The Tuscan Kitchen in Salem, N.H., opened in 2010 and since then business has been hopping for Tuscan Brands founder Joe Faro. The big market soon followed in Salem and then another restaurant in Burlington, Mass. Now, Tuscan Kitchen has come to Portsmouth, just outside the heart of the city, opening with great fanfare back in March. They’ll open a market there, too, soon, a one-stop shop for all your Italian cuisine needs.

The Seacoast has quite a few choices for Italian fare and Tuscan Kitchen is different on a few levels. It’s huge, with almost 300 seats at a very large bar, in the vast dining room and at a long line of chef’s counter seating where you can watch all the pizza- and pasta-making action. There’s a bit of elegance and formality to it as well, more urban and less a cozy neighborhood spot like a Rico Figs or Ronaldo’s in Hampton or even Louie’s in Portsmouth, which, while the food is more refined Northern Italian in style, still retains that familial hospitality.