The room at 103 Congress Street, across from The Music Hall, has gone through three restaurants in three years. The District ran there from July 2011 to October 2023. Litherman's Brewing Company and 603 Bar-B-Q, two Concord businesses, then opened a restaurant and taproom there together in fall 2023. Restaurateur Julian Armstrong bought the building in March for $1.785 million. This September it reopened as Cranes Bistro.
Most of downtown's fall dining news follows the same pattern. The new places are going into rooms that already served food and drink, and most of them are only partly finished. Cranes is open, but its larger patio waits on the city's Vaughan Mall work next spring. Char has an address and a target month. The former Portsmouth Brewery building has a new owner and a plan, but no name or date. So this fall is the first half of a reset that runs into 2027.
Where the changes are happening
| Address | Previous use | What's there now | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 103 Congress St. | The District, then Litherman's and 603 Bar-B-Q | Cranes Bistro | Open; more patio seats planned for spring |
| 48 Market St. | Part of the former Portsmouth Brewery | Cup of Joe Cafe & Bar, moved from 31 Market St. | Opened July 2 |
| 56 Market St. | Portsmouth Brewery restaurant and brewery | Party of Five Hospitality LLC restaurant, name not announced | Bought June 30; no opening date |
| 99 Bow St. | Martingale Wharf | Buckley's on the Water | Operating |
| 70 Maplewood Ave. | Not reported | Char | Expected November 2026 |
| 175 High St. | Earth Eagle Tavern | Not announced | Closed Sept. 27 |
Cranes Bistro anchors the Vaughan Mall corner first
Cranes is Armstrong's fourth business. The others are The Wilder on Fleet Street, which he opened in 2017, and Anju Noodle Bar and The Wallingford Dram in Kittery. In a USA Today report, he calls the new bistro his "quiet dad era": "a little more thoughtful, a little more curated."
Executive chef Daryel Zeruk's menu starts from French cooking and follows what Armstrong calls "the North Atlantic passage." There is a rotisserie chicken dinner modeled on Montreal, plus oysters, clams, tuna crudo, red shrimp, bluefish, Maine cod and scallops. The entrées include steak au poivre, a lamb burger and catfish schnitzel. Sticky toffee pudding is among the desserts. General manager Shara Prout runs the drinks list, with wines from France, Australia, California, Italy, New Zealand and Spain, and beers from Belgium, Denmark and Ireland.
Prout told the Portsmouth Herald who she expects at the tables:
"We'll know your name. We'll know the people who are in here."
She described an after-work crowd, dinner dates, families and people stopping in late after a show or a walk through town.
Limited reservations started on Thursday, Sept. 24. Cranes' Resy page strongly recommends booking for indoor tables. Bar and outdoor seats are first come, first served. The restaurant's own website doesn't list hours, so check before you go.
Cranes is opening at less than full size. It has 63 seats indoors and 25 on a seasonal patio. Armstrong plans to add about 35 more outdoor seats next spring, once the Vaughan Mall restoration is in place.
The Vaughan Mall's schedule sets the spring date
The city's July 22 design presentation shows new lighting, three shade structures and space for several public art displays along the mall. Construction documents were due in September 2026. Bidding is set for October and November 2026, and landscape work for spring 2027. The city's project page, updated September 14, describes the restoration as starting. In practice, that means bids this fall, not fences on the walkway.
For anyone walking the mall this fall and winter, nothing on the published schedule should block the route. The added seats and shade arrive together in spring, when the city's landscape work and Cranes' larger patio are both scheduled.
The brewery block on Market Street is being split up
The old Portsmouth Brewery property is being reused piece by piece. The brewery closed for good after a flood in June 2023.
Cup of Joe Cafe & Bar was first. It opened its new location at 48 Market St. on July 2, in part of the former brewery. Co-owner JoAnna Kelley told the Union Leader that the space has a full kitchen, which would let the cafe expand breakfast, and a private patio. The cafe's homepage still lists the old 31 Market St. address, so confirm hours at the new space before planning a breakfast there.
Next door, Party of Five Hospitality LLC bought the 1870-era building at 56 Market St. for $3 million on June 30. The city's most recent appraisal had valued it at $3,365,200. At a Historic District Commission meeting, Mark Gianniny of Portsmouth Architects described the plan. It calls for a restaurant on the main floor, a lounge downstairs and the two residential units upstairs, which stay as they were. The owners also propose a new storefront to let more light and air into the dining room. No restaurant name or opening date has been announced.
Two more downtown rooms on different timelines
Buckley's on the Water is already operating at 99 Bow St. It took over the former Martingale Wharf space. The Chamber's fall dining roundup lists lobster rolls, steaks, beef stroganoff and lobster spaghetti on the menu. The restaurant's website gives these hours. Third-party listings don't all agree, so confirm before you go.
- Monday: closed
- Tuesday through Thursday: 4 to 9 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
- Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Indoor tables take reservations. Deck seating is first come, first served.
Char's own site describes it as a modern steakhouse and gives an expected opening of November 2026. The Chamber's roundup says chef Julie Cutting-Kelley's restaurant at 70 Maplewood Ave. will have a wood-fired grill, cocktails and a piano lounge on the lower level.
Lost Cowboy, a barbecue and bourbon taproom from Michael Timothy Dining Group, is open at 60 Penhallow St. Its site lists daily hours of 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and says an expansion is coming soon.
One room has gone the other way. Earth Eagle Tavern closed its 175 High St. location on Sept. 27. Its Somersworth location, Earth Eagle North, is still open.
The October and November dates around the new tables
The new dining rooms fit into a busy six weeks downtown:
- Oct. 15 to 18: The New Hampshire Film Festival shows more than 100 films at downtown Portsmouth venues.
- Oct. 16 to 17 and 23 to 24, 5 to 8 p.m.: Ghosts on the Banke brings family trick-or-treating and historic-house activities to Strawbery Banke.
- Oct. 17, 8 a.m. to noon: The Portsmouth Farmers' Market holds its Pumpkin Smash. The market runs at City Hall, 1 Junkins Ave., on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon through Oct. 31.
- Oct. 25: The New England BIPOC Fest has moved to October this year. It comes to Strawbery Banke Museum, and both admission and food are free.
- Oct. 31, 7 p.m.: The 31st Portsmouth Halloween Parade sets off from Peirce Island.
- Nov. 5 to 14: Portsmouth & Seacoast Restaurant Week has more than 30 restaurants serving three-course prix fixe menus.
One usual October event is off this year. The Prescott Park Arts Festival has paused the New Hampshire Brewfest for 2026 after 17 years. The festival cited trouble finding a suitable location and broader pressure on the craft beer industry. The city is also looking ahead at Prescott Park. City Council is again backing the idea of letting the festival raise money for a permanent covered stage for its summer season.
That puts the next dates on the calendar in November, when Char expects to open. Then come Vaughan Mall bids and spring landscape work, which will give Cranes its added patio seats. The 56 Market St. restaurant will open whenever its owners announce a date.
When a building like 56 Market Street changes hands, its new life tends to show up on the sidewalk well before anyone sees a price. If you own a home within walking distance of these addresses and want to know how downtown's changes affect its value, Cheryl Zarella and her team are glad to help. Request a complimentary home valuation.
