A former bank vault now works as a private dining room, and the steaks get the VIP treatment too. Some cuts here rest for 50 or even 75 days before anyone gets a bite.
The building dates to 1804. It started as a bank, then served as a public market and later as City Hall.
Now it holds an Italian chophouse with exposed brick, copper windowsills, and a vault door from 1911. I like how the old bones stay on display instead of hiding behind fresh paint.
It feels like dinner with a side of New Hampshire history.
The menu leans hard into butchery and handmade pasta. One appetizer meatball reportedly lands near softball size.
I can’t imagine a better excuse to cash in a free evening, can you?
Your Steak Gets More Aging Time Than Most Cheeses
Patience is the secret ingredient at Toscana Italian Chophouse & Wine Bar. The kitchen butchers meat in-house and dry-ages steaks for 28 days.
Dry-aging lets beef rest in a controlled space so flavor concentrates over time. It’s slow work, and that’s exactly the point.
The headliner is a 36-ounce Dry Aged Long Bone Rib Eye. That’s a lot of steak, so sharing might be the smartest move you make all night.
Other cuts fill out the lineup nicely. You’ll find a 10-ounce Barrel Cut Filet Mignon and a 16-ounce Prime Brandt Rib Eye.
A 16-ounce Prime Dry Aged Sirloin, also called a strip, brings another option for beef fans. There’s also a 12-ounce 7x Wagyu Flat Iron for something a little different.
Not a beef person tonight? A 14-ounce Garlic Crusted Lamb Rack sits right on the same menu.
My advice is simple. Decide early whether you’re splitting the giant rib eye, because that choice shapes the whole meal.
Picking sides and starters gets much easier once the main event is settled. Think of it as your dinner game plan.
Join The Club That Unlocks 75-Day Steaks
Twenty-eight days is impressive. Seventy-five days is a whole different conversation.
Toscana runs a Dry Aged Club for serious meat lovers. Members get exclusive access to unique dry-aged cuts not found on the regular menu.
Some of those special cuts age for 50 days. Others stretch all the way to 75 days, which is longer than many summer vacations.
Why does that matter? Longer aging is known for building deeper, more intense beef flavor that some steak fans chase like treasure.
The club fits the building perfectly, if you think about it. This place once guarded money, and now it guards rare steaks.
Members basically get a key to the meat vault. That’s a fun twist on a historic bank that kept people’s savings safe for years.
If you visit often or love comparing steak styles, ask the team how the club works. It’s a smart way to taste cuts that casual diners never see.
Even if you skip joining, just knowing it exists tells you plenty. This kitchen takes aging seriously, from the first day to the seventy-fifth.
Old Bank Bones Make The Dining Room Shine
Built in 1804, this structure has lived several lives. It began as the Bank of New Hampshire, then served as a public market and Portsmouth City Hall.
Today the restored New Hampshire National Bank building houses Toscana Italian Chophouse & Wine Bar. The restaurant opened here in 2020.
The renovation kept the good stuff visible. Exposed brick, copper windowsills, and exposed beams remind you this room has stories to tell.
High ceilings and oversized windows give the space an open, airy feel. The style lands somewhere between rustic and upscale, which makes it comfortable rather than stuffy.
Murals by a local artist add color and personality to the walls. They make a nice contrast with the old brick and beams.
Here’s a tip for history fans. Take a slow lap with your eyes before the menu grabs all your attention.
Look up at the ceiling and over at the windowsills. Small details often tell the biggest part of a building’s story.
Few places in New Hampshire let you eat dinner where people once paid city bills. That alone makes for great table talk.
Book The Vault For A Dinner Nobody Forgets
Massive steel doors usually mean no entry. Here, they mean your party has the best seat in the house.
A former bank vault now serves as a private dining room called the wine vault. Large vault doors still stand inside the restaurant, and one dates back to 1911.
That door has watched more than a century go by. Now it watches birthday toasts and graduation dinners instead of stacks of cash.
The vault isn’t the only option for groups. Toscana also offers additional private dining spaces for gatherings of different sizes.
Planning a special event? Reach out early and ask which room fits your crowd best.
Bigger groups and weekend dates tend to fill quickly at popular spots. Booking ahead keeps the stress low and the fun high.
The vault works especially well for milestone moments. Anniversaries, family reunions, and work celebrations all feel bigger behind a historic door.
Just try not to make too many bank robbery jokes. Okay, maybe one is allowed, since everyone at the table will be thinking it anyway.
Handmade Pasta Steals Plenty Of The Spotlight
Steak gets the headline, but pasta might quietly win your heart. Toscana makes its pasta from scratch using double zero flour imported directly from Italy.
Double zero flour is finely milled and popular for making silky fresh pasta. It’s a small detail that shows real care in the kitchen.
The menu includes mushroom ravioli for earthy flavor lovers. Lobster ravioli brings a coastal touch that fits right in on the Seacoast.
Bolognese delivers the classic meat sauce comfort many people crave. Veal cannelloni rounds things out for anyone wanting something rich and baked.
Sauces, sides, and desserts are made from scratch too. That means the pasta doesn’t arrive alone in a sea of shortcuts.
Here’s a clever strategy for groups. Order one pasta for the table alongside your steaks, and pass it around.
Everyone gets a taste of both sides of the menu. It’s the Italian half and the chophouse half working together on one table.
Honestly, skipping the pasta here feels like visiting a bank and ignoring the vault. You can, but why would you?
Start With A Meatball The Size Of A Softball
Some appetizers whisper. The Tuscan Meatball shows up and practically asks for its own chair.
Made from a blend of beef and pork, it comes with burricotta and pomodoro sauce. It’s described as roughly the size of a softball, so plan your forks accordingly.
This is a sharing starter if there ever was one. Splitting it leaves room for the steak you came for.
Prefer something lighter? Prosciutto San Daniele arrives with 24-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano, a pairing with serious Italian credentials.
Crispy Calamari offers a crunchy option for the table. Burrata gives cheese fans something creamy and mellow to start the evening.
Variety makes the starter list fun for groups with different tastes. One person grabs the meatball, another goes for calamari, and nobody argues.
A good rule here is to order fewer starters than you think. Main courses at a chophouse rarely come small.
That said, the meatball deserves a spot on your first visit. It’s the kind of dish people photograph before anyone touches it.
Seafood Lovers Have Plenty To Smile About
Portsmouth sits right on the water, so seafood belongs on any good menu here. Toscana leans into fresh local seafood alongside its steaks.
Pan-seared salmon offers a dependable favorite for many diners. Chilean sea bass brings a buttery, mild option for anyone avoiding red meat tonight.
Grilled swordfish adds a hearty, steak-like texture from the ocean side. Pan-seared scallops round out the list with a coastal classic.
Mixed tables benefit the most from this lineup. One guest can go for a rib eye while another picks swordfish, and everyone feels taken care of.
You don’t have to choose between land and sea either. Sharing a seafood plate and a steak lets you sample both worlds.
This balance makes Toscana Italian Chophouse & Wine Bar easy for groups. Picky eaters and big appetites can find common ground.
Coastal New Hampshire takes its seafood seriously. It’s nice to see a chophouse respect that instead of treating fish like an afterthought.
So go ahead and let the seafood side tempt you. The steaks will understand.
Save Room For Ten Layers Of Chocolate
Ten layers. That number alone should convince you to pace yourself during dinner.
The 10-layer chocolate Zabaglione cake stands out as a popular dessert here. Zabaglione is a light Italian custard, which pairs nicely with all that chocolate.
Like the pasta and sauces, desserts are made from scratch. That homemade approach carries through right to the final bite.
Here’s a friendly warning. After a dry-aged steak and a softball-sized meatball, dessert can feel like climbing a mountain.
The solution? Share it with the table and grab extra spoons.
Everyone gets a taste, and nobody needs to loosen a belt. Teamwork really does make dessert work.
Celebrating something special makes dessert feel even more fitting. A tall chocolate cake turns an ordinary evening into an occasion.
If you know you want it, mention that early to yourself and skip that extra bread basket. Future you will be grateful.
A meal this big deserves a big finish. Ten layers of chocolate feels about right for a building that once stacked up the town’s savings.
Watch The Kitchen Work, Then Wander Downtown
Front-row seats exist for cooking too. An open-air kitchen lets diners see the culinary action as it happens.
Watching chefs work adds energy to the room. It’s like dinner and a show, minus the ticket.
Toscana Italian Chophouse & Wine Bar sits at 3 Pleasant St, Portsmouth, NH 03801. That puts you right in the heart of downtown Portsmouth.
Outdoor seating is available when the weather cooperates. A lounge area offers another place to relax before or after your meal.
Hours run from 4 PM to 9 PM Monday through Thursday. Friday stays open until 10 PM.
Saturday opens at noon and closes at 10 PM. Sunday also starts at noon and wraps up at 9 PM.
Those weekend lunch hours are handy for day trips. You can explore downtown and still land a proper sit-down meal.
Toscana is part of Tuscan Brands, founded by restaurateur Joe Faro. Plan ahead, especially on busy nights, and enjoy one of the most memorable dinner settings in New Hampshire.
