Since Pressed Cafe opened more than a year ago in the space formerly occupied by Canoe, I’ve noticed the parking lot packed even at odd hours, like 2 p.m. on a holiday afternoon.
Still, it had not been enough to compel me to visit because I had a misconception about the restaurant, thinking it was limited to breakfast and lunch.
And while Pressed Cafe is owned locally — Miri and Roi Sphindler have grown the company to eight locations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts — I also dismissed it for being a chain, often a recipe for mediocre food.
Sometimes it’s great to be wrong. Now my question is this: How does Pressed Cafe produce this level of food, service and value at multiple locations and stay open seven days a week?
My Lovely Dining Companion, who had ordered soup to go a couple of times from the Bedford location, invited me to join her there for lunch recently because she wasn’t feeling well and figured a bowl of soup would be good medicine.
While we both managed to find a place to park in the lot, it was lunchtime, and we encountered a traffic rodeo, as diners backed their cars out of spaces and new arrivals quickly filled them.
A bowl of Chicken Rice Avgolemono Soup ($6) at Pressed Cafe in Bedford.
My companion ordered a bowl of Chicken Rice Avgolemono Soup ($6), which came with bread. The Greek soup, which is made with lemon, was not overly salty.
Pressed Cafe’s extensive menu, which is posted behind the counter where diners place orders, includes salads, panini, coffee, smoothies, vegan items, raw juice and tonics, acai bowls and rice bowls.
I was momentarily overwhelmed by all the choices but ordered the first item that caught my eye: the Sweet and Spicy Salmon Rice Bowl ($14.50). I chose the fresh pita over the bread for an extra $1. We both paired our orders with freshly brewed black iced tea with lemon ($3.50). We took a number to our table and waited just a few minutes before a server arrived with our food.
I could tell I was going to fall in love with my salmon rice bowl before I even took a bite. The stir-fry features chopped grilled salmon, baby spinach, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, summer squash, red and green peppers, grilled onions, spicy cilantro schug (hot sauce), house barbecue sauce and slices of fresh avocado. The menu says it also includes charred pineapple, but I’m pretty sure mine that day had mango. The mix of tender salmon, crunchy veggies and fruit, and sweet, savory and spicy flavors packed plenty of power in that power bowl.
Tapas at the bar
The Bedford location also features a bar area separated from the main dining room that offers a tapas menu. A few days later, we arrived for an early evening dinner. After ordering drinks, we started with an appetizer from the bar’s tapas menu. The Falafel Sliders ($15) featured crispy house-made falafel, humus, amba, tahini, roma tomato, kosher dill pickles and spicy schug on small brioche buns. A great blend of flavors.
Falafel Sliders ($15) at Pressed Cafe in Bedford.
For our main course, we split a Traditional Greek Salad ($10.50), which turned out to be a family-size portion of field greens and veggies and was loaded with small chunks of feta cheese. It was dressed with lemon-olive oil feta oregano vinaigrette.
Traditional Greek Salad ($10.50) at Pressed Cafe in Bedford.
We were a bit conservative with our choice of panini — Pressed Cafe offers more than three dozen — but my wife was in the mood for the Oven Roasted Turkey ($11). It was piled high with turkey, swiss cheese, avocado, romaine, and sun-dried tomato basil mayonnaise, pressed on ciabatta.
Oven Roasted Turkey ($11) at Pressed Cafe in Bedford.
We added half of that sandwich to our to-go plate, and brought home enough sandwiches and salad for lunch the next day.
With Pressed Cafe’s extensive menu — which includes plenty of vegan choices — there’s plenty to explore.
Everything we sampled tasted fresh and flavorful and was artfully prepared. There’s a good reason the parking lot is always packed.
Pressed Cafe 216 S. River Road, Bedford 603-606-2746, pressedcafe.com Hours: 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Cuisine: Sandwiches, smoothies, vegan, panini, rice bowls, soups, salads, breakfast (served all day). Prices: Soup/salads: $5-$15; panini, $8.95-$13.95; power bowls (stir-fry, fish, meat, rice, hummus, etc.), $13.50-$16; breakfast, $5-$15. {related_content_uuid}0231ef6b-2c4d-4a70-9cb6-8bb6bd620fb8{/related_content_uuid}
