Prior to the pandemic, I had a pair of sister restaurants in downtown Manchester, Republic Café and Campo Enoteca, that I enjoyed for light dinners when around Manchester. The former served up “European” food, mostly with a French influence, and the latter served up Italian food. Unfortunately, the pandemic severely stressed both restaurants economically; for a while they were operating in a combined manner as “Republic of Campo”, but in 2022 the operation drew to a close. Republic Café closed permanently, and Campo Enoteca sold to new owners (who continue to operate it today, as of 2025).
But this wasn’t the complete end for “Republic”. In 2024, two locals, Pete Maconehas and Mike Brown, decided to open a new brewery on Old Granite Street next to Hometown Coffee Roasters, where Mike is an owner. Pete was formerly with both Republic Cafe and Campo Enoteca Restaurants, so they decided (with the blessing and support of the former owners) to reinvigorate the old Republic name, christening the new brewery Republic Brewing Company.
While the name is the primary carryover (this is definitely a “Brewing Company”, and not a “Café”), you can see as you review the menu that they are still trying to do good farm-to-table work like they did back at Republic, just retooled to work with a brewpub menu. It’s a simple menu (a few salads, some tacos, fries, and a few burgers and sandwiches), but the farm partnerships are clear. There’s a lot of vegetables on the menu, and all of the sandwiches and most of the tacos proudly name the source of their proteins: Little Brook Farm beef for the burgers, Kellie Brook farm for the pork, and more than a few veggies. Looking over the option, we both picked the same thing for our meals: splitting a kale Caesar for a starter, and then each having a Little Brook Farm burger for our main course.
The kale Caesar was strong start to the meal. Some good, quality kale, nicely massaged to soften it a bit, and tossed with a vegan cashew Caesar sauce and pinenut parmesan. So yes, this salad is vegan, and it’s one of the better vegan items I’ve had recently: good green, a good dressing that actually had the right texture, flavor, and mouthfeel despite the lack of eggs, and a nice overall composure. This was surprisingly tasty, and something I’d love to get again.
The burgers also quite satisfying. Each was two grass-fed patties, served up smash style, with Vermont cheddar, lemon aioli, lettuce, tomato, and onion on a brioche bun. Smash burgers seem to get a bit of a bad rap in a lot of review coverage I’ve seen recently, but I really like the concept when done well, since you get a good, moist burger with a flavorful interior and lots of crispy grill char, and the version of Republic is spot on. The fries were great, too, served with a lemon aoili, and tossed with Aleppo spice and capers, which was a nice touch, giving it both a nice spicy and a strong salty note in little bombs of flavor. I’d also get these again.
Oh, and since the new Republic is a brewery, I had to try the beer: their Whisper Pale Ale was a nice rendition of a classic American Pale Ale (a style that seems to have gotten buried under the IPA craze of the last decade…). Crisp, fresh, and enjoyable.
Honestly, I enjoyed Republic a lot: the beer is good, the burger is one of the best in the Manchester option, and the location is a nice and centralized (although likely to be crazy-busy during Fisher Cats games, or games at SNHU Arena). I’ll definitely be coming back.
