A James Beard Awards finalist and the chef/owner behind TopolinoNH, his third restaurant.
Insights
AmericanLocal ModernSeafoodFine diningDinnerFine DiningFarm To Table
Last updated: 9/29/2026, 5:16:11 AM
Key Information
Stages is an award-winning restaurant in Dover, New Hampshire, helmed by Chef Evan Hennessey. It offers a unique dining experience with constantly evolving tasting menus that highlight ingredients from local farms and the ocean.
Customer Perception
Customers praise Stages for its innovative and progressive New England cuisine. The tasting menus are a highlight, offering a creative and memorable culinary journey.
Additional Details
The restaurant has been open for nearly a decade and is known for its focus on seasonal and locally sourced ingredients.
The Chef and his team have created something wonderful. The ambience as soon as you walk in is comforting and swanky at the same time.
The food is meant to be small dishes and they are full of flavor. We did the wine pairing with the food and the sommelier knocked it out of the park.
Let me get back to this food, and then tell you everything was cooked perfection it was. I can tell the Chef and his team had fun created the layers of flavors to their dishes.
Now their menu changes with the season so not everyone is going to get the same stuff. I would happily come back here to try Chef's creation. Bravo Zulu, I haven't had this much happiness when eating in a very long time.
Stages is nothing short of phenomenal. Going into this dinner, I had high expectations due to the great reviews and my experience working 6+ years in luxury hospitality. Stages was the best tasting style meal I have had in years. The entire experience was excellent, from cocktails and starters in the Living Room, to the service and wine pairings, and every single dish in the tasting. The flavors and methods used in the dishes require preparation methods that are not only time consuming and difficult, but are equally creative and intriguing. The results are dishes that are as beautiful in appearance as they are wonderful to eat. I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. When you visit, do yourself the favor of paying attention to every detail of the space, as the interior has been meticulously laid out and appointed to match the intrigue and luxurious quality of the food and drinks served within.
4
Late Post: I always enjoy a unique and fun dinning experience and found this restaurant when I visited NH in early March. I tried a few unique dining experiences in the past and this was one of the memorable dinning experiences I had.
Each meal is very creative and deliciously crafted.
The dinning room (kitchen) with 6 guest seating. It’s truly fun watching the chef cooking. It feels more like you having a private chef in your house.
First, when you come into the restaurant (but it doesn’t feel like a restaurant in a good way) you sit in “the living room”with other guests and enjoy a drink and appetizers, then, when the dinner is ready you finally walk into the chef’s kitchen.
At the end of the course meal they provided each guest a giveaway bag. There were the tonight’s menu, honey and chocolate truffles in the bag. The chocolate truffles were amazing as well.
I only wish chef had a little more time for interaction with us after dinner. He was already preparing meals for next guests while we were still sitting at the table.
Overall, I highly recommend if you look for a unique and amazing dinning experience in NH.
5
We chose Stages in Dover for our anniversary dinner, and it was nothing short of extraordinary. From the moment we arrived, the cozy and intimate set the perfect tone for a special evening.
The highlight of the night was the tuna dish which was without question the best thing I've ever eaten. Perfectly balanced, fresh, and it's the kind of dish that lingers in your memory.
Each course was beautifully complemented by a thoughtful wine pairing enhancing the experience without ever overwhelming the food.
Loved it & can't recommend it enough.
5
Had the absolute pleasure to dine at Stages for the first time since following them for a while.
This is the experience you just do not get with traditional dining, which is fine, but it is hard to come by in New England.
I was absolutely blown away and genuinely in appreciation of the food that was served to me tonight.
It felt connected.
It felt real.
And it felt special.
Thank you for this little slice of something elevated and unique.