Drae

Great food, great drinks, great place to go! My girlfriend and I went here for a light dinner and loved it. The restaurant feels very intimate with its dark ceilings and its soft lighting. We got raspberry mojitos which were perfectly mixed. The chicken nachos were delicious and a nice generous portion considering it was tapas. I’ve never had authentic tapas (like in Spain) but for a local place this was a wonderful small plates establishment that I’d love to come back to.

Found this place via Groupon, after reading several reviews I decided to give it a try. And it is very much a Tapas restaurant. If you are famished and are starving for a big meal, this is not a place you would enjoy. It is a great place to have some creative snack size meals to share with a significant other or a small group of friends. It’s very small, and found it to be a bit loud.
The oysters (which brought me in) were amazing and I will go back to eat more. The cheese and meat platter was delicious with a variety of cheeses that were excellent and different.
Albondigas (small little balls of tender ground meat) was also very good, however I did feel the sauce was a bit heavy and maybe a drizzle or a side of sauce would have brought the dish up a notch. My significant other really enjoyed the short ribs they were a bit fatty for my liking but again very flavorful.
The negative, as the place started to empty out for the evening, so did our service, our waitress went from very attentive to not there. I would have enjoyed a second glass of wine with my tapas, or a glass of water would have worked as well, after not seeing our server for almost 20 minutes I just wanted the check at that point. The desserts looked good, but didn’t try one afraid I wouldn’t be able to track my server down for the check once done.
I would recommend this place for some small but very different and creative eats.

Nancy, the bartender is phenomenal and makes great cocktails.
Derek and his wife have truly opened a great establishment and brought a great gem to Derry. I grew up in Derry and I can say a place like this was truly lacking.
My wife and I go all the time and enjoy the always delicious food.
What a great little place.

I absolutely love Drae. My fiancé and i come whenever we want a special night out. All of the food we have tried (which is most of the menu items!) has been phenomenal. The staff are very nice and we always sit at the bar and chat with the bartenders. Drinks are delicious and they have food specials throughout the week. My fiancé loves the buck a shuck oysters on Wednesdays!

We only had drinks here but they were very good. I had the Hot and dirty martini and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. The bartender was very friendly and knowledgeable.

For $$$ my husband and I expected a whole lot more than we received. I may be spoiled, having visited many tapas restaurants in Spain, and tried replicating that experience in Boston with better success. We were, apparently, the first diners on a Wednesday night. Staff were at the bar discussing new cocktails for the coming month (Bubblegum martini? Ick. Insert cringe icon.)
You have three seconds to make an impression. And in those three seconds I was not impressed. Walking in I expected a different ambiance. The walls are painted a nice sun-​kissed-​golden yellow, which could be lovely with better lighting. Mixed lighting styles. The {original} tin ceilings painted a chalky black, adding a sense of gloom, not intimacy. Oh and the carpeted floors. I’ve watched way too many episodes of Restaurant Impossible, but why would anyone choose carpet over another flooring option? Artwork and décor? Nothing that offered a Spanish feel. And the music — pop to soft rock. The restaurant doesn’t claim to serve authentic Spanish fare, but using «tapas» sets the expectation for me.
The Drinks:
I ordered the Drae Fizz with pear vodka and my husband ordered a special (raspberry vodka and a lemonade/​iced tea combo). Mine tasted like prosecco and soda water — didn’t taste the pear, and no garnish to make it look appealing. It simply looked like sparkling water. Hubby’s? There was a hint of raspberry flavor but no hint of a buzz-​producing liquor. His was also served in a Budweiser tumbler. Really? $$$ and you serve a cocktail in a Budweiser-​branded tumbler? I wanted to jump behind the bar and craft cocktails.
The Food:
Our plan was to order a few different small plates to share. An amuse-​bouche of homemade hummus and chips was a pleasant surprise. We started with duck confit spring rolls and chicken confit nachos. The duck was pleasant, though a little on the dry side but the dipping sauce made up for it. The spring roll wrappers looked like they may have been cooked a little too long, but they were still good (look at my photo and then Joelle’s). The chicken confit nachos were good, but certainly not a tapas portion. And at 6 p.m. they were out of their avocado mousse that was supposed to be included in the nacho dish.
There were no salt and pepper shakers on the table. Nothing needed more salt — and I love salt — but we both tend to add freshly ground black pepper to everything. If it’s not on the table, we should have been asked by our waitress if we wanted salt or pepper; we shouldn’t have to ask for something ordinary.
I really, really wanted to try another dish, including the Filthy Short Ribs, Filete Plancha or one of the other intriguing dishes. But the combined atmosphere and lack of anything special didn’t warrant any added cost. We picked up a Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Swirl Brownie Sunday with vanilla gelato to bring home to our daughter. I took a bite, to make sure it wasn’t poisonous. It was OK, but not worth the price. She’s 15. It’s got chocolate and gelato. She liked it.
We really, really, really wanted to be able to provide a smashing review. We just can’t. Maybe we’ll try again, but I doubt it.
While we were there, two other couples came in for dinner. With six guests dining, the service could have been better/​friendlier. If I heard bubblegum martini again I think I might have left. Plan your menu during non-​business hours.

I had a couple of screwdrivers here once. They were good. Bartender got my drinks out at a timely manner. Haven’t tried the food yet so I can’t comment on that but at least their screwdrivers are good.
Only gave it two stars since I can’t comment on anything else but the drinks. Will have to try this place again sometime.

The food was pretty good. My duck was rather dry. Oysters were pretty good. Seafood crêpe was a solid item. Service was lacking. In a town of few options, it is an okay option. Prices are a bit steep given the quality.

Slow service. We went in just for a glass of wine and a beer, obviously a very easy order. We waited for at least 10 minutes while our drinks just sat at the bar. Then waited the same amount of time to complete our payment. They need more staff and/​or better waitresses. I have been before and I do like their martinis but the service was an issue then as well. 2 stars for good martinis.

Consistent quality food with good dishes that are on the menu on a regular basis. The specials are unique dishes not found elsewhere. Good wine selection and music. Plate size is just right. Chef makes great use of fresh ingredients. Been there every month for the last year. Good kids menu also

We called for take out today since we didn’t have a babysitter. Wendy and Megan were outstanding in helping us and our meal was wonderful! The Tom & Jerry was fantastic — great vinaigrette with crispy goat cheese that melted in the mouth. The lemon gravy scallops were perfectly cooked and the stuffed shrimp had incredibly tasty stuffing. The apple pie empanada was the perfect ending to a great meal! We look forward to eating in the restaurant next time but appreciated the staff’s help to make our «date night» so tasty!

A great concept but customer service lacks greatly and leads to a less then stellar night out
Food was good. We had cheese plate, Caeser salad, duck tips, duck spring rolls, house scallops and brownie dessert.
Everything served was good.
Our waitress started off with great promise but quickly dropped off to be sub par.
#1 if you serve a cheese plate with local/​specific cheeses the waitress needs to identify what’s what. Need better than here’s your cheese plate
#2 stop shooting the breeze with your friends at the bar while your customers are waiting to order their next plate
Chef came out to greet some customers but not our table.
Honestly for a nice night out where you want to have good food and high quality service. Go some where else.
I guess that’s why the restaurant is mostly empty on a Saturday night

Food is great! 9 out of 10! Customer service is 7.5 out of 10. They quite often have groupons/​coupons that you can find online.

Great food and drinks. Lots of choices and each was a treat. Live music was excellent. Comfortable atmosphere for dining and music.

So Derek M, the owner and chef, has taken it upon himself to «compliment» my page with the following sardonic statement
«Its people like you that make me chuckle. Boston globe thinks we are great, union leader gave us one of their best reviews of all time & have been featured in NH Magazine. We made the winter & our food is still the best around.»
Firstly, upon realizing that he had his own account, a glimpse of his page showed he had given himself and his own restaurant a 5 star review. Pathetic.
Secondly, if this is the way this bumbling man responds to criticism, he is far more immature than I had thought. My first review of Drae was positive, as was my interaction with him. (Which garnered no response) On 4 or 5 follow up visits, the food quality was poor the majority of the time and when told this Derek reeled off the wonderful reviews Drae had gotten. Well that’s fine, perhaps he could have provided me a copy of one to spit the food out of my mouth into. My last update I reflected the self aggrandizing attitude as «schilling» his place and he ironically responds with the same exact list of places to only further my point.
So a one star review is due to his own lack of business sense and complete lack of customer care. As I’m sure he’ll read this, there is a proper way to deal with negative customer reviews that are fair and critical. Ask questions about what was wrong with my experience, what can be improved, what would get me to come back etc. Do not post sarcastic comments to my page. Reply to the review on the page so that the public can see you care and are trying to improve an unsatisfied customers experience. But then again, the problem there is mainly him, so I’m sure he won’t take any of this advice that should already be common sense.
Customers don’t care about where you were reviewed when the experience of eating in your restaurant is awful. A perfect example of an owner who thinks he’s the greatest and has the «best food around» when it’s not even close and that’s what kills businesses. Also, you may want to not start posts with «people like you» without knowing anything about someone’s heritage, orientation or religion. It’s a great way to find a lawyer at your doorstep and ostracize your business, though the food does a great job of that already. Hopefully, Drae is gone soon and a decent place can move in. With the food quality, poor ownership and customer service skills, and lack of people in there on any given day (drive by and look yourself) that day will be sooner than later. I’ll never be back and neither will my mother or wife who actually liked this place. You’ve cost yourself two customers unknowingly with your mocking attitude.

Finally tried this place after driving by it several times. We ordered the meat and cheese plate, mushrooms, scallops and short ribs. It was all delicious, with the star of the meal being the scallops, covered with bacon chunks and some delicious sauce.
We had sangrias that were awesome… Tasty with just the right amount of buzz after two.
I almost gave them 4 stars because it’s just a bit on the expensive side which makes it more of a rare treat than a regular destination (at least on my budget) but we did take advantage of their Tuesday drink special which saved us a few bucks so I kicked em’ back up to 5.
Oh, and our server was FANTASTIC. Eugenia was splendid, guiding us through our meal with excellent recommendations and delightful charm.
These tapas are tops!

You had me at duck tips.
To make a horrible parody of a popular song, it’s «All about that taste.» We found everything here to be delicious, so much that we were willing to overlook what I would consider very minor «speed bumps» otherwise. I’ve been to many tapas/​small plates places which offered a bit more in terms of both food and drink, but we very much enjoyed everything we had here.
For drinks, I felt the beer list could be longer, and wine prices were slightly above average, but there was a nice balance among beer, wine, and cocktails, and something for everybody. If you’re not a beer drinker, I’d suggest one of the variety of cocktails.
We ordered 6 dishes among us, all very satisfying. Of those I sampled, my favorites were the duck tips (of course), and also the seafood crêpe, which was overflowing with bay scallops and shrimp. The tapenade, served with both crostini and tortilla chips, was full of flavor but also full of salt. The dirty short rib was a bit fatty, but the portion was large enough that we could remove some of the fat and still have a generous amount for 2 people. I also loved the crab stuffed mushrooms. Dishes came out promptly and spread out enough over time that we could enjoy them in series without the plates competing for space and the dishes competing for taste buds. I had to keep putting my eyes back in my head, as they kept popping out each time I sampled a great new flavor among our plates.
I’d like to suggest, service-​wise, that customers get more serving tableware with dishes (some came without any), and fresh plates more often. Having to use the same silverware and plates over and over again allows for the possibility of all the great flavors and sauces to mix, which isn’t always a good thing. But quite frankly, if I sound like I’m complaining, and I’m still giving you 5 stars, you are definitely doing things right. I mean, I’d love the food here even if it came out on paper plates served with sporks.
I’d like to see the dessert menu expand too; none of the 4 offerings on the dessert menu were that tempting to me. But I have no problem skipping dessert when I have a tummy full of tapas.

Drae does not deserve to have any stars. This is the worst restaurant we have ever been too. The waitress was absolutely horrible to us. We have no idea why she was ignoring us, and spilled my husband martini all over the table, and never said anything about it. She kept messing up our order, and never once apologized. Then I complained to the bartender, not realizing the manager was there. He came over and said what was the problem, told him the situation. He never said anything to the waitress she did not come over and apologize. The owner said he would give us a $ 25 dollar gift certificate, we told him no. I will not come back and be treated like this, especially when they charge so much money for their tapas. I recommend that you do not go to Drae, unless you want to be disrespected by the owner and employees.
Very Very disappointed customer
PJ Derry NH

I went back to Drae with my husband and a couple friends, and have to say I enjoyed the food so much more this time! I think we just did a better job of picking dishes and were able to sample a lot more food. We especially liked the leeky sprouts salad, bruschetta, arrancini and calamari. Even though we were stuffed, my husband and I shared the brownie sundae. Our server was great and the chef came out to say hi and check out the people who ordered most of the menu.

Went for 2^nd time, with a groupon. Had a number of yummy things inc. expresso Martinis. Green bean mozzarella with truffle oil was delicious, as was house scallops. Both the short ribs and special meatballs were way too salty.
Lovely server, and easier to talk and hear sitting on couch near bar vs table seating.
Overall, after 2 visits, I doubt we’ll be back except for specials (like $ 1 oysters on Wednesdays). Not that the good isn’t good but dropping $ 100 for a date nigh in Derry seems like a lot.