Manchester Food Classics: Diners, Chicken Tenders and Neighborhood Kitchens

Every city has restaurants that tell its story better than any museum. In Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city, a few of them have been around long enough to become part of the civic furniture: places where presidential candidates stop for photo ops, where families have celebrated for decades, and where a single menu item has become a point of local pride. This guide covers four Manchester restaurants worth knowing, from a 1920s diner to a Millyard breakfast cafe. It is a starting list for anyone searching for the best classic restaurants in Manchester NH.

Why Manchester's food has deep roots

Manchester grew around the Amoskeag mills on the Merrimack River. At its peak, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was the largest cotton textile plant in the world, and it drew workers first from surrounding farms and then from abroad, particularly Quebec, along with Greece, Germany, Sweden and Poland. Those communities opened groceries, bakeries, diners and family restaurants, and several of the city's best-known kitchens trace back to that mix. More recent arrivals have added to it, and the city's food today ranges from 100-year-old diners to Puerto Rican and other Latin American kitchens.

How the Millyard shaped the city

The city's name itself comes from the mills. In 1807 Samuel Blodget finished a canal and lock system beside the Merrimack so boats could get around Amoskeag Falls, and he imagined a "Manchester of America," a water-powered textile center like Manchester, England. The town of Derryfield took the name Manchester in 1810. At its peak the Amoskeag company had about 17,000 employees and around 30 buildings. It went bankrupt in 1935 as the textile industry moved south.

The brick mills did not disappear. Decades later they were renovated, and today they house offices, restaurants, software companies, college branches, art studios, apartments and a museum. That is why a meal in Manchester so often comes with a view of old brick and the river: the dining scene grew up inside the bones of the mill city.

The Red Arrow Diner: since 1922

The Red Arrow Diner on Lowell Street is the most famous diner in New Hampshire. The first location opened in Manchester in 1922, founded by David Lamontagne, a boxer and iceman. The company has since added locations in Concord, Londonderry and Nashua, but the original small Manchester diner is the one people come to see.

Media outlets have repeatedly named it one of the best diners in the United States. It is also a fixture of New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation presidential primary: every four years, candidates make a stop at the counter, and photos from those visits are part of the diner's lore.

The Red Arrow describes itself as a place for breakfast, brunch and dinner. Go for the experience as much as the food: a classic diner counter, a long menu of comfort food, and the feeling of eating somewhere that has been feeding the city for more than a century.

Tip: The original diner is small. On busy weekend mornings, expect to wait, or go at an off hour.

The Puritan Backroom: home of the chicken tender

The Puritan Backroom opened in 1974 and serves Greek-influenced New England cooking. It is best known for two things: its mudslides, and its chicken tenders, which the restaurant claims to have invented in 1974. Whether or not you accept that claim, the tenders are the dish people order on a first visit.

In 2020, the James Beard Foundation named the Puritan Backroom one of its America's Classics, an award for locally owned restaurants with timeless appeal that reflect the character of their communities.

The Puritan is a big, busy, family-friendly room, well suited to group dinners and multi-generational meals. It is a lunch and dinner place rather than a breakfast stop, so plan it for later in the day.

Waterworks Cafe: breakfast in the Millyard

Waterworks Cafe is a breakfast and lunch cafe on Commercial Street in the Millyard, in a converted mill building along the Merrimack. It serves cafe staples such as breakfast sandwiches, salads and coffee, and it is a natural first stop before a walk through the mill district or a visit to the SEE Science Center or the Millyard Museum nearby.

Because it is a daytime cafe, check its hours before you go, especially on weekends.

Raices: a Puerto Rican kitchen on Brown Avenue

Raices is a Puerto Rican restaurant on Brown Avenue on the south side of the city. It is a good example of how Manchester's food scene keeps evolving, and a reason to leave downtown for a meal. It opens for lunch and dinner rather than breakfast. Raices means "roots" in Spanish, a fitting name for a list like this one.

What makes a restaurant a Manchester classic

Longevity is part of it, but not all of it. The places on this list share a few traits: they are locally owned, they are tied to a neighborhood, and each is known for something specific, whether that is a diner counter, a signature dish or a setting inside the city's mill history. They are also places locals bring visitors, which is the most reliable test of any restaurant recommendation. None of them is formal, and none requires a special occasion, which is exactly why they have lasted.

A classic Manchester food day

Here is one way to put the four together.

1. Breakfast: Waterworks Cafe in the Millyard, or the Red Arrow if you want the full diner experience.

2. Late morning: walk the Millyard along the river, or visit the Currier Museum of Art.

3. Lunch: Raices on Brown Avenue.

4. Dinner: chicken tenders at the Puritan Backroom.

That is a lot of eating for one day. Most people split it across a weekend.

Tips for eating out in Manchester

• Check hours. Several of these are daytime-only or open only for lunch and dinner. Each restaurant's own website or phone line is the best source.
• Go off-peak at the classics. Weekend breakfast at the Red Arrow and Friday or Saturday dinner at the Puritan are the busiest times.
• Primary season is different. In the months before a New Hampshire presidential primary, expect political events and press at the best-known spots.
• Allow time to park. The original Red Arrow is tucked onto a side street near downtown, so build in a few minutes to find a space nearby.
• Combine food with the Millyard. The mill district is flat and walkable, and it is the best place to understand why Manchester eats the way it does.

Beyond the classics

Manchester has a growing number of newer restaurants downtown and along Elm Street, from wood-fired pizza to chef-driven dining rooms. Our Manchester town guide covers the city's museums, theater and more, and the Merrimack Valley dining section of our directory lists restaurants across Manchester, Concord and Nashua.

FAQ

When did the Red Arrow Diner open?

The first Red Arrow opened in Manchester in 1922.

Did the Puritan Backroom invent chicken tenders?

The restaurant claims to have invented them in 1974, the year it opened. It is a claim, not an established fact, but the tenders are its signature dish.

What award did the Puritan Backroom win?

The James Beard Foundation named it an America's Classic in 2020.

Where can I get breakfast in the Manchester Millyard?

Waterworks Cafe on Commercial Street serves breakfast and lunch.

Why do presidential candidates visit the Red Arrow Diner?

New Hampshire holds the first presidential primary, and the Red Arrow has become a traditional campaign stop in the state's largest city.

Sources

• Red Arrow Diner, Wikipedia (1922 opening; founder; locations; primary campaign stop): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Arrow_Diner
• Red Arrow Diner official site (breakfast, brunch and dinner): https://redarrowdiner.com
• Puritan Backroom, Wikipedia (1974; chicken tenders claim; James Beard America's Classic 2020): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritan_Backroom
• Puritan Backroom official site (opens 11 AM): https://www.puritanbackroom.com
• Waterworks Cafe official site and Tidewater Catering (breakfast and lunch; 250 Commercial St): https://www.waterworkscafe.com, https://www.tidewatercatering.com/waterworks-cafe
• Raices official site (lunch and dinner hours): https://www.raicesnh.com
• Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoskeag_Manufacturing_Company
• Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, Wikipedia (Blodget canal 1807, name change 1810, 17,000 employees, 1935 bankruptcy, mill reuse): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoskeag_Manufacturing_Company