Tuscan Kitchen Opens in Portsmouth

Portsmouth, New Hampshire welcomed a new source for Italian food last week with the opening of the restaurant portion of Tuscan Kitchen & Market, part of a small but growing group from founder Joe Faro. Tuscan Kitchen debuted on March 1 in a new building on Lafayette Road, serving up a full menu of Italian specialties.

The restaurant started with dinner service and will soon add breakfast and lunch. Chef Nimesh Maharjan oversees the menu, which features antipasti like salumi, cheese, prosciutto, and calamari, and there are thin-crust Neapolitan-style pizza options, salads, pasta dishes, and secondi that feature meat, seafood, and vegetables. Tuscan Kitchen also serves cocktails, beer, and wine.

There are 294 seats in the restaurant, which is adjacent to the forthcoming market portion. Tuscan Market is set to open in June with a selection of meat and cheese, plus pasta, bread, and prepared meals for sale, in addition to coffee and desserts. When the weather cooperates, guests will be able to make use of Tuscan Kitchen’s 75-seat patio for lunch and dinner.

There are two other Tuscan Kitchen locations — one in Burlington, MA and another in Salem, NH — and there is a Tuscan Market at the Burlington location. Collectively known as Tuscan Brands, the group also plans to open another restaurant-market setup in Boston’s Seaport District, on the second floor of the One Seaport Square development. This location will cover 14,500 square feet with seats for 320, as previously reported, landing in a section of the city that is in the midst of a restaurant boon; multiple new restaurants have opened nearby within the last few weeks, including New York’s By Chloe, Connecticut’s Tikkaway Grill, and Cambridge’s Aceituna Grill, among others.

The Seaport Tuscan Kitchen & Market is on track to open in the fall, when it will join Eataly in providing the Boston area with specialty Italian goods, pasta, and so much more.

• Tuscan Kitchen & Market Will Expand to the Seaport District [EBOS]