A handful of new restaurants are opening in downtown Portsmouth

The recession and job market slump cloud the forecast for many new businesses. However, if one type of business stands a good chance these days, it would appear to be the food service industry. People need to eat, they like to drink, and many prefer to sample the offerings of local restaurants.

Portsmouth, in particular, is rising to the occasion. Many new restaurants are opening in the downtown area, providing various types of food and atmospheres to those looking to dine out on the Seacoast.

Portsmouth Book and Bar, a new café-style restaurant, will open in September on Pleasant Street in the city’s historic Custom House. The café will feature the usual coffee shop items with a twist.

Described as having a “European flair” by its owners, John Petrovato, Jon Strymish, and David Lovelace, Book and Bar will allow customers to curl up with a book and a small meal, some coffee, or some local brew.

The restaurant will serve bakery items, sandwiches and salads, coffee and espresso, and beers and wines. Along with food and spirits, Book and Bar will also sell used and resale books.

Petrovato and Lovelace are former owners of the Montague Bookmill, a bookstore-restaurant that occupies a historic gristmill building in western Massachusetts, Strymish said. The bookstore will contain literature of all genres, including sci-fi, drama, poetry, fiction and political science.

“Our goal is to be a real bookstore—selling used and bargain books—and support it with the restaurant and café and bar,” he said. 

Strymish noted Book and Bar’s hours will extend into the night, and the café will showcase local musicians and entertainment.

“We’ll be fixing up a lot of the old architecture to highlight the resale-book sale feel,” he said. “It’s a cultural place to go for culture.”

The exact opening date for the restaurant is still uncertain. Strymish said he believes prices for most menu items will fall between $8 and $12.

Also on Pleasant Street is another new addition to Portsmouth’s eclectic eateries, the Bodhi Thai Bistro. The restaurant—whose name means “enlightenment”—opened on July 25. The family-owned and operated bistro, located at the former site of Japanese restaurant Sakurabana, features traditional Thai dishes, as well as made-to-order meals upon customers’ requests.

According to Bodhi manager and waitress Laong Chanthapho, the restaurant will even prepare meals that aren’t on the menu.

“Our options cater to the customer,” Chanthapho said. “That’s how Thai cooking is. It’s about options.”

Along with the customer-tailored meals, the restaurant can adjust the spiciness of its traditionally hot dishes depending on the preferences of its guests. While the bistro serves mainly Thai cuisine—including traditional entrees such as Pad Thai and curry dishes—it also serves other Asian standards such as crab rangoon and lo mein, Chanthapho said. Thai food is influenced by Chinese, Indian and European cuisine, she said.

To live up to the restaurant’s title, Chanthapho said she and her family chose to decorate the interior in a way that would represent enlightenment. The walls are orange and green and display eccentric artwork and photographs.

“We wanted the place to be bright and cheery,” she said. “That’s why we chose the colors. We wanted to stand out and be different.”

Bodhi Thai Bistro is open seven days a week and offers takeout. According to Chanthapho, prices mostly range from $10 to $20.

The Martingale Wharf Club, which is set to open on Aug. 7 or 8 on Bow Street, will be an “upscale American bistro with hints of fusion” according to general manager Jonathan Letvinchuk. The restaurant will feature dining inside or on a deck overlooking the Piscataqua River.

“There will be both dining and standing room experience so guests can explore,” Letvinchuk said.

According to Letvinchuk and executive chef Matthew Provencher, the Wharf will serve classic seacoast fare, and the dining room will feature an illuminated bar top. The restaurant will filter its drinking water through a reverse osmosis purifying system, Letvinchuk said.  The process emphasizes the restaurant’s mission to provide natural, unprocessed foods to guests.

“We source ingredients as locally and organically as possible,” Letvinchuk said.

The waterfront restaurant’s prices will range from $8 to $60.