The popular, rustic, 100-year-old, 400-seat Old Salt Tavern, has been a Hampton restaurant institution since long before President Dwight D. Eisenhower had Thanksgiving dinner there in 1963.  The restaurant is located about three miles from the Hampton Beach Band Shell at the corner of Lafayette Road and High Street, the crossroads of downtown Hampton. (MAP)

The Old Salt serves a variety of reasonably priced American comfort food items, but specializes in seafood and its own chowders, and its Saturday night prime rib dinners.

Old Salt patrons have three very distinct choices of dinner venues: the first is its historic, post & beam dining room (pictured above); the second is its 100-seat sports bar, serving pub food amidst large television screens and an agreeable mash-up of sports and maritime paraphernalia hanging from the ceiling and covering every square inch of wall space; the third is under the tent on its 75-seat, heated outdoor patio bar, which features low-key, live entertainment from about May through October.

The Old Salt serves lunch and dinner as well as a popular Sunday brunch, year-round, and has ample on-site parking.  The restaurant is very popular with local residents and regular summer visitors, so come early or plan to wait for a table most evenings.

Editors’ Note:  The Old Salt restaurant is co-located with Lamie’s Inn, which has not yet been inspected by Visit New Hampshire’s hotel analysts.