A little expensive, but unique and tastey food

Service was excellent.food came fast and was prepared perfectly. Have been back a few times since.

My wife and I went to Bantam for the first time on Sunday night and were greeted at the door by a friendly face and were seated immediately . The atmosphere was casual but charming. The food was surprisingly "Bistro" for the region we were dining in. Exceptional food and drinks and we were very impressed for a Professional couple who has traveled the globe . We will absolutely be back ! read more

Food is fresh, delicious and consistent every time we go. We live in Peterborough and love to eat out. It's become one of our go-to places. Love the tuscan kale salad, the Bantam chicken and the Flatiron Steak. Great onion soup and specials are local and fresh. Fairly priced, friendly service. read more

Very good food and atmosphere, with very knowledgable waiters. I personally had the Lamb Strangozzi, and when I had trouble pronouncing it the waitress helped and went into a story about where the name came from, which involved priests and strangulation (Strangozzi is Italian for strangulation). My mother had lemon shrimp, which she enjoyed, and my father had Quattro Formagio Ravioli, which he said was decent (which is high praise coming from him, as he worked at the best Italian place in the Monadnock region, DelRossi's). Nice blues music played during our dinner, which added to the atmosphere. The only "problem" was a limited menu, but that isn't really a problem as everything on it is probably really good. Half of the menu was dedicated to drinks and spirits, and there is a smallish bar, so if that's more your thing then nice Italian food, your all set. read more

We stumbled upon this absolutely delightful and delicious restaurant when driving home from vacation. Food was excellent and very reasonably priced for the quality. Wait staff was very nice and friendly and even labeled our to go boxes. Lovely décor even down to the rest room which was beautiful. I think our new route north will go through Peterborough from now on just to be able to eat here again. read more

Terrible experience again. I don't understand what the problem is with this restaurant. Our favorite restaurant in Peterborough is Pearl, owned by the same person, but Bantam is a disaster. Worst service, awful drinks, and very poor timing. Skip it, go someplace else. If you can't get into Pearl you are better off with McDonalds. read more

Excellent. I had the Zuppa Pesce (fish stew) and loved it. The shellfish and fish were cooked just right. My bourbon Manhattan was not stellar but good. Regarding manhattans they served in a martini glass which is wrong at least for a guy but many restaurants are doing this because they probably don't want to buy Manhattan glasses which are short with about a 60 degree slope. My friends had salmon and a great twisted pasta/ravioli that was tasty and unique. Atmosphere is straightforward but strip center facade presence is lacking. I will be back. read more

The food here is great but pricey. The variety caters more to the delicate palette unless they changed their menu. I have been twice but not anxious to go back. read more

If I could rate "zero" stars, I would! Absolutely horrible experience! They are pretending to be an upscale restaurant and charge upscale prices, when they fail miserably at every level! Upon being seated at a plain wooden table completely lacking of any decor, our waitress took our drink order (just a coke & ice tea) and then came back for our order. We were never told about any nightly specials (which we later overheard another server sharing with another table). My husband specifically asked that his salmon be thoroughly cooked all the way through when ordering it. Our dinners arrived and you guessed it - the salmon was raw in the middle. It took some time to flag down the waitress (who did not come back on her own to check that everything was fine), but we asked that the salmon be brought back and cooked all the way through as originally requested. Meanwhile I finished my dinner (I only ate half of it, as it was also very disappointing - the seafood stew dish was very "fishy" tasting and the scallops and mussels were both undercooked). We didn't see our waitress again, but eventually we were able to flag down a different server and ask them to get us our bill and take the cost of the still undelivered salmon off the bill. I would never go back!!! The prices are high considering there is no atmosphere, poor food quality and terrible service! There are so many restaurants in the area to choose from that deliver a great meal with professional service, all of which was lacking at Bantam! read more

The only good reviews for this place were probaby written by the owner. A few weeks ago I stopped in with one other person at 530pm and I was asked by the 'Host' [in title only], if we had a reservation. I said no and he proceeded to inform me that the first available table for two would be at 730pm. The only people in the retaurant were seated at the bar! Thinking he was joking I asked to be seated and he said that the only walk-ins were at the bar and that they weren't taking any more. As I turned to leave he had the audacity to tell me to come again. My response? "But only with a reservation right?" he said "YES"!! This guy [Owner(??), Yikes!], is a clown and try as he may, even the best and busiest restaurants in NY will never violate the primary rule of retail, 'never turn a customer away'. This bozo is so clueless he actually didn't realize he had the hardest part won which is getting the customer in the front door [in a strip center no less]. Do yourself a favor, Mr. Owner, lose the attitude and check your ego at the door. Make it appear you're happy to have new customers from the area. Your friends won't be able to sustain your business indefinitely. Until then, don't buy any perishables, you won't be around long. Everyone else, stay away, if the experience at the front door sucks this bad how good can the food really be? read more

I live in the area and was thrilled to see a new restaurant move in where Cantine used to be. I was interested to check it out and was excited to see the variety of the menu when I got there. I ended up starting with the Beef Carpaccio. It was light and a great way to kick off the meal. Upon a recommendation from the waitress, I then had the Lamb Strangozzi. I like that they make the pasta themselves and the dish as a whole was fantastic. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable and the place overall had a cool and comfortable vibe. I'm excited to go back and try more of the menu! read more

Went there for dinner for the first time last night. My husband and I love Pearl and since this is owned by the same folks, decided to give it a try. We were not disappointed! The drinks, appetizer, entree and dessert, were all very good. I had beef wellington which was exceptional, and my huband has the zuppa de pesce which was also quite good. Our waiter was friendly and personable as well as knowledgeable of the menu and bar selections. We have so little of this quality restaurant in our area and it is refreshing to get "city quality" dining in rural Peterborough. I do not ever mind paying higher prices for food if it is creative, tasty and good, and I feel it was worth every penny. It was definitely the case here. We will be back again for sure, I cannot wait! read more

the whole family was blown away by this place! one of the best burgers we've ever had, and the lamb ragu pasta was amazing. we even discovered our new favorite wine! the service was great, waitress was so nice and they were very accommodating and whipped something up special for our gluten-free vegan sister. read more

This place has recently opened, so we decided to cut it a break after our first visit, but our second visit, a few days ago, was similarly disappointing. I doubt we will be going back, which is sad as there are very few good places to eat near to Peterborough. It falls short of what you expect for this price point. The risotto balls--a dish that usually self corrects with its tasty, fail proof ingredients--are nearly tasteless on their own; the accompanying pesto and red pepper coulis add some flavor, but the balls themselves are remarkably bland and unseasoned. What should be a tasty guilty pleasure, falls flat. This is typical of most of their appetizers, which are nearly all flawed in more substantial ways than you would expect of a restaurant owned by the same owner as Pearl (a restaurant that can be a bit predictable, but is normally good and is never disappointing). That said, the home made pastas are generally tasty. The main courses are also mostly decent, but they are a bit heavy handed and somewhat greasy. Fundamentally, they all lack the exacting care and sophistication that good Italian-American food should have at this price point. Additionally, in a region with produce as varied and good as ours, there should be at least one locally sourced ingredient on the menu with the specific farm or supplier listed or just a general list of suppliers--this has become standard for even moderately self aware restaurants. I know that this is a bistro style place, but a two course meal with a glass of wine each for two people, will be around $100, so more care is expected than is currently being delivered. read more

great food, very pleasant waitress and nice ambiance.

We've heard about this place and decided to try it. Mistake. Service was slow - they had 2 servers on, with the place just over half full, which should have been adequate, but apparently not. The first restaurant I've ever seen that didn't have either Corona or Heineken on the menu, but that was survivable - what wasn't survivable was waiting more than 15 minutes after giving our drink order for it to arrive. We tried their fancy grass-fed beef burger - that also took a long time to arrive - and it was *dry*. Grass-fed beef is good, but it has less fat than regular beef, so something needs to be added to the meat in order to moisten it, and there wasn't anything. No spices in the beef, either. A few limp pieces of arugula, 2 slices of applewood bacon - the best part of the burger - cheese, and a few mushrooms; nothing else, no sauces or anything else to moisten the burger. The truffled potatoes that came with the burger were also dry, and with very little flavor. The scallops were done fairly well, with fiddlehead and pasta 'chips', but 6 scallops for $25.50? Expensive. Compared to other places I've eaten at, the prices were definitely higher than normal. Presentation was good - the plates were arranged nicely, with an eye to detail. The bartender definitely ruled the roost there - she was joking with one of the servers, but she cut the hostess / busperson cold. Servers were not as attentive as they could have been, and at one point both of them stood in the middle of the restaurant and chatted for several minutes. Quite a few people seem to like the place, judging by some of the reviews, but we didn't. They've got the right idea, but they need to do better with food quality and attentiveness of the staff. read more