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Dining & Entertainment Hotspots for Visiting Surfers

Surfers from Canada and New England will find the best in Restaurants & Nightlife on the Seacoast.

Surfing can really work up an appetite! There's nothing like showering off the salt and sand and heading out on Hampton Beach for some hot food, cool drinks and fun times. Ocean Boulevard - also known as "The Strip" - is lined with dozens of food stands, restaurants and pubs. Even if the weather isn't cooperating and you need some warm food to take the chill off, Le diáble est aux vaches. There are plenty of dining options on Hampton Beach! Here are just some of the highlights starting from the southern end to the northern end.

Popular Hampton Restaurants

The Boardwalk Café; offers two levels of beachfront dining and entertainment on Ocean Boulevard. You dine inside or outside, enjoy live rock music every night in the pub downstairs or acoustic music and karaoke upstairs. It's the perfect finish to a day in the surf and sun as you watch the sky over the ocean transition from blue to purple to gray to black.

LaBec Rouge is the winner of the esteemed Best of 2004 Seafood Festival and offers family dining at family prices. LaBec offers a menu from classic pub fare to delectable entrees prepared from the freshest New England seafood and the finest cuts of meat. With live entertainment seven nights and food service until midnight, the pub, restaurant and dance floor at LaBec are always full.

Surf food at the Secret Spot

When you're ready to take a midday break or post session, end of day chill, walk up North Beach and across Ocean Boulevard to the Secret Spot. The colors soothe you, the reggae chills you and the food fills you. From organic Brazilian inspired breakfast bowls and smoothies, to gourmet coffee, breakfast burritos, original wraps & salads, Secret Spot can get you refueled and back in the line up.

North Beach Bar and Grill is a groovy little beachfront restaurant and pub on Ocean Boulevard, Hampton, with a casual surf and sport flair and some surprisingly sophisticated fare. Their menu offers everything from New England Clam Chowder and a variety of fried fish & chips baskets to steak tip dinners and lobster mac-n-cheese. Expect to see countless bar stools and dining tables filled with salty, tanned surfers from the Hampton area, New England, and even Canada.

Just north of the Ashworth Hotel is Ron's Landing. Offering multi-level dining and spectacular oceanfront seating, Ron's offers a contemporary menu with fresh seafood dishes as well as beef, duck, chicken and pasta entrees. Linen covered tables, seascape centerpieces and candlelight create an ambiance that encourages weary muscles to relax after a full day of riding waves. If that's not enough, perhaps the award-winning wine menu will coax you just over the edge into post-surfing nirvana.

Just up the road, Portsmouth NH

While exploring the New England coast, there are a few other hotspots you won't want to miss. There are a number of fun and funky restaurants and bars in Portsmouth, NH, including the Portsmouth Brewery where you can indulge in New Hampshire micro-brews that are made on the premises, the Portsmouth Gaslight Co. which is a restaurant and bar with indoor and outdoor seating, the Rusty Hammer for "good food and hearty drink", Jumpin' Jay's Café for exceptional seafood in a city-chic environment and the Red Door Lounge and Martini Bar for after-dinner cocktails.

If you love seafood, be sure to make the short drive to Hebert Brother's Seafood in Kittery, Maine. This must-visit seafood restaurant offers heaping portions of a wide variety of fresh-out-of-the-water seafood dishes. Travelers come from far and wide just to experience New England seafood at its best at Hebert Brother's.

Must-see Nightlife

If you want to take in a show, whether it's a live music concert or standup comedy show, the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom is the place to go. This large concert hall offers non-stop shows with cocktail service! Don't let the name fool you - this is not a gambling casino. Casino actually means "summer house" in Italian. Also known as the "Club Casino", it was established in 1899 and it is still one of the most popular spots for top quality talent and it recently placed in the top 30 for worldwide ticket sales in venues under 3,000 seats.

Open 365 day a year, Stacey Jane's Grill and Bar is the only Hampton Beach entertainment and eatery hotspot that is open every day of the year. Warm up your pipes because you can belt out a tune with karaoke seven nights a week! Plus, sit down to enjoy authentic Irish cuisine and Irish music at Stacey's Blarney Stone Food & Spirits. Slip on your dancing shoes and head upstairs to Club Madison a city-style dance club overlooking the beach! 9A Ocean Boulevard

If you're heading out on the town with your dancing shoes on, you'll have a blast dancing at the Ashworth Hotel & Lounge on the northern end of Ocean Boulevard. For over three decades "the Ashworth" has held its reputation as one of the finest restaurants in New England. Superb, fresh seafood is the specialty and the menu also offers a wide variety of meat and seafood selections. After you indulge in ocean front fine dining or casual fare in the Breakers Café Lounge, Attache ta tuque! The Ashworth is one of the most popular places for locals and vacationers of all ages to dance the night away.

As you can see, there's plenty to do after the sun goes down in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire! When the day is done, the night is still young!

Hampton Surfing Vacation Guide

Bonjour and Bienvenue

• Surf's up at Hampton Beach!
• Where to stay when visiting Hampton Beach, NH
• Why choose Hampton for your surf road trip? The waves!
• Dining & entertainment hotspots for visiting surfers

The author, Stacy Tuccolo is a freelance writer and New England native specializing in travel, food, wine and marketing.

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