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We've compiled the best of the best in New Haven, Mystic, and the Coast - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Come to this independent bookstore, café, and bakery to buy a book, have lunch (or breakfast), or have breakfast (or lunch) and buy a book. "Nourishment for mind and body" is the approach here—in the style of a European neighborhood café.
Right in the town center, a hop and a skip from popular Hammonasset Beach State Park, Ashley's has flavors of homemade ice cream to tempt every tastebud. The business that began in New Haven in 1979 was named for the owner's champion Frisbee-catching dog, Ashley Whippet, whose favorite flavor was chocolate banana; if you're inclined to buy a pup-size treat—and even though Ashley Whippett loved it—chocolate is not recommended for dogs!
Claire's has been a New Haven institution since 1975, and it remains a popular destination for vegetarians and vegans. The large menu offers sandwiches, quesadillas, burritos, gluten-free dishes, kosher food, salads of every sort, and breakfast items (some served all day).
En route to or from the beach—or to or from anywhere, for that matter—stop at this seasonal roadside stand for a bite to eat (burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, grinders, fish-and-chips) or just a summertime treat. Arguably the best ice cream around, whether in a cup, on a cone, or in a milk shake, root beer float, or sundae.
This family-owned luncheonette, open since 1895, is recognized as the birthplace of the "hamburger sandwich." Its first-rate burgers are cooked in an old-fashioned cast-iron grill (that dates back to 1898) and served with a spread of cheese, tomato, and onion (the only accepted garnishes) on two pieces of white toast. Add potato salad or chips and a slice of pie, and you're all set!
The local go-to place for authentic, old-fashioned, New England-style ice cream, Michael's Dairy has been a fixture on the campus of Mitchell College since 1943. The 39 flavors (plus sherbet, sorbet, frozen yogurt) range from old favorites like butter crunch, orange pineapple, and black raspberry to more modern flavors like salted caramel chocolate pretzel, campfire s'mores, and birthday cake.
We love frozen pudding ice cream, found only in New England!
It's not what Modern Apizza has that sets it apart from the rest but what its signature pie doesn't have: toppings. The pizzeria's "plain" pie is a thin crust with a layer of tomato sauce and just a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese—if you want "mootz" (mozzarella in New Haven–speak) or any other toppings, then you have to ask, but why mess with a classic? Modern Apizza has been serving its "plain" pies from the same spot since 1934, and business is still booming. A circa-1960 menu—when the cost of a pie ranged from $.90 to $1.50—still hangs on one wall.
Sit inside or outside at this classic ice cream parlor, right next to the Mystic River Drawbridge, and enjoy homemade ice cream and other soda fountain favorites—maybe a New York egg cream or an ice cream shake. This ice cream has half the air whipped into it compared to other "homemade" and mass-produced products, making it richer, creamier, and more flavorful.
If the name "Sherkaan" sounds familiar from The Jungle Book, the food at this Indian eatery may be less so as the owners have mostly steered clear of the usual office lunch food orders. Instead, they've created what they call bindaas—roughly translated as "the coolest"—which are apps, small plates, and shareables like salmon, chicken, and lamb kebabs that emerge from the tandoor, with larger plates of chicken biryani, curries, and more. Appetizers, or chaat, include filled puri shells and samosas, with street eats, like dosas, noodles, and the "chaat dog," made with veggie kebab, cucumber, pomegranate seeds, and chili garlic chutney on a bun. The bindaas carries over into the atmosphere, which is immediately apparent when you enter an Indian street scene of bicycles, a streetcar, and doors hundreds of years old flanking the room.
Pastry chef Adam Young credits a stay in New Orleans for his love of baking sweets, and national attention and awards have followed him to his Connecticut bake shops. Breads, macaroons, pastries, and cookies are displayed in a galaxy of texture and color, along with coffee from local New Harvest Roasters and tea from Harney & Sons.
Stop in to try one of dozens of cupcake flavors or one of the special flavors featured each month—or you may like a cookie or a whole cake. With flavors like cannoli, cookie dough, and Boston Cream cupcakes, you're bound to find one (or more) to fuel your sugar high.
