Visiting a sibling and her family mid-December 2025 I booked my flight from D.C. to Boston, took C&J Bus from Boston to Dover, and headed straight to my favorite bar in Dover, N.H. - Cara Irish Pub and Restaurant, on 4th Street in Dover. It was mid-day on a weekday, and there was a gathering - sounded like an office function - in the main bar area, so I took refuge at a small table near the front. Each visit to Cara reinforces my ties to the bar. The wait and bar staff have consistently been helpful and attentive without being intrusive. The menu offers a great example of Irish pub fare, all reasonably priced. I was in for a boilermaker (Maker's Mark with a side cider), and although it's not listed on the menu, I ordered a side of fries without the curry. Perfect comfort food in a relaxed pub setting. read more

Cara Irish Pub and Restaurant - Irish Near Me - Dover, New Hampshire

We have been dozens of times and always enjoy ourselves. We mostly go on live music nights but tonight we went for the trivia. Food is always good and sometime exceptional! Honestly for bar food a solid 4.5. The staff is on it especially when you sit at the bar. They have fun and usually very good specials. The blue cheese smash burger is out of this world. We constantly get the poutine and it's as good as any poutine I've ever had. The gravy has great flavor and the cheese is amazing. I've never had a bad meal and it's our favorite local chill place. Laid back and easy. It's definitely not a frills place but you always feel welcome especially when they get to know you! read more

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We had a nice meal here while they set up for bluegrass night. I love the bench/booth seating and they have a nice bar. Server was good! The curry fries were tasty with a little heat. Nice big salad loaded with goat cheese. The haggers and mash potatoes was also good! Nice atmosphere here. read more

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Food good but then had a live singer and for the venue it WAS TOO LOUD !!!! LOVED THE STAFF and service but couldn't hear each other talk .. JUST TOO LOUD !!!!!! PKEASE TURN IT DOWN !!! Came here to say to talk etc. but NO WAY could .. leaving with a headache!! LOVE THE STAFF BUT the music needed to be turned down !! read more

Cara Irish Pub and Restaurant - THE LOUD SINGER - Irish Near Me - Dover, New Hampshire

I love that they have live music here every night of the week. The drinks are generous and served efficiently. The food is so so but fills your belly. This place is a Dover institution! read more

Had a meal here, it tasted bland, not worth the money, the icing on the cake...got food poisoning...Terrible service as well.

Came here on Sunday night and were greeting by lovely live Irish band jamming. The pub was warm and welcoming. We had a couple of well poured pints of Guiness, some of Caras Nachos, the Cottage Pie and Rashers with Cabbage. All of it delicious - just a really warm evening. read more

I've been to your restaurant several times and the food is amazing. I've tried several times to place take out orders based on your online menu only to be told that the online menu isn't up to date. Tonight I asked for a Caesar salad and was told that you're out of ceasar dressing. How do you run out of dressing. Signed A hungry and frustrated customer read more

Still wondering why I paid a $20 cover to get into the pub on St. Patrick's Day. Nothing was as advertised. Ran out of the Irish breakfast early and it wasn't crowded. Food we did get was mediocre and wait staff was not helpful. read more

Been to Ireland many times and this is the real deal! If you want to experience a true Irish Pub come to Cara's. There open mic nights are the best. read more

Been going to Cara for a couple years now off and on. I love the ambiance and when Jubilie is playing it's a wonderful feeling in the pub. Just sit back with a pint of Guinness and enjoy. The staff has always been pleasant, and service good. The fish is the most consistent thing I've had on their menu, I've tried a few other things, like corned beef, burger, and a special now and then, but go back for the haddock. Portions are good. If I were to give a few thoughts, the corned beef was too salty, and I'd change the fries to something 'beefier', the 'lemon chicken and rice soup' was lacking in chicken and rice department, and maybe cut back just a tad on the lemon. But really a nice place and with a few tweaks would be a 5 star in my book. read more

Lovely ambience and vibe. Like the veggie sandwich it's yum...helpful staff...surely come back again...nice place to hangout with friends

I like this place. Nice hangout and they have consistent entertainment. The service was great. The corned beef dinner wasn't great. It came with a sloppy ice cream scoop of potatoes, turnips, cabbage. Corned beef was a small portion and it was shredded and greasy. I'll have to try something else next time. read more

Fun Irish pub atmosphere, good pub food, nice beer selection on tap. Had an excellent Ruben here for lunch. Service was good. Overall a good local pub. read more

We've been lucky enough to experience many pubs throughout Ireland. Cara is a good facsimile of the sort of pub to be found in any small Irish town. It's not perfect, but it's very authentic. The food, in our experience, is good quality pub food. The staff has been very friendly and attentive. The atmosphere and decor are very representative of the "real" thing. We recently attended the weekly Irish Session and found it to be the best we've been to in years. read more

One if the worst pubs of Dover, owner is obnoxious and full of attitude, tap beers all taste really bad, no wonder there's barely any crowd there. Do yourself a favor, go somewhere else, especially if you want fun, good atmosphere, nice staff and good beers. This place has none! read more

Shoutout to Courtney, Jess, and Kendall for being some of the nicest and best bartenders in dover. Food here us excellent, and they do specials every week. Around a 75% scratch kitchen and it shows. Great live music and other shit going on pretty much every night if the week. Always open until 1am every night of the week. I may be mistaken but I'm pretty sure Cara is the only place that can claim that. Best bar in town? Maybe. Most reliable bar in town? Absolutely. read more

Honestly I wish I could give this less than a star. The manager is so extremely rude. Paid and left without eating. Sometimes meals are bad, it happens. But the unprofessionalism of the staff is unforgiving. I have emailed the owner. If by chance he speaks to his staff about how horrendous they are, I will adjust my review. read more

This place is adorable. The staff is welcoming and they are willing to go out of their way to help. I had the absolute best reuben with homemade french fries - worth every calorie and bite. Parking is easy and even though it's a "historic" building, it was warm and comforting. read more

Cara Irish Pub and Restaurant - the bar - Irish Near Me - Dover, New Hampshire

Great find. Service was great despite being very busy, live music had many people up dancing, and the food was just as awesome. It was a family friendly place and had a good selection of food and drinks. We will definitely be back! read more

Worst experience I've had in a very long time. Waiter was horrible, manager was worse than the waiter. Food was disappointing, service was terrible. Will never return. My advise is , stay away. There are many pubs in the area. How this place stays in business with this unbelievably crude group of employees is mystifying. Wish I could give it ZERO stars.. read more

Food is mediocre. The first thing the waitress listed was the 4 entrees they were OUT OF. (At 6:30 on a Friday?!) Cara Burger was really dry and just OK (for a "signature" burger). Service was REALLY slow given it wasn't that busy. Waitress was friendly and pleasant, when she showed up and paid attention to us. Fries are gross, greasy and soggy. read more

I am in love with this place! The food is always great, sometimes there is live music, sometimes there is a quiz night, but it is always fun. Be careful of the one way street to get to them that google somehow doesn't know about... Oops! read more

Great spot on edge of town. Good food, really nice layout and very good drink selection. Wife and I visited on a Sunday and it was pretty mellow but I'm sure this pub has a wild side to it. We'll be back! read more

I REALLY hate to post negative for a local restaurant but I am forced to with Cara's. We went to the restaurant for their St. Patricks day breakfast and it was a total disappointment. It was the worst "breakfast" all four of us ever had. They only had one plate. The eggs were terrible, the sausage was gross, the ham was dry and tasteless. The potatoes were ok at best. This is the second bad meal at Cara's and we will not be back for a third. We do love the bar and the staff but the food is VERY BAD, it really needs to be improved. We tried Cara's again with the same bad result, Anyone giving this place 5 stars is crazy or working for the restaurant. There are much better restaurant choices in Dover... read more

abhaile as baile. beannachtaí don bhia agus doirt Guinness foirfe Far from the isle, close to yer ; stop in, say hello to family. read more

Spacious, beautifully designed pub and restaurant in downtown Dover. Cara's is brand new, features a focused but tasty menu, and --according to the owner-- plans on offering national musical and comedy acts in their upstairs function space. The chef made a point to deliver our food personally. My wife had a roast pork sandwich with baked apple aioli (a winner) and I had a short rib sandwich that was piled high with tender rib meat and cheddar cheese. They currently have 24 beers on tap that run the gamut from LongTrail Double Bag (my favorite)' to Fullers (ESB and London Pride), and many other craft and international brews. Gat pub and restaurant, friendly staff, and good food. read more

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I came here on St. Patrick's Day and was happy with the service and food. It was obviously busy when we were there, and the service definitely didn't suffer, we were checked on several times, and from a few different servers to make sure we had been taken care of. I was especially impressed with the service when I found out they were short staffed. The one thing that stopped me from giving them a 5 star rating was that the nozzle they pour water and soda from was dirty. My husband and I each got a glass of water and there was debris floating in it. My husband complained once and after making sure a new glass was clean, there was still debris in his second glass. Please do a thorough cleaning of that nozzle. read more

Went there for St. Patty's day for dinner and there was a $5. cover charge to get in! For dinner?? They did have some live music but we were all the way at the other end so we could not even hear it. So I paid 5. for what?? The food was decent. It was obviously very crowded being St. Patty's day. I just feel that by charging a cover charge, they are just trying to take advantage of people read more

Spent an afternoon sitting at the bar. Adrianne the bartender was very nice. Answered all our questions. The Irish strew was outstanding. The upstairs is setup for large bands and or receptions. Impressive place. The the vegetarian below. If you wanted vegetarian options why go to an Irish pub? read more

This place goes above and beyond!! Truly wonderful service where the patrons feel welcome while having access to delicious drinks and fantastic food! I have gone a few times when it was mellow but even with all the activities going for St. Paddy's day, they kept customer service top notch. The bouncers Harry and Troy were courteous, respectful, and kept everything feeling controlled and safe. The owners both mingled and made you feel appreciated and most of the waitresses are very nice! I'll definitely go again, and you should check it out for yourself instead of reading this! read more

I've been here before but today I had really excellent service. First off, it was pouring rain when I came in and they offered me a towel and hot tea. Second, they accidentally got my order wrong and brought out the wrong food. But instead of throwing it out she said I know you're hungry so snack on this free while I fix your order. It's a small thing but I really liked that. Btw when I did get my order it was great! Go here read more

Great little pub, with cozy dining, live music, and the best potato cake you've ever had! The waitress, Caroline, was friendly, attentive and treated us like family. Highly recommend the scampi! read more

Cara Irish Pub and Restaurant - Irish potato cakes. - Irish Near Me - Dover, New Hampshire

A true Irish pub. Very friendly staff and a very comfortable place to enjoy your meal or just to relax. I had the Bangers and mash, it was excellent, large size portions and prepared perfectly. They have a very high quality sound system, that doesn't drown you out, you can carry on a conversation without having to talk over the music. They have a full day of events happening for St Patrick's day, so if your looking for a place to go, this is the place. read more

I am amazed by how many local bartenders make drinks so strong you can't finish! Learn how to make drinks! You are costing owners a lot of $$$ We ordered 6-8 drinks and only charged for half so I guess that works??? Since each drink was close to a double we paid for 5 drinks when they poured enough for 12-14! Thank you for saving us $$ read more

One of the more relaxing and pleasant pubs in Dover. Great people, nice atmosphere w/ open beam and brick construction, comfortable seating nooks everywhere and great live music. Sunday I've seen live Irish music and thurs there is some great live bluegrass jam. This place may have live music other nights too, not sure about that. I'm going to try a football game next at the upstairs bar next, they have a huge hd projector in the upstairs section. Nice place. read more

I visit here frequently for bluegrass night and just started eating here more frequently. Took a friend here tonight for a burger and it took forever. The place was not busy and even our waters were not brought right over. Upon receiving our food my burger was definitely not medium as I requested and in fact was burnt to a crisp on the outside. Every place has an off day or an off meal so I expressed my disappointment to the waiter, telling him how I was bummed because the last burgers here were great. I was very surprised when we got the bill and it was not adjusted at all. Bummer but I won't be having food here again. read more

A large fight broke out this weekend and there were bottles thrown and people being tossed down the stairs. I only counted 4 bouncers on hand, which doesn't seem fit for a 3500sq ft night club. The fight included about 25-30 people. The worst part was that the cops were never called and makes me feel like the owner was and is being very negligent with there actions. Be very careful of this place as it's reputation for over serving and allowing mischievous activity within its premise is not a far stretch. read more

This place is awful. It's the furthest thing from authentic Irish pub I've ever seen, and I used to live in Limerick when I worked for Dell for 5 years so I have a sound idea of what it takes to be a good Irish Pub and what actual Irish food is. When I first entered I waited 10 minutes at an empty bar with no bartenders or servers in site before some lady came and served me. I ordered a pint of Guiness and the bartender or whatever she was didn't know how to pour a pint of stout properly. I was a bit hungry so I ordered the french fries and curry. It took 30 minutes for this to arrive and when it did the fries tasted like soggy, poorly-defrosted product and the curry was the furthest thing from what you'd get in a pub or at a chipper in Ireland. The fries were obviously an out of the bag freezer product and the curry was watery and tasteless with some stray peas floating around. I ate about ten of them, paid my tab, and left. I decided to go back with my girlfriend a few months later to see if things had changed and to try the "Traditional Irish Breakfast." The hours on the door/facebook indicated that it opened at 10 or 11 am on Sundays (I forget exactly). When we arrived the place was closed. I think that's really bad if a pub can't adhere to the hours they advertise they are open. Anyone who says that this place has good food or service should seek psychiatric evaluation; that or they're the owner or friends writing inaccurate reviews on here. The service, ambience, and food are all way below par here. If I could I would give this place negative stars. Avoid it at all costs. Thankfully, after showing up to a closed Cara's that Sunday we found Ri Ra in nearby Portsmouth. The place was waaaaayyy better across the board: food, service, ambience, and it's actually run by and FOB Irishman. I don't know who's running Cara's but it's probably just some 6th generation imposter who thinks they can run an authentic irish pub just because they're grandfather came over as an indentured servant 150 years ago. Awful place, awful, experience, awful service. They should just give up and close and save people from wasting their time driving there and trying the slop they try and pass off as food. ABSOLUTELY AWFUL!!! read more

I love this bar. The service is sensational and with Courtney, one of the bartenders, you will get enthusiastic service, outstanding memories and conversation, and an overall top notch experience. I can't say enough about her customer service skills. The food is always great, while every night they have a fun theme that all the patrons love. Kareoke, blue grass, and fun games to name a few. This has become my go-to place. The outside porch and upstairs are always filled with happy customer who embrace conservation with new friends. I highly recommend Caras. read more