 Ignite Bar & Grill 100 Hanover St., Manchester 644-0064; ignitebng.com Serving: Monday-Saturday, full menu 11 a.m. to 10 p.m; late-night menu Friday and Saturday until midnight. Cuisine: American Entrees: $6.99-19.99 Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant in five categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
The Dining Companion: Hanover Street is definitely turning into restaurant row slowly but surely.
Appetizer 16.5/20
OG: One nice thing about Ignite is that there is a “new dish” menu, showing that there is some periodic changes to the offerings. It was from the “new dish” menu that I chose the Kahuna Tuna ($10.99), which consisted of tuna that was perfectly cooked — and by perfectly cooked, I mean almost raw — seared ahi tuna encrusted with sesame served on fried wontons. Underneath each piece of tuna was a bit of watercress, pickled ginger and a dab of hot wasabi mustard. A nice take on a favorite dish. 8.5
TDC: When visiting the islands, one item I love is conch and was pleased to see sea conch fritters ($11.99). There were six quarter-sized fritters filled with nice chunks of conch meat. The ones I had were a hair undercooked and doughy, but this should be easy to fix. Be prepared for the dipping sauce, which was definitely in the high spice heat range. I would order these again as they are still the best attempt in the area. 8
Entrée 18/20
OG: I rarely order steaks when I go out because TDC makes steaks at home that are superior to almost any I can get at a restaurant, but Ignite’s crusted New York strip ($17.99) sounded too good to pass up. The tender 10 oz. strip steak was grilled medium-rare just as I ordered and was topped with a very nice horseradish crust that had just the right amount of flavor, enhancing, not drowning out, the flavorful steak. Add mashed potatoes and French green beans and I had the perfect comfort food meal. 9.
TDC: I had Sea Scallops Casino ($18.99), which was served with sweet petite carrots and sweet potato fries. When I read the description of shallots, smoked bacon, spinach and diced tomatoes, it sounded delicious, but when I saw the cheese was feta, I had my doubts. No need to worry: The blend of ingredients was very good and I enjoyed it. The scallops were fork tender. 9
Dessert 16.5/20
OG: I don’t expect a place like Ignite to have its own pastry chef, so I wasn’t surprised to see a dessert menu with commercially made goodies. I ordered the Italian lemon cream cake ($6.95) and was pleasantly surprised with the fresh, soft cake and lightly lemony cream filling. 8.5
TDC: I, too, didn’t expect this to be a strength, but the desserts were tasty. The white chocolate mousse cake ($6.95) was a multi-layered chocolate cake with a thin layer of mousse between the layers. It was tasty, but a bit dry. 8
All the rest 18/20
OG: Co-owner Neville Pereira, former owner of the Capitol Grill, came to our table — as he did with everyone — and greeted us, taking time to answer questions, which was a nice touch. As were the fresh flowers on every table. Little things like that make a big difference.
The service was also excellent. 9
TDC: I like the place. It has a small bar area and seats 50 in two rooms. I usually try to ask questions about a place when dining there and Neville took the time and answered all kinds of questions from me. 9
Value 16.5/20
OG: At Ignite, diners can choose a wallet-friendly sandwich or spend a bit more on a steak or seafood entrée and still not break the bank. Another nice thing is the $5 lunch menu. 8.5
TDC: One thing I had read in a story about the opening of Ignite is that the owners wanted to offer good food, but try to keep it at a price point that people could afford. Appetizers that reach $13 is a bit steep, but their most expensive entrée was $19.99 for filet mignon, which isn’t bad. 8
TOTAL: TOTAL: 85.5/100
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