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    Black Duck Cafe

    3.2 (333 reviews)
    ModerateBars, Burgers, American
    Closed 11:30 am - 12:30 AM (Next day)

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    BLACK DUCK CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Divey
    Casual
    Loud
    Good for groups

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    Clam chowder
    John M.

    Nationally recognized Dive Bar serving good pub food and great music. A comfortable spot if you can get over the slight tilt of the structure over the Saugatuck River. A survivor of many storms it caused a local furor when it threatened to close after one of the last ones. Good service, eclectic and lively crowd, and always a good time!

    Nice outside seating
    Nelia F.

    I went here for my birthday this year and first the location was great and the service was superb. The food was also really good and the ambience was chill vibes. I wish I would have taken more pictures of the food.

    Shrimp PoBoy without tomatoes and a nice cold draft.

    FYI- don't lets the look and lopsided building fool you. Been here many times from burgers to there heavy meals. Always above average fresh food. Prices are perfect for what they offer. Service has always been a 10/10.

    Louise F.

    Let me start by saying I visited the Black Duck for lunch on President's day. The restaurant was crowded but there was an empty table or two and you could tell people at a couple of other tables were getting ready to leave. Having said that ..... given the lack of attention which seemed to drag on far too long had we not drove 45 minutes we would have left. We clearly saw waiters/waitresses, bus boy and a not very busy bartender during our arrival who ignored us. I got tired of waiting and flagged the bus boy to ask if we could be seated? He quickly cleaned up a table to sit us. From the time we sat the pace was significantly picked up. A waiter took our drink order and delivered them quickly while we waited again to order food. From that point our appetizer came in a timely matter and then our main entrees. Our table was by the door where we had a full view of people entering the restaurant and getting the same treatment we did before someone acknowledged them. Our main meals were very good, hearty portions and reasonably priced. While the Quahogs had diced up clam, the breading was tasteless. Would not order those again. The warm CT lobster roll was delicious, drenched in butter and lots of lobster meat for $22. Can't beat that. I added a salad for I think another $4 instead of fries and it was a nice size salad. My husband had the fish & chips cooked perfectly (2 pieces) with a nice tartar sauce and fries. The fries weren't good, a bit limp and greasy so they went uneaten. Given the food was delivered quickly it seems the issues where with the front of the house and not the back. Guy Fieri from the Food Network visited a long time ago and highlighted this restaurant on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It certainly is a dive which I'm guessing is part of its charm. The have onsite parking which was packed when we arrived. We parked in an adjacent lot which said it was permit parking but not on weekends. While it wasn't a weekend, it was a holiday, so we hoped it applied and threw caution to the wind and park. Happily, no ticket when we returned to our car. Not sure where you park when their lot is full as I didn't see any street parking in the immediately area?

    New England Clam Chowder
    Rick F.

    I brought my 95 year old mom who had a walker. I didn't see any handicap entrance but Mom made it up the steps just fine. The food was great. The calamari was the best I've ever had. Service was very friendly. We sat outside on their deck. Would have liked it better if it wasn't enclosed, but it works well in all seasons.

    Clam chowder

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    16 days ago

    Dirty place, unprofessional service. Unimpressed by the food. Not too sure what else to say.

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    Love this place! Wonderful and friendly staff, great food, great drinks, and live music!

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    Press Burger

    Press Burger

    4.2
    (41 reviews)
    5.8 mi
    $$

    Another Wilton eatery I've been to that I haven't really gotten around to reviewing, so I guess…read moretoday was Press Burger's time because why not? This immediately caught my attention because this was the place that replaced Tom E Toes after it closed its doors back in 2020. Honestly, while I do miss Tom E Toes, I am glad this was the restaurant that took its place. It's basically your next step up from fast food, but the beef here has always been good whenever I've ordered from them. The people working there are always nice and will answer any questions I might have. It's also a very convenient place for those who are spending their day here in Wilton. My visits here have been almost exclusively while I was going to or from work. I usually pay quite a bit when I come here because I customize my meals, but that's part of the charm I've come to love about this place. It also helps that my customizations always make my meals from here extremely filling. For example, my burger today was a Build Your Own Golden Style Double (Golden Style meaning it is mustard grilled) with cheddar, bacon, cheese sauce, crunchy onions, chips, and BBQ Aioli, and my fries were Bacon Cheese Fries toasted in K-Town Sauce. May I just say that these were both yummy and satisfying! One thing I should note since I am looking at my receipt as I am writing this review, this is the first restaurant in the state that uses Zero Acre Farms Oil in 90% of its food prep and has been doing so for over 2 years (January 2024 was when they started this). I don't come often, but I will continue to come here as an option whenever the need arises for a good burger in Wilton.

    Just here for work and decided I wanted a burger. So I stop here and got a Warrior (double) and…read moresmall fries and a Drink. it was 28$...... I thought "maybe the burgers are big" bc everything is separate. The Burger alone was $16.99 so I got my food to go and once I opened everything I was in disbelief. The Burger is so f**** small I could eat it in one bite and I'm only 130 pound. It wasn't that great to be a $16 burger no wonder I see so many from up here and all these northern states complain about the coast of living it's ridiculous. where I'm from this meal would have been $8 and nothing more just wild how mf are getting robbed blind up here I pray for yall bc tf is wrong with yall

    Photos
    Press Burger
    Build Your Own Hotdog *, The Farmer's Dog
    Build Your Own Hotdog *, The Farmer's Dog
    Front counter and menu

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    Front counter and menu
    Boss Burger

    Boss Burger

    4.0
    (111 reviews)
    3.5 mi
    $$

    First time coming here on our way back from vacation…read more We got the Campfire Burger that came with Bacon, Grilled onions, Cheddar and Pepper jack cheese with Campfire sauce, which was a chipotle mayo with bbq sauce. We also had the special carne asada with rice and beans and a side salad Everything was good and brought to the patio quick. We were the only ones there on a Thursday afternoon

    Boss Burger is a small, quiet little spot tucked into a strip mall, with both indoor and outdoor…read moreseating. They have a fun burger selection, ranging from a classic bacon, lettuce, and tomato burger to the KC Burger, which I ordered. Mine came piled with an onion ring, jalapeño peppers, cheddar cheese, and Sweet Baby Ray's sauce on a toasted seeded roll. All burgers come with a small side of coleslaw, pickle chips, and your choice of fries, sweet potato fries, or onion rings, which is a nice touch. The person I was with ordered the Chino Burger, loaded with bacon, fried onions, and plenty of fresh blue cheese. The food came out hot and tasty, and the burgers were definitely thick and filling. My only real complaint was that the burger could have used a little more seasoning, and I think it would have gone up another notch if it had been flame-broiled instead of seared. Overall, this is not a fancy place, but it is a solid spot for a quality meal. If you are in the area or just passing through, I would recommend checking it out.

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    Boss Burger
    The Stratton Burger with Side
    The Stratton Burger with Side
    Boss Burger

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    Walrus Alley

    Walrus Alley

    3.6
    (467 reviews)
    1.5 mi
    $$

    So I've actually debated whether or not to include this UberEats delivery review. The first time I…read moretried to go through with it, I just couldn't really figure out what to write. I only ordered it on UberEats this past Friday night, so it's not like I actually went there. However, the more I ate and thought about it, the more I realized something. This is the 4th year in 6 I've done a pre-birthday send-off UberEats order, and this is my 3rd year in a row doing so. In 2021, I had Edo on the last week before I turned 30. 2024, it was Boatyard at Smokey Joe's in Stamford, ordered on April 18. Last year, I did the Norwalk location of Elm Street Diner on April 24. If we want to take that into consideration, then that would be reason enough to sum my thoughts up together and get something down. So to send off age 34, say hello to Walrus Alley! If I'm being honest, I always wanted to have a barbecue right before my birthday of this year of all years. It only felt appropriate for 2026. Originally, I was going to have Wire Mill Saloon from Redding delivered using Yelp, but one of the items I'd ordered was out of stock, so that got canceled and I turned my sights here and ordered what I would have gotten from Redding. This was a half-rack of ribs, an order of Mac & Cheese, side of cornbread (this one came with coleslaw and pickles), and an a la mode chocolate bourbon pecan pie. The pecan pie was the only change since if I had gotten the Redding order, I would have had a key lime pie a la mode. I also put in some Alabama sauce because it does ribs a new flavor to play along with. I had everything over the next three days, hence why I am writing this review now. I will start by saying the ice cream did not make it without melting, but that's okay. I wasn't expecting it to since my driver did have to make a bunch of stops along the way, making my order take over an hour to deliver. No fault on the driver or restaurant there, and I ended up drinking the ice cream anyway, and it was still refreshing, so c'est la vie. The pecan pie it came with was actually really good. I found that it's better if you let that chill off a bit. Don't use plastic silverware for this one for the pie will break them, but delicious and sweet all the same. I'd love to have this in an in-person visit. In contrast, the cornbread should be warm when you eat that. It's buttered and soft, but it might be too dry if you try to eat it cold. The pickles are more of the spicy kind. I prefer sweet pickles, but I don't mind them being spicy either. The coleslaw I will say suffers the same fate that befell the one from Boatyard: it doesn't taste like true coleslaw. They should take a bit of inspiration from the Smokies (think Eastern Tennessee or Western NC) to learn how it should be done. It's lacking that mayonnaise component that truly makes it coleslaw. If they added that, then we might be talking! I decided to leave the ribs and Mac & cheese for last in the review because they do provide reheating instructions for those who order take-out such as myself. The Mac & cheese was actually eaten very late on the first night. The instructions given for Mac & cheese were spot-on, baking at 375 for 10 minutes before I dug in. It was some damn good Mac & cheese. Cheesy, love the breadcrumbs, and very satisfying overall. The ribs were the last to be finished. I will say I did also follow the instructions for the ribs as they were written; however, unlike the Mac & cheese, the ribs were still cold in the middle after 20 minutes in 375. You need the microwave to finish the job here. The ribs themselves were good. They weren't the best ribs I've ever eaten, but they were tender, the BBQ sauce was tasty, and the meat fell right off the bone. I will say that for this meal it needs a healthy amount of Alabama sauce all on it to really elevate it, but other than my experience reheating them this was my only criticism. Overall, a worthy BBQ meal. I'd still pick Hindsight BBQ over this if faced with deciding which CT BBQ to go with, but this will get the job done and then some if you need good BBQ. I'd love to come in-person one night and experience this place firsthand.

    My daughter and son in law just moved to Westport, so we have been regularly making the rounds to…read morediscover food in their NEW town. WE were actually having italian at Massi Co located in the same building (great by the way and highly recommended) and i couldn't pass up the chance for some BBQ especially since it was only 50 feet away. I ordered a half rack and an order of burnt ends, two go tos for me when judging a new BBQ restaurant. I would say I have eaten BBQ from hundreds of restaurants from texas to KC, to west coasts southern you name it.. SAD to say the burnt ends were about the fattiest i have ever encountered, not sure ive experienced the point of a brisket that had so much higher content of fat then meat.. Id say i was lucky if out of the entire order i was able to find a couple edible bites that weren't 90% yes 90% fat. After the disappointment of the burnt ends (my favorite BBQ item usually) I figured well the ribs will be good i bet.. NOPE, to repeat my comment to my son in law.. perhaps the worst ribs i have ever had period. no color no smoke ring, no bark no flavor and just a chewy tough mess. Will be cut off the bone and given to my dog. BBQ is Americana and while there's a lot of mediocre BBQ out there nothing should be like this. Simply inedible!!!!!!!!!!!

    Photos
    Walrus Alley
    Walrus Alley
    Happy Hour

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    Happy Hour
    Hudson Malone

    Hudson Malone

    3.8
    (176 reviews)
    2.1 mi

    I never write reviews but everything about my night at Hudson Malone was absolutely perfect. From…read morethe moment we walked in, we were warmly greeted by the hostess, our waitress, the busboys, and even the owner. Once we were seated, our amazing waitress introduced herself and was attentive, informative, friendly, and overall incredible throughout the entire evening. She checked on us frequently, and our water glasses were never empty. I also have a tree nut allergy and get very nervous eating at new restaurants, but our waitress was so reassuring and knowledgeable that she immediately put me at ease. When our food came out, my friend's meal arrived first, and the owner noticed right away. My entrée followed less than a minute later. I ordered the pork chop with latkes, and it was absolutely amazing. Our waitress even came over with a flashlight to make sure the pork chop was cooked exactly the way I wanted it. I was truly impressed and have honestly never experienced service like this at a restaurant before. Between the exceptional hospitality and the delicious food, Hudson Malone exceeded all of my expectations. I would absolutely recommend Hudson Malone to anyone in the Westport area!

    Very eclectic decor with photos of famous people on the walls and various pieces of artwork. Can…read moreget crowded and is a little loud when packed. Came in for brunch recently and they have a number of interesting choices. Service is attentive and the food is fairly good. Comes out plated well.

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    Bathroom
    Bathroom
    Filet
    Filet
    Bathroom

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    Bathroom
    Jacob’s Pickles South Norwalk

    Jacob’s Pickles South Norwalk

    4.3
    (295 reviews)
    2.8 mi
    $$

    Damn what a night this has been!…read more So a friend and I decided to come eat here after going to a funeral visitation for a co-worker. It was the first time in 18 years I had been to anything funeral-related, but harkening back to my childhood, we'd have food after funeral services to celebrate the life of the lost loved one, so it was a piece of me I wanted to share with my friend. Another thing that contributed to my wanting to come here is that this is a place I've been wanting to come to ever since this restaurant opened, and it went doubly so when it was named the Best Restaurant in Connecticut for 2024. The fact I finally got to go in of itself was a blessing, and I have to say that I am glad we came here. We were seated immediately upon arrival, and service was quick from start to finish. Our waiter was excellent. He was great making recommendations in effort to get us to save some money, took any questions we had with a smile, and made ordering an easy-peasy affair. Ambiance was very casual, great for any occasion really. If I ever had a date and this was where they took me, I'd be wanting a second date already. They're great for family get-togethers too. Oh, and the bathroom walls made me laugh with their witty one-liners like "Don't be a Gherk" or "Just Dill With It". So based on the recommendations we were given, we shared both of the appetizers we'd ordered: the fried pickles and the biscuits and fix-in's. The fried pickles that this place is known for were really good, very comparable to what you might get from a true Southern state. It comes with a spicy mayo, and paired together, it's divine! The biscuits & fix-ins are two large biscuits accompanied by four types of butter: salted, maple, vanilla, and the strawberry. They were all good, but we both agreed that the vanilla one was out-of-this-world, and the maple one had an authentic Vermonter taste to it. The strawberry one tastes like a strawberry cream cheese which is a good thing here, and even the salted butter was good. We each also got an entree, and I was the only one who ordered a drink. My friend had the Classic Mac & Cheese, and I had the Southwest Meat Platter as well as a Dirty Aphrodite. I love me some good ribs when I eat Southern food, and having the meats all in one, I couldn't say no to that. If I'm being honest, I came close to picking the Kentucky Porch Sipper for my drink, but the call of the Dirty Aphrodite was too big to ignore. And boy oh boy do they make the combination of pickle brine and vodka work with this drink! I don't think I've ever had vodka quite like that before, but Jacob's Pickles does it so well here! The entrees were also great. I saw the cheese pulls as my friend ate and I could tell I probably would have enjoyed that version of the classic dish. As for my dish, the ribs were tender and fell clean off the bone, tasted like a true BBQ wonder. The pulled pork was succulent, ratioed perfectly so nothing overpowers in the dish. The sausage tasted superb. The Nashville Hot Chicken was crispy, juicy, spicy without being overwhelming. The Pickle Slaw was some good Slaw. Is it the best I've ever had? No. But it's competent and definitely deserves to be called a slaw. Jalapeños and corn were great, and I even got another buttermilk biscuit to use the remaining butter we didn't use on our appetizers. All-in-all, one of the best outings I've had in a while. I mean it when I say this: Jacob's Pickles is a MUST-GO! It's that good! You won't regret it.

    Jacob Pickles was really fun! The Happy Hour Chicken Bites were amazing and they give you 10 of…read morethem! Honestly, we didn't have a ton of room after polishing them off! We went straight to dessert from there with the strawberry shortcake icebox cake. Was just ok. Service was great. Place has a nice vibe to it. We will be back!

    Photos
    Great service
    Great service
    Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese
    Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese
    Root beer float with extra root beet

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    Root beer float with extra root beet

    Black Duck Cafe - bars - Updated August 2026

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