Fantastic local spot that we regularly bring our friends to for a great experience with delicious,…read morethoughtful dishes, great service, and a dedicated chef owner Scott and staff. The prices are very reasonable for the quality and time that goes into the menu and presentation. Our favorite place on the CT shoreline.

Hands down the new best restaurant on the shoreline. Creative menu that updates seasonally,…read moreabsolutely delicious food, cosy ambiance with great music taste that's not played too loud, and very attentive friendly service. I've been several times since they opened and almost always get the salmon. What I love is that it's not always the same dish, it changes but always heavenly. The last time it had pumpernickel breadcrumbs yum! I had the faux foi gras(yay no tortured ducks) and it was not only beautiful but delicious. Then I recently tried the tofu appetizer which was equally delightful.. hope it stays on the menu a while, I love tofu done well. I've also had glazed carrots with hummus, trout, and brussel sprouts.. all top notch. Great wine selection and well made mixed drinks. Definitely my new favorite spot. You'll need a reservation for a table most days and get there early for bar seating.

A little hidden gem in Essex but worth the drive. Staff is very welcoming and the wine list is…read moredelightful. Started with the Tuna Nachos which were to die for and for the entree I tried the Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich with an order of truffle fries. Everything is amazing and I can't wait to come back again. Unfortunatelyx it's a rainy day but I can absolutely envision a glass of wine on the deck. This place should be on any foodies list.

Fabulous Food, Service, Happy Hour and view of the Marina…read moreLove everything about this restaurant. The menu varies by season! But the staples are the lobster roll and smash burger and fish and chips which are all great! Try the Bong Water Drink with Mezcal or the Campfire bourbon smash! The restaurant is open year round, it is located in the Dauntless shipyard and Marina. Make a reservation in the summer for the deck that looks over the Dauntless and Essex Island Marinas. You'll feel like you are on vacation! The staff and owners and kitchen staff really care! If you have an allergy or other dining request they are great at guiding you!! Their shrimp and grits is Gluten Free! Great place to go when you're going on the Essex Steam Train for Polar express or Thomas the train or leaf peeping or just browsing the shops in Essex! Great for couples, families or groups of friends. Deck is dog friendly!

Best food, service and ambiance - whether casual of special occasion, Liv's is fantastic. Chef…read moreMike, Brian, and all of the staff are experts at what they do. The Servers are especially attentive and so kind and considerate - they make dining out a great experience.

This has become our go-to place before shows at The Kate. It's a lovely restaurant, good for casual…read moreto fairly dressy--can't miss it for the columns out front. Seated at the bar you get great service by knowledgeable staff (probably at the tables as well, but we've only sat at the bar). All the food we've had there is delicious. Especially wonderful is the shrimp and calamari with lemon (all deep fried--the lemon is surprising). Desserts are great.

We made our first visit here several days ago, dropping in for a midday lunch on a pretty crowded…read moreSunday. With some good and some not-so good, we concluded that we aren't likely to return -- in spite of the really yummy tartar sauce (more on that in a moment). Penny Lane is a bit of an English Pub-style restaurant on two levels. We ate upstairs since the lower level was filled (steps, no elevator that we saw). Service was slow to nonexistent. It took us ten minutes to get recognized by a server who asked if we wanted something to drink and took another five minutes to get it. After we ordered we waited 25 minutes to get our food. We got no drink refills. Maybe service is better in the first floor? Ah, the food. Fish and Chips is essentially pub food, so that's what we got. The crust was light and buttery, quite good. The fish was utterly without any sort of flavor, as bland as could be imagined in your worst imagining. The tartar sauce was super good, but it just couldn't disguise the fact that the fish was tasteless. We also tried the poached egg and corned beef hash, which was ok though the hash was kind ... well, and of a hash, unremarkable at best. Conclusion: There was little that was appealing in our experience. Oh yeah, another ten minutes to get our bill... a long afternoon.

Good pub. Decent food. Great service. Judging by some other reviews, I think we hit it just right…read moreand they weren't too busy for lunch on a Saturday. The bar seating was full, but we got right in upstairs at a cozy larger dining room. Service was excellent, professional, and did a great job. The menu was attractive. Lots of different drinks, classic pub food, your typical burgers, and fish and chips kinda stuff. But also a lot of other goodies too. I had the BBQ pulled pork sandwich with fries. It tasted good, the brioche roll was very fresh. I could have been seasoned more. I wasn't wow'd by it, but it was good. Fries were average, but tasted ok. I think the pricing was reasonable. I would definitely give Penny Lane Pub another try. I'm guessing though in the summer this place is tough to get into, just the vibe I got.

Came here to have a couple drinks with a friend and The bartender was super kind and helpful…read more Parking was easy. Full menu but I didn't try the food. The prices are very fair and the vibe is a bit diver. I'll visit again.

Started out with lemonade water...( more water than lemon). Rootbeer was flat..Buffalo wings were…read moreundercooked..sent back so they added more hot sauce to make them unpalatable. Chicken burger equivalent to McDs. And fries were burnt. Not much to say about the chef. Consequently would not go back or recommend for food...just a bar. Oh and left off the cheese on a cheeseburger!

This was my first time here and I was delighted to speak with Derick, the owner about the business…read more He was proud to share that their five year anniversary is coming up this fall. The space is nicely decorated and has a comfortable vibe. There is a bar and tables. Looks like a great spot for a romantic sip. We indulged with a flight of wine which you can have one, two or three selections and a charcuterie board to go along with the wine. All the selections (food and wine) are flexible so everyone should be happy! Definitely looking forward to a return trip.

Intimate surroundings for a largely female clientele. Charcuterie selections are excellent. Many…read morevaried wine choices although a bit expensive for the size of pour. Good for an occasional treat but pricy overall.

Our first time at the Essex location of Sayulita, we were not disappointed! Just as good as the…read moreoriginal, with basically the same menu. We did have a special buffalo chicken taco, which was fabulous!! It was our first time at Sayulita since giving up alcohol, and I was definitely missing their margaritas. I had a grapefruit Mexican soda, but next time I'll ask if they can make me a yummy mocktail. The restaurant is about double the size of the Glastonbury location, so check it out if you want the best tacos without the long wait!!

"GUACAMOLE CLASSICO & SALSA avocado, cilantro, lime, tomato, garlic, onion, pepitas, cotija, fried…read moreplantains 13 ADD SAYULITA QUESO 5" Where does this say it's all tortilla chips and a macro sliver of a plantain as a garnish? They even mention a freakin lime, but can't let us know exactly what we will be using to dip into everything? I've never been to a Mexican restaurant where tortillas didn't land on the table gratuitously. Place is too loud even on a Sunday afternoon. Must say they serve yummy queso. Nothing on the food menu is authentic, and it's way overpriced. Sorry to say this location won't be open much longer and the building is essentially cursed as an eatery.

Great service, a special atmosphere for special occasions. The food is always excellent in an…read moreelegant setting.

Delicious food, menu has a great selection of choices, all served beautifully. Service could not…read morebe better. Cozy, very accommodating, exquisite decorated.

Dinner at Aspen on Friday. Brought friends who had not been. The experience was very good. This…read morerestaurant delivers high quality food and service. Two of us had the Stonington scallops and two of us had the mahi mahi special. We split two deserts- the chocolate mouse and the pistachio ricotta pie. Everything was done well and the service was the perfect pace.

I was sooo excited to have lunch at Aspen today. It's been on my to do list for so long. We were…read moreseated promptly on arrival. They seemed understaffed and it was at least 10 minutes before anyone came over. Our server never introduced herself. (Later looking at the receipt, her name was Cate) She simply walked up with no greeting and just said "what are we drinking?" My wine pour was significantly less than my husband's, which was not a good start especially after having waited. We ordered small plates to start and I wish we stopped there. The seared tuna was great and had both an aioli and a spicy soy based sauce. My husband had the Kobe beef pot stickers and they were tasty, with a nice warm veggie medley in the middle of the plate. The pot stickers could have used a bit more sauce though. When it came time to order entrees, I was fully set on the lobster panini. The server advised me not to order that, and raved about the carbonara, so I ordered that instead. Big mistake. Huge! I wish she just let me order my panini. The carbonara was full of dark meat chicken (gross!!) that tasted gamey, and the sauce was broken. It clearly had too much butter and was not an authentic carbonara. I told our server multiple times that I did not like it. I had separated all the chicken in a pile and ate maybe 1/3 of the pasta. She strangely kept offering to make me the short rib pappardelle instead, which I declined, as I had no interest in that dish. I found it so odd that she picked out a specific dish to offer as a substitute. At least if she offered the lobster panini, it would have made sense since that's what I originally wanted to order, if not for her meddling in my order. My husband ordered a burger cooked medium. It was fully well done. The fries were limp and not crispy. Not a good showing. He wrapped his up to take home, but I did not. Clearly not eating 3/4 of the meal and also not taking it home was a sign of my discontent. I wish I took photo of my plate as I left it. I was pretty offended when she did not remove it from the bill. It's fine, we paid it, but that will be the first and last time we dine at Aspen. We paid our bill as charged, took the cost of my meal out of her tip, and called it a day. This is something I do not often do, but I felt warranted on this occasion, due to the poor food quality and her absolute indifference. We will not be back. Two stars only for the yummy small plates and the very very sweet hostess!!

Best ramen on the shoreline as always! Everything I stated in the previous review still applies,…read moreadding a photo

Fusion restaurant with mostly Japanese items with Thai and Chinese influences…read more We got the following ** chicken karaage- 5/5- moist and yet well cooked and flavorful chicken. The chicken seems to have been marinated in baking soda to ensure it's that soft. We loved this dish. **curry noodle soup- 4/5- we got two versions of this. One with the original thick udon noodle and the other with thin rice noodles. The udon noodle version reigned supreme. The curry in this case was similar to the Thai coconut curry style. **chicken ramen-3.5/5- it lacked a depth of flavor in the broth though on the surface it had all the makings of a good bowl of ramen. **veggie gyoza-4.5/5- the filling was flavorful. Doused in their sauce, it was delicious. **thai fried rice with chicken- 4.5/5- rice was moist and umami rich. Chicken was soft. Though it was not pineapple fried rice, they had pieces of pineapple as well. Though I am not a fan of fruit in my fried rice, it was surprisingly delectable. We read later that the place is actually run by a Chinese family. They make Japanese food as their kids love the cuisine. They also have a lot of boba based drinks. We got a couple of varieties, family loved them, for me they were too sweet.