Table for 12: Fine Dining in Manchester

Chef Nick Provencher prepares charred carrots for Friday night service at the Ash Street Inn restaurant.

From the intimate dining room of a historic Victorian-style home in downtown Manchester, guests convene around a single table to savor the culinary creativity of Chef Nick Provencher.

This is Ash: a dining concept from the team at the Ash Street Inn, offering elevated food in a casual, communal setting. 

When guests arrive, they pass through the large wooden door of the newly renovated inn, its colorful stained-glass windows reminiscent of a bygone era, and enter into the parlor, where they can relax and mingle with other diners (perhaps noting the room’s bold accent pieces: a pink pendulum clock or the oversized Converse sneaker above the fireplace) before the first of the evening’s five courses is served. 

In order to take full advantage of the wine service station, diners are encouraged to BYOW — “bring your own wine” — and are provided with wine pairing recommendations ahead of their reservation. 

The experience, which costs $125 per person, is packed into two hours, with Provencher preparing, plating and serving each course as the night progresses. (The concept is similar to what chef Evan Hennessey offers at Stages in Dover, which limits six people to a dinner seating.)

Guests enjoy aperitifs before dinner in the parlour.

“It’s just me, the food and the 12 people who want to eat it,” Provencher said during an interview at the restaurant, the peach interior of the dining area providing a warm, inviting backdrop as he polished a set of wine glasses in preparation for the evening’s meal. “And I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Provencher describes the evening’s food as a combination of classic and modern French. As the set menu changes each week, he is afforded many opportunities to experiment thematically, employing Mediterranean flavors one week, concocting a French-Indian fusion the next or simply highlighting fresh, seasonal ingredients in another. 

“It’s a lot of fun for me,” he said. “I’ve fallen back in love with cooking again.”

That week, Provencher was planning to showcase how French cooking, more than anything, is about time. The menu included tuna, cured for 12 hours and marinated overnight in a black garlic emulsion; short rib, first brined for 24 hours, seared, and then braised for another eight; and beets, encapsulated in salt and then roasted, the process taking upwards of seven hours. 

“A lot of people will come in and ask how everything comes together, and I tell them it’s all time,” Provencher said. “And patience.” 

Provencher goes over the evening’s menu with a full table of guests.

Provencher has made quite the name for himself in New Hampshire’s culinary scene, working under the tutelage of Chef Matthew Provencher at both Portsmouth’s Martingale Wharf and The Rosa. While on the Seacoast, he also cooked with Chef Dave Vargas of Vida Cantina before returning to Manchester to help with the opening of The Foundry. 

At only 24, Provencher became the executive chef for The Birch on Elm, a popular eatery before it closed its doors last year. 

After feeling the burnout common of moving up the industry ranks, Provencher was ready to call it quits and head for warmer climates. That was when Michael Pedler, the owner of the Ash Street Inn, pitched the idea for Ash, a first-of-its-kind offering for the Queen City.

Provencher admits he was a bit skeptical at first about Pedler’s plans, questioning how they would be able to fit a commercial kitchen in the small space afforded at the inn. After detailing what he would need to make Ash a reality, Pedler assured Provencher that it would work. 

And it did.

Each meal is full of flavor and each plate treated with care.

“They’re big on community, on building community and reinvesting in it,” Provencher said about Pedler’s team, “bringing up this city and its community.” 

“The restaurant is obviously part of that,” he continued. “You have 12 people sitting together, most nights, six couples who have never met. And then, by the end of it, they’re all best friends, making vacation plans.” 

The Ash Street Inn has had many owners over the years, but Pedler’s team has solidified the historical importance of the home by crafting a modern experience for visitors, in large part due to the creative vision of lead designer, Joshua Charles, who designed the entire interior space of the inn, balancing the historic character with modern flair. 

During the renovation, Charles admitted, the small, rundown kitchen of the inn needed a lot of love. 

“There was no dining space for guests,” he said, “so the focus was to take a small space and make it feel like you’re sitting at a community chef’s table. We wanted people to focus on conversation, to encourage that.”

A half wall partitions the kitchen and the dining area, but Provencher can observe guests through a central window as he cooks, or move about the room to serve and interact with diners as needed, making it a very personable dining experience. 

Guests enjoy the intimate atmosphere that the inn offers.

“It’s weird because when you’re in kitchens, you don’t see anybody,” Provencher said. “Now, so many people have come in and said, ‘Oh, I’ve been eating your food for years!’ It’s been very, very fun to have people come in and be excited about the food.”