Sonny’s Tavern

Liked the old kitchen, love the new one. Burgers have a strong rosemary taste which is a divisive spice, but I’m all about it. The spice must flow. Friendly staff and good atmosphere. Love when they have old sci fi on the TV.
Wish they would host metal shows again though, sure beat driving to Mass.

Dover has an extremely competitive restaurant and bar scene, and businesses come and go, one mistake can make or break them (see the Barley Pub). It’s hard to stand out in such a crowded scene. Sonny’s tavern is the best bar, and best restaurant in Dover, period.
Sonny’s hits every note. The mixed drinks Mark makes are incredible, and the beer selection is good, not as large as other bars in the area, but hits all the high notes. The food is spectacular, and while I was originally worried about their new menu due to its lack of inexpensive «bar food», the owners heard the feedback from the people, and now the menu has both delicious high end entrees, and equally delicious bar food and sandwiches.
Finally, the staff here are great, and the general vibe is friendly, warm, and fun. From brunch and jazz on Sundays, to the world’s best karaōke on Thursdays, this is the best place in Dover, and a true gem.

Sonny’s has absolutely gorgeous food & drink, and it’s without doubt one of my new fave places on the seacoast. My girlfriend and I visited last week and had a fantastic meal, and both left grinning — together we ordered (and promptly destroyed) the entrée mac & cheese, the pork chop, a side of the fried brussels, and a kale caesar. We also sampled some of their bourbon cocktails — the Mingus, and the Extraordinary Gentleman. Both were fantastic, and I ordered another Mingus after finishing my Gentleman (that sounds saucier than I meant it to). They have quality beers too, but I thought I’d already tried most of them, and I felt like cocktails that night. Our server was awesome & attentive, and the bill came to less than $ 100, which I felt was totally reasonable considering the feast. Oh, and also, we arrived on jazz night, so there was great live music playing the entire time. Quality. All in all, it was the best meal I’ve had out in quite a while, and I think Sonny’s instantly ranks in my top-​5 fave places on the Seacoast.

Sonny’s is one of my favorite restaurants of all time. I’m a vegetarian, and their veggie burger is incredible. I could eat one of them every day of the week. The other stuff on their menu is equally unique and tasty —- amazing fries, hummus, kale salads, and cocktails. Drinks are also super unique and delicious. The lemon merengue is a must try! If you’re thinking about trying this place, go!

The Mingus combined with the dry rubbed Pork chop (collard greens and grits) is like going to heaven. A meal not to be missed!!!

DRINKS are VERY strong! Every drink is a double!
Although served in dirty glassware! The beer lines probably have not been cleaned in months!
This place smells like backed up toilet!
Please clean your bar scumbags!

We stopped in for a few after dinner cocktails and I’m so glad that we did. I had The Forest and the Extraordinary Gentleman. The second was very drinkable but The Forest appealed to me in so many ways. The sage, the pine, the gin and then you throw in some lemon, just wow! My tastebuds were dancing. I haven’t been to a place that had this caliber of top notch drinks since Seattle and Chicago’s modern day speakeasies. Stop on by and have a drink, the place is awesome and the staff are very friendly.
Next time I’ll have to try the dinner menu, it looks so tasty, much more appealing than where my friends wanted to eat dinner at.

Sonny’s absolutely never disappoints. We live right around the corner and are frequent customers. Their cocktails are creative and delicious, their beer selection is excellent, and their food is simply outstanding. The Mac and cheese is my favorite! Brunch is a must as well– just know it can get quite crowded!

Stopped in here on the way up to North Conway a few weekends back. We found easy street parking and seats at the bar around 8pm. The food, service, and ambiance were all on point. It’s a cozy space that is clearly well loved by the local crowd. For food, we ordered the hush puppies, collared greens, and steak frites. The hush puppies were perfectly crunchy and well seasoned, and the accompanying whipped maple butter was the ultimate pairing. The collared greens with pork and onions were appropriately bitter and fatty. And the steak was so juicy and tender and the frites were crunchy and salty. The chive and duck fat butter that adorned the dish was admittedly a bit confusing — we weren’t sure if we were supposed to lop a slice off to eat with our steak, or see if it would melt into a puddle to dip in. we ended up leaving it out, though it looked intriguing with the peppercorns on top. All in all a great visit to Sonnys!

Great food. Great atmosphere, albeit a little loud. Friendly staff. Baby kale ceasar salad and a good beer!

Ended up at Sonny’s Tavern after a very bad experience and no service at Thirsty Moose Taphouse and I’m so glad we did! Walked into the place that was loaded with college kids and thought, «Well, we could be their parents, but we’ll give it a shot.» TV behind the bar was on but surprise… no sports or half-​naked music videos playing… it was a classic movie from the 40’s. Nice.
The food was fantastic. Hubby and I both got the Sonny Burger, grass fed beef, tomatoes, farm house bacon Gruyère cheese, and a spicy aioli. House made french fries with house made ketchup were very good. Ketchup was a bit too sweet for me but the fact they made their own scored big points. Hubby also got Buffalo Bleu Cheese Coleslaw, also very good. Unfortunately, no room for dessert because the burgers were huge. Wish we didn’t live so far away, would love to go back.

I really don’t see a reason to go to any other bar in Dover. The staff is super friendly and the food is amazing. Definitely try the pulled pork sandwich, it is like nothing I’ve ever eaten before. Service is fast. I’m excited to see the new menu items now that they’ve expanded their kitchen. The pineapple-​habanero magarita is fantastic too! I have nothing but good things to say about this place.

This place has an amazing Bahn mi. I took it up a notch by adding the pork belly as the meat. OMG. It really is incredible. I also had the grits cake which were pretty good. But the Bahn mi stole the show.

This place was a great find with a diverse and interesting menu at affordable prices. Entrees were generally around $ 12.00 and well portioned. The bahn mi sandwich was well stuffed and the curried coconut dish was rich, savory and sweet. We ordered the deviled eggs that came with a balsamic glaze, but they were alright @ $ 5 for 4 halves.
It wasn’t packed at 7pm on a Friday which allowed us to have dinner conversation while the atmosphere was still lively.

If you’re going to have a «Seat Yourself» sign, please pay attention to who’s coming and going. Or hire more staff.
I sat for about 15 minutes without even an acknowledgement.
I left.

Very hip. The crowd is very homogeneous, they all look alike. The drinks are expensive at $ 6 each. The karaōke is alright but they don’t have any current music and they will let their friends go ahead of you to sing. There are better places in Dover to spend money and socialize. The service is fast but not friendly.

Awesome addition to Dover. Fun menu, causal environment with a fantastic drink selection. Try the short rib poutine.

Came to see a band play and was blown away by the place. Ordered the grilled cheese and a drink called modern love. Pretty amazing selection of cocktails and beer. Menu had lots of local ingredients and hearty dishes. Would highly recommend a meal and drinks here!

What can I say but Unilocal at its finest! On our way home from the White Mountains to MetroWest Boston… hungry. …and preferring vegetarian options. This restaurant popped up on a Unilocal search. I doubled checked the menu on line and read the reviews and it all looked good! Correction… great!
We sat at the bar and ordered a couple of local drafts and enjoyed the pickle plate and curried cashews! The football game was on the TV and our bar tender had the perfect blend of attentive but not «hovery»
The Bahn Mi with tofu was flavorful, hearty with just the right amount of spice. My husband… having never tried chicken and waffles gave it a shot. The chicken was cooked perfectly nestled between 2 light fluffy waffles. Half way through our meal the live entertainment started… Taylor O’Donnell… I wished we lived in Dover so we could have stayed all night.

I absolutely LOVE Sonny’s — it is without a doubt the best bar in Dover. It is hard to explain it — but I am really comfortable here.
Netflix is usually on, playing a movie with the subtitles on — and great music is playing in the background. It is just a great vibe.
Their ever-​evolving drink menu is absolutely amazing. And their food is delicious! Every once in awhile, when I am feeling basic, I wish they had a cheeseburger or hot dog option — but that in no way detracts from my rating (obvs).
Ack! I wanna go right now!