THE WINDHAM RESTAURANT 59 Range Road, Windham 870-9270; windhamrestaurant.com Serving: Monday – Saturday, 4:30 p.m. “to close.” Cuisine: American Dinner entrees: $15.50 to $25 Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant in six 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: The Windham is easy to get to — it’s just off Exit 3 on Interstate 93, at the crossroads of routes 111 and 111A. The restaurant is in an old 1812 home, which is one of Windham’s oldest, but it’s surrounded by the world of today, which includes a golf driving range in the back yard and a multi-bay gas station and a McDonald’s in the front. Inside it has that old charm of an old tavern with separate rooms both upstairs and down for dining.

Our Gourmet: The building is charming, with nice comfortable dining rooms and an inviting bar area. The antique Colonial is reportedly haunted by ghosts, but on the evening we went there the only spirit I experienced was in the form of a nice glass of Cabernet.

Appetizers: 16/20

TDC: I ordered the scampi ravioli ($8) to start off the evening. There were five small pillows of shrimp and ricotta cheese-filled ravioli sautéed in a light lemon scampi sauce. These were delicious and not overly heavy. And they had a great garlic bite. This would make a great dinner if you have these with a second small plate offering or one of the restaurant’s many salads. 9

OG: My choice was the escargot in a Parmesan brandy butter sauce ($8.50). These were pretty standard, but tasty, although I couldn’t really discern any brandy in butter sauce. The sauce, however, was delicious with the soft and fresh foccacia that’s served before the meal. The escargot are served in the shell, so a little careful wrestling is required to get them out and not have them land down your shirt. 7

Entree: 13.5/20

TDC: My choice was the chicken saltimbocca ($18.50), which was a chicken breast sautéed with mushrooms, shallots and sage in a Marsala wine sauce, finished with San Danielle Prosciutto and melted mozzarella cheese over linguini. I was a bit disappointed; the chicken was a bit tough and someone in the kitchen was a bit heavy handed in sprinkling Parmesan over the chicken as well as with the salt, making the dish overly salty. Also, there was no hint of the sweet Marsala coming through as usually found in this dish. 6.5

OG: The Windham offers a rack of lamb ($22.50) and, having been a while since I had a rack of lamb, that’s what I ordered. It is described as being lightly seasoned with garlic, extra-virgin olive oil and spices, which is accurate, as no one taste — aside from the lamb — really stood out. They were cooked a little more than the rare I ordered, but not so much so as to be a problem. The lamb was served with a scoop of mashed potatoes and a zucchini/summer squash mix that was good, but unexceptional. 7

Dessert: 12/20

TDC: The Outrage Cake ($5.50) is a 3-layered chocolate cake with fudge icing. Unfortunately this cake had been sitting out back a couple days too long and was very stale and very disappointing. 5

OG: The Windham seems to serve what TDC and I describe as “industrial desserts” — desserts pre-made off site that several local restaurants serve rather than making their own. My key lime pie was about the same as I’ve had at other places — this one was fresh but nothing special. 7

All the rest: 17/20

TDC: The Windham Restaurant is comfortable and a nice small tavern/bar. The dining area we were in was downstairs with six tables with plenty of space. Upstairs can handle parties from 10 to 50 people. Our waitperson was very friendly and informative. Our food was delivered hot and on schedule. 8

OG: I thought our dining room was very nice and well appointed. The chairs were cushy and, despite the fact that all six tables were full, we didn’t feel crowded and were able to carry on a conversation. Our server was professional and friendly. Overall, The Windham is a comfortable place — the kind of place one would go to on a regular basis if one lived in the area. 9

Value: 16/20

TDC: The entrees are prices from a low of $15.50 to a high of $25, so prices may not be the cheapest, but the meals are large so you won’t go home hungry. 8

OG: The price range at the Windham seems to be the standard these days for a nice restaurant — not outrageous, but pricey enough. As TDC said, the portions were large, so you will certainly leave full. 8

TOTAL: 74.5/100

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