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Opening Report: Row 34 (Portsmouth); Franklin Oyster House

The Portsmouth, N.H. oyster bar edition.

Row 34 Boston
Row 34 Boston
Meg Jones Wall

1) PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — After a successful year-and-a-half in Fort Point, Row 34 opened the doors to its second location on Sunday. From chef Jeremy Sewall, Skip Bennett, Garrett Harker, and Shore Gregory, the northern oysters-and-beer place has been in the works since the fallBoston Magazine reports that the new location has a few menu items not available at the original Row 34, including a crab cake sandwich and fried, whole-belly clams. The 88-seat restaurant has a 20-seat bar, and the original Row's beer director Megan Parker-Gray curated the new restaurant's initial draft list. Status: Certified open. 5 Portwalk Pl., Portsmouth, N.H. (603) 319-5011.

2) PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — The coastal city located just about an hour north of Boston has an increasingly booming dining scene, and a popular three-year-old spot is the "modern American tapas" place, Moxy, from restaurateur Jay McSharry and chef Matt Louis (a 2015 James Beard Award semifinalist). That team opened Franklin Oyster House over the weekend. The casual restaurant seats 70, including some around a horseshoe-shaped oyster bar anchoring the space. In addition to oysters, it offers sandwiches, charcuterie, and shareable entrees. Before this weekend, Portsmouth lacked a dedicated oyster bar, Louis told Seacoast Online earlier this year. With two opening over the weekend, he said he's excited. "[M]aybe we’ll have an oyster sub-culture like the craft beer culture we have now." Status: Certified open. 148 Fleet St., Portsmouth, N.H. (603) 373-8500.