If you’ve ever ridden the Downeaster to Maine, you’ll recall that it stops in the quaint coastal town of Dover, New Hampshire.
Hidden on a cove in that town is Stages, Dover, the brainchild of 2026 James Beard Award winner Evan Hennessey. Hennessey was recently crowned the “Best Chef in the Northeast” by the James Beard Foundation.
About Chef Evan Hennessey
This isn’t Hennessey’s only accolade. The chef is a three-time Chopped champion.
Hennessey is the first New Hampshire chef to win a James Beard Award, making state history. He was also a two-time James Beard Semifinalist, and Stages made the the “100 Best Restaurants in North America” list by Opinionated About Dining for ten consecutive years.
Hennessey is the mastermind behind three unique concepts: Stages, the acclaimed New England–inspired restaurant in Dover; Topolino, an all-day Mediterranean spot; and The Living Room, an intimate lounge hidden within Stages.
Top Northeast chef eats just 90 minutes from Boston
Stages serves what Hennessey calls “progressive New England cuisine.”
The menu at Stages changes with the seasons, harvesting and sourcing ingredients locally:
We serve two constantly evolving tasting menus of 6 or 9 courses which consist of ingredients from the farm, the ocean, and from our walks outdoors.
The evolving tasting menus are $175, offering six- or nine-course options. Sample items include scallops with sea truffle Périgord sauce, fennel, and brown butter curd, as well as a sorbet of Brazilian pepperberry with burnt birch bark meringue, maple syrup, wild mandarin juice, and Kaluga caviar.
Getting to Stages by train from Boston
The restaurant is conveniently located just a quick 10-minute walk from the Dover Amtrak station. This means that in 90 minutes, you can take the train from Boston’s North Station to Dover and enjoy some of the best cuisine in the entire Northeast.
Make a trip out of it and book a stay in nearby Portsmouth or along the southern coast of Maine in Kennebunkport.
Stages is located at 1 Washington Street in Dover, New Hampshire.
