For those who travel route 101 between Manchester and Portsmouth, you have a good reason to stop in Epping if you are hungry. A recent visit to
Zampa left us impressed.
As we arrived on a recent Saturday night for dinner and drove into their parking lot, I couldn't help but think that the restaurant looked small from the outside:
Not to worry, as you enter you will notice that looks can be deceiving and Zampa is roomier on the inside than you might expect. We were seated in the back at a small table and looked around to take it all in. My immediate reaction on the atmosphere was good. It is a combination of a lot of reds along with high and low tops and a small bar. The tables were silver colored and the seats comfortable:
Our waitress brought over bread sticks with a spicy sauce for dipping and they were a nice change. We ordered up a couple of drinks, my wife a pomegranate martini and I had a beer. Her martini was well made so if you partake in adult beverages you would approve.
The
menu is small and there were also a few specials so we had some tough choices to make. On the appetizers, the Winter Torta sounded fabulous, a potato pastry crust with onions, cauliflower and Vermont cheddar cheese. The specials included potato flat bread with smokehouse bacon and dill sour cream. We went with the latter and it was delicious:
Since we love meat, we both selected the Red White & Blue Filets, which were served with a cranberry Italian, blue cheese chutney, green beans and squash along with pommes frites and a dipping sauce. We weren't sure about the chutney so we got that on the side. I tasted the chutney by itself and on the filet and was surprised at how nicely it complemented the meat.
They got me on this one because there was no way that these should go together but the chef makes it work. My wife, on the other hand, preferred the filet without the chutney:
They had a nice selection of homemade desserts and we decided on the Tiramisu, this was well made.
Our waitress was professional and courteous.
More than anything else it is about the food at Zampa. They have a recipe for success that you should experience.
