Quote:
The Dunaway Restaurant is committed to being a socially responsible business by supporting local and sustainable farmer, fishers and ranchers.

You have to love a restaurant with a social conscience and if they have fabulous food, well all the better. Margot at the Martin Hill Inn recommend The Dunaway for our Sunday evening dinner but I had already planned to have lunch here on Monday. If you are planning a visit to Strawbery Banke it is absolutely the perfect place to take your lunch break.

From the outside, The Dunaway looks like most of the other historic houses in Strawbery Banke but once you open the door you know you are in for something special. It is open and airy with dining on two floors, maintaining the historical integrity of the exterior while being sleek and modern inside.

We were escorted to a table for two on the balcony overlooking the bar. We had the best seat in the house I thought. Everything is simple except for the menu which has a diverse complexity. Where else could you find roasted beet salad or duck liver mousse on a lunch menu?

I however was not feeling quite so adventurous, I ordered the fresh catch fish sandwich which the day we were there was halibut and frites. Al had the Dunaway burger with Gruyere cheese and frites. The menu is heavy on seafood offering oysters and lobster salad as firsts and ahi tuna nicoise and fish and chips as seconds. Carnivores haven’t been totally neglected with steak frites and roasted chicken sandwich on the menu.

My fish sandwich came on country bread with caper tapenade, lemon aioli, and tomato confit. The fish was white and so mild, exceptional. As good as the sandwich was, the frites were even better. They were seasoned and just wonderful, crispy and perfectly cooked. Al’s burger was very lean but the center was dark pink and juicy, just the way he likes it.

I decided that I had to try one of their desserts. I chose satsuma tangerine sorbet with zaletti cookies. It was so cool and refreshing on a warm day with a cup of tea. I did have a hard time deciding what to try, the lemon souffle with huckleberry compote was hard to pass up. Presentation was beautiful too, the cookies were kept in place with honey, what a great idea.

The Dunaway Restaurant serves both lunch and dinner and I am guessing by the tables I saw set with white linen that the restaurant is a bit more formal at dinner. I have to tell you that even the rest room was classy. Service was very good, it was a bit formal but we never wanted for anything.
From journals Romance on the E-Coast