What a great experience! We had a wonderful server (Charity I think?) and great support staff. Food came quickly and was delicious! We shared a sushi maki for an appetizer, as good as I have had before. The Sam Adams battered fish was enjoyed by members of my party. The main menu AND the specials were so encompassing, the hardest part of the meal was making a choice! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! read more

This was a great find! Met up with friends in Putnam and this was recommended by the coffee shop in town as a great spot for lunch and dinner. Staff was wonderful, friendly and timed everything perfectly! Burrata app was amazing, as was my butternut squash ravioli(have had this in other restaurants but this was over the top delicious!), 2 in our party had Swedish meatballs and the other a roast chicken dish and we all raved our was the best!!! Highly recommend!!! read more

Went here for dinner tonight and left happy and full. They made me a lovely blood orange mocktail. We were served house made gluten free rolls that were seasoned to perfection. My husband had a gluten free version of their bolognese and he thoroughly enjoyed it. Steak frites with spicy ketchup was what I got, but the ketchup wasn't needed bc the fries were so good without it! Crème brûlée with a house made whipped cream- amazing! I recommend putting in a reservation unless you plan on sitting in their huge bar with a unique starlight ceiling. read more

Service was excellent! Ambience was OK. Lighting is a bit orange. Food was pretty good. Ordered a burger medium and was fully cooked and a little dry. Fish and chips was amazing. read more

The cutest little restaurant in all of Putnam. The food is amazing! The service is awesome. The drinks are to die for! If you're looking for quality seafood this is the place to go! Dawn is our favorite bartender! read more

85 Main - Gumbo!! - New American Near Me - Putnam, Connecticut

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Good food and atmosphere bring your wallet. Any time I'm going out for a great meal with the wife and friends that's one of our gotta go to places. read more

Girls night at 85 main! We had a blast. The food and cocktails were amazing. The service was great and put up with all of our shenanigans! read more

85 Main - Friends - New American Near Me - Putnam, Connecticut

So much potential. The food is ok. Salad is a fork fight. Decent sushi, decent burgers, wee portions of salmon. Its an American v. Asian infusion sushi place in my best approximation. Probably trying to satisfy the protohipster need for sushi in this region, if you're not at Yamato. People typically get loud and sloppy on nights around the weekend. You can HEAR the next table's CONVO pretty clearly when they have a few drinks in them. Not bar or nightclub levels, but definitely not a quiet date-night or family spot at these times. There are 2 levels, and an outdoor patio for more clement New England evenings. The busboys (buspeople? Buskin? Busfolk? Busthey? Bussers? Bussin?) are ok, but the waitresses are touch and go imo. Be careful to not wear your vantablack outfit, and YMMV based on all kinds of factors. If you know, you know. If friends didn't find this place geographically convenient, i probably wouldn't pay this place a passing glance. I'd rather get a coffee and bite next door, or drive a little out of my way for sushi with the typical Asian experience. The search continues for a decent place to eat in the quiet corner... read more

Recently visited 85 with my wife and service dog. We were not seated because we had a service dog. I attempted to show our service dog credentials but a staff member ( young man who acted like the manager) did not care about the credentials. I may note that the establishment may have had only three tables filled. I was really surprised given the fact that we have always spent time at there sister establishment the Vanilla Bean with no issues for many years. 85 is now off our list of recommended establishments. read more

Food was disappointing, yet again, but I am writing this to apologise to a very pleasant and efficient server...Morgan was our server and when she asked me how everything was I blurted out that it was terrible! I shouldn't have been so gruff and I apologize fo my behaviour. Bad food, great service! read more

Went for drinks and dessert. Great afternoon. Sat at a high top in bar area. Great service and ambiance.

Food was stellar. Service was good and ambiance is nice. I had the steak tips which were very good and came with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled broccoli. My friend had the sushi. There were no complaints for either of us. read more

We are new to the area and we ended up walking by this place after visiting "First Friday" (festival in Putnam with street vendors, music, crafts for children) and decided to try it the next day for lunch. What drew us in was the ambiance and outdoor dining! I just didn't realize how small of an area it was- but it was perfectly fine. As the inside was gorgeous and there were accolades of awards they had won. We were greeted by a hostess who did not come off as too friendly so my assumption is she was nervous because she was helpful in helping us find a shady spot. Our waitress was super sweet and helpful and she helped me create the perfect sushi roll. My friend and I both ordered Strawberry Mule's which they created (not on the drink menu and they were delicious)! We ordered Edamame as an appetizer (steamed beans) and it took about 12 mins for them to come out. The salt was thrown on them sloppily so I had to even it out before eating. They were good & came out piping hot- but the wait was a little long. My friend and I ordered sushi while my boyfriend and his Dad ordered burgers and the wait was at least 45 minutes (for sushi & burgers)?!! I'm glad that I didn't have my son with me or he would be starving. The waitress was very sweet and apologized for the long wait. My sushi was amazing IMO. My boyfriend enjoyed his burger and sweet potato fries. So the food is definitely good but they don't carry pickles (bizarre if you sell burgers). So I think it definitely deserves 4-5 stars I just didn't like the wait and kitchen disorganization- our waitress was sweet/food was good/ambiance was nice so we would definitely be back. read more

85 Main - 85 Main - New American Near Me - Putnam, Connecticut

My second time here. The food is always very good. I hope to be back that way again very soon. read more

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Kyle, our waiter was wonderful. Accommodating, friendly, professional, polite and understanding of needs of group. Service was great. Semi-outdoor seating worked for us. Food was terrific. Shaved steak- loaded with tender beef, melted cheese and no shortage of peppers and onions. It will leak if you use your hands. This baby deserves a fork and knife. Mussels perfect as always. Mahi tacos were delicious. Pan seared catch of the day fish wrap was every bite gone delicious. Crab cake on salad = wonderful 85 Main doing it right. read more

Recommend 85 Main. On par with restaurants in PVD and BOS. Fried smelts and Brussel sprouts for appetizers were great. Wine list is fair- was told there's a different one for downstairs with higher end choices. They serve warm, hearty Italian bread with meals- we enjoyed dipping in the EVOO. Entrees were very good- huge, tasty fish and chips. Homemade pasta. Loved the Tiramisu for dessert. It's the next day and we're still full! read more

Excellent food, very fast and attentive service, and an overall great atmosphere! If you're driving by, be sure to stop here for a bite!

I only gave this restaurant 3 stars because I was with a friend who is allergic to gluten, not just intolerant and the way this was handled was unacceptable! She ordered the ceasar salad with chicken and NO CRUTONS. The salad came out with crutons on it so she had to send it back. It came back out way to fast and while she was eating it FOUND A CRUTON, I'm assuming they just picked them off which in my book is NEVER acceptable and quite disgusting. I will say that our waitress was very good, the food (other than the mishap) was good, the wine was excellent and the gluten free roll they did bring out for my friend was very tasty. If your going to accommodate a food alergy DO NOT pick the crutons off of a salad (serious lack of class)! They did take the salad off of the bill but that is not the point at all. My husband ordered the scallops with the garlic greens and sweet potato hash. He enjoyed it but I personally found the entire dish to be way over salted. I ordered the avocado seaweed salad with ginger dressing and it was absolutely wonderful! My other friend ordered the veal bolognese tortellini and he was very happy with the dish. The Layer Cake Shiraz was excellent and my husband's chocolate cherry coffee was also excellent. I would give them another shot but due to how my friend's food allergy was handled, I don't think I will be going back. If you have a food allergy I highly recommend you make it very clear. read more

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The prices may be on the higher side, but the quality is good. The service tends to be a bit slow and may come across as uninviting. However, the food compensates for any shortcomings. It's consistently a good choice for grabbing a meal in the downtown Putnam area. read more

Decided to do lunch on Christmas Eve day. We arrived a few minutes before noon, and the place was next to empty, but within 5 minutes, people started to pour in. We usually sit at the bar area, but opted for the restaurant section. We each ordered soda (locally sourced, and very good) and decided on the calamari, and also the mushroom ravioli. Just before the appetizers arrived we placed our order, we both had the union burger. The calamari and ravioli arrived, both very warm. All I have to say is you have to have both of these when here. The ravioli was excellent and the calamari spent the right amount of time in the fryer, not soggy, or burnt. The peppers served with them were a combo of regular temperature and a couple of hot ones. So just a word of warning out there if that's not for you. As soon as we finished the apps, burgers arrived. I had mine medium rare and the wife had medium. Both we cooked as ordered. I have an issue paying a high price for burgers, but they were worth it. After stuffing ourselves, we passed on desserts. Just a warning: it will take no time to rack up a bill here. Putnam is a tourist trap, and it seems every place here reflects that. 85 Main is a place that IMHO, you pay a little more for quality and flavor, but don't mind. read more

Good food!! Was a bit on the pricier side but good variety in the menu, and great service overall read more

85 Main - Crab cakes - New American Near Me - Putnam, Connecticut

While browsing the area's antique shops, my husband and I happened upon 85 Main and decided to check it out for lunch. Luckily, we were able to grab a table outside since it was a beautiful day. We were really tempted by all the sushi options but ended up going the burger/salad route and weren't disappointed. We started with the farmhouse cheese plate which was fabulous but seemed kind of disproportionately expensive compared to the other menu options. Regardless, it was a delightful mix of creamy brie, a smoky bleu, IPA cheddar, two other artisan cheeses (I forget which) and perfect accoutrements of cocoa dusted almonds, prosciutto, maple butter and a bunch of crostini. Nick loved his Bootlegger Burger which came topped with pulled pork, caramelized onions, braeburn apple, nodine's smoked cheddar & bbq sauce (with housemade sriracha on the side) and I opted to add a generous portion of fried oysters to their caesar salad. Pro-tip: if fried oysters are a salad add-on option, DO IT. Just do it. Friendly service, a bit slow but the restaurant was packed on a sunny day and we weren't in any rush. Lovely experience! read more

85 Main - New American Near Me - Putnam, Connecticut

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Absolutely fabulous lunch experience! I was immediately impressed with the decorations and set up of the restaurant. Every table had a fresh daisy on it which was very cute. The bar area also has an oyster bar which consists of an ice case with the oysters, clams, and shrimp cocktail of the day. We were not given a lunch menu and ordered off the dinner menu. I was surprised to find American food and an entire Japanese Sushi menu ... score. I was a little surprised that after I ordered sushi I was told that the sushi chef was taking a 30 minute break in the middle of the lunch shift but that didn't deter my quest to try the sushi. The miso soup was amazing. I had the pink zebra roll and it was amazing. I loved the spicy kanikama on the outside and the tempura was perfect crunchy. I was less impressed with the spicy tuna roll... it was honestly too fishy to eat. I ate one and left the rest of the roll there. My boyfriend had the pulled pork wrap and it was the best, most authentic southern pulled pork that he's had in CT. The fries were also hand cut. A few mishaps but I will definitely be back to try other menu items!! read more

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Had a great lunch today....sat at the bar and the gal was great! Food was very good! Nice, varied menu , with lots of choices. We will be back..... read more

Once again a fabulous meal at 85 Main! Packed on a Wednesday night, but we (family of four) were able to sneak into the last table in the lounge area with a little help from the hostess. Our server was perfect (and as I mentioned, we're a family of four with demanding littles.) The spelling is probably wrong, and for that I apologize, Laila, you rocked! PS, if you're in the mood for sushi, definitely try the Tuna Stack special, what a delight! Can't wait for our next visit! read more

First off, this place sucks! If I could give this place less than one star, I indeed most certainly would! I came in with a group of friends to dine on a Monday evening and it was not very busy at all. When we were seated the waiter poured water in all of our drinks, spilling water all over the table and on my shirt. He then did not return for twenty minutes to ask us for other drinks. He then asked us for food and we all ordered. It took over forty five minutes just for my appetizer to arrive which was fried calamari. The calamari was terrible. It was badly under cooked and very rubbery. My friend got the steak tips which tasted alright but it was about four bites for fifteen dollars. My other friend ordered miso soup and it was filled with tofu and he said it tasted like dish water. So for appetizers, I wouldn't recommend anything unless you like four bites of steak for fifteen dollars. As for the entree's, they did not come out until over an hour and a half of sitting down. One of my friends ordered sushi. For Gods Sake YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO COOK IT. As for myself, I ordered a bacon cheeseburger. Let me just say that eating this burger was the most difficult part of my entire day. I had to grind my way through each bite because instead of having a regular bun, they topped the burger with a bland and giant English muffin that I couldn't chew. The bacon was good and the burger was fair but I did ask for medium and it was cooked just about rare. We didn't bother ordering desert because we knew it would take over half an hour, so instead we asked for the check and waited twenty minutes for that. The prices were not terrible but the quality of the food and service was absolutely terrible. I do not know what people see in this place. I do not recommend it at all. Please take your business somewhere else and make your hard earned money worth while at a good restaurant. There are plenty in the Putnam area. In conclusion I promise you I will not be back. read more

We had a fantastic meal and experience here! We came in at 2pm on a Friday and the place was pretty dead. The outdoor seating was almost packed though so we sat inside. Private dining experience! ;-) We stuck to the sushi portion of the menu although they had a great variety of items! We ordered the gyoza (super tasty), unagi sushi, salmon sashimi, and the monster roll. The sushi was all surprisingly fresh given it was in a small town in the middle of nowhere. The unagi was a little squishy but the flavor was great! The monster roll was also perfectly tempura fried and we loved the kanikama topping. We also got four of the Rhode Island Wild oysters and they were heavenly. So delicious! read more

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Our go-to sushi spot in town! Always fresh always delicious! Love the daily special menus. Fabulous cocktails, too! Great atmosphere! Excellent quick to-go service for nights I don't feel like cooking read more

Long time patron of 85 Main and went yesterday evening for dinner w my daughter. Sat outside, friendly and quick service. Ordered pork gyoza dumplings for appetizer and sushi entrees. The gyoza came out quickly and when we bit into them they were crispy on outside but cold and raw/pink mush on inside. Our server quickly took them back and had them remade. Second time they were a tad overcooked- rest of meal went very well. I was surprised when I got the bill that the gyoza was not comped. I was literally served raw pork which from a food safety standpoint is quite dangerous and they couldn't comp the $18 dumplings - I will say we didn't enjoy the second attempt at the gyoza because at that point we were inspecting each one before we ate it - I'm not sure I'll go back which is a shame because I've never had a bad experience but I was not impressed w the handling of this mistake. Eating out is expensive and people make mistakes but I think sometimes a business needs to go above when something like this happens but they treated it like my steak was medium rare instead of medium not like they served something that could potentially make us very sick. read more

Great service and jazz band. I was greeted with a water glass with someone's lipstick already on it...yuk! Then my husband's bluefish sandwich was full of rough fish skin and bones. How can you offer that as a sandwich instead of a cleaned fillet in a covered bun? Facilities need a thorough cleaning; mold, cobwebs and toilet bowls leave a lot to be desired. Extremely disappointing food. read more

So so food. Slightly over priced menu for the quality. Staff seemed grumpy when we went. I've been a bunch of times although I never love going. Usually dragged there by other people but it is decent enough that I don't put up a fight. read more

Inconsistent experiences there. Some pretty good, most pretty bad. The last time I ate there I was shocked that my dinner ever left the kitchen! read more

so bad and salty that I cant even drink. It is not even creamy like other chowder. They put too much water in the water try to cover the salty in the soup. read more

85 Main - Roast Corn & Clam Chowder - New American Near Me - Putnam, Connecticut

Delicious food, poor service. My wife and i went in with my inlaws for dinner. We had a reservation for 730pm and ordered our drinks within 5 minutes of sitting down. Then proceeded to until 810 to get our drinks. We were all kind of not sure what was going on... i ordered a margarita with no salt and my wife ordred a dirty martini with titos, my inlaws each ordered a cosmo. My wife was told they didnt have titos although titos was on the menu for another drink and i received a margarita with salt. My wife received an Oyster martini which she didnt hate, but its not what she ordered. The waiter proceeded to get my wife a replacement martini but it was not dirty at all but she just sipped on it. Bow the food was absolutely delicious. The soup to the entrees were very good. My inlaws go there all the time. We live in South Carolina now and it was our first time. If the beginning of our experience was better we would have rated higher. But no matter how busy a restaurant is, a half hour plus for drinks is unacceptable. Again. Great food, but poor service read more

First let me just say our server was great very attentive and answered all of our questions. If you are a burger and beer type of person ( like ourselves) then this is not the place. The menu is like what you would see in Providence high price specialty food small portions. If you like this and don't want to go into the city this place is for you. read more

First of all, let me say that I've been here twice and if not for the outside seating area, which feels like a nice European atmosphere, it would have been a disaster. The food here is just not outstanding. The prices are equivalent to what one would pay in New York City, with no exaggeration. Steak tip dinner is $30. (for sirloin TIPS!) Most pasta dishes hover in the $30 range. Very perplexing for a town like Putnam which is a blue-collar-esque small town off the highway in CT. However, I would pay for quality ... The ingredients are fresh and local ... which is a saving grace I suppose to eating at 85 Main. At least you know the ingredients are locally sourced. But the food here has been average to inedible the two times I went. I hate to leave bad yelp reviews ... however, I must remind myself that a $230 check for 4 people in a town like Putnam for a less than memorable meal is worthy of a word of caution or two to other diners. I use yelp reviews to help me choose which restaurants to eat at, so I feel that mediocre/bad reviews are a cautionary experience helper to others as much as the good ones. I will say, in fairness, many other people on yelp seemed to have much better experiences at 85 Main than we did. I did notice that over half the diners outside seemed to order the 'small plates steak and fries' special. Maybe that's the key to this place? Our salads came barely dressed and bland. It tasted like plain lettuce to me. If not for the lemon wedge requested with my water, there would have been no taste at all to the salad. The pasta dishes were just horrendous. The pasta was way overcooked (almost mushy) and both pasta dishes came as more of a stew than a traditional sauce dish. The 'ragu' was soupy and liquidy. The meat full of chewy gristle. There was very little pasta in the dish ... it seemed like there was more water from the pasta pot than actual pasta. Everything was also bland and underseasoned. Once we resigned to the fact that food was not good ... we seemed to pick at our plates, enjoy wine and talk a lot more than we would if we were focused on our food. Perhaps another silver lining. The sundeck really does feel very similar to many of the outdoor restaurants I ate at in Holland and Germany. The older style buildings off a Main street combined with all the flowers and red umbrellas did feel more European than a lot of the other New England restaurants I have eaten at. Maybe one needs to stick with the sushi and steak here in order to have a good food experience. I noticed the rest of the menu was very progressive and maybe tried a bit too hard. It is easy to under-deliver given the fancy descriptions and challenging menu items. I'd be inclined to say we came on a bad night but twice we experienced the same thing. The prices are pretty shocking for Putnam (especially given the blah food) but the outdoor atmosphere makes up for it. If you are a group and need somewhere to go near to the theater or downtown area, let the atmosphere make up for the food here. If in Putnam and needing some great tasting food, I'd send someone to The Courthouse for American or the Italian restaurant next door to 85 Main for Italian. Not really sure that the 'theme' to 85 Main's menu as there is steak, seafood, pasta, tapas ... maybe too many different cuisines mixed together so that none are done right? Also, 2 out of the 4 of us ordered wines from the wine list and were charged $1 more per glass than was listed on the printed wine menu we were given. (including the Rex Goliath house red wine, which was listed at $6/glass and we were charged $7 each glass on the bill ... which is the cost of a bottle at the supermarket.) read more

Once again it looks like all the restaurants in Putnam are over rated and really not that good. A recent Sunday afternoon visit had nice live music, a big plus. In the door had the usual inept hostess seating us at the table next to the kitchen entrance. Really?? Move to another table had a sticky crusty table and menus - gross. Many red flags going off fast with the slow inexperienced service. Enough watching employees with their feet nailed to the floor thus left. read more

85 Main is an amazing restaurant that has a big city feel in a small town. The menu has a variety of dishes to offer its customers, from seafood to steaks and locally grown produce. Not only do they offer steaks and seafood but they also offer a variety of sushi. I found out that this restaurant is the only raw bar in this part of CT. From their raw bar to their entrees everything was delicious. They have a variety of raw seafood to choice from, but I had to try the oysters. The oysters were from the Beavertail oyster farm in Rhode Island. The oysters were fresh and shucked very well. They were clean and had no sand on them at all.The Maryland crab cake was one of the best crab cakes I have ever had. It was light and the crab taste was very distinct. Mixed with the fresh house salad and Dijon Dill cream help round out the freshness of the crab cake. The salad was fresh and made the crab cake taste even better. read more

85 Main - Crab Cake - New American Near Me - Putnam, Connecticut

First time visit...my husbands idea. It was nice to be able to sit outside on the patio. I started with the corn and clam chowder, should be called a soup because it was not thick or creamy like a chowder. Overly tasting of thyme and not much else. I picked a crab cake for my entree, my husband had 1 as a starter. 1 small crab cake on top of a huge salad? Not what we were expecting. Lots of crab meat but again no real flavor, any flavor was taken over by the overly mustardy very little dill sauce. My husbands entree of pan seared scallops was super tender, but the corn puree was cold. Risotto was good but over kill with the micro greens on top. Ingredients seemed fresh. But not worth the $85 bill. read more

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Food was amazing, drinks were delicious and service was outstanding! We had the mussels, quesadilla and wings for apps and they were awesome! The strawberry skinny margarita was out of this world. read more