Front Row Pizzeria

Last night I had dinner at Front Row Pizzeria in Exeter. The place was packed, being St. Patrick’s day. I was seated in the bar (at my request) since I was alone and didn’t want to take a 4 top. I was impressed that even on a day known for rowdiness, the atmosphere was still family friendly. Lots of laughter and various games on multiple TVs, but very friendly and comfortable. There was a mix of people from families with kids, twenty-​something guys watching March Madness, couples and seniors. I particularly liked that the owner was walking around checking that his customers were happy.
The wine list isn’t extensive but I was able to fine a decent Chardonney. I like that I could get a 9oz pour on wine which works out good for me, since 6 isn’t quite enough and 2 glasses is usually more than I want. They also have a large menu of draft beers that looked interesting.
I had an amazing plate of steak tips and rice pilaf!!! They were cooked perfectly and very tender, unlike the last 2 times I was at certain well known restaurant in Raymond, NH. I spied several fantastic looking (and smelling) pizzas at other tables so I’ll be checking those out soon. I had Lava Cake and ice cream for dessert that I enjoyed a lot.
I’ve found in this type of restaurant the service is usually so-​so. Not at Front Row. The server I had was fantastic. She was friendly, attentive and helpful. She had a lot of tables and kept everyone happy and smiling.
For casual dining and take-​out I’m giving 5 stars.

Whatever they do they do right.
Take out perferct
Delivery outstanding
Sit down enjoyably
Hi tops fun
Bar like getting togeather with old friends even when your alone
Kitchen non stop hardwork
Waitstaff so pleasent
Barkeeps engaging and knowledgeable
Cleanliness seacond to none
Portions huge
Quality top notch
While not a fancy steakhouse or French restarunt, thats not what you come here for. Top quality Italian, pub and takeout food, pizza best around.
Beer and draught selection as good as any pub on the seacoast.
Prices are very reasonable and with quality and portion size factored in, an outstanding value.
This place is no secret among locals so you may wait a few minutes but well worth it.
Waitstaff and hostesses try to keep things rotating without diners feeling rushed.
Barkeeps will always politely move bar visitors togeather to make room if you are a couple looking to sit there.
I can’t say enough good things except keep up the good work, and its nice to see a restaurant that cares about what its putting out for food and image.

We go to Front Row alot as we live near there. Good food, great atmosphere. Love the bar. The portions are huge and they have a ton of draft beer. All in all always a nice experience at Front Row

I’ve been here a lot and the food is good I would recommend coming here all the time the employees are so nice and it’s so close by

We are from South Louisiana and took a trip to New Hampshire for our daughter’s wedding. We were able to get in a couple of road trips with my mother in law and my brother in law – who live in Washington, while we were on vacation. We went up to Portsmouth and on the way back my husband was hungry so we started looking for a restaurant just off the highway. We stumbled upwon this little gem of a restuarant and could not have been happier. So for all four of us the ticket was just over $ 50 which was a steal in our opinion. We were ALL very full and satisfied even my hungry husband. I had the chili, my husband had a fettucine, my mother in law got a loaded 10 inch pizza and my brother in law got a ceaser salad. The atmosphere was great too, this was just what we needed to end our evening on a positive note. So, my recomendation is if you are ever traveling through or if you live in Exeter you gotta try this place at least once. You won’t regret it for sure… Shout out to the staff, you all were very polite and upbeat. & the cooks, OMG, they hit a home run with us! So I promise when we go back and visit our daughter we will be taking the drive to see you guys again. Keep up the great job…

Amazing pizza and very generous sized subs. Ingredients are always as fresh as you can get. The roast beef sandwiches on an onion roll with bistro sauce is a hidden gem that you will never be disappointed with. Always consistent. Been ordering delivery/​takeout for 10 years and has been great every time.

This place is a hidden gem, best pizza in NH! It’s two towns away and I go there every chance I get! It’s important to know too that I have 4 pizza restaurants in my town too and none come close. So if you want a great tasting meal, that’s inexpensive and an environment that’s warm and relaxing go here!

Wife and kids spent the day in Boston, took train home — Called and placed an order, was told it would be 25 minutes… After a short walk to car, which if you have ever been to the Exeter train station you know is a short walk. Wife and I decided that 25 minutes is too long and called back 3 minutes later (According to cell phone) to cancel the order, the girl that answered told me that I couldn’t cancel because the order was almost done — I told her it was impossible as I just placed the order — She then tried telling me that I placed the order 15 minutes prior to this call… I told her she was wrong, she and some guy decided to argue with me on the length of time, of which they were completely wrong and clearly hard-​up for my $ 36 order, we were now maybe 9 minutes from getting off the train and I have these people trying to pull some kind of scam on me. I told them they could complete the order and wait for me to show up and then hung up — They called me back twice, once to see if it was my number and a second time a guy called back to see if I wanted it delivered… I returned neither call. As a side note, there were many times prior to this incident that when picking up my order it would be wrong and when I pointed this out, it was clearly an inconvenience for them — The solution to that problem is make sure the girls taking the order are paying attention, as it always sounds/​seems like they are completely disengaged while on the phone because they are busy talking to someone else. Lastly, it is beyond me how they continue to not put food in a bag. I have gone there numerous times to pick up pizza, multiple sandwich and multiple bottle of soda and they just hand it to you, and leave it up to you to figure out a balancing act that will work as your wrestle with the door that doesn’t open all the way. Truth be told the food is good, but not worth all the extra crap you have to deal with and the fact that they tried to scam me on the phone call is reason enough for me to avoid that place. If you don’t mind sacrificing service for quality then have at it. If you are expecting a friendly personable place to eat in regards to staff, expect to be disappointed as it is staffed by young high school aged girls making spending money.

When we first moved to Exeter we would go to restaurants around and wonder why they were half empty. Then we found the Front Row and we realized this was where most of the population was eating. And we could see why. Obviously they do pizzas and they are excellent. But the menu is sufficiently varied to find plenty of alternatives.
Big booths to sit in, but also a bar with the requisite TVS on the sports channels. So a favorite of ours.

I hosted a party for a big sporting event and we thought we’d try Front Row as the reviews were decent enough. We ordered a cheese pizza and veggie pizza, and they both were barely edible. After being so underwhelmed by the bland taste, poor consistency, and over-​cooked pie crust, we tried to add a customized sauce to pizza, but it wasn’t enough to mask the profoundly sub-​par quality of the pizza. With a group of hungry men impatient to ravage the 2 pizzas when they arrived, there was almost a full pizza left-​over (which never happens). The next morning, I tried to eat a slice as the morning after early a.m. pizza is usually a great left-​over eating experience, but I put the pizza in my mouth and it tasted like cardboard with plastic toppings. No bueno. Incidentally, the Mayweather-​Pacquiao fight left a lot to be desired for, and the pizza left even more to be desired for as we opted for doritos chips over the not-​so-​fresh pies begrudgingly delivered to us. Never again.

BEST PIZZA IN SOUTHERN NH — bar none.
Not a great dining experience, if you happen to be a foodie; not a stylish interior, not a quiet ambiance, not equipped with attractive mood lighting, but this is a pizza parlor — and one of the best in which this diner has ever eaten. Seriously — I would drive a couple of hours to eat their pizza. They have the best pizza crust I have had anywhere north of the Mason-​Dixon, and they don’t skimp on the toppings.
If you’re looking for a really great pizza in a clean, comfortable pizza parlor, this is the place. If you’re looking for fine dining, ambiance, a wait staff in tuxedos, this is not your jeroboam of grand cru.
I really can’t speak poorly of the service — it met my expectations of a pizza place.

Food is always great and they have a very professional staff to serve you. Love their chicken tenders and pasta dishes. My favorite place to go in exeter

Good food, great service, COLDEST BEER on the Seacoast.
Richie and team are great. Great pizza, big menu, GREAT BEER SELECTION. Local place, families welcome, great bar area 10 huge TV’s.

I’ve been going here for years. The food is excellent. Onion rings are amazing! My favorites are the pizza, chicken tender salad and the calzones! Service is always pleasant and fast and the owners are always on premise assuring nothing but the best food and service!

I love the tuna subs, and this place has the best in the area, but yesterday I actually looked at my bill and decided that based on price gouging, I don’t think I will be back on principle.
My order:
Tuna with lettuce, pickles, onion, cheese, and x-​tra hots.
Cheese .25, no issue there
x-​tra hots, (crushed peppers in vinegar) .85 — WHAT?
I didn’t get the tomato on the sub, far more expensive than these hots and there is no charge, and the hots were normal portion in my opinion but, .85 that is 13.6% of the subs cost ($ 6.25).
So, this is price gouging or lack of proper judgement here. No web site t post this too and I am not calling for this. I hope they change the charges for things like this, I understand cheese price and charge for additional cheese, but to charge that much for something so cheap and when other sub topping choices were not used, lack of common sense there.

We just read the Exeter News Letter. They sound like they were misunderstood and misquoted concerning the incident. It sounds like they were trying to do the respectful thing and it got misinterpreted.

We’re regulars for takeout weekly. Always consistent, salads are excellent, sweet potato fries and onion rings are top notch.
They have a terrific beer selection and always a pretty face to serve them.
Regardless of what the owner said, he has his right to say it. I’ll continue to support Front Row as its one of the best restaurants in Exeter.

One of the strengths at Front Row is that most things don’t change. They’re extremely consistent in the quality and freshness of the food they dish out. I’ve been going there since they first opened in their old location, a long time ago. I’ve tried virtually every menu item more than once. The pizza, subs, steak tips, chicken dishes and all the other most popular menu items taste the same today as they always have. In my book, that’s a big plus. It means the kitchen is well-​disciplined and if you liked your order the first time, you can trust it’ll be the same the next. The place is also virtually spotlessly clean — again, a huge indicator of quality.
So when things do change at Front Row, they bear notice. In fact, compared to the Front Row of a couple of years ago, you’ll find some big changes. My observations:
— You can now order thin crust pizza. It’s not on the menu, but because each pie is made to order, they’ll make a thin-​crust for you if you ask. I like it better than the thicker, regular crust. Not quite New York-​style coal-​oven pies, mind you, but they don’t pretend to do «artisan» pizza. They do do basic pizza expertly. Try the thin crust if you like a little crispier dough and less of it.
— The draft beer selection is now very good with many of the best regional and national craft brews on tap (along with the standard mass-​produced brands.) They change a few of the tap selections frequently, so if you’re a beer lover you can find something new to try. My complaint is that they still try to pour beers with little or no head (I guess because many beer drinkers still think no head means «the most for their money.») I like my beers served at the temp that suits its style and with an ample head, which Front Row doesn’t yet recognize.
— Seafood items, including very good fish and chips, finally made it into the menu awhile ago. Don’t get the seafood to go because by the time it makes it home it’s gonna be soggy, like all fried food. But the deep-​fried seafood I’ve had in the restaurant was fresh and well-​prepared. Tender, flaky.
— During peak business hours, a seat in the bar area is tough to get and you may even have to wait in the dining room too. When they opened the new location, waiting was rare. Now, on a Friday or Saturday during prime evening hours, there is a heavy local turnout. Arrive after 7:30-ish and you should be OK.
— I think the steak tips are actually better now than in the past. Better beef flavor. Dunno why. Perhaps they are fresher because the place does more business volume? Different supplier? If you like grilled beef, the tips (and burgers) are a good pick.
— The bar-​tending waitstaff is getting better. When they opened the bar area, most of the staff was still getting the hang of it. You could see they were a little over their collective heads during rush hours and service could be spotty. Today, I think they make as good a martini as you’ll find. Which, for a small-​town bar, is a big plus. Friendliness, even when busy, is improving, which is what most bar patrons are looking for. You only go to a bar with an unfriendly bartender once… unless you own the place.
— Rest rooms can get trashy during peak times and the place can be noisy. Don’t be surprised to find an entire kids’ hockey team or two in there on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon along with the noise and mess that goes along with them. Definitely not a date night destination unless you’re bringing Helen Keller. Lighting in the bar is a little bright for my taste too.
Overall: Front Row remains an above-​average Italian pizza-​subs-​salads-​pasta and bar food restaurant with a few higher-​end entrees. Don’t look for gourmet-​style preparations or fancy dishes. They don’t pretend to do that. Expect scratch-​made, predictable food from a basic menu. The layout and furnishings are well-​done, although it doesn’t yet feel like a broken-​in neighborhood joint. The addition of boutique draft beers and cocktail service with good pours for the money, plus a bar wallpapered with sports TV, makes this place a local favorite and a very safe bet for a family, moderate budget, or takeout dinner choice. You won’t get gourmet. You’ll get very good.

We stopped by for lunch this weekend. The girl at the counter was somewhat friendly and reasonably helpful, although when I asked what dressings they had for their salads, she told me «the usual.» So I had to guess!!!
We got our order to go. My son had a BLT sub. He said it was fine — not great but it got the job done; he wouldn’t order it again. I had their steak salad. The «salad» was a big pile of iceberg lettuce, 2 cuke slices, 2 cherry tomatoes, and 2 slices of red onion. Meh. I felt about the salad the way my son felt about the BLT sub. The steak that topped the salad was over-​done (not a huge deal as I prefer my steak on the medium-​well side, but this was well-​done) and did not taste fresh at all. I doused it in salad dressing to mask the taste and ate only 2 of the steak tips before giving up.
We also each ordered a slice of pizza. It was just okay. The crust was soft until the wide end of the slice and it tasted, to me, like pita bread. I didn’t care for it. As with everything else we ordered, it was «meh» and we probably wouldn’t order it again.
I do have to say that, despite the restaurant being full, we received our take-​out order in about 5 minutes which was a nice surprise.

I didn’t even eat here. this is why: We wanted just a couple slices to hold us over until dinner. The cheese were $ 2.50 and pepperoni $ 3.00. Now by the time we wanted to order two of each, this would have brought us to $ 11, which is the price of a LARGE PIZZA!
So I said that to the girl and asked, «can we just order a small pizza for $ 8 instead?». She said yes and sent us off with a hostess so we could sit at a table and have a waitress take our order for that.
Sorry, but I’m not into having a waitress at a pizza joint. It doesn’t sit well with me. I can get my pizza at the counter and sit and eat like every other place, thankyouverymuch. We ended up just leaving annoyed.