Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Dominick's, Pizza Pasta & Things in Chichester needs improvement

My wife gets bored eating at our usual dinner haunts in the local Concord area so when we were looking for something different she mentioned Dominick's Pizza Pasta & Things in Chichester. We visited once before but it’s been a long time so we decided to give it another try.


This restaurant has an interesting history for those that are familiar with Route 4 - the road that runs between Concord and Portsmouth. Across the street from Johnson's Seafood is a small restaurant that is now the Northwood Diner but before was the previous home to Dominick's. I know this because I had once stopped in to get a sandwich. Since that time the owners decided to make the move to Chichester. 

They are currently located at the top of a hill on Suncook Valley Road. Heading north on the right you will see what looks like a house with large windows, that is the restaurant. If you decide to check them out drive slowly and keep your eyes peeled or you will miss it.


Our waitress dropped by and we ordered two sodas and reviewed the menu that includes most of your standard Italian favorites. We decided on two chicken parm dinners that came with soup, salad, and bread. The way the soup is served here is different than any place I know – it’s self-serve. So, you go to a large vat and ladle your own. You can also help yourself to some rolls which are kept in a warming station next to the soup bar. Although it may seem strange for some reason I didn't mind getting my own soup.

Our selection was the chicken noodle:


The soup well made with plenty of chicken, noodles and a flavorful broth. Sadly the bread was overdone, maybe it was sitting in the warmer too long.

A look at my chicken parm dinner:


This could have been better and at almost $17 seemed overpriced given where the restaurant is located. We both agreed that the chicken breast was too thick because it had not been pounded down to a more traditional size. My wife also commented that either the breading or the sauce tasted funny.

For dessert we sampled their homemade apple pie which was decent.

Our waitress was fine until the end of the meal. Because we had each ordered a fountain beverage to go with our meals, we naturally assumed that there were free refills since this is an industry standard practice. Well, that isn’t the case at Dominick's. When I asked the waitress about the excessive charge she didn’t attempt to make amends because I believe that she didn’t even realize there was a problem. We ended up paying almost $9 dollars including tax for 4 sodas which is ridiculous.

So there you have it, based on our previous visit we were excited to try Dominick's Pizza Pasta & Things again but, unfortunately, it will probably be a long time, if ever, before we make a return visit.

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