 RICHARD’S BISTRO 36 Lowell St., Manchester 644-1180; richardsbistro.com
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Brunch season is upon us. This Sunday is Easter and in a little more than a month we’ll celebrate Mother’s Day. Many restaurants will serve a special brunch on those days, but there are a few that offer brunch every Sunday, week in and week out. Even fewer are those who do it really well. Richard’s Bistro is one of those rare places.
My parents started taking me out to eat at fine-dining restaurants in my early teens, so it’s from them that I developed a lot of my dining preferences.
Buffets were not an option for my parents, who believed dining out means being waited on, not serving yourself. As an adult I found I felt the same way: After a long week at work, I don’t want to wait on anyone and I don’t want to serve myself. I want a sit-down meal where I can relax and enjoy myself.
Unlike some brunches where buffets are the norm, the brunch at Richard’s is the good, old-fashioned kind where someone takes your order and delivers the food. And at Richard’s they do it exceptionally well.
The restaurant is small, but comfortable. The walls are painted in muted colors and the décor is clean, simple and modern. On the morning we went, the restaurant was almost full and a steady stream of diners came and went as we lingered.
Richard — owner Richard Vareschi — seated us. As we waited for a friend to join us, my dining companion and I ordered cocktails – the main difference between breakfast and brunch being, of course, cocktails. My companion ordered a Bloody Mary ($5) and I ordered Richard’s Breakfast Martini ($12). My dining companion said the Bloody Mary was the way he likes it, a generous amount of horseradish gave it just the right taste.
The breakfast martini consisted of citrus vodka, Grand Marnier, Champagne, orange juice and cranberry juice. The generously sized cocktail was served ice cold and was delicious and surprisingly refreshing.
My friend arrived and we looked over the menu as we talked and caught up on each other’s lives. The menu has an eclectic and tempting array of offerings that make it truly difficult to decide what to order. When we had first been seated, we were presented with a plate with a few pieces of fruit and a slab of cheese; when my friend arrived, we were served a basket full of delicious baked goods. Be forewarned: The pre-meal goodies are almost a meal in themselves. If you want to have an appetite for the main event, sample them sparingly.
Knowing this, I skipped the appetizer and nibbled on cheese and a cinnamon roll that was sweet (but not too much so) and delicious. One of my dining companions decided to try a cup of the seafood chowder with shrimp, scallops and lobster ($8). It arrived piping hot and chock full of seafood including a whole lobster claw. It wasn’t overly thick and creamy, but was flavorful and seasoned quite nicely.
For the main course, one of my dining companions ordered the shrimp, scallops and lobster crepes ($18), which were, like the chowder, stuffed full of seafood with whole large shrimp and chunks of lobster tumbling out of the crepes. The seafood had a bit of a creamy sauce, but not too much – Richard’s definitely isn’t trying to overdo the sauce to hide the lack of seafood like some places do. The crepes themselves looked a bit overdone, but my friend declared them exceptional.
My other dining companion opted for the crab cake with baby spinach, poached egg and Hollandaise sauce ($14). The crab cake was flaky and full of delicious pieces of crab. He said the Hollandaise was lighter than many he’s had in the past, but that definitely wasn’t a complaint, merely an observation.
 Owner Richard Vareschi |
We were all pretty full after our delicious meals, but it was incumbent upon us to try dessert. The dessert menu is lovely with everything from homemade vanilla ice cream to tequila lime pie to bananas foster flambéed at your table. There was only one thing to do: Order the dessert sampler ($15) that had tasting portions of chocolate walnut pecan pie, tequila lime pie, crème brulee, chocolate mousse cake, homemade vanilla ice cream and a fresh baked bistro chocolate chip cookie. We all had a little taste of each. All were very good; my dining companion said his favorite was the chocolate mousse cake, which had the mousse atop a decadent and dense flourless cake-like brownie.
If I had to choose just one, it would be the tequila lime pie. I think it would be a nice end to dinner. Hopefully the pie comes in a small portion, however, as it is both very sweet and extremely tart. A large portion may be a bit too much for the tastebuds to handle. I suspect it would be a nice dessert to have with coffee, the coffee being a nice contrast to the pie’s flavor.
We found little to complain about with our brunch — the food, service and atmosphere were all excellent. It does come with a price: Without the cocktails, brunch for three came to just about $80. That’s not cheap, but Richard’s delivers excellent value for the price.
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