Summary- overall very solid drinks Drinks- 4 stars Solid painkillers, really nice old fashioned. One of the drinks we tried was a little weird, but it was pretty much exactly what it said it was going to be. Service- 5 stars Excellent and friendly bartender. Atmosphere- 5 stars A nice bar to be in. read more

Loved The Wilder! The vibe is chill and welcoming. Garrett was a great bartender and made the experience even better. The iced espresso martini was a different way to have a espresso martini...it was good, but the real standout is their carrot juice-based mocktail--add Tito's and you've got an amazing cocktail. They also have a great happy hour. Definitely a spot I'd return to next time I'm in Portsmouth. read more

The Wilder - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Love it here! We stopped in for a drink before dinner. I recall coming here in my college years so it was very cool to be back! Definitely will go back for food! The staff was very nice and helpful. I needed to charge my phone and they were nice enough to let me plug in. read more

The Wilder - Espresso martini and I forgot the name but it was like a grape fizz delish! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

My brother, his wife, and I were bar hoping and I'd say this place's ambience was amazing. We got our drinks and were able to take a seat. We didn't get anything to eat as we already previously ate, but the staff were very attentive in how we were doing with our drinks. Definitely would come again. read more

The Wilder - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

I was really impressed by this place! Still thinking about it months later. We went for brunch and had a great time. I had a pancake that was made out of cornmeal and stuffed with cheese. Absolutely delicious and so inventive. Everyone was very happy with their plates. Overall will be back again and recommend for a nice sit down meal. Sad to have seen the Coat of Arms close but delighted that such an excellent restaurant as The Wilder took its place. Such a great vibe inside as well read more

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After shopping at some outlets, we were ready for some tasty cocktails and good food - glad we stopped here! Our server, Lydia, brought the happy hour menu - we chose espresso martinis on nitro ($6) and a rum mule - so good we had two of each. The fried cauliflower in sweet and spicy Buffalo sauce was just right - quick to our table and letting us know we were going to get some tasty food! Joanna chose the fungi and fromage - it was one of the tastiest, most flavorful sandwiches I've had. Get it as is with cashew cheese or substitute Gruyère as my wife did. Our son's short ribs were maybe the best I've had - rich flavor but lean - not heavy and greasy as ribs can be sometimes. My fried chicken bucket was a perfect choice - the half chicken was lightly crusted and fried just right - as good as any I have ever eaten. The sides were tasty but too much for one person to eat - my wife and son quickly scarfed up the Brussels and also helped with the poblano Mac and cheese and the full mini loaf of milk bread. I kept the purple cabbage slaw for myself We finished with a Welcome Trolley (lemongrass infused tequila, pineapple gomme, cardamom) and a Saisaon from Liars Bench, a special local Brewery just down the street and well worth a visit on its own! This was our first time here - we will definitely return read more

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This is not Portsmouth hospitality. Terrible customer service and rude. My young friend was told off for having two glasses of wine in her hand as she turned from the bar to bring one to a friend 6 feet away. Another friend had her wine glass taken away because she "spilled" and clearly the guy next to her bumped her arm. I could go on about the aggressive behavior from the staff but I won't. You can do better Wilder. Very embarrassed that I brought my out of town friends here before an engagement party to receive this kind of treatment. read more

The espresso martini is incredible along with their other drinks and food. Highly recommend going during happy hour or late night.

The drinks were a solid 5 stars and the food a 3.5 for me, so a 4 star overall seems pretty accurate. We ordered the falafel and the poutine. Falafel should be light and fluffy inside and these were nearly as dense as meatballs. I'm not sure if they're overworking their batter or using canned chickpeas, but they just weren't right. The poutine was quite nice though. It was extremely generous with the braised beef and the cheese was perfectly melty. I'd have loved more potatoes and a little less meat, but it's worth ordering again. It's very LOUD here at night. Just like all of the other bars in Portsmouth. I envisioned a more loungy experience and it felt more like I crashed a college party. That's completely on me though. It's no one's fault that I'm old and don't care for that anymore. Perhaps brunch is a more relaxed atmosphere. Drinks were excellent and an average of $13 a cocktail. I'm used to $17-$20, so $13 was a really nice surprise. Excellent drinks and excellent prices. It was a very crowded night at the bar, but our food and drinks came out pretty timely. I never felt rushed and I wasn't forced to linger forever waiting to close out my tab either. I liked the Wilder overall. It's worth checking out if you're in Portsmouth read more

The Wilder - Song Bird - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

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Excellent food from drinks to burger to eggs, service was amazing, and blissful ambiance! Portions were perfect, seating was roomy. read more

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Incredible food, fun/vibrant atmosphere and don't get me started on those cocktails. The staff is amazing, fun vibe, and killer espresso martinis on tap. read more

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We will not return to the Wilder. The bartenders (all 3 of them) spent most of their time conducting staff meetings... meaning, lots of time talking to one another and not a lot of time paying attention to paying customers. My cosmo was fine but no one asked if I would like another drink or... the food was meh. Carpaccio app and white bean dip... nothing to write home about Probably does not represent the best of Portsmouth. read more

We came here for drinks but stayed for dinner. Drinks were amazing, fresh and authentic. We had the oysters really good a fresh, also had the seafood scampi it was delicious, flavorful and fresh and we also had the fish sandwich by far one of the best I've ever had, it was cooked to perfection and had a great taste. read more

Goop and scraps. Lemon and Thyme Gnocci was sour, soupy and goopy, and a tiny steak portion (prob 4 ounces) in the Steak and Greens.. which was $37!? Cocktails are good.. espresso martinis overrated (and puny). read more

The atmosphere in here is nice the food was good. Went on Thursday the waitress was very rude and seemed very annoyed. We asked her for a few things that weren't on the menu and it really annoyed her. For example tartar sauce without curry and ranch dressing . Actually thise were the onny 2 things we asked for. She said it's a small menu we don't carry that which is fine food was still good. The 5 minutes later she gave us ranch. Also we tried asking her for extra plate to share desserts but she was so annoyed. We did leave her more then 20 percent tip but she really deserved was less then what she got. read more

Came for brunch because we had a big group and some of our fave spots couldn't accommodate so stumbled upon this spot! We loved the $10 brunch cocktails (our men enjoyed the beermosas and ladies loved passionfruit bellinis! Bloody Mary was perfect with a little kick). Definitely recommend the brunch special (open face brisket sandy with breakfast potatoes, $19). The biscuits and gravy were okay but biscuits were pretty crumbly and serving size was small for also being $19. Overall, brunch food was pricey but decent and location was good for a weekend large group without a rez! read more

The Wilder - Brunch special, open face brisket sandwich, $19 - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

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I'm giving this place 4 stars and it's a very generous 4 stars. The service was quite poor, the dude who seated us seemed upset that we had a large party and made half of our party sit next to the open window in an area which was very cold. They also didn't receive menus for over 30 min. Our waiter was decent so it made up for a little bit of this and the food wasn't too bad. There is potential here so I didn't want to leave a bad review just bc of my bad experience, but helper beware for sure read more

The Wilder - Starter bites - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Solid bar and good cocktails. Food pretty meh tho. My burger tasted like truffle so def got mixed in with some other dish. Not a fan of truffle so didn't enjoy it. Beef carpaccio ok. White bean dip ok. Not worth the price tag for food imo. Solid spot for drinks read more

Casual pub in an upstairs space.No frills. Dining area could use spiffing up. Ladies restroom unclean. Underwhelming food menu. Despite the downsides, our service was friendly. read more

I'd skip this restaurant on your visit. The best thing we had was the cauliflower. One of our party got pasta that was cold, and the courses were not spaced well. We had just received our appetizers and they were already bringing the entrees. The oysters were not good and the cake we got for a friends birthday was dry. Would not return. read more

We had an exceptional experience at The Wilder this past weekend! We wanted to escape the Portland area for a day and decided to do a little cocktail tour of Portsmouth. Even though it's easy to miss, it is NOT to be missed! You duck into a little doorway in a back street, head up some stairs, and voila, vibes galore! Local art on the wall and a huge bar with plenty of table seating as well. We arrived just around the changeover between brunch and dinner, but they were kind enough to let us know that we had limited time to order food. We ordered the poutine and chatted with our awesome bartender (Jeff, I believe? I'm sorry for forgetting your name!) He made us a great riff on a painkiller - definitely less sweet than most, the proper balance of brightness from lime and richness from a homemade coconut concoction that was to die for, and overall a good celebration of rum. The poutine was seriously out of this world - super crispy thrice cooked potatoes, short ribs, gravy, and ooey gooey cheese curds. The only issue I had was that it stopped our snacking right in it's tracks. It just sticks to your ribs and gives you all the warm fuzzies. This visit was a relatively quick stopover, but I'm so glad we checked it out. It was the best cocktail we had in Portsmouth, one of the best bites, and definitely the best bar experience overall. I recommend visiting with an open mind - maybe have the bartender make you something unique, if they're not too busy? You might discover your new favorite cocktail! read more

It was our first time here and we enjoyed it a lot! The vibe is different than most places in Portsmouth but enjoyable. My fav was the chicken sandwich and the poutine. My husband didn't love the fish and chips but we will definitely be back and try other things. read more

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My first visit back to The Wilder in 3 years included dinner this time instead of just drinks. I was concerned I might have to downgrade my opinion of the place because I had enjoyed the cocktails so much and was apprehensive about dinner. It turns out my apprehension was for naught, dinner here was just as enjoyable. It was Thursday, so we took advantage of the $2 oyster special and ordered a dozen PEI oysters. These were well prepared and delicious. Others at the table shared their pretzel bread and poutine. My dinner was the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich. It had just the right amount of "hot and spicy" in the sauce/preparation, and the chicken breast was large and crisp. I thought the fries could have used slightly more salt (a rare thing for me to say, because I usually find fries too salty), but that was my only fault with the dinner. Drinks continue to be reasonably priced, decent amounts, and well prepared, though on a busy night such as this, we actually got our drinks at about the same time as we finished our appetizers. The beer list is interesting as well. The Wilder is also one of the few cocktail bars in the area open late on weeknights. read more

We heard about their Espresso Martini. We stopped in during happy hour and ordered up two. The art on the wall was the highlight for me. We did not eat. read more

The Wilder - Espresso martinis - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

I am kicking my for not remembering our servers name. She was so sweet and gave great suggestions for food and drink. Even if she didn't like or eat a certain food (seafood and coffee) she was able to make recommendations on what was most ordered and feedback from other patrons. My husband chose the Wilder mostly because other restaurants were not open for lunch on a Saturday. Turned out to be a great decision! My husband's arranged a surprise for ours officiant who married us to surprise us for our wedding anniversary! Our server was so patient as we said hellos and caught up. She was not overbearing and always checked on us just the right amount. Ashe even brought out a little raspberry cheesecake for us at the end to celebrate. For drinks she recommended the kiwi martini-it was a great choice. I had the shrimp Benedict-would order again. Hubby had the Korean spicy chicken sandwich, and officiant had the burger. All were very happy with their choices. My home fries were a little salty for my taste but still very good. The place was fairly empty but still had a great vibe. read more

I've been coming here for a long time and the last few years the service is just terrible. I can count at least 4 times I've come in and not even been served and ended up just leaving. This includes being sat at a table, the bar, or the overflow bar section. Came in for drinks tonight not expecting much and not so shockingly, we didn't get served. We were sat at the overflow section of the bar by the window and after not being acknowledged for at least 15 minutes, we went and stood over at the bar to try and get drinks and continued to get ignored. The inattentiveness of the staff is embarrassing. At this point, I'm fine not coming back because this is a regular occurrence and not just a one-off. I keep coming back because I love the espresso martinis, especially during their happy hour, but I've given them far more chances than they deserve. If you come here, expect disappointment! read more

The service and ambiance were excellent, with a very attentive server. However, we ordered the Korean fried chicken for our meal and it was bad. It was so salty I was not able to get water down fast enough, even the sides were loaded with sodium. Dehydration is creeping into my body as I speak and I only left 10 minutes ago. Not to mention we ordered a drink special on the valentines menu that was just sparkly pomegranate juice. It supposedly had vodka in it, but it definitely did not. If you go, definitely order something else. read more

The fried chicken on a Japanese pancake was delicious and huge! My wife loved her Benni as well. Service was fast and friendly, space was cozy on a cold day read more

The Wilder - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

I'm a huge fan of Anju Noodle so I had to give this place a try. Highly recommend the espresso martini & it's on happy hour for $6 from 3:30-6. Delicious! The duck rillette was a bit difficult to eat since it came in a jar. I also wasn't a huge fan but this was a trial for me as I normally don't order duck dishes. It could be delicious for a duck lover! The French onion soup though...WOW. I think all the tables around me had at least one bowl of the soup and I see why. The service was a bit slow but understandable as it was busy. I will be back real soon for more espresso martini & soup! read more

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My wife and I got off the beaten path of Congress Street last night and found this great place across from Gilley's. What a surprise! Fresh, sweet oysters, grilled shrimp, a local hot cheese and jam dish with toasties. Great cold beer and cocktails. We were on our way to see a show at the Music Hall so we were in a bit of a rush. But we'll be back when we have some more time to explore more oyster varieties! read more

The Wilder - Well we ate everything they served us. So that's a thumbs up!! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

We were really excited to try this place because the unique menu offerings sounded like the type of culinary adventure we like to have, but found that while they are open at 2:30 on a Sunday, the kitchen is closed until happy hour at 3:30. This is not in agreement with Google which states brunch until 4:30, but their website does mention brunch ends at 2:30. There is no mention of a kitchen closure for an hour between brunch and happy hour on the website though. We sat at a table in the bar area, though not at the bar and it took a while (approx 10 mins) before anyone brought us menus and then another few minutes before our drink order was taken. As it was nearing 3:30, we placed our food order and were happy to be served drinks and food quickly. They didn't offer a happy hour menu that we were aware of which was strange since they made a big deal out of the kitchen being closed until happy hour started at 3:30. The cocktails were good and we enjoyed both the flavor and the appearance. The food was also pretty good, but left some room for improvement. The poutine had crispy potatoes and flavorful gravy, but the cheese curds weren't melted and the pork belly pieces were hit and miss. The ones that were good were crispy and flavorful; the ones that were bad were cubes of greasy fat. The burrata salad was served without burrata or vincotto. Seems weird that burrata salad would have no burrata. Unfortunately nobody checked back on us until about 35 minutes after we were served so there was no opportunity to have them fix it until I was basically done with the meal. They did remake my plate after explaining it was an oversight, but the remade salad was basically all tomato which was pretty disappointing since the first one was more balanced between tomato and stone fruit. The vincotto pearls were really a fun touch and the burrata rounded out the plate as it closed the gap we found in the first dish. The atmosphere was chill and the hipster/indie music was a nice backdrop. Overall this place was just okay. I really wanted to like it, but $75 for a couple small plates fraught with inconsistencies and cocktails was steep. read more

The Wilder - Remade burrata salad - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Fantastic stop for cocktail hour! We loved our drinks and got a couple rounds plus an appetizer here. I really loved the vibes. These were our favorite drinks we got in town, absolutely. read more

The Wilder - a glass of lemonade on a table - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

The Wilder is a great bar for a craft cocktail. It's cozy and service is pretty good considering how busy it is. My only complaint is that there's very few vegan options on the menu. There used to be a cashew cheese mushroom sandwich, which was delicious, but it has since been taken off the menu. read more

GO!!! I could stop there. But there's so much to say. First, the vibe. Think Cambridge MA, Dark wood traditional pub meets a bit industrial meets 80's sound track (Hall & Oats, Bee Gees, Abba on our visit). And I'll get this out of the way immediately. The staff are phenomenal. This past Saturday we had the pleasure (meant so sincerely) of chatting with David. Please tell him that Patte says hi! Now the food: Japanese pancake and chicken (my husband becomes lightheaded every time), Chicken Caesar Salad (I don't know the seasoning that's used on the chicken, but yummm), the omelettes (Brunch is served, and not just on Sundays between 12-3!), the burgers are BURGERS and four words...Fresh. Squeezed. Orange. Juice. Ok. Three more. Spicy. Bloody. Mary. (The 'Special' one day was the Bloody Mary with one perfect piece of their candied bacon along for the ride. Come on. My Dad would've said, 'An embarrassment of riches'. And he would be correct. The Wilder also has food far into the night, so there's another option outside of Gilly's (if you know, you know). Although, fairly, there's def a need for Gilly's. Again, if you know! This is one of my favorite places to be. All occasion, for any mood, any season. I'm certain that you'll be so happy that you stepped through their door!!! read more

Was visiting Portsmouth for a friends birthday and stopped here for a drink. They have a large bar and the service was friendly. The drink selection was okay, wine was priced high and cocktails were average priced. I got a beer, but my friends got drinks and they were just average. I didn't try the food so maybe not a fair review, but I wasn't super excited about this place. May be back to try the food but would most likely try new places in Portsmouth. read more

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I've been to the Wilder a handful of times now and have never been disappointed. The craftiest cocktails in Portsmouth. I recently did their restaurant week menu which is pictured here, but the food on their normal menu is great as well. Great bartenders as well. Another reviewer said it's great if you're young and like a loud place which made me laugh, I guess that is kinda true on a Friday or Saturday night. Try them out for brunch as well! read more

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Being the GM of a restaurant nearby, I'm super disappointed that we got denied service from here due to one of my coworkers not speaking fluent English. He was asked for his ID and when he gave it to the server, he immediately said he is not serving us. Didn't know racism like this was around here. We chose this place to celebrate our summer season and will never ever be back. read more

A group of us came in to get apps and some drinks. When the server asked my non English speaking friend for his id he proceeded to cut us all off because he couldn't understand what he was saying and assumed we were all "drunk". Coming from 12 of us who are in the service industry it's very disappointing to be kicked out of an establishment due to race. Please do better. read more

Arrived knowing I would find a solid bar program, left wowed by the food the kitchen was putting out! Kudos all around.

Such a good experience! We went for drinks only, so I can't speak to the food but the drinks were great! Best espresso martini!!! Our server (and other staff) were very nice & attentive; They answered our questions and gave good suggestions. I would definitely go back. read more