Republic Cafe

A true Manchester Gem!!! Wow, I was visiting Manchester for work and stopped in for dinner. I was greeted with a smile and warm welcome. Sat at the bar, where Matt took excellent care of me. He recommended an awesome beer from Burlington, VT “It’s complicated being a wizard” from Burlington Brewing company. Then, another employee recommended the specials to me with such enthusiasm that I just had to say YES. Everything I ate blew me away! The beer selection was great. But the service and kindness from the staff is what made my experience outstanding! I travel a lot and service has left many restaurants these days, but not here!!! They nailed it. If I could give a higher rating I would. You HaVE to try this place.

I'll start with the positives: The restaurant has a good atmosphere and the service was great, but both the menu and the actual food were quite underwhelming, and the price was not warranted. Instead of focusing on making simple and delicious food, I feel like this restaurant just tries too hard. While my meal wasn't "bad" it was definitely lacking the necessary ingredients to be memorable, and given the amount of unfinished meals from the other 5 people in my party, I would say everyone felt the same. I ordered my steak medium, and it came out rare and cold. My friend who ordered the carbonara remarked that his mother (who's not known for her culinary prowess) makes the dish more adequately. With all the great restaurant options in the Manchester area, it would be hard to return to Republic after my first experience. Nothing about the experience made me think "I need to come back."

This place gets better each time I visit. During my most recent visit, I was with friends and we had absolutely amazing food. The whipped feta and harissa appetizer is awesome. The butternut squash ravioli with brown buttercream sauce was crazy. Good. To top it off, the service and cocktails were fantastic. I definitely recommend it.

The food was delicious! The outdoor seating offered an interesting veiw of passerbys up close, including squirrels and a dog who loved a free 🐕 dish of water the restaurant offered. Service was good, but, I was surprised when after I ordered an appetizer, hummus with olive oil and bread, that I was asked "Is that it?" . I also had to ask for a dessert menu. I had three people for service and all were friendly. I had a French dish for my meal, an Arnold Palmer, ice tea with lemonade and maple syrup, for a drink and German chocolate cake for dessert. I recommend this restaurant. Only thing that took away from the experience was the loud motorcycles and music from car stereos. Wifi available.