordered a grey goose gimlet on the rocks. It was the smallest glass know to man and it was $9 when tip came in. It was half the size of the little cups of ice airlines give you. Half the size!!
My waitress was really nice though. -
Review from Kumar S.
Philadelphia, PA
5/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
Really cool spot, go downstairs and you get bar style food and good pizza! Fancier restaurant upstairs and chill place downstairs
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Review from Kate B.
Portsmouth, NH
7/7/2010
So... I kind of don't know where to begin here. Let me start by explaining how the Gas Light works. There are essentially four components to this establishment: the main restaurant, the downstairs pizza pub, the outdoor bar area, and the upstairs night club. I've been to all but one of the four components (I've never quite been motivated enough to try going upstairs to the night club, so I can't really comment on that, other than some odd stories I've heard from people who have been).
In any case, getting back to the opinion piece of this review: the Gas Light sucks. Good, now I have that off my back. I think it's largely a matter of the owners spreading themselves too thin. I mean, it's great to have five-bajillion different components to your establishment, but that doesn't count for much if each one of them is crappy. I've given the main dining room and pizza pub several attempts, but each time I've had worse results. The portions are small for the price, the flavors and quality of the food can best be described with the sound "meh," and the waitstaff genuinely doesn't give a shit that you exist. There, Gas Light, you made me swear in a review, are you happy now??
For a while I thought it just might be me, but over time I've had plenty of friends come back from a horrible experience there: bills with extra charges, extended waits for food or service of any kind, waitstaff who have been outright rude to customers, and (my personal favorite) one of their "signature" burgers being served on a bun that was completely covered in mold. Grody. It seems that this place only gets by on the fact that it's got an amazing location and a pretty nice dining room, I think a lot of UNH kids probably bring visiting parents here because it makes them seem all fancy-like.
Now, to give credit where credit's due, and to explain why the Gas Light gets any stars at all from me, the outdoor bar area is actually pretty well done. It's a large space with lots of seating, two bars, and a little stage where pretty good local talent frequently performs throughout the summer. So if you must go, stay outside, trust me. -
Review from Misty O.
Redwood City, CA
11/21/2008
I was sent exclusively to this great pizza joint on the the orders of the local town folk. They explicitly made it clear that there were other pizza joints but that I go downstairs to this one. So I indulged.
I was staying at the nearby Hilton Garden Inn(which has terrible wireless for Firefox btw) and just wanted a slice of pizza instead of the hotel fare. Unfortunately they don't offer their delicious delectables by the slice so I ordered an expensive small for 12.40-something.
Fortunately for their culinary skills and not their nicely decorated pizza box, I was impressed with a nice warm, gooey slice of mushroom sausage stone-oven baked goodness. I love their pizza crust and have made a mental note to use my ninja skills and infiltrate their secret ways ... one day. -
Review from Dan B.
6/29/2009
This is shown on Yelp as one place but is actually two places with the same name, a restaurant upstairs and a brick oven pizza joint downstairs in the basement. That's where the connection ends (you can't order off the menu from one place when you are at the other.) The kids wanted pizza so we headed down.
Cutting to the chase - The pizza has homemade crust and is indeed made in a large brick oven. It's pretty good, but not great (i.e. I've had better). I was pizza'd out from a previous meal so I ended up getting the ceaser salad with grilled chicken to fill out the rest of the meal. It was fine, using what tasted like store-bought dressing.
Gaslight has a small selection of draft beers, all local. I chose an IPA, which was too hoppy (even for me). Service was fine. -
Review from Amie R.
Arlington, MA
8/6/2007 1 photo
I visited the Gaslight with some friends in Portsmouth, and it's a pretty cool place! We got a little confused by they layout when meeting up, though. (Ended up having to ask for our $8 cover back, after going int the Patio area when we meant to go into the "Downtown Pizza" restaurant -- they gave it back, bonus!!)
The Gaslight has 4 levels/areas, all which seem to be very separate -- Street Level (where I ended up eating), The Deck (very nice enclosed patio w/ space for live band), Downtown Pizza (more casual, diff menu than Street Level) and the Third Floor (very clubby, from what I hear).
We at at the Street Level, and all got great food and drink. I tried the clam chowder, which was awesome -- very rich. Then I had a burger with brousin cheese and mushrooms, also delicious! Good local (NH & more) beer selection and good cocktails/wine list. Everyone loved their food!
It's right in downtown, by the Portsmouth Brewery -- great place to walk around if you're waiting for a table, many cute shops and waterfront views.Listed in: Portsmouth, NH
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Review from David F.
Los Angeles, CA
12/9/2009
New Hampshire has the coolest motto in the United States.
It's "Live Free or Die."
Well, the motto at the Gas Light should be "Leave Here or Die"
I chose the grilled salmon for the entree. It came on top of a bed of mushy overcooked rice and spinach. It was completely ruined with a syrupy sweet sauce drizzled on the plate. The chef was watching one too many cooking shows but not reading any recipes. The fish was a bit over done also. I had gotten somewhat sick from this meal... but I guess I should be thankful that the fish was not undercooked or else I'd probably be in convulsions.
The waitress was attentive and saw that I was unhappy with the meal. She was apologetic and comped me a dessert, which was nice of her. That doesn't excuse the fact they served a 'crappy' meal and charged a lot of money for it.
Gas Light should consider assassinating the knucklehead chef that made this meal and dedicating their menu to pub fare instead of upscale meals. You know this place cheaped out on getting any real talent in the kitchen. -
Review from Carrie L.
San Francisco, CA
3/9/2008
My little slice of heaven....
Downstairs PGL is quite unassuming, dimly lit, and absolutely fabulous. It could be a fun meal w/coworkers or friends, but it could also be a romantic date-spot.
There's not much for picky-food type appetizers, but the service is very efficient so you don't wait long for your entree or pizza anyway.
Pizza - absolutely delicious. Fantastic crust. Perfect Topping-to-Cheese-to-Crust ratio!
Friendly staff, convenient location, parking on street or in the garage next door.
Highly highly recommended! -
Review from Becky S.
Denver, CO
12/21/2008
Pizza downstairs. That's all you need to know. I love any pizza place that offers ricotta on their pizzas, because it makes it so yummy. I have never had a pizza here that I didn't like. I'm just slightly obsessed.
They lost one star, though, because my bartender one night consistently mixed up the gin and vodka bottles. And gin-and-diet drinks are not that great, especially doubles. Thanks anyway. -
Review from stephanie b.
York, ME
7/2/2011
Warning! DO NOT GO TO THIS CLUB! I am so disgusted I wasted money going to this pit that I have immediately set to warn others about this horrible club. If you are looking for HOURS of ghetto thug music, this place is for you. Seeing how NH has a black population of 50, why do you play this music all night long? Have you ever heard of Lady Gaga? Britney Spears? Kesha? And you played one Pit Bull song. One? Really? Thanks for a wasted night.
-
Review from Amy C.
Marshfield, MA
3/11/2008
We walked by this place on the Saturday of our weekend jaunt to Portsmouth, while making a beeline for Portsmouth Brewing Co., but Dan had looked so interested that we went back on Sunday for lunch.
Service was efficient and pretty friendly, but I have to say, there definitely is this weird air of snobbery here. From the maitre d, who could not crack a smile and seemed pissed that he had to clean off a table for us to the overall vibe of the other staff, who just all seemed kinda grumpy, it's the only place in Portsmouth/Kittery where we hadn't experienced super nice service and genuine friendliness. To be fair, tho, we've only been here once, so I'll try to update my review at a later date.
Pretty good food, just had clam chowder *shocker!* and a marinated, grilled chicken sandwich, with bacon and grilled peppers. It came with a choice of fries, cole slaw or a salad, and since there was no healthy way to come back from this weekend, I had the fries. I can't believe I'm going to review the fries, but they were dry and tasteless. The sandwich was yummy, tho, very juicy and flavorful. And the chowder rocked! Dan had a burger, and he said it was fine, but his cole slaw was room temperature *eewww!* and gross.
We had lunch at "Street Level", which as I understand it features American classics (burgers, sandwiches, some really delish sounding entrees, salads, etc.). As others have mentioned, there are 3 other levels; downstairs they serve wood-grilled pizzas, The Deck, which I think features live music on the weekend, and a "club" level on the top floor. Definitely is a cool place, love the history, and may come back to try the yum-sounding sesame crusted yellowfin tuna, or the lobster stuffed haddock. Maybe they were just having a bad day. :0) -
Review from Rachel L.
Pelham, NH
9/1/2008
We were choosing a place to eat last night, and this menu looked decent, so we went in. It was really dark, because all the tables were lit by candles, but that was fine. Downstairs is a separate restaurant where they mainly serve pizzas and pastas. Upstairs (street level) had sandwiches, a couple soups, salads, appetizers, and seafood/steaks. We decided to eat upstairs.
My sister said she asked a waitress where the bathroom was and she was really rude. I noticed throughout the night that the waitstaff were too busy to help you in general. We seated ourselves because nobody else really would. Our waiter looked totally exhausted and ready to go home. We didn't have enough silverware either. I don't know if this place had dessert or not, because it wasn't on the menu and the waiter never offered us any.
The prices were kinda steep for a small portion of food, or not-so-good food. We ordered a tuna teriyaki soup, which was really, really salty so we asked for a hot cup of water to dilute it a bit, and it tasted a little better (like five bucks). My sister wanted her burger cooked medium but it was definetely more like rare and very pink (maybe eight bucks). My little brother's chicken was very bland, and didn't taste like anything. They didn't have a kid's menu because it's more of an adults' restaurant. My crabcakes came with a side of some kind of marinated spinach, and the spinach was incredibly salty that you HAVE to eat it with the crabcakes (ten bucks for two crabcakes). The crabcakes and the sauce were good though.
I don't know how the pizza is downstairs, but overall, I would recommend going to a different restaurant if you're going to be in Portsmouth. There's plenty of places to eat, and lots of variety. Go somewhere that gives you a little more bang for your buck and better food. -
Review from Jason W.
Dover, NH
5/26/2010 1 Check-in Here
After a long time ducked into the Gas Light for a quick lunch. I was on the run, so went with the buffet against my better judgment. As I have written before, pizza is very personal, I'm an inbetween-thick-and-thin-crust guy. The gas light is that kind of pie. From the buffet I had the pepper, onion, mushroom and the sausage and jalapeno. Along with cheesy bread sticks with sauce supplied on the side. The slices were good, and not greasy/oily. The pleasant surprise was the mac and cheese on the buffet, might be a bit peppery for some. Seriously cheap lunch, for the price go and see if I'm nuts on the mac and cheese!
Having gone downstairs, it was lunch in a cave, but it would be a good place to go at night if you wanted to hang out as opposed to 'be seen'.
Had been a long time, but I'll be ducking back in soon... -
Review from Justine S.
Chicago, IL
10/6/2010
Lord. 0 stars if I could give it. I live in Chicago but was in town for a wedding. The wedding's after party was here, thus, me going here. All I know is that there was funky rules all up in this joint. However, 0 stars comes down to 2 points:
1. They kicked me out for slurring my words. Yes, I was drunk, but believe me, I was NOT slurring my words. After coming back from the bathroom, and ordering a drink, I was approached by some meat head who told me I had to leave. He barely let me close out my credit card tab or find my husband.( Note: they waited until I ordered a drink and then told me I had to leave, making me pay for a drink I couldn't drink.)
-Even the bride's dad got kicked out! (along with several other people from the wedding)
-After talking to some locals, it seems they kick people out a lot for no reason whatsoever. Once guy said he's been kicked out more times than he can count, one time for leaning backwards too far, being told he was "stumbling".
2. Looking at our credit card bill upon returning home, we saw a charge for $84. Um, wrong. I specifically remember commenting how much I thought the bill for $43 was, given my first drink cost $3 (happy hour special when we first got there maybe? I think drinks after that cost at least double). We've already spoken with our credit card company and are contesting this charge.
Never in my life have I had such a bad experience at a bar. I thought kicking me out for no reason was bad, but then to find they falsified my credit card bill, it just blows me away. If this bar was in Chicago, they would be out of business.
