Restaurants

The Wentworth by the Sea resort on Route 1B a few miles south of the city. There are two choices: a main dining room and a casual bar and grill. The dining room fare is top-rate, served beneath a remarkable (and original) frescoed dome; entrees might include grilled swordfish, lobster with filet mignon, seared yellowfin tuna, a clambake, a lobster pie, or something more continental. There is a moderate dress code: Men are asked to wear a collared shirt. The Latitudes grill has a simpler menu, but offers something the main inn can't -- an outdoor patio of tables with lovely views overlooking the water. It's softly lit at night.

Downtown Portsmouth now also has a branch of the terrific Flatbread Company (tel. 603/436-7888) pizzeria, at 138 Congress St. It's the place to eat a terrific organic-wheat crust pizza.

Portsmouth: Coffee Capital -- Portsmouth has perhaps the best cafe scene in all of northern New England. I'd even rate it comparable to Cambridge's or Boston's, slightly better than Portland's, and way better than Burlington's. There are at least 10 places in the compact downtown alone where you can get a very good cup of coffee and better-than-average baked goods, and new coffeehouses open all the time. There's a Starbucks (of course), but my favorite spots to enjoy a coffee drink or pot of tea with a book are, in this order: Breaking New Grounds (tel. 603/436-9555), 14 Market Sq., with outstanding espresso shakes, good tables for chatting out on the square, and late hours; Caffe Kilim (tel. 603/436-7330), at 79 Daniel St., across from the post office, a more bohemian choice; and Me and Ollie's (tel. 603/436-7777), at 10 Pleasant St., well-known locally for its good bread, sandwiches, and homemade granola.

If you want a bit more of a bite to go with your coffee, Portsmouth's got that covered, too. Two outstanding places leap to mind. The tie-dyed Friendly Toast (tel. 603/430-2154), at 121 Congress St., serves a variety of eggs and other breakfast dishes all day long, plus heartier items such as burgers. And the funky Ceres Bakery (tel. 603/436-6518), at 51 Penhallow St. (a side street off the main square), has a handful of tiny interior tables; grab a sandwich, cookie, or slice of cake to go, and walk to the waterfront rose gardens nearby.

Packing a Picnic -- Portsmouth's Prescott Park is about as pretty a spot as you could expect to find for an alfresco bite, with views of the harbor, a well-kept green, free gardens, summer music festivals, and vendors dispensing slushies and other fun treats in the summer. And it's free. There are a few benches, but tote a blanket just in case -- the lawn makes a great spot for splaying out and catching some rays. Get provisions nearby at the aptly named Portsmouth Provisions (tel. 603/436-5104), 2 blocks away at 148 State St. It's open daily from early in the morning until almost midnight. There's a good selection of beers, an attached sandwich counter, where a lot of locals eat lunch on the fly, and plenty of snacks and ice-cream products. Or just hit the vendors in the park for a hot dog, an ice cream, or a lemonade. In recent years, a summertime ice-cream shop has opened its doors across the street in Strawbery Banke, too.

Seabrook Side Trip: Lobsters Galore! -- If you're driving Route 1 or Interstate 95 south of Portsmouth, heading to or from Massachusetts, make a detour to Seabrook for some of the best lobsters in New Hampshire -- and the amazing spectacle of two (gently) competing shacks right across the road from each other.

Brown's (tel. 603/474-3331) got here first, and it's a bit more like the typically unadorned shack you'd find in, say, Downeast Maine. (Its patio also frames a view of Seabrook's infamous nuclear power plant -- and, yes, it's active.) Markey's (tel. 603/474-2851) opened later and more closely resembles a small-town diner. Brown's and Markey's frame both sides of state Rte. 286, easily reached from Portsmouth or Boston via the exits to Seabrook off both U.S. Rte. 1 and the New Hampshire Turnpike (I-95; drive east a few miles). From Hampton Beach, head south on coastal Rte. 1A a few miles and turn inland (west) on Rte. 286.