I've been going to Elm for almost 10 years and it's a wonderful experience all around. The food is amazing, they make the greatest Cosmo ever and the service is impeccable. I should've written a review sooner but it never occurred to me until I saw the 3 and 1 star reviews. One of the 3 star reviews the guy only had positive things to say! So why the 3 stars? The people that do this kind of thoughtless inconsiderate rating are blissfully unaware how this can affect the business. My family has a small business, so I take it personally when people are cavalier with their idiotic ratings which are substantiated by nothing and yet drags the star rating of the business down. Shame on you guys and boy, would I love to go rate your performance at your job. read more

*** update... I put this same review on google and it was "hearted" but never addressed. Absolutely disgusting! It's unfortunate that I have to write this review because the food is genuinely great. However, the way my family was treated by management was extremely disappointing and left us feeling unwelcome. My parents recently visited this location with my 13-month-old nephew. As anyone who has been around a toddler knows, children at that age can sometimes be a little loud. My parents were doing their best to keep him calm while also being considerate of the people around them. To be clear, my nephew was not crying, screaming, or throwing a tantrum. He is 13 months old and does not yet speak, so he was simply babbling, vocalizing, and making normal toddler sounds. At one point, a couple seated nearby apparently did not appreciate the noise and asked to be moved, which is completely understandable and within their right. What was upsetting was how management chose to handle the situation afterward. The manager approached my parents twice to tell them to quiet the baby down. My parents had not even finished their meals when the check was brought to their table, making them feel as though they were being rushed out. They also felt that they were being stared down by staff as they gathered their things and left. What makes this experience even more concerning is that another American family in the restaurant had a young child who was also making noise and behaving similarly, yet, from what my parents observed, that family was not approached or treated in the same manner. My parents are people of color and speak only Spanish. Given the noticeable difference in how the two families were treated, it is difficult for us not to question why my parents were singled out. While I obviously cannot know the manager's intentions, the experience left my parents feeling that their race, ethnicity, and/or inability to speak English may have played a role in how they were treated. Seeing another family with a young child engaging in similar behavior without receiving the same response only made that concern more significant. My parents were paying customers just like everyone else in the restaurant. They deserved the same courtesy, patience, and opportunity to enjoy and finish their meal without being made to feel like they were a problem or needed to leave. Having a young child with them should not have changed the level of respect or hospitality they received. Restaurants are public spaces, and families with young children should be treated with dignity and respect. We completely understand that management has a responsibility to maintain a comfortable environment for all guests. However, that responsibility should be handled fairly and consistently. If one family is repeatedly approached because of normal toddler noise while another family experiencing the same situation is left alone, it understandably raises concerns about unequal treatment. Good food does not make up for making paying customers feel embarrassed, singled out, or unwelcome. I sincerely hope management reflects on how this situation was handled and ensures that all customers--regardless of their race, ethnicity, the language they speak, or whether they are dining with a young child--are treated with the same level of dignity, patience, and respect. read more

I've been here a couple times recently and it's been consistently a great experience. The pesto served with the burrata is mind blowing; one of the most flavorful things I've ever had. The kale salad is outstanding. The veggie burger is massive and delicious. On one occasion I had a pasta (I think it was cacio e pepe), and it wasn't anything special. My friend had the duck bao and loved it. For dessert we had the layered carrot cake and the chocolate cremeux...to die for. I love the comfy interior, soft lighting, modern design. And I've been very happy with the service - on our first visit during summer we had an outdoor reservation, shortly after sitting down it became too buggy and they happily found us a spot inside, we really appreciated that. Just don't be late as they have a 5 minute grace period and you'll be charged per person for a missed reservation. read more

Elm - New American Near Me - New Canaan, Connecticut

What a nice restaurant. They have a bar area with some dining booths and bar seating as well. We dined in their dining room. For starters we had the bread which was served with a maple syrup butter, it was definitely good. For my meal I had the double city pork chop served over Swiss chard. It was cooked perfectly and tasted very good. In addition I also ordered a side of mixed vegetables which was amazing. My girlfriend had the chicken pate, which she really enjoyed. The service was really excellent. The restaurant had a very sleek modern look to it, we really enjoyed it. read more

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The renovated space is lovely. A group of us went to lunch and enjoyed the food. Most had appetizers as their mains and it was plenty of food for lunch. Service was good but not intrusive. read more

Elm - Tuna Tartare - New American Near Me - New Canaan, Connecticut

This is a spot. Perhaps New Caanan answer to Hillstone? And I mean that in a good way. Hosts were very friendly and accommodating for a walk in. Though wait staff a bit stiff, everything came out in good order and speed. Cesar was just how I like it, creamy, cold, and crunchy. Rigatoni vodka was not rigatoni but was delish. Seabass was excellent. I'm not a big saffron person and menu didn't say saffron but it's in there and was still a delight. Can't pass up any burger that advertises "Animal style". It was good but In and Out remains on top. And don't put sweet pickles on a burger like ever but aside from that, delish. Lastly will mention the onion rings - these are legend status rings. Battered, perfectly tender and colossal. Have you ever taken a knife and fork to onion rings??? A+ rings I mean who perfects the onion ring? Elm does. Pricey but one of the few places in CT I can say that it's worth it. Think of this place as an elegant yet approachable hotel bar. read more

We came to Elm for a weekday lunch while in New Canaan. Although on the pricier side, the food was fresh and high-quality with very generous portions. We got the double-double burger and fries ($29) and Lobster Cobb salad ($42, MP). I was impressed by basically an entire lobster's worth of meat in the salad, in addition to delicious avocado, thick cut bacon, fresh cherry tomatoes and a soft boiled egg. One complaint with the burger was that it was so thick with the double patties that I couldn't eat it without deconstructing it. The service was fairly minimal but still prompt and accommodating. Ambiance was nice with the natural light and modern decor. It made for a nicer lunch spot with very satisfying food. read more

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Elm definitely seems to be one of the go-to spots in New Canaan! It was super busy there even for a Wednesday night when we went. They have a great cocktail selection, and all of the food we had was fresh and tasty. Some of our favorites were the bacon wrapped dates and the veal. All of the menu choices were great for the summer. Because the restaurant is on the smaller side inside, it did get noisy pretty fast, but it seemed like a community-oriented spot where the locals knew each other well. read more

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In Connecticut's Gold Coast lies New Canaan, a Northern terminus of the Metronorth Train where popular architects built their dream houses in post War America. Although not much of these famed art houses lie standing, a few still remains. Among them is the PJ Glasshouse. Because of the affluence, there are many elevated chef-owned restaurants in New Canaan. Here's one of them, Elm. In pictures are Elm's open kitchen, dry rubbed ribs, medium rare steak with bone marrow, grilled artichoke, blistered shishito peppers, pistachio ice cream with dark chocolate ganache and home made raspberry sorbet. #curious_eater #newcanaan #connecticutgoldcoast @elmrestaurant read more

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Appears to be the "in" place to go in New Canaan, because so many people knew each other, those entering would stop at various tables to chat about their kids' baseball game or the house party they all attended over the weekend. This is all typical of Small, affluent communities with professional people. As for Elm itself, it's a decent place with good American and French cuisine appealing to a broad audience. Nice wine list. Menu sample: steak frites, mussels, kale salad, lobster roll, burgers, salmon, pork hash, etc. something for everyone. I'd categorise Elm as a solid, can't- go-wrong-with standby Restaurant. Worth going if you're in the area. read more

The birthday celebration continues, my husband picked this spot and I'm glad he did--we had a wonderful time (still) celebrating his birthday here! I was delirious from how hungry I was so I immediately ordered the elm street martini: grey goose vodka, lillet blanc, and goat cheese stuffed olives. My goodness, those big fat olives were god-sent, they were INCREDIBLE and the martini was so pleasant and went down nice and smooooooth. To start we had the field mushroom flatbread, tikka masala chicken liver mousse with port wine gelee, and a couple of pullapart rolls. My favorite was the chicken liver mousse, truly FANTASTIC...I was digging for the last bits of mousse with a small spoon after all the bread was gone. Next were entrees: I ordered the lumache pasta on the server's recommendation, she asked if I like spicy and I absolutely do. Carbs and spice, mmm! The other entrees: the black bass Thai curry style, and steak frites (I got to eat the bone marrow, it was thick and buttery). We also ordered onion rings for the table, top 10 onion rings I've ever had, and for dessert we shared a delicious little baby chocolate cake with vanilla gelato ontop. Since it was a Saturday evening it was pretty loud inside, when we left our ears were ringing but it's expected. Servers were nice and kept our water glasses full. If I ever came back I'd try the brunch menu and I'd definitely want the chicken liver mousse again. read more

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They changed a few of my favorite items on the menu. Unfortunately in my opinion they are not good any more. Very disappointing. Probably won't be back. read more

hard to understand the popularity of this restaurant. Many dishes ordered were swimming in oil. Bread is charged. Veal Milanese comes without salad or vegetables. Marrow course, naturally fatty, served drenched in oil. Not the excellent restaurant when Brian Lewis was chef. read more

Just moved to Connecticut from Miami and have been ISO the right place for a nice steak for our first here. Elm did not disappoint! My wife and I had the filet w frites and damn! Awesome! It serves w two sauces which were both great and bone marrow which isn't our thing, but, probably good. Our wonderful friends had the ribs; tender, extremely flavorful and the half chicken, which was a hit. As appetizers we had the bacon wrapped dates, which you should try and the tuna tartare, delicious! We skipped desert, but won't next time! The service was pleasant and accommodating. As to ambiance, the outdoor seats looked great. We sat inside, which was pretty loud, but, still good. I don't think the inside pics on line present this place as nice as it is IRL. We will be back, for sure! read more

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I absolutely loved this new find and will be returning! I came to Elm for brunch and everything tasted amazing! From the coffee and grapefruit juice to the chicken bowl. I had low expectations of the chicken bowl but it blew it out of the park! Every bite was so delectable without the guilt! I also tried the wagyu burger which was also a fantastic option if you're hungry and in the mood for a burger. We got onion rings to substitute for the fries, and they were even better than the ones I had at Tao. However, I did think the price for substituting was a bit unreasonable and if I had known I would've just stuck with the fries. Nevertheless, it was an excellent brunch and I would come to Elm again in a heartbeat! read more

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Been here multiple occasions: date lunch/night, brunch with girlfriends, double dates. Love the consistency and always a great vibe. Service can be improved with the maître d', it always gives a bit too much NYC hard to get in attitude which is very unnecessary. read more

In the spring the restaurant closed for renovations. They redid the bar and now that its open, its very nice. They changed the menu a bit. They added 'bone marrow' to the menu- something I will try at some point! They also have duck, salads, beef, but all very stylish renditions of plates. This is a very nice, elegant restaurant. I don't understand the popularity of bringing small children here, it's not that type of establishment. read more

Came here for the first time and we were not disappointed. A delicious meal and excellent service. We started with oysters, a kale salad and the cheddar pull apart rolls with the maple butter. The oysters were flavored with green apple mignonette and aji amarillo. The salad was one of the most flavorful kale salads I've had. Then for mains, i ordered an Atlantic steelhead which was a good sized portion while my wife had the pork buns (see pics of everything). We came on a Sunday night which main for a relaxing atmosphere. We will definitely be back. It was an excellent meal. read more

Elm - Apps: oysters, kale salad and cheddar pull apart rolls - New American Near Me - New Canaan, Connecticut

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Tonight was my first time at Elm and it did not disappoint. I had the most delicious veal scallopini I have ever had. I paired it with a twice baked potato and a white sangria. The meal was just perfect. My son had the salmon and he said it was also delicious. Portions were a nice size enough that I brought one whole piece of veal home. I can't wait to go back. read more

Elm in New Canaan was absolutely buzzing at our 8:30 reservation on Saturday night. In fact, buzzing so loudly that we could hardly hear each other, and it was clear that the wait staff was hampered by the volume of covers. That being said, the food was delicious. For appetizers, we ordered the Iberico Ham ($29), the Spicy Tuna Tartare ($25) and Burrata ($26). The Iberico ham, drizzled with arberquina olive oil was a real treat, with a taste slightly milder than prosciutto, but without the gaminess that normally accompanies prosciutto fat. It was delectable, with the only drawback being the cut of the slices, which was just BARELY verging on the thick side. The Burrata sat in a pine-nut pesto, which needed some salt, but the cheese itself was perfectly creamy and perfect to spread on the crisp toasted bread it was served with. Our best appetizer was the tartare, which was served on top of a sesame-flavored sauce, with just the right amount of kick. The flavors were salty, sweet, smokey, and exotic all at once. For entrees, we had the Smoked Half Chicken ($36), the Skirt Steak Frites (10 oz for $48), the Veal Piccata ($42), and one of the nightly specials, a Burger with Truffle Bordelaise ($34). The smoked chicken was so tender, it felt like cutting into some Japanese A5 Wagyu, and it tasted delicious, with the perfect amount of smokey tang. The skirt steak was nearly fork tender, a perfect medium rare, served with some rich bone marrow and perfectly salted fries. The only drawback was the roasted garlic it was served with, which was slightly undercooked and not spreadable onto the steak. My wife's burger was nearly flawless as well, and our veal was tender, if not slightly oversalted, but near perfect. For dessert, we got Creme Brulee ($15) which was a perfect rendition. It was at this time that our waitress disappeared and we waited quite a long time for our check, even though the craze of the night was winding down. Overall, Elm is A-level food, with B-level service during busy evenings, (and C-level atmosphere, only due to the noise). But boy, that food would bring me back in a heartbeat. read more

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Party of 4. We sat outside which was a plus so we didn't get the noise of the inside Starters were mixed. Tuna tartare excellent, steak tartare best avoided The mains were 'ok'. I didn't like my hanger steak and made the mistake of ordering truffle fries for the table which are best avoided also - Bonita mushy. Had some huge onion rings as a side which you'd struggle to eat :-)) Wine choices excellent Desert excellent We've been a few times - it's a go-to for new Canaan just like 10-20 is for Darien. Neither are great but you kind of know it will be ok overall just depends on the dishes you choose. (Our go-to used to be sole but that deteriorated post covid and we haven't and won't go back again) read more

Odd combos, like chorizo stuffed dates. Service and presentation are on point. Menu is all over the place. Drinks are great. Wait staff is wonderful, very kind woman running things. She offered to replace anything I didn't like and brought complimentary gelato. read more

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Went for lunch. These people have evidently "jumped the shark". The menu was 90 percent salads with only some steaks, a hamburger and a lobster roll. You couldn't even get a grilled piece of fish. Not even french fries. Two pieces of bread for the table was 5 dollars. A glass of white wine was 24 dollars. Try any number of other restaurants along the street you'll get better for less. read more

We live elm :) everyone is so friendly and amazing love the food and drinks ! Beautiful bar and fun atmosphere read more

Service was great. Food was delicious. Curry sea bass with rice sausage and clams was amazing. This place is pretty solid. Just don't order dirty martinis. We all ordered one but they couldn't seem to get it right. Using the wrong vermouth. Sent it back then it was still off. read more

We have been going to Elm for several years, and it has never disappointed us. Every dish has delighted us, and several have become particular favorites. One my wife always recommends to clients and visiting friends is the lobster Cobb salad, and they usually ask for it again on return visits. Elm has a friendly, but discreet wait staff; they don't hover, and it's easy to attract their attention when needed. The restaurant is accommodating to toddlers and children read more

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Great afternoon tea! And a delicious and interesting assortment of tea sandwiches (including a mini lobster roll). read more

Elm - Afternoon tea - New American Near Me - New Canaan, Connecticut

The most delicious branzino I've ever had. Served with a delicious fennel salad. Great cocktails, steak, oysters -- everything really. Service is really attentive. I love this place! read more

Prices at Elm are JUST OBSCENE NOW. For context, I have been an extremely loyal Elm customer since day 1, literally since the first month that it opened. I choose my restaurants carefully and Elm has always been my favorite in New Canaan and basically all of CT, the quality of food outstanding, no other restaurant in town is close and that's NOT a knock on the others as much as it's praise for Elm. To be clear, Elm has never been cheap but I always felt the higher prices were were worth it and justified. But now, post-renovation, which is lovely by the way, I recently stopped in for a drink. A single drink was $18, after tip, $22. That's crazy, that's offensive. From a glance at the food menu, the food prices have increased obscenely too: many appies are now well into the mid $20s, many mains well into the $50s, even $60s. The burger is $30. To Luke and the owners - and this is coming from a longstanding extremely loyal friend - you are being WAY TOO GREEDY NOW. Take the prices BACK DOWN. Yes, there's money in town but you are going to start losing people. You are going to lose me and I love you. read more

Service was excellent. Appetizers were fantastic. Entrees more on the average side. Would give it another try.

I had a good experience here with the food, but it took quite a while to arrive. I had the Pork Hash and a salad. Can't remember much of the salad but the pork hash was very good, it is quite salty though. read more

Elm - Crispy Pork Hash - New American Near Me - New Canaan, Connecticut

I love it here. Stumbled upon this restaurant two years ago when passing through and could not wait to return. We live in Queens so it's a little bit of a treck to get there but this is my new birthday dinner restaurant. Service, well done team. Ambiance, great work. Food, beautiful. Everything is on point from the cheddar biscuits (w maple and butter) to the whipped white fish or chicken liver mouse. Tuna tartare is familiar and quite fresh. Pastas are great!! Dessert is a home run. I can't wait until I age another year and get to go back for my next birthday!! Thank you Elm!! read more

We recently moved to the area, and haven't gone out to restaurants since the pandemic started. We thought Elm would be a nice place to try, so we booked dinner reservations here for our anniversary. The restaurant is in a great location in downtown New Canaan, and has a very nice outdoor dining area. The staff was friendly, and welcoming. A nice surprise was the complimentary glasses of Prosecco to start us off for our anniversary. That was very nice! The service was excellent. The atmosphere was wonderful. The food ...well ...not so much. We ordered a $50 bottle of Pinot Grigio, which was one of the more reasonably priced bottles on the wine list. For sharing we ordered burrata nasturtium + pinenut pesto ($24.00). The bread was dry and bland. The burrata (cheese) was swimming in a bright green liquid, served in what looked like a large cereal bowl. The pesto would have been easier to drink than spread. Both the cheese and pesto had no flavor. None. That was odd. We also ordered vidalia onion rings with curry ketchup. The onion rings were possibly the best thing we ordered here. When the server bought them out I didn't think those were our onion rings because they looked like a plate of donuts. They were huge, and they actually had flavor. My husband ordered the skirt steak, medium. The steak was done perfectly medium. It looked good, but it was just "okay." My salmon was unfortunately quite raw so I didn't even want to taste it. Salmon arrived in a greenish soup mixture, which I believe are the morels + spring vegetable fregola. I sent the salmon back to cook a little longer, and what came out a mere 30 seconds later looked exactly the same as before. Still raw. Still not going to eat that. I had to send it back and ask that the salmon be removed from our bill. I have never had to do that before, especially not at a restaurant that charges $39 for salmon. I wound up ordering a side of fries in place of my meal. The most appetizing things were the onion rings and the fries; both are deep fried. You don't need to be a culinary genius to prepare deep fried food, or charge top dollar for deep fried food. I gave Elm 3 out of 5 stars because overall we still had a lovely evening, and the servers and staff were great. I loved the atmosphere of the outdoor dining area. I would recommend Elm if you want to sit outside on a warm summer evening and have drinks and appetizers. The prices suggest that they have a chef on staff, but the flavors sure don't. This is a restaurant charging higher than average prices for amateurishly prepared meals. So in short--the food wasn't very good. That is a problem if you are a restaurant. That's a bigger problem if you are an expensive restaurant. Everything else about the place is spot on. Just don't come here if you're hungry. I hope that they will hire a properly trained chef, who knows what good food is supposed to taste like because I want to come back. read more

Elm - King Salmon morels + spring vegetable fregola. Salmon was undercooked. Sent it back. Came back still raw. - New American Near Me - New Canaan, Connecticut

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Honestly, I'm pretty furious. I'll share the most egregious issue before moving on to the more minor issues considering what happened. I'm 8 months pregnant, and specifically told the server that my burger absolutely needs to be well done. After waiting an hour for my food, I took a bite of my burger and it was basically raw. The patties were red. Not medium well, not medium, not medium rare, but I would say rare to raw. Today (a couple days after I went to the restaurant), I hear about the salmonella outbreak linked to ground beef in CT, and I am now sitting here worried about possibly contracting that and endangering my baby. It is so entirely irresponsible for a restaurant to disregard what I explicitly and clearly asked for (especially for health and safety purposes), I'm genuinely shocked. Plus, the server was truly such a miserable person who never apologized and seemed more annoyed than anything when I sent my food back. Honestly, who does that? Not even a "so sorry about that, let us correct this." Just stony, irritated silence from him. As to the more minor issues, their fryer wasn't working but they didn't tell us that until after we tried to order. The server was just not gracious and acted constantly like we were inconveniencing him. The food took forever to come out, despite us ordering only 3 dishes. So just one word: avoid. I know I will in the future. Here's the link to the salmonella outbreak: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/salmonella-outbreak-linked-ground-beef/story?id=101651296 read more

The food was good but we had to yell to hear each other. Worse, the manager kicked us out before we could finish desert and coffee. I've been to this place many times and used to like this restaurant. No more. Find some place else to dine if you want a pleasant experience. read more

Food was very good. Wine list adventure. Service very friendly. Pricey and noisy. We had a good time for a family special occasion

Our meal was shockingly bad while also being wildly overpriced. Sadly, it was the worst meal we've had in several years, at any price range. The guacamole appetizer was a small bowl of avocado mash that seemed to contain no spices whatsoever. It was $20. The honey-glazed baby back ribs were the worst I've ever had. There was virtually no meat on them. They were completely dried out. The black bass was cooked properly and was tender but had barely any flavor. The whole branzino was the only thing worth eating. It was very good. Service was fair at best. Our server never even asked how our food was. Had he done so, we would have told him the ribs were awful. read more

So we originally went a week and a half ago and we had a great lunch. So we went back this past Sunday and ordered the exact same items. My wife had a summer salad with salmon. We came early on Sunday and her salad. You could tell was day old salad as it was mushy and not very fresh tasting. The restaurant should be ashamed of themselves. Before we left someone else ordered the same salad at the next table and boy did it look different like the one my wife had originally. Thought we had found a great new restaurant. For what they charge we will not go back consistency is important. read more

The food, staff and ambiance was absolutely amazing! We had the Jamon Iberico (olive oil was incredible), cheddar rolls (warm and delicious) and grilled artichoke to start. All were fantastic! For entrees, we got pumpkin spaghetti, truffle linguini, and the dry aged burger. The pasta's were super fresh and delicious. The burger was probably the best we have had outside of NYC. They also have a great wine and cocktail menu. PS - Don't forget to get the cookies to-go! read more

I've wanted to try the Elm for years but it's always been so crowded. We were walking by one night and saw a table outside, and made a game time decision to visit It was a great decision. Waitstaff was very attentive. They quickly moved a couple of propane heaters near us and we were quite comfortable. We had the burger, which was one of the best burgers ever. It's prepared animal style with a nice mustardy accent. Very juicy and a nice mix of flavors. Second entree was the pork bao, which was a bit small, but the mix of rice wrap, pork and cabbage created a really nice mix of flavors. For sides we had the mushrooms w shallots, and I think that may have been our favorite part of the dinner. Not too oily and just crunchy enough. Only complaint was the onion rings. They carried a bit too much oil in the batter. I feel like they would have been better Pan fried versus deep fried. By the end we were pulling the vidalias out from the batter and eating them without the coating. All in all a minor complaint. Big fans and we will return! read more