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    The Ice House

    4.1 (88 reviews)

    The Ice House Photos

    THE ICE HOUSE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    peanut butter oreo
    Katie D.

    We were so happy to find this not-so-hidden gem on our way back to the hotel! I had peanut butter oreo ice cream and my parents had mint patty frozen yogurt, both of which were delicious! There was a bit of a line when we got there, but it went quickly because service is fast and worth the wait. (visited 8/7/21)

    Buffalo Chicken Tenders

    BUFFALO CHICKEN SZN!! We've got the og Buffalo chicken tendies from the East coast. Not sure what sauce this establishment uses but definitely could not eat without some tasty cool down ranch. These were blazing and ready to be chomped by the wing god herself. Not anything too memorable other than the pungent taste of these wing baddies. However, am a wuss for not being able to eat all of these by myself, but what kind of wing god experience would it be if you can't share 'em with your Buffalo loving friends!!!****************************************************** Texture: 7 Flavor: 8 Crispy: N/A Spicyness: 9 Smell: 8.5 Amount of suace: 8.5 Appearance: 8.5 Overall: 8 (too hot for me ) Stay spicy, @wing.god

    Ian W.

    The Ice House in Rye is a great place to stop for ice cream and drive-in type food while touring the area, next to Wentworth By The Sea (country club/hotel/marina) just outside of New Castle. This location is on NH Route 1B, not a super busy road. The Ice House scoops out Richardson's Ice Cream (around 36 flavors), which I absolutely love on a warm summer day or any time of year, including cones, cups, sundaes, shakes, frappers, malts, floats, freezes, ice cream sodas, banana split, and frozen yogurt (6-8 flavors). Ice cream/frozen yogurt offered in kiddy, small, and large sizes ($2.40-$2.90-$3.40 plus tax in 2009). Some signature sundaes offered are ET, Flutter Nutter, Pina Colada, Peanut Butter Cup, Mexican, Heath Bar Crunch, and more ($4.95-$6.45 plus tax). The drive-in type food offered includes homemade chowders, chili, burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, seafood, rolls, lobster rolls, appetizers, dinner plates, Coke products, and Boylan sparkling beverages. The prices are fair to moderate here, seafood dinners in the $10-$20 range. A Lobster Roll & Fries was $15.95 plus tax (in spring 2009). There are outside takeout windows with high overhead menu boards for regular food and ice cream offerings posted near the windows. Picnic table seating nearby, including under acorn trees. Full service waitstaff dining only is available inside in the casual shiny wood dining room, sort of reminds me of a smaller version of the dining room at Johnson's Steak & Seafood in Northwood. I come here mainly for the Richardson's ice cream and I enjoy the Cake Batter and Death By Chocolate flavors, cold and creamy goodness! I also really enjoy a Brownie Sundae with Tollhouse Ice Cream, hot fudge, nuts, and whipped cream, a great sweet combination! After I'm done, I can continue on my scenic ride around Portsmouth, Wentworth By The Sea (country club/hotel/marina), and New Castle like a gawking tourist. In reality, I do work in the area as part of my day job. PARKING: Crushed stones Cash only, ATM available in the inside foyer SUMMER HOURS: Food (to 8:30PM), Ice Cream (to 9:30PM), Closed Mon SCHOOL/SPRING HOURS: Food & Ice Cream (to 8:30PM), Closed Mon & Tues

    people standing outside of the building
    K H.

    Stopped here last week while exploring the New Hampshire coast. Employees were friendly and helpful for us as first timers. Nice picnic tables in the back. Food was ready quickly, and came out hot and fresh. Make sure you save room for ice cream!

    Maine Black Bear and Peanut Butter Oreo ice cream.
    Jcat M.

    This ice cream was unbelievable! I ordered two scoops - I could have fed an entire family...but I didn't. Ate it all myself . I'm going back when I'm out here again next summer! Don't miss stopping at this scenic stop. The people working at the ice cream counter were incredibly nice too.

    lobster roll!
    Jen D.

    we were on the fence giving this a two or a three...I enjoyed my experience a little more than the rest so I went with three. the food: great fried seafood, incredible ice cream sundaes and of course diet coke. the negatives: s.e.r.i.o.u.s.l.y. slow kitchen... we were watching the scoop girls, the slow service wasn't their fault, it just took FOREVER for fried food to come out of the kitchen. maybe they were understaffed? and no parking and only 8 picnic tables for outdoor seating. we'd give this place another go on another non-weekend night because of how good the fish tacos/lobster rolls/ice cream, but only for those three reasons. keep on rolling if you're in any kind of a hurry!

    Lobster Roll

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    7 years ago

    Great find! Food was good. Atmosphere relaxing. Ice cream was a treat. Definitely hitting this place again when in the area.

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    7 years ago

    Amazing ice cream ! The best in town. It's easy to see why they are sooooo busy. It's delicious!

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    15 years ago

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    7 years ago

    We had a great meal today with all of our family. The service from Kelly was awesome and welcoming. Love this place Housefinch team

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    7 years ago

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    6 years ago

    Love their food (mostly fried) and ice cream! Lots of space to sit outback!

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    16 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    8 years ago

    This is one of my favorite local stops For ice cream in the summer - maple walnut and rum raisin are hard to find favorites!

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    8 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

    I had the death by chocolate and it was pretty good. The small dish was a good size and more than enough for me. No qualms here.

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    16 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    16 years ago

    Ice cream is great, although they don't have soft serve, which was a disappointment for my young children.

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    11 years ago

    So small and so amazing. The spinach salad with salmon was absolutely amazing. Huge ice cream selection!

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    8 years ago

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    Page 2 of 3

    Ask the Community - The Ice House

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    4.5(738 reviews)
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    Many thanks to Yelp for helping us locate a fabulous place for our last evening in Portsmouth…read morebefore heading back to California. I love the vibe. It's pretty chill and classy at the same time. Our server dazzled us with his smile. We had a cocktail that we enjoyed very much. The mushroom melange on the grilled baguette was to die for. My friend and I shared the fried green tomatoes and they were perfection. My friend was quite pleased with her crab cakes that were cooked at the right amount of crispiness. I certainly will return when I visit Portsmouth again!

    This was one of the best meals I've had in a while. The food, the service, and the ambiance were…read moreall excellent! It was our first time here. I loved the menu from the first look. A great selection of seafood apps, and a variety of meat options in the entree section (steak, chicken, lamb, short rib, duck) and a couple of vegetarian items. Something for everyone. It was a Tuesday night and pouring rain. We arrived without a reservation. It was very busy. The bar and restaurant were full. There were two side bar seats available which we happily took while we waited for a table. We had a delicious cosmo and a glass of prosecco while we waited. The server let us know our table was ready, and we did not need to settle our bar tab before going to the table. I love that! I find it inconvenient when restaurants ask people to do that. The server even took our sopping umbrellas and put them in the umbrella stand by the door for us. So nice! We tried 2 appetizers, the Caribbean Curry Mussels and the Seared Ahi Tuna. I can't decide which one I loved more. Both were fantastic. The broth the mussels were in was so flavorful, rich, salty, not spicy, coconut deliciousness. I wanted to eat it all like a soup. There was no bread served with the mussels to soak up the broth...which I would have loved, but not having it did save me some carbs. The seared tuna was absolute perfection. Very slightly seared and served with a well dressed seaweed salad and two sauces (coulis style ) a charred jalapeño aioli and a mango coulis. For dinner we shared the arugula salad with strawberries and goat cheese (although there was very little goat cheese) in a delicious poppy seed vinaigrette, and the miso Marinaded seared salmon with sticky rice and mango salsa. The salmon was fantastic...perfectly cooked, very flavorful, the sticky rice was so delicious and chewy, and the mango salsa added sweetness. I love that they split the salad into two dishes for us. I love when restaurants do this. It's a nice touch to acknowledge the server was listening the we intend to share, and to make it easier for us to do so. And we shared a bottle of Pinot Grigio. I will be back!

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    The Black Birch - When I tell you, this is the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever had, this is the best grilled cheese I've ever had. Tomato soup was

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    This restaurant is exceptionally creative! Loved everything we ordered. Mussels with raisins were…read moreperfect! The servers were friendly and the patrons all looked to be having a great time! Can't wait to go back!

    We celebrated our 12 year wedding anniversary while touring New England…read more We actually just happened upon this place because the first restaurant that we went to, across the street, was out of a couple of dishes that my husband wanted. Well, I'm happy that they were because dinner here was SOOOO good! The bartender helped us choose a bottle of champagne to start. We shared everything. One of each of the deviled eggs each. The maple cranberry was interesting. The sour cream chive one was to die for! The ricotta gnocchi was elegant and fluffy. The sauce made it over the top. The ribs were good, but I'm a Midwest girl. They just don't compare to back home. The clam linguine was seasoned perfectly. It was quite filling. We ended with the Apple Olive Oil cake with maple ice cream. The cake itself was quite dense and dry. The ice cream helped. I would not order this dessert again. Service was quite SLOWWWW, and for no reason as they weren't very busy while we were there. There were long gaps between courses and then once we were finished we kind of just sat there for a while. The food was worth it but something is not running efficiently and could be improved. Still giving 5 starts because it was so good and everyone was welcoming.

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    The Clipper Tavern

    4.1(134 reviews)
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    Great local bar with awesome awesome happy hour specials on both food and drinks! Visited on Friday…read morearound 5 and although the bar was crowded, there were tables available. I had the pleasure of meeting a very cute dog who was celebrating his 18th birthday at the bar along with his two furry friends and their owners. Loved that the people at the bar were friendly and conversational even though I was a newcomer. We ordered some $5 Happy Hour cocktails, which were really great as they are made with brand name alcohol such as Stoli, Deep Eddy and Tangueray rather than no name alcohols from the well. Food happy hour specials were great too - The Waygu Beef Hotdog was served on a buttered and grilled roll and hot the spot. The fried pickles were good as well, although next time I'll ask for them extra crispy. Great place with friendly customers and employees, excellent service, and good food. Looking forward to going back!

    Stopped in mid-week for lunch while visiting town. The bar was about half filled with contractors…read moreon their lunch break and locals, some drinking, a couple eating. We sat at the bar and were handed menu's and our drink order taken. The bartender was friendly and pleasant. She clearly knew the other occupants of the bar as they discussed their families, co-workers and local news. She wasn't quite as verbose with us, but why would she? We had more than enough time to make our selections, and even though we weren't in a hurry, it did feel like a long time. Still, the longer we stay, the more we drink. Right? So that works for tips. ;D She did eventually come over to take our food order between chatting, refilling drinks, welcoming more locals and taking care of bar set-up duties. So she was busy. This is a bar more than a restaurant, and the food was good. There seems to be one person on the bar and one in the kitchen. At least at lunch time. Our food came out at the same time, was warm and well prepared. The bartender put things we may need on the bar top near us: ketchup, forks, etc. and left us to it. She did check on refills during our visit. There is a small restroom opposite the bar that was clean. The ambiance here is neighborhood bar where you come to drink and spend time with your neighbors. Friendly. Not really a 'family' atmosphere. Especially with some of the language. Just FYI. It's a fair sized space and I suspect would be busy on a weekend evening. Definitely a lively spot.

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    Street - WHAT ABOUT COBB

    Street

    4.0(696 reviews)
    2.0 mi
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    Passing through Portsmouth on the way up the coast and I was looking for something that the various…read morecarnivores, veggie leaning, etc. in my family would like. We also tend to skew all over the place regarding the ethnicity of foods we like. I go for Asian foods and that's not my husband and son's preference. I happen to love street food from all countries as I know that is usually the best! What fun to have a place to try various types. This place was perfect for multiple reasons. Everything we had was tasty and satisfying. The decor was fun and the service was friendly. They both got lamb shawarma, my kid had it with fries. They were both very satisfied. I had a an Asian salad with a protein of Korean bbq beef... There were a number or different proteins offered. One of the ways I can tell if I like a restaurant if they have good salad dressing (imho most don't) and the salad dressing was delicious. A nice lemon vinaigrette. Will definitely stop by again on another one of our trips to see Grandma.

    Overall, we really enjoyed the food here. The menu has a lot of exciting options that immediately…read moremake you want to order several things and try all the different Asian flavors. This was our first visit, and we tried the chicken sandwich, potstickers, and cauliflower. Everything had really good flavor and a nice level of spice, and the portions felt fair for the price. The chicken sandwich was tasty, although I thought the chicken itself could have been a little thicker and juicier. I also liked that they cut the sandwich in half, but the tape around it felt a little excessive and made it harder than it needed to be to actually eat. That said, the flavors were very good, the pricing felt reasonable, and I enjoyed both the food and the beer. From a value standpoint, I thought they did a lot right. The main thing that kept the experience from being better was the service on the patio. The staff was not unfriendly at all, but it was difficult at times to get someone's attention, and simple requests seemed to take longer than they should have. That's something I'm noticing more and more in restaurants lately. If guests are being asked to tip at full-service levels, there still needs to be consistent follow-through and attentiveness throughout the meal, especially on a patio where it can already be harder to get someone's attention. Overall, though, I would recommend the place. The food was flavorful, interesting, and reasonably priced, and I'd definitely be willing to come back and try more of the menu.

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    The Ice House - icecream - Updated September 2026

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