Alan’s

Wife and I were out for a Sunday drive after Mass, hit Concord, then up RT 3 and got hungry around 1PM. Ok, here’s Alan’s, they advertise in the Hippo, yada yada, that’ll do. Unassuming place externally and internally, weird narrow aisle of boothed and chair table seating with lots of mirrors (to try to make it look bigger?) [Found out on a trip to the bathroom that they have a dimly lit bar with flatscreens and NASCAR on — guess you can eat at the bar. Hmm.]
Told the waitress it was our first time here, and she said she hoped it was what we wanted. It was not.
Varied menu, some steaks, chicken, Italian, Greek, American. Sandwich menu. Meatloaf, turkey dinner, prime rib. Drinks, wine, etc. One table was leaving, 4 middle and older aged women at another table. Service should be good…
Wife saw turkey dinner and wanted that. I figured prime rib would be nice for Sunday. Told the waitress I wanted the medium size cut cooked NO MORE THAN MEDIUM RARE, and asked her pointedly if she understood. She said I couldnt order baked potato yet… hmmm…fries will do. We each ordered French onion soup for starters. Wife likes dessert, not me, but they had Indian pudding that she was considering. Wife wanted water, coffee for me.
Waitress comes with drinks, two small rolls, odd pale glazed things. Wife said after tasting hers to not bother — please next time bake the things until they are done, how can you screw up rolls? Good coffee.
About five minutes and soup comes out piping hot, ok but underseasoned stock, needed a quite a lot more onions, too much bread, and weird cheese –not swiss or gruyère. Stringy melty even as the soup started to get more temperate. Hmmm.
Waited an appropriate time and entrees arrived. My meat is grey, wife’s plate had turkey piled on stuffing with gravy over it and the nearby mashed potatoes, squash, and a ramekin of jellied cranberry sauce. Told the waitress that I specifically ordered no more than medium rare and asked her if it looked reddish pink to her. She admitted it didn’t (then why serve it if you know it is not what I ordered, that’s major points off) and added that yes I wanted her to take it back. Ah, yes please especially at the menu price. And it would be nice if I could eat with my wife. So the waitress says she’ll put a rush on it.
Wife said mashed potatoes were ok, turkey good, stuffing meh, squash ok but underseasoned, and gravy just ok, cranberry sauce tasted canned. I tried the gravy and it lacked any depth of flavor, woefully underseasoned. Turkey looked juicy.
Waitress comes back with a plate with hot fries, cool broccoli, and another cut of prime rib — this was gray pink, another misfire — what got «rushed», the next cut of not-​right meat? l ask — why did you bring it? And the waitress tells me they can’t get it any less done. And would I like au jus? Yes please, plus a glass of water and a coffee refill, plus that’s not medium rare either but I’ll eat it (because I’m pretty freaking hungry now and don’t want my wife to eat alone, geez!). So I’m bummed and let the waitress know that this is not the place for prime rib. Picked at it — no wonderfully flavored crust here, Alan’s customers apparently appreciate overdone prime with just some garlic powder awfulness on that flabby greasy outside. Meat was flavorless mainly medium well with a tiny bit of medium, not well marbled, blah yuck. Left a big chunk untouched on my plate. Did I say cold broccoli — I guess doing a rush means your broccoli will just get cool and get served again.
Didn’t see much of what I now know to be a meh waitress who is fine at knowingly twice bringing her customer food the way they asked it not to be cooked. My wife and I are wondering if this place served me some overworked prime rib from their breakfast buffet? {Waitstaff everywhere, if your restaurant is out of something the way the patron wants it, just let the customer know, don’t be a jerk and give them something you darn well know isn’t what they want… and then do it AGAIN.}
Waitress finally makes it back and clears the table; my wife and I each left food on our plates but waitress never asks if we want the rest to go (me no, wife yes). Then she asks if I’d like a dessert on the house — so now I know I’m paying for that lousy piece of meat and lousy service and underseasoned food and crazy cheese and little bit of onions in the onion soup and undervalued rolls. Sounds like every hungry patron’s dream /​nightmare.
Didn’t stiff on the tip, but only 15% instead of my usual 20%+. Two thumbs down, just drive by this place if you are looking for something decent, and caring service, and decent atmosphere even though we didn’t go there for the atmosphere. One star for the coffee.

I’ve been here for dinner & wasn’t impressed. I went for breakfast with the mentality «you can’t really mess up breakfast»…I was wrong.
1. Ordered a mimosa — the waitress looked at me like I had 5 heads.
2. Once I got the mimosa there was stuff floating in it.
3. I asked for a new glass thinking that would be better… WRONG! The glass was dirty and had a red film on the inside. It had marks in it like someone attempted to wash it but gave up 2 swipes in.
4. I ordered a side of sausage links. I had to ask the waitress to put them in the microwave bc they were so cold when they came out.
I will not be going back even though this place is convenient for me. I would definitely never recommend it either.

Awesome food at great prices. The portions are large and taste great. We loved our server. She was spunky & efficient.

We had been driving a while and were looking for a good meal, preferably a big one, and came upon Alan’s restaurant around 8:30 pm. The inside is what you expect of a small town restaurant: a well lived-​in establishment that is more than welcoming. The hostess sat us immediately and our waitress took our drink order. A minute later she brought out pub cheese and crackers, and then a minute after that a basket full of warm rolls. I ordered a Thanksgiving sandwich while my friends got a patty melt and a turkey Ruben. The Thanksgiving sandwich — SOOO GOOD!!! The turkey had been roasted that day and was juicy and cut thickly. The stuffing and cranberry sauce were yummy and the buttered bread perfectly browned. I could’ve sworn it was November the sandwich was so good! My friend’s patty melt was perfectly cooked and the Ruben was piled high. The fries were crisp and fresh out of the fryer. We licked our plates clean!
All in all next time I find myself hiking the White Mountains and passing through Boscawen, might have to grab another sandwich!

We will NEVER eat here again! My husband was served rotten roast beef that was actually GRAY all the way through! Whoever made it clearly knew, it slathered in was so much sauce you couldn’t see it till you scraped it away. Not to mention the smell of ammonia was overwhelming! What’s worse, I ran into a woman and we got to talking about restaurants. She happened to mention she’s an employee at Alan’s, and had herself been served ROTTEN FOOD on TWO separate occasions. Again, the smell of ammonia so bad, the chef had to have known. I don’t get how there are cars in the parking lot when I drive by, except that it’s close for the locals who don’t feel like driving to Concord. But is it really worth FOOD POISONING? This place should be shut down by the board is health!

Disappointed… have tried twice to make a reservation for this Easter. Said she couldn’t confirm time and would have someone call me back. No call back that day… nor the next so called once again and got a recording. Left a message. Three days later and no call back. I don’t understand. Oh well, they’ll not get my business in the future… poor business practices.

— probably the only serviceable restaurant in the area
–big al’s big app was solid (as far as fried pub food goes)
–stick to the basics. Sandwiches seem to be a specialty, while steak tips were bad
–service was but overwhelming
–A++ bathrooms, plenty of granite with a nice wood finish on the stalls

The food is great and so is the staff. They’re friendly and will fix anything that went wrong. Its just they mix up orders a lot of the time. I ordered yhe taco salad once and got chicken fajitas

Like the bartenders I recommend burgers, wings, and the other sandwich offerings. breakfast order of the menu not the Buffett! The Buffett only the omelette station is worth it!

Hey my first experience in a country side little fun restaurant. For once forget the food, just go in to meet fun loving people. It was such a treat to see most of them making fun of each other and dancing away to live music. It was like a big family party. Keep rocking fellas :)

Ooops, I did it again. I went to Alan’s. Food is just as awful as it was last time. The dust and the bear are still there and so is the creepy two way mirror. There are a bowl of mints on the counter for people on the way out. Eww. wonder how many germs are multiplying in there. Ugh. never again. I promise.

Unfortunately I cannot give negative or 0 stars
Go get a can of dog food. It would taste better and probably wouldn’t make you sick.
Met some friends here. Rotten fish was served to one person. The smell hit us immediately. The eggplant was gray and slimy. The restaurant is caked with dust, look on the light fixture above the table. The waitress acted like she was doing us a real favor to take the fish off the bill.
The bar seems to be busy for drinks and appetizers.
Steer clear of this place.

Alan was a tremendous host when we visited. It is hard to believe that a restaurant /​bar would serve seared ahi tuna like he did. It was awesome. Next time I am in town I will definitely go back.

Family-​friendly restaurant with great food and nice service. I’ve been a few times, and each time is better. All portions for dinner entrees appear generous size, matching cost. The bar nicely separated from the dining room and has open seating with plenty of tv’s to watch any game.
The best summer special has to be the lobster roll. There were huge tails & lobster chunks with just the right amount of mayonnaise and served with a deli style pickle & fries. The roll was soft and formed to the large pieces of lobster in each bite. Highly recommended! For winter… the chicken pot pie! Nice mix of veggies with white meat chicken and a thick, flaky crust! Perfect gravy sauce too.
I also went for a Super Bowl party, we had nice sampling of good pub-​food, with very tasty wings (just the right spice) and delicious meatballs. There was also a nice veggie selection to balance the fried goodness.
Looking forward to the highly recommended Sunday brunch at Alan’s!

WHAT WENT WRONG? My wife and I used to love this place but in the past year or so both the staff and the food have gone downhill big time. The frequency of our visits have declined due to a few sub-​par recent experiences but we decided to give it another chance yesterday (Sunday at about 4PM). We sat in the bar area as usual. The bartender was new and totally under-​trained and clueless. Very nice but not a good bartender. My wife got the lamb which was OK but not hot enough. I got the steak and cheese sandwich, which used to be consistantly excellent but for the second time in a row was terrible. They call it «Alan’s Giant Steak Sandwich» but it had about half the filling it used to have and the steak, rather than shaved thin as it should be, was chewy fatty chunks. I threw half of it away. There was a group of about eight or so regulars who were upset that I put on some music on the juke box, just some mellow Eagles-​type rock. It was a bit on the load side and the waitress immediately went to adjust the volume, but before she could one these idiot regulars walks over and pulls the plug from the juke box and announces «there I fixed it!». Nobody offered to refund the $ 5 I just put in. I thought this was a BAR, not the recreation room of an old folks home, which is how these arrogant older regulars
treat it. We couldn’t pay our bill and get out of there fast enough.

I went to Alan’s years ago and wasn’t impressed… After attending a fabulous wedding that they catered (which was unbelieveable), I decided to give the restaurant another shot. I am SO GLAD that I did!!! Food was great, I tried the Prime Rib and my husband had the Chicken Parmesan… Great portions, delicious food, the service was timely and professional.
I had counted them out but after a little remodeling and a step up in kitchen, It has become one of our weekly visits. Give it another try, Im so glad we did!

One star is actually over rating this place I use to eat there all the time, now you couldn’t pay me to eat there. The staff is changing all the time the service sucks do your self a favor DO NOT WAIST YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY THERE

I have been here several times and, for the most part, the food is awful! Their menu is very large so quite a few items are frozen and heated upon order.
I have had a few good meals from their «daily specials» menu. But dont bother with much else. My wife had a turkey burger that was obviously microwaved. The edges were hard and rubbery but the center was boiling and burned her mouth.
My biggest complaint with Alan’s is for a reception my family had there after a funeral. We had agreed on a price per head that included tax and tip. After the event was over they gave us an extra bill for $ 150 for linens. Apparently we were supposed to bring in our own table clothes and napkins? I might have been OK with the greasy mess they called a buffet, but the charge for linens was over the top! I will never be back here and I don’t recommend this place for a meal or a function.

Awful. We went to Alan’s for our first and only visit. The waitress forgot about us. All the sandwiches on menu were named after bears ie– the wiener bear sandwich. Very odd. The food came quickly once we were waited on however, it wasn’t very good. My friend got a thanksgiving style sandwich and asked for gravy and the waitress asked what she ordered, we couldn’t figure out why it mattered what she ordered when she asked for gravy. We then heard the waitress and the cooks discussing our request out back. We will never go back.

I stopped at Alan’s of Boscawen (a family owned restaurant) for a Saturday dinner because I had to use up a $ 25 gift certificate. This restaurant has a separate cocktail lounge in the front with seating at and around the bar. The lounge has several TVs and hosts live entertainment on the weekends. There’s also seating in the front greenhouse area, main dining room and the back dining room. Alan’s is open for breakfast (on weekends), lunch, and dinner and on Sundays, a breakfast buffet is offered. The menu offers a good variety and has bits of American, Italian, Southwest, Asian, and Greek flavors. Daily specials are offered and beer and wine list available. A rewards program is offered to frequent diners. Check out the menu offerings at

I was seated at a booth in the main dining room which had country dcor on the walls and lots of teddy bears, which seems to be the theme here. The other diners here were locals who knew each other. I started out with a special appetizer, Grape Leaves ($ 5.99 — 4 grape leaves overstuffed with ground lamb & rice in a lemon sauce) was served warm and pretty good. Next, the New England Clam Chowder ($ 2.99 cup) was served hot and creamy, not too thick and had potatoes and lots of minced clams. For dinner, the Chicken & Mushroom Fettuccini Alfredo ($ 11.99) sprinkled with shredded parmesan cheese and served with toasted garlic bread triangles, was decent tasting, not too thick, the sauce a bit messy. This dinner came with a decent Garden Salad (iceberg lettuce, carrots, peppers, cucumber, & cherry tomatoes). I asked for bleu cheese dressing and I realized I was given a cup of sour cream instead, but I stuck with it.
Next, I looked over the Dessert Menu which offered tiramisu, carrot cake, puddings, chocolate chip cookie pie, apple cobbler, peanut butter pie, fried ice cream, NY style cheesecake, chocolate explosion, fried cheesecake, brownie sundae, and baklava, with most desserts priced at $ 4.50, except baklava ($ 2.99) and chocolate explosion ($ 4.99). I had the Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie ($ 4.50) which was served cold with whipped cream, a rich and very dense sweet concoction of chocolate chips, nut and cookie dough in a traditional pie crust. I liked this dessert, but the pie definitely would’ve been even better served nice and warm with some vanilla ice cream. Overall, I had a decent meal and good service with timely delivery of food.
LOCATION: Located on US Rte 3, just north of the Concord city line (Penacook).