3 Best Restaurants in Durham, The Seacoast

Offering stunning, reservation-only prix-fixe dinners featuring 8 to 10 small courses, this intimate open-kitchen space occupies the third floor of a converted redbrick mill building in Dover. The daily menu is based on what the talented culinary team here has sourced from farms and fishing boats—perhaps cured monkfish with green pea dashi and ramps, or lobster mushrooms with coffee, razor clams, and hazelnuts. Expect the unexpected.

Located inside a restored mill building on the Lamprey River in the historic village of Newmarket, this festive tavern and bar with boldly colored walls and timber-beam ceilings specializes in flavorful—if decadent—regional Southern dishes like classic shrimp and grits, braised pork shoulder with Creole spices and red gravy, and grilled New Orleans–style oysters. It's also a fun spot for cocktails and conversation.