Went to Xo on a Saturday nite with the family. The variety on the menu will have me going back next time I'm in Manchester.
The arancini was good but no meat in the center. I had the lamb kofta which is basically a lamb meatball; good. My son had the sweet potato fries which were good. My little guy had the short rib tapas, excellent.
Entrees - Wife had the eggplant, not so good. The eggplant wasn't cooked enough and came out just warm. Son #1 had the bacon wrapped sirloin and loved it. Son #2 had the hanger steak. He liked it but didn't like the cut of meat (not Xo's fault, I warned him), Son #3 fired chicken statler, he liked it, said it reminded him of Cracker Barrel 'chicken fried chicken, sauce & all. I had the lobster with mac & cheese. For the price it should had more meat but the gouda cheese & pasta were excellent.
Wrapped things up with chocalate cake wihich was very rich, I mean verrrrry rich and a brownie w/ ice cream which was very good.
Two pet peeves - espresso was 'warm' not hot. The waitress filled our wine glasses to just over 3/4 full. Protocol is 1/3 or less so the wine can be swirled, nose, then taste. Not a deal breaker just an observation.
All in all a good meal but a little high priced for what we get. I will go back. The service was excellent, the waitress was very knowledgeable about the menu. Â Our water glasses were never empty. Staff was very friendly.
Went here with a group of friends, service and food were what we expected. The soup I got was pretty cold when it came to the table but it had good flavor and I would recommend it, hot. The salmon dish was great as well as the shortrib app. Setting wasn't,t as "fancy" as I expected but I would def return here for another meal. Gets quite loud in the front part of the restaurant where we sat.
Review Source:I travel to Manchester several times a year for trade shows, and luckily there are some excellent restaurants in this city. Another tradeshow attendee recommended Xo and I loved it. The atmosphere is lovely and the food was fresh and incredibly delicious. I ate alone at the bar, but quickly befriended some other travelers who were attending the same show. I think my meal (this was several months ago) was  barbequed salmon with sweet pea risotto. Wine selection was extensive, service was great, lighting and space are comfortable and very high-quality. I am looking forward to dining here again the next time I'm in town!
Review Source:Consistently Underwhelmed.
I've been here a few times with friends and on our own. We recently went this past weekend, Oct 19th.
Overall, nice decor and atmosphere. Very comfortable seating and dinning room.
Service is consistently good. Servers are always friends and generally prompt.
Food. I would expect much better with their pricing. I had the pistachio crusted sea bass. The fish itself was a good piece of fish, high quality. The preparation poor. I never would have expected the dish to be this bland.  The fish was propped up on polenta sticks and there was a "sauce" under it. The oil sauce was awful. I couldn't eat the carrots that were resting in it because there was  very little seasoning and all oil.
My husband had the eggplant dish like a rollatini. Nothing to write home about. The fish actually tasted better with the tomato sauce from his plate.
The highlight of the night, the honey almond butter that came with the complimentary bread. What a delight! But not that much to get me to return again.
I came here for lunch with a colleague while in town for business - Thursday afternoon at 1:30pm and it was on the empty side. Â The server was friendly but the service was too slow for lunch.
Food was pretty good. Â Pancetta stuffed dates were excellent - it's kinda hard to mess this dish up and they didn't. Â The pancetta was nice and crisp. Â Great mix of sweet and salty. Â The salad with grilled salmon was hit and miss - salmon was well prepared but the salad was way overdressed and detracted from goodness of the salmon. Â
The salad and appetizer was around $20. Â Xo was decent - I'd give it another shot.
My fiancee and I just had dinner here for the first time and it was quite a mix of boom and bust... the baked brie appetizer was scrumptious but there was not nearly enough of the delectable fruit compote to match the mini brie wheel, certainly not for $14.
The lady's scallops and pumpkin risotto were phenomenal, but countered by easily the worst "crispy" duck I have ever had. The duck was dry and soggy to the point that I sent it back almost instantly, something I very, very rarely do. The manager was very kind, removing the entree from the bill, and giving me a second portion of the exact same dry and soggy duck. After it was obvious that overcooked duck was still not my preference, she gave me a $25 gift card and stated that the head chef was under a lot of pressure and if we were to come back he would cook the duck however I wanted (the description on the menu seemed sufficient...). It was a nice gesture, but my first thought was who I could give the gift card away to... for these prices ($20-$30/entree), why take a gamble?
We went to XO on a whim, so we didn't have reservations. It seems like they are needed for a weekend evening. We arrived at 6:00 pm and the hostess took a few minutes to find us a table. The table was in the middle of the dining room and a little small, but adequate. Â I ordered the Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese strudel as an appetizer and the Lobster Mac-n-Cheese. Â Both were excellent. The flavors and quality of the food was amazing. The mushrooms in the appetizer were cooked perfectly. They had texture and very fresh flavor. The goat cheese was perfect too, and the glaze and phyllo dough were perfect. Â The entree was just the right size. Every bite had lobster. The cheese was the creamiest i've every had in a lobster mac-n-cheese. Â Service was excellent. They were attentive and fast, but not rushed. Will definitley go there again!
Review Source:Had dinner at Xo on Elm for the first time with a date last week. Â The restaurant was surprisingly empty for a Thursday night, and we were able to sit at a table right in front of the window. Â The service was great - our waitress was helpful and attentive - but the food was sub par for the price. Â
We started with the Fried Pumpkin and Cheddar Polenta Cakes, which tasted bland and dry. Â My date had the Lobster Mac & Cheese, which was good - filled with big chunks of fresh lobster meat - but he was disappointed the sauce was more of an Alfredo sauce as opposed to the traditional cheddar cheese variety. Â I had the Coconut Encrusted Tofu Stir Fry, which was great, but for $19 I found the portion to be small, and wish the stir fry had been served on rice or something more substantial. Â
While I wouldn't recommend this restaurant for excellent food, I'd definitely give Xo another try...as long as I'm not paying the tab. Â :)
Food was okay.  I had the chicken wing appetizer and the lamb shanks.  They were good.  My friend had the pork loin and it was over cooked.  The service was very friendly and fast. The  downside was the Bailey's creme brûlée was chalky and lacked any flavor. We sent it back but the manager came to the table and disagreed with our opinion of the dessert. Tip to management - it is not nice to disagree with a customer's tasting experience especially when two customers at the table had the same bad experience with the dessert.
Review Source:What an amazing dinner! Â
My husband I celebrated our anniversary at XO, and we were so glad we picked this place as the backdrop. Â We were greeted promptly when we entered by the owner who brought us to our seats. Â The staff was very friendly, and the decor was very warm and inviting. Â As we waited for our meals the owner noticed we opened cards at dinner and brought us a champagne toast to celebrate our special occasion. Â It was a truly wonderful gesture and very much appreciated. Â
The meals were wonderful. Â I had the Braciola and my husband had the Bacon Wrapped Sirloin. Â Both were so very good and cooked perfectly. Â The Braciola was so tender and not dry at all, which I could appreciate it having grown up in an Italian family. Â The desserts were so good, and the flavors chosen all worked well with one another. Â
Even the bar looked warm and inviting! Â I could appreciate that the bar had hooks underneath for women to hang their purses. Â Just that attention to detail and comfort was enough for me to absolutely adore this place. Â
At the end of our meal the owner made sure to check in with us to make sure everything met or exceeded our expectations and to thank us for coming in. Â Although it was a slower night there was a very large party in while we were there and I could appreciate that he took time out to make sure we were satisfied with our experience. Â When we mentioned that we don't have a tendency to come out to eat often because of Weight Watchers and not splurging often, he was very accommodating and offered to restrict the menu and work with our dietary concerns with some notice. Â How many places do you know that do this? Â While there may be some, they certainly don't advertise it. Â The confidence the owner had in his chef made me feel confident that he could make a dietary conscious meal that would be full of flavor. Â
We will undoubtedly be back. Â The food was great, but the service absolutely sealed it for us. Â Thank you so much for making our night perfect!
I have been here several times and their are some items on the menu that I would consider XO signature dishes.  My favorites are their Beef Carpaccio and Tasco Diavlo (spicy seafood and cream cheese spring roll).  I also love their Baked Brie and Stuffed Dates.  I like that they have quite a few tapas and appetizers on the menu since I usually order 2-3 small plates instead of  full entrees (which they also have on the menu).  The atmosphere is "hip" and "trendy".
Review Source:I had just moved back to NH and needed a night out with my best friend. Â I found XO on my company's 'corporate perks' and thought this looks good. Â I was wrong - this was freaking fantastic.
I arrived at 5:30pm, told the server I would be waiting for a friend and would like to sit outside and would like a glass of water. Â He was perfect, about 3 minutes later, he found me outside with a wine menu in hand and a glass of water. Â (I order wine I can pronounce that looks good.) Â I had a glass of Pinot Grigo Seaglass, it was light crisp and refreshing just as promised. Â I worked for about 15 minutes and my bestie arrived. Again, the server was on que with the menu, this time bringing the food menu as well.
Tonight was not going to be a typical, lets eat food, and go - we were in for the long haul, wine, appetizer, main course, more wine and desert. Â
She ordered the Cognac Wild Mushroom & Goat Cheese Strudel. Â And described it as lovely - after my taste, yes it was in fact lovely. (I've never called food lovely before either)
I had the Grilled Flatbread, it was good, but I had been tainted by her strudel, which was better!
For dinner - I ordered the Jumbo Sea Scallops while she had the Black Sesame Crusted Yellowfin Tuna. Â I didn't try hers, I didn't want my expectations skewed as with our appetizers.
My first bite of the sundried tomato, spinach and goat cheese risotto had me thanking the stars Manchester, NH had fine dining. Â The Sea Scallops were cooked perfectly, the burgundy reduction with sweet beets had me in culinary heaven and then.... the meal became a perfect 10 when I took a bite of my vegetable of the day (green beans, summer squash, and zucchini) and they were crisp yet tender and not overcooked and mushy.
More wine please. Â Bestie upgraded to a glass of red, while I stuck with the white. Â Her dinner she said was a 10 as well. Â However, she did say, mine was better.
For dessert.... Â She ordered Bananas Foster and said it was about an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. Â The ice cream that it was served with however was definitely a 10. Â I am giving mine the same rating. Â I had chocolate molten cake it was good - but I have had better. Â However the ice cream - that was a definite 10 for me.
I have some extra comments to make about the people who state that the serving sizes are small. Â I'm going to pass a judgement and probably get myself in trouble. Â Serving sizes in the US are OUT OF CONTROL. Â A 'serving' of meat should be the size of the palm of your hand. Â My serving was perfectly sized. Â I left full, not stuffed. Â Did I eat everything on my plate - no, but the idea of fine dining is to enjoy yourself, the company, the ambiance, the food.... Â Not eat your face off and complain that you are still hungry after. Â If you want over sized portions, go to a Diner.
Overpriced. Â You can get better food in the area for a more reasonable price. Â I also am disappointed with the feeling of the restaurant, the first time I went in the owner was getting angry about something and I haven't been able to get that out of my head every time I see him. Â It just makes the restaurant seem cold to me. Â The best thing I've had here is the bleu cheese pear and I think they've taken it off the menu. Â I tried the gnocchi once and was very disappointed with the taste. Â I disagree with others that the portions are very small at lunch, unless they have changed since my last visit about a month ago. Â I want to go back and give XO another chance for dinner, but I feel like my money would be better spent somewhere else.
Review Source:uh, maybe the smallest portions i've ever seen. Â If you go here for lunch make sure you are NOT hungry. Â I was here for a lunch meeting and as soon as I left I went down the street to eat more -- wouldn't have held me over until dinner. Â Honestly, very very disappointing.
On the positive the owner was there and greeted us personally so at least they're trying.
They really need to work on providing more food considering the prices they're charging.
We started off with a lovely evening greeted by a manager who was personable and attended to by a fantastic server. Â The sangria was homemade, delicious, and a lovely way to share a summer night with colleagues.
The appetizers were great. Â The raspberry lavendar bisque was simply divine. Â My tequila pork tenderloin was outstanding. Â More food than any of us could finish. Impecible service.
Go...go again.. and tell your friends.
What a neat place! Â Last minute Valentine's Day plans and we were set up with a table at the window, in time to catch a movie. Â Great wait staff, very attentive but not bothersome. Â Well stocked wine list a great menu with food that was well prepared.
Thanks to Yelp, we found it. Â Thanks to XO on Elm, we had a great dinner!
I def. agree with the first reviewer. Â Hubby and I went there for his B'day in Jan. and it was VERY delicious. Â We both got the bacon wrapped sirloin, it was so delicious, cooked PERFECTLY and the potatoes were incredible, the vegetables were also cooked perfectly! Â We really really enjoyed our meal. Â Even though we were full, we got the Creme Brulee for dessert, OMG it was out of this world, a very large portion, so share it!
The service was also excellent, not overbearing but attentive, and we will absolutely go again.
The stuffed dates rock. Â The med plate was okay. Â The carpaccio was good, but nothing special there. Â The service was rotten. Â The prices were hight. Â The drinks were good, but not great for $11. Â At $50 a head for two cocktails, no entrees and 3 tapas, this will not be a place I will be returning to anytime soon.
Review Source:Now I have to say that this was kind of a tricky one to rate. Now if you consider yourself a a burger joint and you can dish out one hell of a burger you get 5 stars. However if you consider yourself a fine dining establishment you better bring the heat. And felt this place just came up short in my book. Don't get me wrong the food was good but did not exceed my expectations.
Went there one Saturday night with my wife around 7:00 to try and grab i bite to eat and maybe a drink or two. There was a 45 min wait, which I didn't mind (it is saturday night after all) but the host said we were free to grab a drink somewhere else and he'd call my cell when a table was ready. I thought this was great however when we came back after the phone call we still had to wait 20 min for out table.
We decided to order a bunch of apps and share instead of going with entrees. First started out with the chorizo, cream cheese dates. They were great my only complaint was I found myself licking the plate wanting more after they were gone. Next was the pumpkin polenta cakes with frizzled leeks. These were pretty tasty and I enjoyed the pumpkin flavor along with the polenta. Third we opted for the XO mussels. I felt the sausage was cut too big for the dish as it was hard to get a bite of both mussel and chorizo unless you are part snake and can unhinge your jaw. I also feel they may have been a bit overcooked (although better over than under with mussels). Lastly we went with the short ribs. They had descent flavor but were a bit dry. Short ribs can be so melt in your mouth delicious but these left a little something to be desired. Another bummer was half way through our meal another couple sat down next to us and they were treated with bread and oil which we were not...and I do love me some bread...minus points.
XO is definitely a good restaurant, and I will be returning because there are things on the menu that intrigue me, however it will not be my number one choice of places to go on a date night...or number 2
The outside menu and branding makes the place look like it's the type of restaurant you save for a special night of splurging on an amazing meal. Â It delivers far less which is only highlighted by the high prices. Â If the entrees weren't high $20's to $30's and the sangria wasn't $11, I would have been much more content. Â The Spring Pasta? Is little more than a bowl *full* of noodles- sprinkled with a few odds & ends, including burnt pine nuts. Â I did enjoy the scallops, but they were far too expensive for what I ate. Â Friendly staff were negated by the bathrooms being out of toilet paper.
Review Source:I have to say, I'm kinda disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high.
Let's start with the food.
Stuffed dates=yum yum! Easily my favorite part of the meal. They're stuffed with sausage and cream cheese and wrapped in pancette and glazed with something sweet and fabulous. $4 buys you four of these tasty puppies.
We tried to order the Crab, Artichoke and Spinach Dip ($10) but the waitress said they no longer make it. "Then why is it still on your menu???" (Obvi, I didn't say that, but I was annoyed since it's something easily done with some White-Out.)
So, we ordered the Cranberry Apple Baked Brie instead ($11). The brie was tasty, and definitely can serve at least two, if not three, people.
I went with the Pecan Chicken ($18) for my entree, and my boyfriend decided on the Lemon Basic Crusted Haddock ($20). The entrees were meh. Nothing special here. The side of polenta was really smooth ad creamy and flavored nicely with some melted cheddar cheese. That was all that stood out.
The fish, while light, lacked in mouth-wowing flavor. The sauce was okay.
Moving on to service. In one word: dicey. For one thing, we were seated right up against a wall very close to a large table of 12 women, all talking and laughing loudly and making conversation difficult. Would have asked to move, but the other two-person tables were full.
Our waitress came and went sporadically. She didn't have the natural waitstaff style of more experienced servers, so perhaps she's kinda new and that's why she asked how our food was before we even had a chance to take a bite. Or why we hardly saw here. Or maybe she was overbooked with tables.
Anyway, the only thing I was really impressed with was the dates, and also somewhat impressed with the brie. Would I go back? Maybe for the dates or other tapas. Not for any entrees, though.
I've now been to XO six times, and had my first negative experience. The restaurant has become a popular place, with long lines forming on weekend nights.
But, it seems the XO has grown faster than it can handle. I arrived this past weekend for our reservation (which was made via answering machine, then confirmed later), only to find 4 other parties waiting for the reservations. Some for as along as 40 minutes. We grabbed a seat at the bar while we waited. When we were finally sat 15 minutes later, our drink order was sent to the table. There seems to only be one bartender on service, and he is doing everything he can to keep his head above water.
Despite the kinks in service, the food remains outstanding. I will continue to go back, but I hope that the growing pain or only temporary.
New years eve reservation for 5. At 7 pm. Arrived promptly, was told they were 30 mind behind. Left cell number to call, after 30 mins dropped back in. Hostess says "I did not call you". Hostess claims we will be seated next, 15 min wait. Â At 8:30 we are offered a table for 4, with a 5th on the end. Â Won't ever be back, customer service and honesty win my business.
Review Source:This is exactly the type of place that Manchester needs more of. Â I sat at the bar early on a Friday evening and sampled the chicken, black bean and veggie soup along with the Mediterranean platter. Â Both were excellent and went well with one of the excellent choices of wine by the glass. Â Please frequent this place and lend support to a restaurant that adds to the diversity of Manchester's nightlife.
Review Source:I returned to XO on Elm with a friend on Thursday night. I was greeted at the door by "first name" and seated in the main front dining room and I had a view of the TV in the bar area. My friend went over the menu and liked what he saw offered. We started out with unsweetened ice tea ($2) and complementary house ice water and put in our orders.
Soon after that, the manager walked over to our table, placed a cloth napkin over my lap and presented Potato Croquettes complements of the chef and said to try it. This time the croquettes had peas and dipping sauce, much better than the previous visit. Next, Â a complementary plate of fresh bread with olive oil/herb dipping sauce and honey pecan butter was brought out and enjoyable.
I ordered some appetizers including:
Boneless Beef Short Rib ($7): tender beef braised in apple maple BBQ sauce served over top of whipped Yukon gold potatoes.
Stuffed Dates ($4): chorizo sausage & cream cheese filling wrapped with crispy pancetta.
Shrimp & Brie Crostinis ($6): creamy brie cheese topped with grilled shrimp, fresh apple slices & ginger butter.
Each of the appetizers I had were very good and nicely presented. My friend had a tasty bowl of Grilled Chicken Black Bean & Vegetable Soup ($6).
My friend who usually enjoys meat & potatoes ordered the Grilled Vegetable Napoleon ($17), which had portabelini mushrooms, red onion, eggplant, summer squash, zucchini, sundried tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, laced with balsamic glaze, sundried tomato oil, and toasted pecan pesto oil, served with tabouli couscous. This dish was very enjoyable even for someone who usually orders rare steaks.
After dinner, we were given complementary glasses of limoncello, which is an Italian after dinner drink, very strong even for someone who drinks. My friend also ordered a good martini after dinner.
I ordered dessert, the Baked Apple ($7), a baked cinnamon apple stuffed with toasted pecans, dried cranberries, & brown sugar wrapped in a flaky puff pastry shell, caramel and served with vanilla ice cream. Excellent choice!
The service throughout dinner was spot on and over the top. Our meal and the food was excellent from start to finish. Our water glasses were constantly refilled, the staff was checking up on us frequently, even addressing me by first name. Chef Kevin came out to the dining room and asked us how the food was and described some of the dishes. He was previously a chef at the Atkinson Country Club.
Overall, our meal was excellent from start to finish. The management did read my previous review and took the feedback seriously, trying very hard to please. The service we received was outstanding and we both felt that XO on Elm is deserving of the extra star without question.
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