Not that impressed. Had the seafood chowder which was pretty good. Then the petite steak tips and lobster was cold, not flavorful at all. The root beer float had so little ice cream it was pretty much just root beer. they have a nice deck, and perhaps they have good beer but I wouldn't recommend it for the food.
Review Source:Last chance.
The last few times I've been here it's been hit or miss but after the last meal I'm done crossing my fingers hoping for a good dinner.
Of late it seems to be more of a watering hole then a nice comfortable tavern, which make sense because after my last meal you'd have to be drunk to even stomach it. It was an overpriced pretentious slop that I wouldn't feed my dog.
Like others, I wanted to like it here and I've given them the benefit of doubt. However, I'm done being a customer.
Hard to recommend; our orders were sent out haphazardly, so foods were wildly different temps; server was aloof and untrained; food was average, at best; I can see the wine appeal, but maybe they overextended themselves on the menu. Â Big portions are worthless if the food is inedible. Â We attended a few local places during Portsmouth Restaurant Week; sorry, but this was the worst of the bunch. Â One saving grace: Blue Lobster beer on tap
Update: Contacted the restaurant several times via email with the above comments and more. Â No response from the management. Â Which leads me to believe they don't care about fixing their mistakes or making amends. Â Reduced to 1 star.
Lots of locals give the bar a strong community feel. The service is quick and the food is good. They have almost any type of liquor you can think of, and if they don't have I've heard that they will bring it in for you the next day. The bar itself has a great New England feel to it and always has great energy! Would definitely recommend to anyone in the area.
Review Source:I want to give this place more stars, I really do. Since I like to support local restaurants this was a tough review for me to be honest with... but it wasn't great.
Stopped in here with the bf & the in laws last week. Walking in is confusing - go left for the restaurant and right for the bar.. i think? The signs are not clear.
Once we were seated our waiter was very friendly. He got us drinks right away. Then we all ordered. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries. Before my bf could order I was informed that they did not serve french fries.... at all. WHAT?! (minus 1 star) um, okay. so I got a cheeseburger and chips.. my bf ordered chicken fingers and a side of soft pretzels. my in laws ordered a corn beef sandwich and a plain hamburger with chips. I really wanted clam chowder and my father in law really wanted fish & chips but they did not offer either of those... even though its a coastal town with the ocean being a stones throw away. kind of ridiculous. (minus 1 star).
The food was okay. My cheeseburger was undercooked but still good. The bf's chicken fingers were not chicken fingers. They were chicken breasts baked with shake n' bake served with a side of lettuce & carrots - that was not clear on the menu, he would never of gotten them. (minus 1 star). My mother in law got a corn beef sandwich that was served on a croissant and looked delicious. The soft pretzels my bf ordered were basically bread sticks with salt on them. they were good... but kind of a stretch.
All in all this place left a weird taste in my mouth. Â I probably wouldn't go back.
I must have passed this place, located on RT 1 in Hampton, a million times. Â It wasn't until a bartender in another restaurant mentioned how good the food was that I decided to try it. Â The 401 is a pub style atmosphere where diners can choose between booth, table, bar or outside dining. Â The bar is nice because in addition to bar seating it also has tables. Â The wait staff are very friendly and try to make sure that your experience is nothing less than delicious and fun. Â The chef is quite creative and offers some dishes that you would not find elsewhere. Â For instance they offer a watermelontini which is their version of a watermelon salad which is absolutely scrumptious. Â How about baked feta cheese? Â I had never had it before but it works quite nicely. Â This creativeness extends to their entrees which vary daily and are offered as specials. Â In addition they also serve traditional pub food (nachos and burgers) that are a step above anywhere else. Â This place fills up fast around the dinner hour so get there early and come hungry. Â You won't be disappointed.
Review Source:My wife and I have been here 4 or 5 times, so it's time for a review. I am torn between 3 and 4 stars, but we keep going back, so I'll go with 4. There's always something each visit that irritates me, like tonight when my wife orders the Caesar Salad - the reason she wanted to go here - and they are out of Caesar dressing. How does a place run out of dressing? As for the food in general, I love many of the tapas here. The Cajun Scallop dish is one of the tastiest, best deals around. Tonight I tried the Jalapeno Raviolies. They were delicious - and spicy - but seemed underdone and not as warm as they should have been. We've had the Haddock Sliders and those were excellent, as is the Ahi Tuna tapas. And my wife loved the Tuscan Chicken Salad she in place of her Caesar, so we dodged a bullet there. I am not fond of the tap beer selection. There's many choices, just nothing that interests me. It seems as though there's just IPAs, wheat beers or odd seasonals, so I just get a Bass Ale, which bores me. They do have a very nice wine selection and priced well. Overall, I like it here but after each visit, I wish I had tried somewhere else. With that, I wish I could give 3 1/2 stars.
Review Source:When I moved to NH in August for a job, this was the only restaurant I knew about. I had gone a few times after my various job interviews, and it still remains one of my favorite places to eat. I absolutely love the ambiance in here... old pub style, but clean. The staff is very friendly, and the food is out of this world. I had a bleu cheese burger one of the last times I went that still remains one of the best burgers I have had in a while. Usually when I go I order the blackened chicken cesar wrap- it's a perfect sandwich.
Review Source:My mom and I came here after a random winter trip to the beach this summer. We went to both Salisbury and Hampton, and everything was closed (even the ones that yelp said were open). I was craving a meal overlooking the sea, but chose to settle for one in a town nearby. I have no regrets.
The 401 tavern is inside of a cute cottage-like building in Lafayette with shutters on the windows. This is typical of New England, but the place was far from typical. There are 2 floors here. They sat us upstairs away from the bar (not sure why-maybe we looked like tourists...). It was cozy and peaceful. The ceilings were covered in wine bottles, all different.
I had an ahi tuna salad and the butternut squash ravioli. Delicious! I can't remember what my mom had, but we shared a very tasty bottle of Dr. Loosen Riesling (since I'm back in Cali, I plan on popping over to Napa to grab a few bottles soon). Our server, whose name I unfortunately can't remember, was also a delight. He made conversation with us and shared his recommendations on dessert. I believe we had the Dulce de Leche cheescake. SO good.
So if you find yourself by the beach this winter or anywhere near the coast of NH looking for some good eats, I definitely recommend checking this place out!
Having grown up in Hampton but long since moved away it's nice to come home and see that the dining options have vastly expanded around town over the last 20 years.
Now that I've been to the 401 three times I feel comfortable enough to share....
Other people have commented on the decor and atmosphere and they are spot on. Â Great comfy place to go with family or friends and nice enough for a business dinner or lunch.
The menu on first look has your mouth watering. Â There is a good variety for everyone in your party no matter what kind of mood they might be in. Â The weekly specials show that whoever is preparing the menu is putting some real thought into it. Â The portions are generous and everything I've had has been fresh. Â Don't be fooled by the "seniors" part of the special menu.... you can find some great lite lunch fare there when you're not super hungry.
What knocks this place all the way down to three stars for me is the service. Â From the gruff hostess who will seat you in a minute after she finishes her conversation with another employee to the phantom waiters who won't ever be there to refill your drink there is a definite lack of connection between the kitchen and the customer. Â I'm not saying it's rude service... it's just not what you'd expect at a place like this. Â And it's really just a drink thing.... the food comes out in a timely manner.... but even if your glass is empty when the food is served they probably won't notice.
I'll keep coming here when I come home for visits as I like the menu better than Galley Hatch and Old Salt.... but I have some new places on my list to visit next time around (there's a new Thai place and a Tex Mex joint in town now!).
Had heard the 401 was good from my wife who'd eaten there a few months back, and I used to enjoy it as the Widow Fletchers a couple years ago. But, after tonight we'll not be going back any time soon.
The staff was courteous enough and the atmosphere still old-school, claustrophobic and pub-like, but the food was bad and the overall experience very disappointing.
I and my friend had the prime rib and there was more fat left on our plates than meat that we'd actually been able to cut loose and eat. The baked potato was pre-cooked and reheated I'm guessing and nearly raw in the middle. Everything was tepid in temperature. The two wives both had the chicken and neither one of those got finished, either.
The cocktails were very sweet and undrinkable (that's saying something for me), and to top of a dreadful evening it was unbearably hot upstairs and the chairs were very uncomfortable.
I realize that I sound like I'm complaining just for the sake of it now, but I can say that I never in a lifetime of eating out been so disappointed that I felt compelled to come straight home and write out a long complaint. Very sad about a local place that used to be pretty good.
But, then the place was packed, so I guess these other reviews I see here must be the more typical experience. But, don't think I'll be willing to find that out any time soon.
The 401 is different every single time I come here. A nice change from Widow Fletchers while keeping the same kind of homey woody feel. The small bar is where you'll usually find  me, the wine bar upstairs is a nice addition to a serious need in this suburban town. For some reason there is often latin music playing, which is shocking considering the lack of Latinos here. However, I personally appreciate it and am always searching for a dance partner. If ur out there in Hampton, let me know! It's like cheers - everyone knows your name. Sometimes it's older locals, sometimes reunion time for the youngins, and often a mix.
Review Source:I had been going here for drinks only for a while.. the atmosphere is really awesome.. dim lighting with an antiqued look, so i enjoyed it. I decided to try the food one night though and that changed my mind. The sports tavern bar was entirely too loud- but it was the only area they could seat a party of 6.
I asked them to turn the music down several times, but it kept creeping back up.
The waitress was inattentive at best and messed up my order.  She offered to fix it, and when she took it, it took more than 10 minutes to get my plate back (all  asked for was veggies instead of squash- she didn't even have to take the whole plate!).
She was unapologetic as well.
the worst part, however was my night and next day- i got FOOD POISONING from some part of my steak tip, mashed potato, and mixed oily grilled veggies meal.
For a pricey place, one should not be getting food poisoning!
I'm a local.   Here's the deal, the owner is in the restaurant every night.  That  says a lot about how much he cares.  I frequent the 401 about once a week.  Things may have changed since the earlier reviews?  The new owner has added two more bars, the original Widow Fletchers bar is still there, largely untouched.  They have also added a wine bar upstairs, which has a few booths and a wine cellar feel.  They also created a sports bar in the room that was a dining room to the east of the original bar. Â
They are offering a new set of tapas (small dishes) on the menu every night. Â They are also running theme nights, such as German night, Portugal night etc.. Â
It's certainly not worth 5 stars, but then I haven't been to many restaurants anywhere worthy of 5 starts. Â In Yipe speak 4 starts means I'm a fan, and I'm a fan of the 401. Â
The biggest issue is the lack of parking. Â Watch out for the boot nazi nest door, if you park in the lot at the strip mall next door the owner of the boot store will have your car towed.
Love this place.  Desi, the new owner, knows how to make people feel welcome.  The bartenders are warm, personable, and know how to make a good drink.  Love the food.  Try the lobster popover, it's great.  And for a previous poster that didn't know their website address, it's <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.the401tavern.com&s=810dc2bf910f3914c197d749419674435fdc2e6bdb8bf34a33e9602002062f2c" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.the401tavern.…</a>.  Their full menu is posted on it.
Review Source:Food quality has gone downhill since the new owners took over. Â I stop here a lot on my way to Seacoast Harley, and the food and atmosphere used to be great. Â No so much now....the Reuben was burnt and had no sour-kraut on it. Â The potato salad was truly awful.
My son and I agreed we will not be coming back for a while, to allow them time to work out some of the issues
In addition to the lousy food, the place was a ghost-town...only a handful of people in the entire place, and it used to be jammed on a Sunday afternoon.
Too bad...the atmosphere is really cool...I hope they get their mojo back soon.
The former Widow Fletcher's Tavern (aka Widow's) is now under new ownership and reopened as The 401 Tavern, which is named after the address of 401 Lafayette Road.
This bar & grill is housed in an old house from colonial times in Hampton Village. The atmosphere inside is that of an old style English pub with old wooden floors, dark stained wood trim and old framed pictures/posters on the walls.
The pub style menu offers some appetizing food at reasonable prices including soups, salads, appetizers, sandwiches, entrees (seafood, steak, chicken, bangers & mash, shepherd's pie, prime rib), half pint meals (kids 10 & under), and desserts. Daily specials offered. The Ploughman's Lunch ($10) is on the menu!
Besides the beer, several signature mixed drinks ($8) are served here such as:
Passion of the 401: Skyy Passion Fruit Vodka & Parrot Bay Passion Fruit Rum w/ OJ, Grapefruit, Pineapple, Cranberry & Sprite.
Desi's Island Delight: Cruzan Mango Rum, Skyy Pineapple Vodka, Bols Blue Curacao & Pineapple.
I dropped in here for lunch. The greeting by the hostess was a bit gruff and I was promptly seated in the dining room area which has booth seating and a big TV showing the Red Sox. Loud music from the 1980s to today was playing over the speakers.
I started out a cup of Seafood Chowder ($4) which had a hot savory broth with potatoes, bay scallops, haddock, shrimp, and clams, though mostly potatoes. I was given a basket of warm rolls & butter.
For lunch, I went with the Old Fashion Tuna Melt ($6) served with choice of potato chips, potato salad, mashed, O'Brien potatoes, cole slaw, or cottage cheese. I chose the O'Brien potatoes, which are baked potato slices with diced onions, peppers, & seasonings.
I heard several 80s dance tunes over the speakers while watching the Sox on mute while I waited for the food to come out (20 minutes). The Tuna Melt was a big sandwich  overstuffed with warm tuna salad with celery, cheddar cheese, sliced tomato, bacon on toasted marbled rye. The sandwich was tasty and filling. The baked O'Brien potatoes were a great accompaniment to the sandwich.
The service from my waitress (Cheri) was friendly and attentive and several ice water refills in the small goblet glass were given. Overall, a good lunch at a fair price served at a relaxed pace.
Open Every Day, Lunch starting at 11AM.
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