Best Casual Restaurants in New Haven

Fabulous spot for a pre-show dinner! The happy hour deals were awesome, we were expecting much smaller portions and overordered but the food and drinks were fabulous.

Overall it was an excellent dinner. We were worried about it being Valentine’s Day so we made an early reservation & we were able to be fed & get out before the rush. Our server did well but she was a bit shy& meek. Combined with the sitting right under a music speaker, we could barely hear her. We chose to share 2 “salads” & 3 tapas. The Brussels sprouts & the squash blossoms were perfectly seasoned, well constructed, & delicious. The hanger steak was amazing. The potatoes it came served over were blah. They did not have a good texture nor were they seasoned how we would typically like them. I feel like they missed the mark with this accompaniment, especially since the hanger steak was so good. The lamb lollipops were cooked to a perfect medium & the mint jelly/pepper jelly sauce was outstanding. The duck confit eggrolls were crispy & full, but flavorless. We would not order these again. I shouldn’t need a side sauce to enjoy them. We will be back to try some other items!

Last night, we had an amazing dinner at The Luke Brasserie in New Haven. We were treated to a multiple course gourmet and imaginative dinner. What an experience! The restaurant serves a limited menu, changed daily of outstanding food. The dishes are presented for table sharing from the beginning to the end of the meal. Each course was creative and outstanding. We started with two dishes, one of heirloom beets and the other of white asparagus. Both were delicious. Our next course was yellow fin tuna in an Asian style sauce. This is followed by a scallops dish perfectly prepared!  From there, we progressed to pasta rigatoni with snow crab, quite excellent. The next dish was cavatelli with pancetta and chestnuts. Perfect! Our last dish was delicious porchetta in a sauce of beans, chestnuts and panchetta. Again outstanding!! we finished with frozen mascarpone and citrus ice, and the meal ended with a piece of delicious chocolate. You should not forget the great bread and a bottle of wine that we enjoyed during our feast. With each course, will be given a new plate and fresh silverware. We were served by a wonderful staff, and at times the chef came to our table to explain the dishes. Chef Vincent has roots in Italy, studied at the Culinary Institute of America, and has worked in many restaurants in New York with many great and famous chefs. The restaurant is located in the old ballroom of the Taft hotel, next to the Shubert Theater in New Haven. The beautiful architecture adds to the elegance of the restaurant. Our meal was truly one of the best I’ve had in a long time. It brought back memories of outstanding food that I experienced while living in Bologna Italy. The many courses that we had were spaced and were never rushed. Congratulations to the staff and to Chef Vincent for such an outstanding culinary experience. Jay K

What a great spot ! We came in to have lunch with our daughter who is away at college and what an incredible lunch we had! The food was amazing, (the arancini were to die for). Our waiter was so attentive. Cannot wait to return.

The manager was excellent, very helpful to our whole party.