Make the midday special

Make lunch special. If the boss is buying, these are the spots Hippo readers recommended to take the midday meal way beyond the sack lunch.

 Pressed Cafe Bedford - Best of the Best

216 S. River Road, Bedford, 606-2746, pressedcafe.com

Pressed Cafe, a local chain known for its scratch-made menu of paninis, sandwiches, smoothies and bowls, as well as some items with a Middle Eastern flair, opened its fourth and newest New Hampshire location inside the former Canoe Restaurant & Bar space in Bedford in March 2022. It’s open for breakfast all day and features a double drive-thru and a full bar.

 Pressed Cafe - Nashua

108 Spit Brook Road, Nashua, 718-1250; 3 Cotton Road, Nashua, 402-1003 (this location is drive-thru only); pressedcafe.com

The original New Hampshire location of Pressed Cafe continues to operate in South Nashua, and another drive-thru-only Gate City location arrived a few years later in a former McDonald’s building off Route 101A.

 The Puritan Backroom Restaurant

245 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 669-6980, puritanbackroom.com

A Manchester institution for more than a century and counting, The Puritan Backroom Restaurant has a variety of famous menu items enjoyed by generations of Granite Staters, and even has a separate takeout facility where you can get them to go.

 The Bridge Cafe

1117 Elm St., Manchester, 647-9991, thebridgecafe.net

For more than a decade The Bridge Cafe on Elm Street in Manchester has been a favorite among nearby businesses and city residents for its fresh-pressed paninis, salads, smoothies, juices and more.

 Pressed Cafe - Salem

1 Artisan Drive, Salem (inside Tuscan Village), 458-5922, pressedcafe.com

Following the success of two locations on opposite ends of Nashua, Pressed Cafe opened the doors of its third New Hampshire location overall, inside Salem’s Tuscan Village in June 2021.