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The Red Arrow = Heaven.
Don't leave New Hampshire without coming here. From the cup o' Moe mugs to the blue plate specials to the homemade pies, the Red Arrow serves up my ideal diner experience.
My favorite: a cup of hot chocolate and a hash and cheddar omelet with hash browns. You always get more than you paid for - I've gone with 4 people who all ate full meals and left with change for our $20.
Best of all, you never know who you're going to meet at the Red Arrow. My friends and I once ate here when the only other customers were Adam Sandler and his family, our classic New Hampshire celebrities!
Seating is limited, but the wait makes your eventual meal even more rewarding. My only (and I mean ONLY) problem with the Red Arrow is their new policy of renting out the entire place for events. There are only about 40 seats anyway, but I expect my 24-hour-diners to be open 24 hours a day. I would be heartbroken if I showed up and was turned away.
I like the Red Arrow, although I rarely eat there if I can help it. It's more of a "hang with friends" kind of place, and I really respect what they've done to keep things that way.
I personally can't eat most of the food because of an allergy so I can only talk about the ambiance, which is great. Our waitress was a sweetheart and gave me a piece of pie to make up for a botched order (which I couldn't eat due to my allergy) and I walked away with a smile.
I visited this place at the suggestion of a friend when I was in Manch for a wedding. We had a late breakfast at about 11am on a Sunday. The place seemed packed, but that's probably because it can only seat about 25 people. That's fine, but my only complaint about the place is that they make you wait at the back of the restaurant behind the people sitting at the bar. So you're essentially a foot away from someone who is some combination of having a meal, a conversation, or in need of a shower.
The food was very good. I ordered the King Moe's Fuller Breakfast, which is 3 eggs (scrambled), 3 pancakes, 3 sausage, 3 bacon, toast, and hash browns (subbed for beans); a hard meal to mess up, but more often than not it's the pancakes that ruin a diner-style breakfast. Not the case here. They were light, fluffy, and tasty.
The service was better than average. They were really busy and the two waitresses were spread thin. Still, it took them about 20 minutes to bring some maple syrup over to me, which should never be a problem in New Hampshire.
It's worth checking out if you catch them off-hours. If you have a group of more than 2 people, it will probably take awhile to get a table, or you'll have to split up and sit at different spots at the bar. The Red Arrow definitely beats going to Denny's or Village Inn if you've got the patience for it.
The omelets are good and the service is quick and funny.
I think it's funny that Hil*y was there. If she was there late on a Saturday night she might actually get groped on the way to the uni-sex bathroom by a drunk.
First time for everything, right.
Seriously, ladies be careful at night! Especially if you are in a dress.
I have found my new favorite breakfast place! Seated promptly at the counter (at the favorite seating area for Adam Sandler's parents), we were then greeted by friendly Eileen.
We glanced over the menu for a moment and my partner stops Eileen to ask a question: "What kind of beans are served with breakfast?" Eileen quickly comes back and says... "Let me ask YOU a question? Where ya from? Because here in the Northeast, we eat beans with every meal" We died in hysterics, because of course my partner is from Florida! We were then both slapped with a sticker that says we were De-Virginized at the Red Arrow Diner. Complete with fanfare and the ringing of a bell.
The menu was huge but easy to narrow down to a lovely breakfast... 2 eggs (over medium) with bacon, hash browns, white toast and a side of baked beans (had to try 'em and they were delicious). Everything was scrumptious and perfectly cooked. The servings were enormous and I couldn't get over how friendly the staff were and how they catered to regulars and newbies. Carlos was also quite lovely as a server.
So my first 5 star recommendation is the Red Arrow Diner for a quaint and unique diner experience with good cheap food and outstanding service!
I was conflicted about whether to give the Red Arrow 3, or 4, stars. The food is remarkably consistent, and is always prepared properly. The reason that I have a tough time rating it any higher is that it is a true diner, with true diner short cuts. So you can expect to find the occasional item that tastes like it came from your grocer's frozen meals section.
The food is definitely better than average by diner standards, though. So I would definitely recommend the Arrow.
Breakfast? After 4am? I don't think so!
This place may be known for being a great breakfast diner but you would be lucky to be able to sit out on the curb and eat during normal hours on a weekend. No, for the rest of us we find our way to The Red Arrow after a very hard night in Manch.
You all know the time. That time after the bars have closed down but you still have the drunken munchies. After you've had just a few to many at the Rover or Strange Brew and really need some good old greasy food to pile on top of all the beer and booze you consumed over the course of your evening. Yah, if your like me thats when this place turns into a shrine to all the drunks coming down from a buzz.
The wait staff are very accommodating to us, sure they may make fun of our slurred speech or our inability to pronounce simple food stuffs but they are always friendly at these ungodly hours and keep our coffee cups full to help ease the crash.
Ah the food. A drunk's delight! Very consistent eggs, awesome hash and plenty of some kind of starch on my plate that Im not always sure what to call( HomeFries or StringPotatoes maybe?) Anyways, the omletes are fanfriggentastic!
One of these days Im gonna go to bed early and wake up in time to wait in that evil line on a Sunday. Just to see if its as good in the daylight as it is at night.
This place really is great. It is clean and fast. It is small and you might have to wait in line but it is worth it. Plus all the photo's and articles on the wall keep you entertained when you're waiting. A great way to spend an hour on Sunday morning.
An interesting place... Seemed very well-known by the Manchester residents, so if you're visiting Manchester and looking for a popular local place, this is probably your best bet.
The decor is interesting. Lots of pictures and history can be seen.
The food (I ordered a burger) was good, but nothing amazing. I'm giving four stars because the overall experience was good and it's much better than most places in Manchester...
I think Red Arrow is over hyped. You pay more than what I would expect in a diner and portions are smaller than I expect in a diner.
Food I had was just ok. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, just nothing to write home about. I also had their home made twinkie. It cost a couple bucks for a measly little twinkie and I didn't think it was anything special. If you need a place to dine in Manchester, NH, this place is worth checking out. However, I wouldn't go out of my way to come back here.
food is great, food is inexpensive, and wait staff is extreamly friendly
Someone please tell me why this place is famous and gets such good reviews? Perhaps, people just haven't been enlightened by some of the great diners America has to offer elsewhere. I went with high expectations and then was completely baffled by what I encountered. The place is very tiny - everyone cramps together and has to stand on line, breathing over the patrons eating at the counter, much like wolves peering over their prey. Because of this, when you DO get a seat, you almost feel like you should finish up quickly to get away from all the new hungry wolves who shuffled in to peer over YOU. The food was completely mediocre. Perhaps, diners are different in New York, where I come from - I'm used to plates piled high to the point where you simply cannot finish it all. I'm a tiny gal, but I cleaned up my plate at the Red Arrow - the portions aren't very generous. If this place didn't receive so much publicity and applause, then I would gladly recommend it, but since it does have all this hype, I'm left puzzled and unsatisfied.
I love this place. I love their omelettes since they are so cheesy and heavily filled with the filling (mine is sausage). I love the hashbrowns too. Their pies are so yummy too. I love going there on Saturday mornings in order to have my favorite waitresses Eileen and Elaine. They sort of know my order and always ask why I have not been in a while. (It is because I now live in Boston so the tasty cheesy goodness is only once in a while.) I also love this place because you always see interesting people. During the last presidential campaign I met so many candidates while waiting in the wall crawl. I met Bill Richardson and Ron Paul to name a few. So I get culture and food. A win win situation. Oh and if you go there for the first time let them know they will welcome you will a ring of the virgin bell.
This place is more about the experience than the food. I don't mean to diminish the food by saying this because our breakfast here was wonderful. Of course I had the corned beef hash and eggs. When in the NE eat like the Yankees eat.
I discovered Yelp as an iPhone app while visiting Manchester for a friend's wedding. The Red Arrow Diner was one of my first finds on Yelp. It took me a almost a year of using Yelp on my iPhone before I finally registered and I feel I owe this place a review. As a visitor from Austin Area I appreciated the friendly service and funkiness of this place. Austinites would totally eat up a dive like this if one were opened in Texas.
Seating is limited. There are like 5 small tables. Most of the seats are along the bar counter. There was a wait on the Saturday morning we arrived and we were instructed to form a single file line the length of the bar behind the patrons seated at the counter. When it's your turn to get seated you have to navigate a gauntlet of sorts between the patrons in line and those seated at the counter. It's a tight fit. I don't think anyplace else could get away with this bizarre methodology but somehow it adds to the charm of this place.
Once we were seated the lone waitress served us. She was super friendly and treated everyone like they were old friends or family. Even a family of outsiders like ours. She figured out pretty quick we weren't locals. Apparently they are used to tourists.
It turns out this is one of Adam Sandler's favorite dives. My daughter sat in the seat with his name plaque. I highly recommend this place if you have the opportunity to dine here and you can afford the wait.
Nice little place, but its reputation precedes it. Food is typical diner fare, and I'd say pretty middle of the road aside from a couple of specialties (Mostly breakfast ones). Having frequented the spot for more than a decade, I have to say I feel like it fell off and it's nostalgia and the convenience of being open all night that keeps the place packed, though it's not hard to pack such a small restaurant. If the USA Today diner poll happened in recent times I'd be willing to bet it would no longer be top ten.
It's by no means bad, but unless you're hell bent on going to eat there, skip the lines and the hassle and find something else.
The Red Arrow Diner is a piece of history. There are plaques on the seats to note where famous dignitaries have sat, so you too can enjoy the delicious diner food in a historic setting. The place is miniscule, with about a dozen counter seats and 5 booths, so either get there at odd hours, or be prepared to wait.
I was in town for a visit, and after hearing of this place through Yelp and other sources, I knew this was a must-go destination. Luckily, this is one of the few places my host had visited in town. For my late night meal, I was having trouble deciding between lunch fare or good ole breakfast.
I ended up opting for the Crabcake Benny Special (eggs benedict with crabcakes rather than Canadian bacon), while my partner in crime got the Stan The Man's Favorite, with hashbrowns rather than panfries. We also got a biscuit & gravy on the side to split. It was all delicious. The bacon was crispy and not too greasy. The hashbrowns were perfectly golden brown and crispy throughout. The biscuit & gravy was heavenly. The crabcakes were decent-sized, and smothered with Hollandaise sauce, which wasn't too heavy, so that was nice. The poached eggs were a little inconsistent - one had a runny yolk, the other didnt, but that was my only complaint. I washed it all down with an Arrow Diet Root Beer, and it was great.
Service was good, but then again, it wasn't that crowded when we were there. We sat in a booth across from the register, so our waitress just entered it into the computer as we ordered, which turned out to be great, because everything came out exactly as requested!
Great food, good prices, and a historic atmosphere. You can't ask for much more when you're talking about a 24-hour diner!
A great 24 hour diner, which are so rare in this area nowadays. We went in before having to bring my husband to the airport for an early flight and were not disappointed. We landed in the time right between the diner-after-last-call crowd and the morning regulars and as we watched and ate our breakfast, the crowd shifted noticeably.
We got breakfast sandwiches and coffee, which were excellent diner fare. The staff was efficient and helpful without being too surly and we amused ourselves by seeing how many celebrity names we could read off the little tags without anyone thinking we were staring at them or their friends.
It's very typical diner, a good value for your money and one of the few real diners left where you can wander in at any time of day.
Not sure why there were so many positive reviews of this diner.
It's ok
Hubby and I went for a late night bite; his burger was very greasy and average; we make better ones at home.
I got a club sandwich; again, it was ok; nothing to rave about.
The wait staff was friendly.
It's very very small and we got two seats at the counter; so we could see the poor chef in the tiny hot kitchen grilling away.
The desserts that were sitting on the counter looked not so fresh; I was in the mood for something sweet, but that kind of grossed me out a little. Perhaps the pies in the fridge are good; I heard great things about their pies.
IMO, it's in a seedy area of the City.... if you're not from Manchester, you may need to know that up front. There was a homeless man in a booth next to us. It's open very late, so they tend to get wanderers.
I grew up around some really great diners; and this one would not be one of my recommendations.
A tiny little place on Manchester. The place was totally cramped, but that with the cheesy decor is what makes this place the institution it is.
We had deep fried dough (huge!), tuna melt (the bread or whatever was untraditional like a pancake? Wasn't sure except it was good), hamburger on sandwich bread with gravy (very ordinary but hey it's diner food). If you go late at night when the bar crowd comes out strolling for food you'll have to wait outside.
Open 24 hrs, cheap prices... honestly hat's why it's 4 stars instead of 3.
I've been highly anticipating my dining experience at the Red Arrow for some time now. Everytime I've tried going, there's been a long line wrapped outside the block to get in so I always give up and wait for "next time". Finally went at an off hour and got a booth that Adam Sandler & VP Al Gore sat in (they had name plates on them) easily.
Waitress and staff gave off that homely diner feel and kept announcing people who've never been there as "Red Arrow Virgins!", rang the bell, and made everyone applaud. I too was a virgin, but refused to let my virginity be exposed.. acting as a regular, ordering food like its my business.
So I got some breakfast for lunch: crabcake eggs benedict + panfries which was not bad. The Coolatta was aiiiiite, just add your own Splenda. Menu had a billion combinations of foods that I would definitely want to inhale after a night out on the town.
Open 24 hours in Manchester, NH? Love it!
The Red Arrow Diner is my favorite diner!
It's a very popular place to go after last call at the bars in Downtown Manch. My buddies and I enjoy stopping at this 24 Hour "Dinah" for breakfast and late night dinners. I've had several really late/early meals at 4:00 AM after being "worked to the bone" by my boss.
The homestyle food here is great each time! The prices here are reasonable with good portions. My favorite meal here is the Pork Pie slice with real Mashed Potatoes smothered in gravy and a Small Salad. The cream pies are topped with sick amounts of dense whipped cream. The service is pretty good too!! Constant refills on hot coffee are given!
First Impressions: I love this place and I can't wait to go back!
Weight Watchers Rating: Splurge Only
My husband and I were itching to try this place after seeing it on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Our favorite thing is to go out for breakfast, and we're always searching for great food. We found it at the Red Arrow Diner.
We were lucky because we ate here during an off-peak time. I would think that on weekends, you'll be waiting a long time for either one of their four tables or a spot at the counter. This place is tiny, you have to go through the kitchen to reach the restrooms, and with the quality and quantity of the food, I'm sure this place is swamped.
Hubby had one of their specials--a steak tip omelet, and I had the banana pancakes. Oh yum. The food was delicious, the portions were generous, and we both waddled out of there with content tummies. I also got one of their "Dinah's Fingers" to go--a very un-Twinkie-like snack cake--it was actually very good and didn't make you lament the calories that you just ingested. It was worth every bit of fat and sugar.
The pro's of this place outweigh the cons. Pros: Good food, decent prices, huge variety of food to choose from, very friendly staff. Cons: Small (long waits on weekends), metered parking.
This is on our list of favorites for the area!
This place rates very high in the world of American diners.
This is a must for all you diner lovers out there. Open 24 hrs!!!! Yeah!! Ten extra stars for that alone!!
Finally, check out my list of New England Diners for more great spots.
I really dig this place. I ate here every day that I was in Manchester. It's a real old school diner that survived, not a cheap imitation.
The menu is extensive. I heartily recommend the turkey san - they give you real, fresh turkey, not deli slices! The burgers are a bit greasy, and the hollandaise is weak, but all the diner standards are aces.
I deducted half a point for being so staunchly anti-smoking (modern fascism has no place in a classic diner), and another quarter point for not having friendly, chain-smoking waitresses asking "What can I getcha, Honey?". Therefore I am actually awarding 4.25 stars.
My favorite diner in this galaxy.
The breakfast is outstanding. The pies are celestial. The waitstaff are very freindly.
And the price? Where can two adults get a huge, top quality meal with coffees for under $15?
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.
Honestly, it's a crap shoot. I've had terrible service here...but I've also had the lady who's been there since I've been going there for breakfast. The key word here is BREAKFAST....or grilled cheese, but who wants to pay for a grilled cheese?
Anyway, it's a diner: the food is greasy and fantastic. Enjoy it.
OH, and the time I had the worst service EVER, I called to complain and the owner sent us a $20.00 gift card which more than made up for the unpleasant waitress who was so strung out she argued with me over the difference between chicken tenders and chicken fingers.
Diner food! My favorite food knowing that they serve multiple berakfast dishes. Open all day 7 days a week, you can always stop over for a bite when hungry. Ranked as one of the top 10 diner is the nation actually!
I like sitting at the booth with the stools eating my 'Queen Dinah' meal ...
Good deal, and good company.
5 Star *Diner* review? Yes! :)
It's so Diner-ish and friendly... the food is yummy, prices are very reasonable, and the service is efficient... I just can't find anything worth taking off even one star!
Imperfections: there's only one bathroom and it gets crowded fast.
But it's got such a nice atmosphere, you make friends with the people in line and at the counter so the wait isn't tedious.
I brought some family here for the first time and they LOVED it!
Come here often and at all hours!
:)
The arrow is a classic tiny diner on a side street off Elm Street.
Everyone in Manch knows the arrow and knows that you can get good honest diner food there.
Be careful trying to get to the bathroom or in the front door, its a tight squeeze.
Breakfast is a must all the time.
The Arrow is the best. If you're going out in ManchVegas, you might want to plan your timing around it. If you leave before last call, you'll beat the crowds.
Better yet, stop in during the daytime for a much more chill experience.
I'm bullish on the turkey burger club, and the sausage breakfast sandwich. My vegetarian wife swears by the veggie burger.
What gets the Arrow the extra 5th star? The Dinah and Moe logos partly, but mostly the owner- Carol. We were able to book the Arrow for our wedding rehearsal dinner, which was great since the church was a block up the street, and even better since they closed the place down from 7:30-9:00 for us. Carol was fantastic to work with, and everyone at the Arrow made our rehearsal dinner one of the most fun and unique things about the whole wedding.
This diner is well worth the potentially long wait, late at night. Great place to fill your stomach after a night of drinking and dancing. Good breakfast options, lunches are great too. The waitstaff is super friendly and fun to joke around with. Be prepared to deal with a lot of drunk people at night though. The twinkies are out of this world!
Great food and service as far as diners go. We came for breakfast first..The eggs and hash were up to par, and I had to get a "dinah finger" to go, which surpasses the twinkie by a mile!
Temptation brought us back to get a dessert for friends and family. Everyone loved the chocolate cream pie!
The atmosphere is awesome- a prefab diner car that's been around since the 1920s. Lots of vinyl and formica, baby! The food is great, as they have everything from bacon and eggs to burgers like all 24 hour places do. It's really cheap for what you get.
I had to get a mug, too. Those sturdy, thick-lipped ones are hard to come by. And mine's got Moe on it :) I'll definitely be back next time we're in Manchester.
This 24-hour diner is perhaps one of the very few things I miss about Manchester. I miss eating late-night breakfast food like the hotcakes and french toast...so yummy and cheap. I must've gone to the Red Arrow a hundred times or more over the course of a few years, though sadly I haven't eaten here since 1999, nearly 8 years ago. But I definitely have many fond memories of this diner.
Glad to see it's still around, and apparently still one of the best diners in Manchester and the surrounding area. My next visit to Manchester, whenever that may be, will assuredly be met by a visit to the Red Arrow. Such a classic place.
On the plus side:
+ they're one of the very few things in Manchester that are open 24 hours.
+ their staff is usually very friendly and good at their job
+ the pies are tasty
on the down side
- the food is average to sub-par.
- the prices are tolerable but nothing to write home about
- it's tiny. I'd say the whole place seats approximately two anorexics. a jockey and half a midget.
Unless it's very late and you have no other option, I wouldn't recommend it.
The food is average to good for diner fare, prices are a little high relative to the quality and regional norms, but overall, this is a very nice place, and handy to have a 24 hour establishment in Manchester.
The hash browns are particularly worth trying.
I try to go here on off-hours to avoid the crowds. BUT, I love the menu and think this is the only place besides 7-11 that is open 24 hours in Manchester. Typical diner fare and yummy desserts.
One of the things that I miss most about Manchvegas are cheese fries and gravy. There is nothing comperable to that here in the Windy city. And by far the Red Arrow had the best ones around. Yummy shakes too.
Ahhh. Many a night I enjoyed Poutine and Chocolate shakes. Soooo good. Yum.
I wish I could give 3.5 stars, because that's what I would give - but I can't quite bring myself to say I'm a fan...
It's a good diner and it has history and character. The food is ok to good. The service is friendly but not over-the-top.
Pork Pie.
American Chop Suey.
Goddamn deep fried french toast that will make your head spin and your stomach love you eternally.
Red Arrow is everything there is to love about New England diner food.
This is one of the greatest diners ive been to in my 23 years of living. i went to school in manchester and would gladly wait the 20 minutes for a seat if needed. their after-bar hours are what pre-cured what would have surely been many hangovers. i was a huge fan of their hashbrowns and their coffee was what made me decide to actually drink coffee. my rating is a conundrum, id like to give them 5 stars, but because there isnt much seating and i feel weird using their bathroom, i can only give it 4. but honestly, if this place had any more seating, it would lose a lot of its charm.
hoorah for mo and dinah!
Manchester, NH
Category: Himalayan/Nepalese
Manchester, NH
Category: Restaurants
Manchester, NH
Category: Restaurants
Manchester, NH
Category: American (New)
Manchester, NH
Category: Bakeries
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