Stages At One Washington

This is the best kept secret on the Seacoast. A great many thanks to Chef Hennessey and his team for an unforgettable dining experience! The amount of hard work and profound detail that went in to our meal, along with the intimate environment and personal attention we received make Stages unparalleled.

Everything about this place is amazing. The food is off the charts and if you sit at the bar by the kitchen you get a really cool show. I would suggest the secret 8 with the wine pairing, the chef really knows what he’s doing. If you judge the quality of a meal by portion size this is not your place. If judge on your senses you are in for a real treat.

This is the best food you can get in Dover. Phenomenal chef. Phenomenal food. It is pricey but you get every penny’s worth.
I highly suggest getting a reservation at the counter around the kitchen. You can basically sit at an 8 spot bar that faces the kitchen directly. We had four other people sitting there with me and my wife. It was basically just us chatting with the chef while getting incredibly good food made right before our eyes.
It is an absolutely stunning restaurant.

Went to Stages for the first time and it will not be the last! Chef Evan was awesome, the food was superb and we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
If you want a unique dining experience make a reservation at Stages, you will be happy you did!

I love this restaurant. LOVE. I have had a table reservation during a French themed dinner event and have also sat at the countertop in the kitchen. On both occasions, I was presented with masterful creations that delighted the eye and the palate. I like to think I am an adventurous eater, but there were a large number of ingredients I had never tried before eating at Stages. And I have to say that I ate every bite willingly, happily, and would have begged for more if I didn’t think it’d come off as gluttonous.
I believe we are blessed to have so many fine dining establishments within an hour of the NH Seacoast. My steady favorites have been Fore Street in Portland, ME and Black Trumpet in Portsmouth. I don’t hesitate for a second to add Stages to this short list of «my favorite restaurants». And I hope to have many more excuses to go back.
An extraordinary culinary adventure. Worth every bite!

My wife and I finally got a chance to go here on Saturday PM. We wanted to be at the kitchen table but were too late for that. Still an extraordinary experience! We each took one of the different choices from the price fix 4 course option and shared bites of each. I had the wine pairings with mine, and that was excellent as well. Fine dinning, creative food, fabulous service in a super cool atmosphere. If you understand food and appreciate it — you have to go here!!! We can’t wait to go back and try the «Secret 8» (an 8 course meal at the chef’s whim and option) at the «kitchen table» (a bar facing the chefs and the kitchen).

Excellent food and a wonderful atmosphere! You walk in there and forget you are in Dover NH and not dining in Manhattan

A delightful place for its drama and techniques. I went to a theme dinner and the actresses reading stories with each course we’re great The menu says «nature+ technique» and that’s what you get. Extremely unusual ingredients found locally cooked with «cutting edge» (sorry) technique. All good and/​or interesting but nothing that made feel I would want to have that dish again. There is no choice at theme dinners but in usual nights you would watch chef cook and have 2 choices for each course. It is very expensive so definitely a special occasion place. Staff is very friendly and nice as us chef

The setting for this dining experience, right on the edge of the expo station was perfect. We got to see our plates as they were composed, each ingredient & preparation.
Each dish was a delightful collection of flavors and textures, perfectly balanced.
Definitely in the Top 5 of my personal favorite dining experiences.

I took Man Thing here for his birthday as part of Restaurant Week. We would have gone, regardless, as my last visit was out of this world. Chef Evan didn’t disappoint. From the slow egg and Chevon goat, to the pâté and dessert, it was lovely. He even sent out two surprise courses, including a thyme and tomatillo sorbet with a honeyed meringue. The mister said this was as good, if not better, than his visit to The French Laundry. Planning on spending NYE at Stages and truly looking forward to the 10 course meal being planned.

My experience at Stages.
Background, I am a cook. I am not a chef as I have not been trained as such but cooking is my primary interest in life and has been for as long as I can remember.
I have always been a cook from as early as I could push a chair against the stove. Yes, that’s dangerous, my mother wasn’t terribly attentive, thankfully.
I love food, and the history of food, and cultures and cuisines and I take particular interest in replicating authentic recipes and adhering to purity.
Of course anyone who shares this interest knows what a rabbit hole this becomes, but it is a labor of love.
Chef Hennessey’s New American cuisine (whatever that means) is something I do myself not do, but it is something which interests me because I appreciate cooking as an art form.
Much like a painter who prefers to paint realism is not subject to appreciate only realism. To appreciate and work to perfect your particular form I believe you must at a bare minimum at least expose yourself to other forms. To truly perfect your form you must immerse yourself in every form you can find.
First of all, you must understand that this restaurant is a restaurant where the chef is sharing his art with you through food, you are not in charge here, though you are given choices.
Food at its fundamental core provides nourishment, which makes this particular art form by nature a very caring art form.
Stages is not a place where you go and select from some 37 various options, get absolutely stuffed and then leave.
This is something of an art gallery where you go to enrich your perspective rather than fill a mere void.
There were 4 courses with 2 choices per course. I went with a delightfully adventurous friend and we agreed to each order opposite from one another and share every dish and taste everything chef Hennessey was offering.
The food was extraordinary. Every single component of every single course was carefully prepared. Every flavor profile and texture was well thought out, much like every color and stroke a painter chooses is thought out to evoke what the artist wishes to express to the viewer. Our eyes are our tongues in this case.
Every ingredient was exceptionally prepared. Fermenting, poaching, pickling, smoking, brining. All very refined techniques chef Hennessey used to paint our dinners. Techniques which I use in far more primitive forms to recreate recipes through my preferred form.
That isn’t to say I was absolutely in love with every dish, though every one was truly delicious, some I preferred to others.
I really want to express that I appreciated the thought and effort and skill that took place in the process of creating them.
I came hungry, and left full. Not stuffed as we first world problem Americans have come to expect, but fully satisfied. My hunger sated, my curiosity whetted.
My friend and I watched and chatted and drank lovely wine with each other as chef Hennessey prepared our meals in his lovely kitchen, which was equal parts homey and science laboratory.
Mr. Hennessey was genuine and friendly and happy to answer any question we asked. It was a warm and wonderful dinner.
We’ll definitely be back. I’m curious to taste what chef Hennessey is thinking up next.

Evan Hennessey is a capable and visionary chef doing the best work he’s ever done. If you want to see someone doing some rad, tasty stuff with food, go here.

While the food is inventive, it isn’t memorable. But there is no excuse for having the smallest portions I have ever seen. We left starving after paying $ 40 a person to eat. I liked the chef, and want to support talent, but that isn’t enough. Give the people something to eat. Also, the venue isn’t welcoming as the restaurant is located in an industrial area.

We had an amazing experience at Stages — it is inconceivable to me how anyone could review this as anything less than 5 stars. It was such a unique evening to sit at the chef’s table and see Evan in action. We have been lucky enough to eat at some of the best restaurants in the country, and Stages is up there with the best of them!
The short rib was incredible, as were the agnolotti and the ricotta gnudi. The desserts were outstanding as well. We did the wine pairings which was a really nice addition.
We highly recommend trying Stages — one of the best restaurants we’ve been to in the seacoast area.

What an delicious dinner we had last night.
The experience at Stages At One Washington was incredible.
It’s an intimate setting and an unforgettable experience to get to sit
in the kitchen and watch Chef Evan prepare his wonderful dishes with locally grown
food.
Feels like you are on the set of a great food network show.
Loved it and highly recommend it.

Wow so surprised by the reviews… We (5)of us now know why it is called stages because eating here you go through several stages!!! First excitement because what you read and heard, second you wait for the server to figure out you are there, third you wait 40 mins for the first course, third you get all your food and 5 people agree that it was all under seasoned and lacking actual food. We did not read the part where it said this was a tasting menu. Last stage angry over price and time wasted wAiting, we had reservations and say at 7:30 did not get out of there till 11:10 Really and we were hungry and angry, not to mention the price. As we were waiting for the check we were all taking about places we should have went while paying for baby sisters. This stage is not ready got the spotlight! Never going again, waste of $$ and time.

I can only repeat what everyone else is saying… Bravo! Call for reservation, go early.

Definitely a 5 star experience. I like these places where you get personal attention from the chef. I had some food preferences and they were attended to. I didn’t know until I came here that both chefs were from some of my favorite local restaurants namely the Black Trumpet. I’ve been to several other restaurants with similar themes and Stages was without a doubt the best deal. We will certainly return to future events. Plus, if my kids ever get married I’d consider them as our caterers.

Our dinner can best be described as an ‘experience’. We loved all of our courses, the service, and the atmosphere. We took advantage of a $ 40 special that included four courses. Each was prepared by Chef Evan who was only 2 feet away from us in the kitchen. He clearly articulated what each dish consisted of and what inspired him to create such unusual combinations of ingredients. I was was particularly impressed with Evan’s restraint with salt and seasoning. We could actually taste the core ingredients in each course rather than be confused with powerful blends of spices.
Since the evening’s menu limited us in what we could select, we ended up trying dishes (such as beef cheek) that we wouldn’t normally order. Although not all were my first choice I learned that I have appreciation for flavors (such as beets) that I previously stuck my nose up to.
I am anxious to return and try the next cuisine they explore in their kitchen. I am hoping for something Asian and spicy.
I read the first review by ‘TL’ and was initially hesitant to try out Stages. But after reading through his other reviews it is obvious he is an angry man with doodoo on his soul. His review is malicious and unsubstantiated. I urge you to ignore him and try out Stages. These chefs are not amateurs.
Pros: Extremely oriented toward service and customer satisfaction. Chef creations are unique, made from top quality ingredients, paired nicely with wine. All of the kitchen staff is more than willing to answer questions and make adjustments.
Cons: Food portions might not satisfy a growing boy, one must navigate a labyrinth to find the bathroom, and it’s in Dover which makes 6:00 reservation tough to make when driving from the south.
Final judgment: AWESOME! Do try this place.

A very different concept, still a bit wobbly, but with lots of promise.
So, here’s how it works… their dinners are on specific dates/​you reserve them almost like buying a ticket (a take on Grant Achatz’s concept restaurant, Next). The restaurant, if you will, is actually a prettied-​up studio space in One Washington Center, a mill building/​studio mecca. There’s no sign out front and you have to find your way to the third floor (room for improvement here, to find it we had to call from outside the building). It’s one seating, five courses, paired with wine. Often the chef, Evan Hennesey, cooks with a guest chef – last night it was Evan Mallet of Portsmouth’s Black Trumpet.
While I won’t go into the menu in detail (you can probably find it on their website), much of it was great – one or two courses though were a bit off the mark. The wine pairings were good and – and this is the important part – there were moments of brilliance, like a spicy smoked strawberry samba… a sweet, spicy, savory sauce to go with pork course. Also a buttermilk semifreddo to go with salmon – not sure the cold went with the warm – but the concept was really gutsy and the buttermilk «ice cream’ is worth trying to recreate.
The servers were really attentive, very knowledgeable about the food and wine, and the chefs regularly came out to answer questions, discuss the course, talk about their creative process and where they sourced their food. A few pet peeves: the silverware they have is misbalanced with the plates, so throughout the evening knives and forks kept clattering to the floor – it became kind of a standing joke. Also, the room, while nicely lit, could’ve benefited from some table candles. If candles are a problem in the loft-​like space, use the fake LED ones. Also, the bathroom is way down the hall, and – while well signed – initially diners got a bit lost.
All of this being said – go to this place if you really like to experience a great restaurant and value great chefs – it’s a «foodie» restaurant on a New Hampshire level. Plus, the guys are so damn gutsy to take on this concept in NH, they deserve to succeed.
After the dinner, we got a full tour of their hi tech kitchen with portable induction burners, nitrogen foamers, and sous vide baths. Pretty darn cool. The price was pretty reasonable, given that it includes 5 good pours (go easy, remember, we’re driving) as well as tax and gratuity.
We will go back — soon — and hope that the wrinkles will be ironed and we’ll be able to upgrade this to a five star review.