Pepperland Cafe

After reading the reviews I was extremely disappointed in this place. My boyfriend and I showed up here last Saturday night around 6:30−7ish. We waited a little bit for the hostess to come by and when she did she was very nice and friendly. She sat us at the table by the door, and immediately poured us H20 (without any ice) the table was too far from the bench and really uncomfy so I moved to the chair to sit next to my boyfriend. I noticed the menu we had been given only had about ½ of the menu they have on their website, which was pretty disappointing. Our server didn’t take to long to come over and was also really nice and friendly. I ordered a margarita and asked for blue caraco, which they didn’t have (as a bartender for over 8 years I was shocked that a bar didn’t stock that stuff), so I just had a regular margarita. While I waited for my drink I looked over their drink list and was un impressed. A lot of people want «fruity fun glittery drinks» not 5 versions of the Moscow mule. When my drink came the server told us about 700 things that they had on their specials. Neither one of us could remember anything she was saying let alone have time to think about it so we started off with the hawg wings and then each got the mac and cheese for dinner. I got spinach and bacon in mine, and my boyfriend got spinach and sausage. (it would be nice if they had a printed out specials sheet that you would look over while waiting for drinks) It took quite a while for the appetizer to show up, so we spent our time checking out the décor, the other dining area seemed nice, but we were by the door in the bar-​ish area and it wasn’t really comforting. The floor looks like my kitchen floor at home, and the chairs were the exact same ones I have at my kitchen table. Not to mention they had a table stuffed almost right us against the bar in the corner, and it looked either impossible for someone to get in or out if someone else was seated there. When the app finally came it was totally worth the wait! They were soooo good. The meat fell right off the bones, and the polenta was beyond amazing. The 2 «wings» we got didn’t last that long. My only complaint about them is that for being buffalo they weren’t spicy at all. We had to wait a while for dinner too, and when we were finally served it the serious disappointment set in. The salad was really good, but the mac n cheese was awful. It was beyond bland. My boyfriends was cold, mine was luke warm. And both of ours was filled with water. After a few bites down, the macaroni was just swimming in water. It took the server a little while to come check on us, I showed her how watery mine was and she said it shouldn’t be watery and shed tell the chef, then ran off before my boyfriend could even tell her that his was cold. When she came back she wrapped our food in the kitchen for us — which again took a really long time. By the time we got out of there is was past nine. We really just wanted to have a quick app, dinner, and get home; so it was disappointing that it took over 2 hours to be done eating, especially since they weren’t really that busy. When I went to reheat up the mac n cheese up today, and add some spices and flavor to it, there is sat in the box with tinfoil, with a pool of water in it. I was hoping it would have at least been drained before boxed. If we ever go back, we’d probably sit at the bar and have a drink or two since we live in town, I would never eat here again.

A hidden gem. (To be honest I hope it stays hidden.) Buffalo Hawg Wings (aka pork shanks) are excellent.

I came here for the first time tonight. First off, I love the decorations. Alot of places use the color Red and are way too powerful and makes your eyes hurt. But this place got it just right and the lighting.
Food: I had the fried oysters– and they were SO amazing. I’ve never had them before and they blew me away. Even the light salad with it was really light and perfect pairing.
Ill be back. Love it.

Excellent! Had a great dinner here with a group of friends. Wait staff was wonderful (Kathleen I think), Salmon was small but amazingly delicious. Cocktails were great (I recommend the Moscow Mule!)

Great food. Local ingredients. Staff can be a little inattentive at times but overall a great place.

UPDATE!
My husband and I hadn’t been in a while and we went a few weeks back, I have to say the service has become so much better! Although I would never take a star off for service because the food more then makes up for it, I wanted to update to mention that they must have done an overhaul of service as we were greeted at the door, approached quickly by a server once seated, and it did not take as long to receive refills and our food. There seemed to be more staff on than usual too which is definitely a huge factor to things moving more smoothly on busy days like Sunday brunch!

Maybe it’s better for breakfast, but you want to avoid the Good Ol’ Mac and Cheese with bacon and gorgonzola at lunch. The pasta was overcooked and the bacon was undercooked to the point of being inedible.

I didn’t know about the brunch until I read these Unilocal reviews.
All I know is, I’ve stopped in in mid-​evening — 8 p.m. or so, with friends and the staff is ready to take your food order. That’s so great. The food is really good, too, and the people who work there make us feel welcome. It doesn’t take long for them to remember you, too. What a pleasant place, a hip and comfortable atmosphere, and a terrific place to go for supper and talk.
The beer is really something, too. We had this Belgian beer brewed in rum kegs (Innis something?) that alone was worth the visit.
I wish Rochester had something even close to this. I’d go there every week.

I drive to Berwick, ME two evenings a week and finally decided to have a bite in this café. It looked very inviting from outside.
I ordered supper fair (a tuna melt, cole slaw and beer). The food was well prepared, appealingly arranged on the plate, plentiful (more than enough for me) and very moderately priced. The service was fast and very friendly.
While I lingered over my beer, I noticed that a great deal of patrons are regulars who know each other. The food on their plates looked equally appealing and the regulars looked like they enjoyed it. A good sign.

There’s a lot that I really love about this place, but a few reservations.
I think on a Sunday, it’s more than fair to expect to have to wait be seated. Several times though, seating has appeared arbitrary (parties with the same number of people who have arrived later being seated first). I’m not sure the reason, but where it hasn’t happened just once, I’m kind of confused.
Food is terrific (the Berwickian omelette is nice and the Eggs Benedict also a solid dish). Coffee refills were a bit slow though, even when things had slowed down.
Overall, a nice place for Sunday brunch, but I think there’s a few things with the staff that could use some fine-​tuning.

Had a wonderful Sunday brunch at Pepperland Café this past weekend! I arrived around 9:30 AM flying solo and sat up at the bar. I was immediately greeted by a couple of staff members and had a hot cup of fresh coffee in my hand as a looked over the menu. After making a tough choice between some of the daily specials, I chose the corn beef and hash with a side of one biscuit ‘n gravy.
When my food came out, it was hot and fresh and DELICIOUS! The hash is homemade and top notch and my eggs were perfectly poached. The homemade anadama bread for my toast was to die for, and I used it to mop up every last drop of the gravy w/​my biscuit.
Honestly, you’d be hard pressed to find a better restaurant anywhere in the local area. I can’t wait to get back here for dinner sometime soon. It’s been too long!

I went there the other night, we got the hog wings to start. I got the Mac and Cheese for dinner and I’m pretty sure I got the spinach in it DELICIOUS! Service was good. I sometimes don’t enjoy going to brunch though (foods great restaurant, very hectic).

UPDATE! Initially I said the service was slow, but they actually hustle pretty well — more than anything they just can’t keep up with the demand on brunch day. I don’t know why they don’t open up for brunch on Saturday too, they’d make a fortune.
Also, new discovery that the corned beef hash is THE GREATEST.

About a year ago I stumbled upon this little gem on a leisurely drive from Boston to Portland. I got off the highway for no particular reason, and I was a bit hungover from the previous night, and hungry. It was a Saturday I believe, and I showed up at the very end of the breakfast rush. Its been a year and I can’t remember exactly what I had, eggs benedict I believe, but the experience was so good I kept the business card in my wallet so I would remember to write a review. I know for a fact that I had a delicious bloody mary. I struck up conversation with the gentleman who waited on me who was either the owner or manager and a few locals who were also nursing a hangover.
I remember that all the ingredients were fresh, and that I was so proud of myself for being adventurous and extremely lucky to find this little hot spot in a cool little southern Maine town. Good local flavor on the plate and at the bar, that’s usually what I’m looking for particularly on the road. I will hopefully get another opportunity to drop in here on another visit to New England. I also hope someone finds this review helpful and gives the Pepperland Café a shot.

Went today for brunch — not really a brunch though… just interesting breakfast items. I suppose because they serve til 3pm it is considered brunch — which is a definite positive.
I honestly wasn’t all that impressed with the menu. I ordered the Crabcake Bene — the eggs were very very fresh tasting, however the crab cakes were undercooked & very very fishy tasting. I regretting not choosing french toast or pancakes. My bf ordered the mushroom omelet, which was pretty decent. Each entrée had a standard breakfast item that had to be ordered a la carte if wanted (e.g., homefries did not come with my bf’s omelet & my bene did not come with a bread item) — this seems a little much, considering price points.
Overall the food was just «ok» at best… really really not happy with the crabcakes. I would have said something to the waitstaff, but the service was far too slow… servers seemed too occupied with chatting up the regulars.
Most likely won’t be back…

My partner and I consider this our go-​to restaurant for Sunday brunch. It took time, but we learned the valuable lesson of going later in the afternoon and not in the morning. Much more pleasant and less hectic. The waitstaff is not cookie cutter. The waitstaff is not what you find at Friendly’s. The waitstaff? Is wonderful. Their knowledge about the beer, meals and ingredients are better than almost all the places we dine. I’m an unapologetic carnivore and I keep going back for the veggieburger. It’s that good. Oh, and I’ve since had the beer & cocktails. Exquisite both. Pepperland, thank you for being Pepperland.

Shocked to see anything LESS than 5 stars. Even more shocked by some of the complaints. If you want Chili’s or Mickey-D’s, go there; you’ll find lots of cheap meals. Likewise, Friendly’s does a cheap breakfast. If you’re willing to pay $ 6 – 10 for an all-​local, mostly organic, made-​to-​order breakfast, you’ll dig it.
I like the waitstaff. I’ll give that they’re quirky (yes, one is difficult, one has a tendency to ignore — very minor stuff), but that’s part of the experience. Lindsay has a great knowledge of food and beer, and Kevin is an absolutely masterful chef. Take a chance — order from the pub menu and get dinner and drinks for two with desserts for under $ 40. Order a full dinner with drinks and desserts for about $ 60. For the quality, you will not find better prices (case in point, they were closed last week and we dropped $ 85 for a butter-​boiled meal at Spring Hill).
The music and visuals are eclectic, and the beer selection is outstanding. If you are a bud/​coors/​miller person, move on and save us both time and energy. If you think you’re a foodie because you eat at the downtown Portsmouth restaurants, stop by and see how good they COULD be. Yeah, I guess this is a shill review, because I just love the place (going in an hour).
Lastly, good restaurants have customers — as a result, they sometimes have a wait. The comments about the seating plan are idiotic. I like to have a little room when I sit, and Pepperland offers that. If you’ve ever been to Europe and enjoyed a dining experience, check out Pepperland, and you’ll be very happy. If you’re idea of fine dining is Long Horn Steakhouse, stay there.

Yeah, I love the Pepperland and probably always will. I’ve had brunch, lunch, dinner and drinks here; I have always left this place satisfied. The corned beef hash is probably the best I’ve ever had, and their tres leches cake is fabulous. In addition, I love that he carries good beer and not just the typical swill you find everywhere else in the general area. Try the Old Engine Oil. Kind people, good cooking, great drinks and a nice atmosphere. The only negative I’ll give is that on a rare occasion I have to wait 10 minutes for a table (which isn’t really a big deal at all).
Yay fraggle rock!

Nice people — good food — only been here a couple times and always spent alot of money — pricey — but worth it?
friendly place in a wonderful little town

After reading the reviews for this place, I left very disappointed. We dined in for a Sunday Breakfast. They boast a Sunday Brunch menu, however there’s no brunch at all. The 1 page breakfast menu shows high prices for fancy-​ish breakfasts.
I ordered the Young Fred (cheapest dish on the menu @ 4.50) 2 scrambled eggs, 1 slice of toast, and homefries. The homefries were decent, and my 1 slice of toast was very burnt. My boyfriend got the waffles with bacon bites & eggs ($ 8), and was very unsatisfied.
Seems like a towny type place and I won’t be returning. You’re better off picking up a bagel & a coffee next door at Early Bird.