Valentine's day, 2026, the pre fixe meal was perfection. If Michelin was in New Hampshire, Ambrose would no doubt earn her stars. The menu changes so there's no point in reviewing particular dishes. Just know that Chef Stanley is a master and his unique creations are worthy of the highest acclaim. The cocktails are also top notch. Exeter is the best place for high end cuisine, not Portsmouth. Ambrose, Otis, Vine e Vivo, IL Cornicello, The Apothecary, we are so fortunate to have these places..... and free and convenient parking read more

Elegant setting indoor or out outdoor Delightful vibe when walking in the door. Service was as white glove as possible. Wine list amazing and reasonable price. Each dish was impeccably prepared with distinctive flavors combined perfectly. Tapas were generous Craft cocktails...Alice in Wonderland. Can't wait to go back read more

We had an amazing experience at Ambrose in Exeter, NH! Our servers--Chris, Jamie, and Lidet--were absolutely outstanding. They were attentive, friendly, and handled our large party with ease. Stanley, the cook, even came out to say hello and check in, which made the night feel extra special. We ordered a spread of dishes including the gnocchi, pollo Pablo, spanakopita, short rib, and hamachi crudo, and every single person at the table went home raving about how delicious everything was. Truly exceptional food and service. We left completely satisfied--can't wait to come back! read more

Finally, we found a place that indulges your urge to order half the menu! I love that this is a tapas-style restaurant, so you really can try a bite of almost everything. We ended up ordering 6 plates amongst the 2 of us and wow everything was amazing! Our absolute favorite was the prosciutto and burrata plate- the toasts come with a bit of drizzles honey and there's a sprinkling of slivered almonds, and the whole combination was just beyond delicious. The gnocchi was also outstanding, as was the short rib- this was melt in your mouth short rib with delicious veggies. The only plate that fell flat was the bao buns, somehow these were stale, or at least on the tough side, and they were more like mini sloppy joes instead of bao. The service was wonderful, and it was too cold to be out on the patio, but that looks super cute, I can't wait to come back in the summer! read more

See all

Great food, service and ambiance especially outdoors! Small plates. A bit expensive but what really outstanding place isn't? I'm a local and frequently walk there. read more

A true hidden gem, tucked into the Hotel at the Bandstand, and next door to another great restaurant, "Otis". Exeter is certainly having a fine dining moment with yet another great venue. The inside dining room looks a bit small, but the outdoor patio is beautiful. Service was good with the host keeping a close eye on the operation as well as the chef making the rounds to check how we were enjoying our food. Cocktails were mixed perfectly. The menu is a variety of small and medium sized plates, that I will describe as world cuisine. The chef is from El Salvador, and one the best dishes we tried was the Pollo en Chica, which we are told is a popular Salvadoran dish. The plates were all beautiful and very very tasty. They seem to still be running a bit under the radar, and a website with menu would be helpful. I'm confident that this restaurant will mature and be another great option for Exeter dining. read more

Ambrose - Cocktails were great - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Exeter, New Hampshire

See all

What happens when a talented cook from El Salvador works his way up through the best hotels and restaurants in Boston, then decides to strike out on his own? Answer: you get a place with an imaginative, eclectic menu and superb food fit for a very satisfying special occasion! Ambrose is just such a place in Exeter, NH! Ambrose serves exquisitely conceived and prepared small plates in a sedately tasteful environment. Four of these will feed a couple. Five or six of them will sate even the most gluttonous couples. Each plate stands on its own. You decide the combination. The waitstaff knows the cuisine and can help you make an intelligent choice. If not, the personable chef will himself be at your table. Ambrose has a wine list that includes selections from Mexico and other unconventional terroirs with which to improve your taste and your mind. Background music is relatively soft and, unless another table is raucous, the sound level in the interior dining areas is moderate. Most nights, there is parking around the Bandstand opposite the restaurant. Highly recommended for service, atmosphere, and convenience but, above all, for its cuisine. read more

Best food we've had on our trip to Exeter/Portsmouth by far! We chose Ambrose thanks to a recommendation from a local friend. Since it was a very warm and sunny day I was a little uncertain when they suggested we be seated in the patio area, but it worked out great - at 7 PM it was completely shaded and it's gorgeous (see photo). We chose 4 of the tapas plates for the 2 of us and it was just right: dates wrapped in bacon, burratini salad, cod en papillote, and pollo en chicha. All were terrific, but if you pressed me I would say the cod was my favorite. read more

See all

The dining experience is always top notch at Ambrose. We enjoyed a relaxing meal in their backyard oasis on a beautiful summer night. Jaime, Stanley, and new server Jack were all so personable and accommodating. The food is absolutely amazing, always! They are small plates meant to be shared. We put in our whole order at the beginning, the plates were spaced out nicely, and I never felt rushed. It's always such a relaxing experience there. We had a 7pm reservation, and we were closing the place down a bit after 9pm on a Wednesday. We never felt like we were being rushed out. Jack brought us over a complementary 10 year old port after we finished our dessert. It's the little touches that make all the difference! Maybe it's a good thing we don't live closer, because we'd be there all the time! read more

See all

The food was good but I wouldn't say that it completely knocked my socks off. That could be biased by the bill. The waitress suggested 2-3 tapas plates per person. We got 5 for 2 people and a cocktail each. The bill was $170. We could have gotten away with 4 plates but it still would have been $140. So, it was good but not really better than a handful of local places where I could walk away with half the bill. The main disappointment was that my gin martini was shaken with shards of ice and quite watered down. Ambiance was nice, eating in a 6 table dining room with fireplace of the early 19th century federal style inn. In short, it's worth checking out if you don't mind getting punched in the pockets every once in a while. read more

We have been wanting to stop in here and finally hit it on a perfect evening. We'd already eaten, but we sat on the back patio surrounded by blooming roses and had lovely, delicious, creative cocktails. The food getting delivered around us looked amazing, everyone was happy. The atmosphere is so beautiful and inviting, the servers were very courteous, friendly, and attentive. It didn't feel like you were downtown Exeter. I can't wait to return to try the food! read more

Absolutely the best restaurant in the Exeter area. From the moment you step inside, you are greeted with warmth and hospitality that feels like a hug from an old friend. The ambiance is charming and intimate, with soft lighting and tasteful decor that sets the stage for an unforgettable dining experience. Whether you're celebrating a special occasion or simply craving a delicious meal, this place never disappoints. Every aspect of the dining experience is impeccable. Each bite is a symphony of flavors, and the dedication of the staff shines through in every detail. We love dining at Ambrose all year long, however our most recent meal in their oasis of a garden, made for one truly remarkable dinner during the warmer months. read more

Jaime, Chef Stanley and the team provided our family with a one-of-a-kind private event for an intimate family celebration. I called Ambrose desperately in need of a last minute 19-person dinner and not only was Jaime incredibly communicative and quick in providing options, they were able to make magic happen in less than one week to accommodate us. They closed half of the restaurant for our private, two table dinner. The food was exceptional and the menu was well balanced with approachable dishes and creative, unique plates, exceeding the expectations of everyone at the dinner. The staff was very attentive with drinks and the timing of the food arriving was thoughtful and very well executed. Our family hasn't stopped gushing over how wonderfully delish the dinner and dessert was that night. I don't think there could have been a more intimate and perfectly crafted evening and dinner for our family's celebration! read more

Awesome dining experience on the back patio! Food was outstanding and the beet salad was phenomenal in presentation and taste mixed with goat cheese and pumpkin seeds. Also had the sautéed shrimp as well as the clams and everything was so tasty! Timing was great between each dish to enjoy the weather and drinks. Definitely a place to relax and eat with friends and enjoy an actual discussion if your not worried about time. A perfect way to unwind after work! Also loved watching the owner and staff making sure everyone was taken care of, which is tough these days with limited staffing. Great job and will definitely be back!!! read more

Ambrose - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Exeter, New Hampshire

Amazing place. The food, ambiance, the waitstaff, and chef are all top notch. Worth stopping in. Make a reservation as it is small. Take your time if you go and soak it in. The food comes out as it becomes ready so it's an event. Thank you Ambrose for a great impromptu date night. read more

Ambrose is phenomenal! The chef, Stanley, is quite hospitable and he stopped by our table several times to serve and explain his unique dishes. He puts an El Salvadoran spin on tapas and injects his own creative twists. He shops for the best ingredients in Boston. On top of his 5 start dishes, Chef Stanley has also concocted some wonderful mixed cocktails. The aviation is delicious!! I can't emphasize enough how outstanding Ambrose is, you will be surprised. We were told to expect some Portuguese recipes on the menu this summer. They have an outside dog friendly patio which will open soon. I can't wait. read more

d, hostess, waitress-not sure what her role was, spoiled what could have been a wonderful experience. Outdoor ambiance-excellent, food-excellent, price-a little pricey but worth it. There were 4 of us. One in this group didn't get their meal until 30 minutes after the other 3. Instead of apologizing for what was clearly an error, she attempted to blame us for not understanding how they serve courses. She was pretty pretentious. We won't be back. read more

I love this hidden oasis in Exeter! The back patio is a wonderful spot for a lovely tapas dinner with fabulous cocktails. Perfect spot to meet up in Exeter for an elevated experience. read more

We were really looking forward to the food, but left unimpressed. The manager came over to ask if we had put our order in and when we said we had not, he just left to get another server which took far too long. The ambiance on the patio was comfortable, though the music choice a bit odd. What was really off-putting was having two dogs running throughout the outside patio and then sitting next to the table begging for food. We are dog lovers, but when paying their prices I would expect a little more professionalism from management. read more

Had heard great things as local resident and I went tonight to try. Beautiful hotel and beautiful outdoor restaurant ambience. We originally requested indoor seating thinking it might be too hot but when we got there we were pretty much forced into the outdoor seating despite our request. Never got a chance to see the indoor dining room but it ended up being a beautiful evening and outdoor seating was perfect all told, although having an option would have been a bit nicer. The seating and weather ended up being perfect so zero complaints there. We're told it was a "small plate" restaurant and most parties of 2 would share in general 4-6 plates. Plates generally averaged between $16-26$. It was a tapas-style menu. The dishes were generally decent, but extremely small, appetizer portions that were advertised as shareable but for the exorbitant price per plate would barely serve as an appetizer for one. One $24 dish of clams in a small bowl of broth came with 1 piece of tiny 1/4 inch baguette toast per diner. I requested more bread too our waiter, who I found out was Jaime' who owns the Exeter Inn that the restaurant is housed in. He did not return to our table for the rest of the evening. After 15 minutes I requested once again a little more bread because we received almost none for our dish. We were given 4 small pieces of sliced baguette. We ordered 5 extremely small dishes in total. The gnocchi dish was the best and flavors were solid but we were still extremely hungry. At the end we finished with a $150 bill, not including tip, having purchased 5 courses and 2 drinks. We were charged an extra $5 for "ciabatta" for 4 tiny slices of bread which were not ciabatta and our request from Jaime for more bread was seemingly purposefully ignored. Overall, the flavors were solid and the outdoor dining experience was nice. I am not a diner that needs huge portions but these were excessively small. If you love paying 18-$24 per tiny appetizer portion to share with your loved one, enjoy having your requests ignored by what I found out was the owner, and charged for baguette, this is your place. I can't say it's worth it at all and overall disappointed with the price for what you get and some significant service issues as well as being charged extra for nominal portions of bread which should not have been "extra". In addition I ordered a "classic" old fashioned cocktail which came with muddled orange, maybe orange juice as well in it and was more reminiscent of a college bar than the authentic type of Old Fashioned I would get at a more high end restaurant/bar. read more

We found Ambrose when looking for a restaurant for our anniversary dinner that was: 1) closer to home than Portsmouth and, 2) not the typical New Hampshire "fine" dining spot. We were very glad that we found this charming little restaurant. We were greeted warmly by chef Stanley and seated in the elegant 6 table dining room (reservations are strongly suggested), there is an outdoor patio which was closed for the season. As this was our first visit, chef Stanley explained that Ambrose has a seasonal tapas menu and that each person usually selects 2-3 dishes to share, with the first 3 dishes on the menu sized as 'individual' servings. What followed was, hands down, the best New Hampshire restaurant meal in our nearly 30 years of living here. We began with two excellent craft cocktails, expertly concocted by Chef Stanley and then shared 4 dishes and a dessert. We started with the Farm Salad and Dates wrapped in bacon (one of the smaller plates). The salad was fresh and tasty with a delicious honey vinaigrette dressing and was enough for the two of us to share. The Dates consisted of 4 bacon wrapped dates, stuffed with an almond and baked with spiced butter and served over a sour chili cream, they were warm and delicious. Our remaining shared 'entrees' were equally delicious. We had the Bacalao (salted cod) served with potato and gruyere and crostini, and the Braised Beef Short Rib served over parsnip puree and roasted delicata squash. We finished our excellent meal with the Autumn Cloud dessert and an espresso. The owner of the Inn, Jaime, stopped by and we had a pleasant conversation about Ambrose (it has been open for 2 years), the Inn and the dining experience. We are definitely looking forward to returning to Ambrose to try the other dishes that caught our eye and to see what dishes chef Stanley creates on his next seasonal menu. read more

The food was excellent and the staff were friendly and knowledgeable. The patio is beautiful.