KJ’s Sports Bar
Michelle Morton and Roland Curit have been hosting Friday night karaoke sessions at KJ’s Sports Bar for three straight years. In their time at Newmarket’s only bowling ally/bar/pool hall, they have fine-tuned their singing operation to become the Seacoast’s most high-tech karaoke experience.

Redhook Brewery: Slow down and smell the barley
Those of you who reach lightning speeds traveling on Route 16 might want to slow down next time you approach the massive, green-roofed Redhook Brewery building. Inside the mountain-like structure is a pub and state-of-the-art brewing facility that will excite any micro-brew buff.

The Daniel Street Tavern
When the kindly bartender is named Veve (short for Elvira), there’s hard rock playing on the jukebox, you can pretend to shoot virtual deer on a video game and you leave smelling like you’ve smoked an entire pack of Luckys, you know you’ve been at the Daniel Street Tavern before the sun went down.

Top 10 reasons Paddy’s should not be overlooked
Paddy’s American Grille (www.paddysgrille.com) is hidden away in a land far from Portsmouth’s downtown – the Pease International Tradeport. We love Paddy’s lounge and think you need to visit more often. Here’s why:

Wet Bar offers pleasant surprise
I didn’t want to like the Wet Bar. I mean, come on. I don’t care how plush the leather seats are, who with a straight face calls a bar an "ultra lounge?" And the tagline on the Web site, "the wetter … the better" is almost as icky as that of the sports bar under the same roof: "Eat. Drink. Score!"

Swim back to the Mermaid
How could I forget about the Blue Mermaid (www.bluemermaid.com)? Perhaps it’s the mammoth Hilton that has grown up in front of the building it lives in. Or maybe it is that my new baby has kept me close to home. But last week, when Seacoast Connects visited the friendly little bar and restaurant on The Hill, I was reminded of all the good times I’ve had there.

Get your Irish up at Molly Malone’s
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Although Mint, the remodeled downstairs restaurant at Molly Malone’s, is billed as the city’s newest “ultra lounge” with “an Asian fusion twist,” the upstairs pub is still the good old reliable Irish publick house patrons have come to know and love since it first opened some 15 odd years ago.

Plenty to roar about at the Library Lounge
According to Library Restaurant owner Bruce C. Belanger, the majestic lions standing guard out front have been known to rear up on their haunches and growl ferociously. He says he has that on record from no better source then the esteemed former Portsmouth Poet Laureate Esther Buffler, a longtime resident of the 130-plus-year-old Rockingham Hotel (where the restaurant is located on State Street.)

The quick and dirty dozen
Daytime pubcrawls rock and Wally’s is open at 11 a.m. daily. Wally’s has the cheapest cigarettes on the beach, but you have to be a customer to purchase them. I don’t smoke, but I thought you should know that.

The decks are open!
The tell-tale sign of summer’s arrival is when you can stroll Ceres Street in Portsmouth (down by the tugs) and see the decks of Poco’s, Ferry Landing and on back filled to the rail with folks dressed in shorts and sunglasses, fruity drink in hand, laughing and having fun.

PUB CRAWL: A rocking good time at the Coat of Arms
Sitting at the bar with my buddy Rich, my second pint of Black and Tan (1/2 Guinness and 1/2 Bass) before me, everything seemed right with the world.

Spring Hill Tavern offers intimate silliness
Just a short stroll up from the tugboats tied to the Ceres Street docks, the Spring Hill Tavern (located beneath the Dolphin Striker restaurant) is an oasis of warmth, great food and some kickin’ good times.

What's happening behind 'The Red Door'?
A short walk up a flight of sharp and narrow stairs from busy State Street below, The Red Door is Portsmouth’s answer to suave and sophisticated hotspots more often found in cities like Boston or New York.
Map  |  Directions