New downtown restaurant brings fun vibes and wood-fire pizza
Mesozoic Tiki Bar and Lounge co-owners Josh Migliori and Aaron Sheldon hope to resurrect the extinct late-night nightlife in downtown Nashua — much like a certain businessman did with the Jurassic era in a famously campy movie which shall remain nameless.
Migliori and Sheldon have completely revamped the interior of 97 Main Street, redesigning it in a lush and sultry style that combines the jungle, tiki culture, and the occasional dinosaur motif, which all manages to still look classy and inviting. If you had ever been to that former brewery site in either of its last two business iterations, you will be truly stunned at how different it looks inside. They did a lot of work creating a completely new and unique environment.
From the Jungle Room area that seats a dozen — next to a brand-new stage for live entertainment (which will start mid-September) —to the front window area lounge seating, two bar-seating areas and the dining tables, there’s plenty of room to invite friends to meet and enjoy food and drinks.
One person in our party has been a huge fan of tiki culture and the mixology that goes along with it; he’s had to drive to Wusong in Cambridge, Mass., to enjoy that experience before now. He’s absolutely thrilled that he no longer must go that far anymore, and went on to assert that Mesozoic is one of, if not the best, tiki bars in Southern New Hampshire.
Migliori has brought his Za Dude Pizza prowess to Nashua before, and I’ve been a fan of his wood-fire craft pizzas since that time. He has brought a whole new crop of them to this new business endeavor, and I could not be more thrilled. I’m glad we had four people with us so that we could order a variety of them, being incapable of deciding on simply one on our first outing.
Real-time article edit: I am laughing at how we really thought there would be leftover pizza. There was not.
These are not your ordinary classic pizzas; we have plenty of great places in town to enjoy those, and we’ll forever be fans. These are elevated flavor combinations and unique ingredients, for those seeking a more exciting and unique pizza experience.
We ordered four pizzas: Tripping in the Jungle ($17), Scallion Pancake ($15), Filmed in Hawaii ($18) and Nublar’s Inferno ($18). I’ve listed them in order of my personal ranking, but I would eat any of them again. I was excited for the first one because it features Dunks Mushrooms; I will order any dish in any restaurant that features these local, stellar mushrooms. The Scallion Pancake pizza was the clear hit in our quartet of diners. Unique and delicious, it will absolutely be popular for them. They all were delicious in their own right, made especially so because of the thin and perfectly cooked crust and flavorful dough. These are not crusts that will be left on the plate.
We also ordered Mala chicken-topped fries ($15), and both types of bao buns offered ($7 or $8 each). My friend loved the fries, and our resident bao expert complimented the fluffy consistency of them. I liked the flavor of the Szechuan orange glaze in the Orange Chicken one.
No article on Mesozoic would be complete without discussing the diverse offerings for alcohol drinkers. Co-owner Sheldon is the mastermind behind the mixology, and he has come up with some really amazing tiki drinks. I don’t envy the bartender having to make cocktails with so many ingredients, but the end result to the consumer is well worth the time it takes to make them.
My best friend had the Five Deaths ($17) and said it was the best drink she’s ever had. It features five rums (limit two per person!), but what really makes it so delicious is that touch of cinnamon at the end. Even I, not a rum drinker at all, went back for multiple sips of her drink.
I chose the Trapped in Amber ($16), which featured lavender gin and cherry heering, which were right up my alley.
Our companions snagged the Saurian Bastard (a wink to the classic tiki drink Suffering Bastard that some of us remember from decades ago), and the Passionate Painkiller ($15 each). Both received high marks.
Bestie and I shared a LaBrea Martini ($15) — vodka, chocolate and espresso liqueur, Bailey’s — for “dessert.”
We attended Mesozoic’s soft opening weekend and of course, they’re still getting their footing. Pizzas cook really fast in a wood fire oven, so we were pleased with the time on getting our food. The drinks took a little longer naturally, but I’m sure that will all get ironed out as they progress. Our friendly server Erin checked on us often, which was appreciated.
Migliori told us he hopes to eventually have extended hours out to 1 AM, “to bring late-night nightlife back to downtown Nashua.” I think this will definitely be a great addition, especially with the live entertainment they have planned, which is already booked out for the rest of the year. Like and Follow their Facebook page for the daily hours and the schedule of entertainment.
To paraphrase Jeff Goldbloom‘s character in a certain above-mentioned movie: Tiki, uh… finds a way.
IF YOU GO:
Mesozoic Tiki Bar and Lounge
97 Main Street
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Kathleen Palmer is an award-winning journalist. You may remember her as the former editor of the Encore section of the Nashua Telegraph. Sharing what she loves about Nashua is her passion
