Library Restaurant At The Rockingham House

I would say that The Library is extremely average.
Good steak not great…
It’s an ok place to go but the food does not equal the price point.
Very drafty no matter where you sit. They should invest in new windows…

Neat, warm atmosphere and high quality food. Service was a bit slow at times. They were out of their Soup de Jour by 7:00pm which I thought was unfortunate. Great date night place overall though!

Valentine’s Day dinner and second time being here. My first time I got seafood and it was mediocre at best. But it is a steakhouse so this could have been my bad. So this Valentine’s Day I treated my wife to a nice night out. Reservations filled up fast so I only got a 4 pm table, I can’t complain about that because it’s V day. I can complain that our table was a straight shot to the door and every time the door opened the cold wind hit us dead on, but again it’s not about me, it’s date time. We ordered food and drinks and while the wine came fast enough the food took just over an hour. It’s a fancy place so fine fine I can look past it. What I can’t look past is my steak Oscar coming out cold and the texture of my sirloin being the same texture as my wife’s filet which was anything but tender. The sides (spinach and cauliflower mashed) were just ok, but at least hot. Our soups were also cold to the point where the bisque had started to congeal over the two small pieces of lobster in the «lobster bisque». And finally the app was a fried piece of brie some boxed crackers and a few pieces of white bread that was listed as toast points. Over all I was not impressed and will never be going back, the price tag did not equal the experience. Two strikes and its out.

It’s not often that I take the time to review restaurants, but when I do, it was either really good, or really bad. This was our Valentines Day dinner yesterday 2÷13÷16 and we do not plan to go back to this restaurant after our experience. We’ve been to many high end steak houses throughout New England many times & were excited to come back to Portsmouth and try this historic restaurant. The vibe was cool, the history was cool… the service was just okay and the food? Terrible. I am NOT picky & am very surprised how much my husband & I disliked our meal.
First, walking in the restaurant we went to what we thought was the host stand & about 3 – 4 employees walked right by us without saying a word (Not even a «Hello, someone will be right over»). They just kept walking by to the point where we were looking around to see if we were in the wrong spot. Then finally someone came & brought us to our table. We had made a reservation a month in advance & ended up getting sat at a table right up against the window (of course on the day that it’s below zero). There was an icy cold draft blowing through the window seams & if there was not a fire place close behind us, we would have asked to move. We did end up telling the server we were very cold & asked if we could close the blinds some more to try & help it, which she gladly did, but it was still cold.
We ordered two cocktails to start off the meal & we each ordered very common drinks that we get often at other restaurants. I ordered a french 75 (usually served in a champagne flute with mostly champagne, a little vodka/​gin, a hint of lemon & simple syrup), & it came in a martini class with a giant orange slice & it tasted like lemonade with a splash of champagne. My husband ordered a simple whiskey drink that he gets often & it came with a bright red color & was not anything like what he ordered, but we figured, okay, they just didn’t know how to make these drinks (even though their website says they are known for good cocktails & their bar area). We ordered a bottle of wine instead & all was good.
The appetizer we got was the crab cocktail. The pieces of crab itself tasted good. The presentation of this dish was a little strange. It was just a small white plate & over a bed of lettuce were chunks of crab meat with two little cups of sauce. It tasted delicious, but was just not what we expected.
I ordered the special with a filet mignon (ordered medium-​rare) with crab-​stuffed shrimp. My husband ordered a steak ordered medium-​rare as well with a side of baked potato (which was not cheap) & a side of spinach. First, although we ordered our steaks cooked exactly the same way, mine was just BARELY on the cusp of medium to medium-​rare, while my husbands was more like medium to medium-​WELL. He ate it anyway because we were starving and freezing & did not want to wait for a whole new plate to be put together. The baked potato my husband ordered was undercooked. He put the entire cup of butter they dropped off on the potato but it was still hard & dry. He barely ate the potato. The only thing he enjoyed slightly from his meal was the spinach.
Now, my steak was not bad. It tasted fine, slightly overcooked, but fine. Would I come back to spend high-​end-​steakhouse-​money on this steak again in the future? heck no. Not worth it. The shrimp was absolutely horrible. It said it was stuffed with crab. Well, the ‘crab’ was more like a piece of corn bread with a few pieces of colorful things in it. It tasted like a pastry, not crab. I did not like the taste of it so i ended up peeling out these ‘crab stuffing pastries’ and decided i’d just eat the shrimp by itself. Well, took a big bite of the shrimp alone & it had a strong, strange flavor which I could only associate it tasting like the smell of CHLORINE. No idea what would give it this flavor, but it was so gross I did not eat any more than that one bite of shrimp.
The vegetables (mashed potatoes and ‘veggie of the day’) that came with my special were good & i liked the flavoring on the vegetables.
My husband & I also paid extra to both get an order of the ‘cognac peppercorn’ sauce for our steaks (this costs about $ 2 – 3 extra each meal). I had this sauce recently at another restaurant & loved it so much, so when I saw it on the menu i was excited to get a side of it and convinced my husband to as well. Well, it came out and i’m telling you, I am NOT picky and it takes A LOT for me to not eat a sauce that comes for my steak… but this sauce tasted like a little cup full of mayonnaise with a few whole peppercorns mixed in. It was not good. I tasted it on one bite of steak and neither of us had any more of the sauces.
Our server was very polite but the service was not what we usually experience at a restaurant advertised as a high-​end steakhouse. I hate to leave such a bad review on such a beautiful restaurant w/​an amazing history in Portsmouth, but unfortunately we did not have a good experience for Valentines Day.

What an awful experience. The customer service was terrible. I took my husband there for his birthday and it was a disaster from beginning to the end. The appetizers were okay. The Filet Mignon was dry and tasteless. The only thing that was great was the bread they serve you and the wine was fine. The cost was $ 400 for four of us. It was not worth it.

Delicious filet mignon cooked perfectly, awesome atmosphere, and an excellent wine selection. We couldn’t have asked for a better meal. Oh and the couple next to us got engaged during dinner! Great night, great place

One of the best steak houses north of Boston. As good as Mew, if not better. Delicious sides to go with your steak.
Actually I had the Lamb, and it was superb.
The specials are an excellent way to save $$ with potatoes included.
Everyone else had steak and all loved their meal.
Best warm chocolate cake ever for desert
Exellent service.
Prices were not bad. We had two couples and with tip it came to $ 275.
Fantastic and unique environment
Nice small bar
Negatives
Difficult parking
Not good for any disabled patron
But this is a great place!!!@

A holiday lunch at this lovely Library Restaurant was a delightful dining experience! Our family has been a fan of this particular restaurant for many years but had not been there in quite some time, until this December when we took friends to have lunch with us during the holidays. We were thrilled to experience how much the ambiance has retained it’s «librarian» elegance while the food was a delicious as we remembered. Our guest ordered the lobster roll lunch, a wonderful menu selection. My husband raved abotu the side dish «zucchini slaw» and my cob salad was generous with a nice chicken breast already sliced arranged over the tradtional ingredients and balsamic dressing on the side. Thank you to The Library Restaurant for maintaining your reputation for quality and fine dining in downtown Portsmouth NH. Kudos to the very friendly staff!

I came here for a Thanksgiving dinner. It was highly recommended. Thanksgiving is NOT their thing. I sat in the wonderful library room. Turkey was dry, stuffing was undercooked and dry. Clearly thanksgiving dinner is NOT what I should have ordered. it’s not their specialty. I would try it again, just not on Thanksgiving.

Amazing service, ambiance, and perfectly portioned food. My husband and I will definitely be returning to this gem!

10÷9÷2015: Update to several earlier visits to this restaurant. As stated earlier in several of my reviews, I had no intentions of returning after our last visit but my wife wanted to «give it one last try» as was her birthday today and she wanted steak. It was against my better judgement but, it was her birthday. We sat at the bar and, with no one else there, decided to eat there. Bar service was very good. The young lady who served us was personable and very efficient. My wife ordered a filet that was good, not excellent, but good. I ordered the large sirloin and it was just OK, certainly not like in years past at The Library when you would leave the restaurant raving about the meal. We both agreed that it wasn’t worth the $ 180.00 we spent. My wife agrees with me, we will not be returning.

Popped in for a quick ribeye. Only one they had was the cowboy 24oz. Guess I had to go with that! Paired with a nice red. Heaven. Service was superb. And steak was perfectly cooked. I’ll post pic of Y lets me.
In short of in area and want that 2%of available meat (pork, beef). Come on down!

Steak was phenomenal and the atmosphere was excellent. Really enjoyed it.

I went to the Library to celebrate my husband’s birthday and would definitely go back. The Prime Steak was excellent as was the mashed cauliflower and their wine list has many reasonable options which is not always the case at steak houses. My only minor complaints was the $ 5.00 charge to share and the server did not offer a complimentary dessert for my husband’s birthday which I thought was customary.
The restaurant has 3 rooms — the bar, the boardroom, and main dining room. The Boardroom is more appropriate for an intimate dinner and the Bar and Main Room for a celebration as an FYI.

The Library was on our list of places to try. The interior resembles and old library and is very classy a warm. The night we went there was a mix of 20 somethings on their first date, a group of yuppies comparing the size of their sailboats, and a good number of senior citizens. The staff is very friendly and attentive. They offer an excellent selection of bourbons, but teased me with the Pappy Van Winkle, but they were all out. We got the crab meat cocktail appetizer which was excellent! Fresh meaty chunks accompanied with a spicy Dijon mayonnaise sauce got us excited for what dinner would be like. We also had the New Orleans shrimp which was also tasty an well portioned. I picked the monkfish over penne special. It was prepared in a red sauce with capers and sounded delicious. Unfortunately, it was just ok. It didn’t really work out. The sauce overpowered the large awkward chunks of fish. My wife got the aged filet mignon. It wassA overdone and really flavorless. The asparagus side was ok. Good portion, but again lacking any flavor. The mac and cheese side was creamy and decadent. My son’s herb roasted chicken was excellent. Well seasoned and grilled perfectly. Overall, the meal was average for a place considered fine dining.
Should you eat here? Depends on how much you have experienced Portsmouth’s food scene. This should be on your list, but on the second page.

Went for my wife’s birthday dinner tonight. Beautiful setting, service by Matt was outstanding and the food (filet mignon, baked sweet potato and asparagus was outstanding. Place has tons of history and it was really neat to read about it.
Would go back in a heartbeat!

Our favorite place in Portsmouth. Warm cocktail area with fireplace. Great fries and desserts. Love the service.

Ok, the Hashman checking in. This is my third time at this Steakhouse. I can honestly say that I have never been disappointed. This ranks up with others I’ve been to nationwide. But then again a couple fingers before dinner can add to the appeal. The 32oz ribeye was cooked just right, as good as it gets. Had three sides, all outstanding.
This is a can’t miss! A Hashman grade A

I wish there was a way to give negative stars. I have never been so embarrassed. I ordered the cowboy (bone in ribeye) medium rare and was served raw, not rare, I mean blue raw in the middle. I had taken 2 bites.
When the server finally came over, my wife had finished her meal and I told the server. She took it back.
When the check came, the $ 36 raw steak was still on the bill. I asked the server about it and she told me that the manager told her to leave it on there. What!!! Chefs can’t cook? Charge the customers. Wow. How embarrassing for THEM. I asked to speak with this «manager» and she informed me that because I «refused» to let them fix it, the policy was to leave it on the bill. As my wife was done eating and this was out tenth anniversary (thanks for making that special) I decided to leave rather than let my wife watch me eat.
To fight me about a steak they cooked wrong is so embarrassing for them. To charge me for it is abusive. Avoid the library at all costs. Go to Rudy’s or BRGR Bar or anywhere else. Do not be abused by this overpriced excuse for a steak house. You deserve better.

The Library Restaurant was a spectacular find during a recent weekend getaway in this New England-​y area. Visiting during Restaurant Week 2013 at lunch, I was able to try out the delicious fare of this establishment on an easy budget.
Located within The Rockingham House, this restaurant has undergone a number of renovations and expansions… each bit of the location boasts historical reference. For instance, all the lighting fixtures are original and the marble-​topped bar in the lounge originates from the front desk of the Rockingham Hotel. The atmosphere itself is quite cozy; there’s something about hand-​carved dark wood inlay, tables sectioned off by full bookcases, and thick carpeting that exudes an air of comfort for those within its comforts. Reminds me of cuddling up with a good book in a dark corner on a rainy day. Wonderful!
The meal was pretty enjoyable as well… for the $ 16.95 lunch deal, I began with a House Salad drenched in Balsamic Vinaigrette. I could have done with a lighter hand on the salad dressing, but the combination was simply and tasty. From this course, I moved onto the Grilled Salmon with Potato Roesti and Havarti Dill Cheese Sauce. Again… a bit heavy on the sauce, but easy enough to push to the side in order to partake in a lighter flavor. The potato was a bit burnt at the edges but overall a pleasant presentation and delectable combination. I completed the meal with a Bourbon Chocolate Mousse cup… divine.
This place is definitely on my list of places to return to if ever again in the area. Preferably during a Restaurant Week again… but its boast of being the «best steakhouse on the seacoast» makes me want to partake in this specialized fare.
The website suggests making reservations, though none were necessary for lunchtime during my visit. Street parking abound in this downtown area.