Staging chef expands across the street from his Dover flagship

Evan Hennessey opens ‘more casual’ restaurant with expanded seating

Evan Hennessey recently opened Topolino, which can seat up to 83 diners, across the street from Stages, his flagship restaurant in Dover that limits service to six people at a time.

On March 31, the same day he was named a James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef in the Northeast, Evan Hennessey opened his highly anticipated new restaurant, Topolino.

A bright space along the Cocheco River in downtown Dover, Topolino serves lunch and dinner five days a week. Inspired by the culture and cuisine of the Mediterranean and highlighting flavors from countries like Spain, Italy and Egypt, the menu features a wide variety of mezze-style dishes — small, shareable plates meant to be passed around the table.

Small starters include grilled stuffed dates with chorizo and a sherry glaze; whipped ricotta seasoned with za’atar and served with grilled lavash bread; braised artichoke paired with fennel, olives and saffron aioli; and patatas bravas, a popular Spanish tapas dish of crispy potatoes topped with a bold tomato sauce.

Meats sourced from Vernon Family Farm are at the center of the “secondi,” or main dish offerings. Roasted chicken legs, for example, seasoned with baharat spice and drizzled with honey and pomegranate; or the lamb caldereta, a hefty cut of lamb seasoned with Moorish spice, served on top of a tomato and pepper sauce and smothered in fresh, green herbs.

“We take cues from the Middle East, flavors of fresh herbs with toasted spices,” Hennessey said during a recent visit to the restaurant. “They’re very comforting and warming in composition. It’s one of the things I really love about that region: The food to me feels alive. It’s got tons of character, tons of flavor and vibrance.”

Admirers of Hennessey’s food have likely visited Stages, a fine-dining restaurant serving progressive New England cuisine in the historic mill building located, conveniently, across the street from Topolino. At Stages, guests pay a fixed price, currently $175, plus $85 for an optional wine pairing, that features an evolving menu, six or nine courses, and a limit of six people per seating.

“After 14 years at Stages, I felt that I was in a position where I wanted to do something that was more casual, that would appeal to more people,” he shared. “I was in a position to bring in local food on a larger scale. And this is very much that.”

A few years ago, Hennessey met Jeff Johnston, the managing director of Carthartes, a major developer in the Northeast, specifically along the seacoast. When the Orpheum apartment complex was constructed in Dover in 2019, Johnston approached Hennessey about opening a restaurant in the new space. At that point, however, the timing wasn’t right.

Flash forward a handful of years, and with the construction of the Cocheco Waterfront Development on River Street, Johnston approached Hennessey once again.

“He told me, ‘You are the first and the only person that we are talking to and would love to spearhead this whole thing.’ So I said, ‘OK, let’s figure out some square footage and see if it’s something that I can make work.’” After deciding between two empty spaces on the ground level of the 220-unit complex, Hennessey designed the layout himself, sketching his vision on graph paper and throwing it into a software program before handing it over to the architect.

“I designed the entire thing. And that, in itself, was a really interesting process; working with the developers, my brother and the architects.”

While Hennessey championed a large kitchen space, others advocated for more seats. What they settled on was a compromise.

“I still wish I had more kitchen space,” Hennessey added with a laugh.

The restaurant seats 72 diners, including a large community table tucked away in an intimate nook, plus an additional 11 seats at the bar. There’s also a large waiting area that evokes scenes from one’s living room with plush couches and stacks of board games for diners to play while they eat, encouraging a leisurely, social experience.

“Food is the thing we gather over,” Hennessey said. “I guess (Topolino) is another one of my soapbox pitches of trying to get people to gather over food and enjoy each other’s time.”

The name Topolino — Italian for “little mouse” — is a term of endearment. (Visitors will spot unassuming silhouette graphics of mice painted in various spots around the restaurant.) “It’s what you call something that you care deeply about,” Hennessey said. “I wanted to do something that more people could experience. That, to me, is the thing I care about.”

The “Mezze” menu at Topolino features a variety of small starter dishes.

Opening a new restaurant comes with its share of challenges, and while interested parties have flooded to Topolino in anticipation of its grand opening, Hennessey and team have found themselves making small adjustments each day.

“You learn very quickly what you need and what you don’t need, and we realized very quickly that we need more and different staff,” he said.

Although Topolino opened with a digital ordering model, employing a QR code system for guests to order independently of a waitstaff, the team realized early on that it wasn’t the right choice for their operation. Instead, they pivoted, returning to a traditional model, making online reservations available and hiring servers for table service.

“It’s a very honest learning point,” Hennessey said.

“You go into it with an idea, you perform that idea, and then you realize what worked and what didn’t. And you move on from there.”

Topolino is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Visit topolinonh.com for reservations and for a sneak peek at the menu.