Beyond Apizza: 11 Must-Try New Haven Restaurants
You’ve fallen in love with New Haven’s famous “apizza”; now find out what else makes the Elm City’s dining scene great.
A spread of dishes at Sherkaan in New Haven. / Photo by Monique Chaisavan Sourinho
New Haven, Connecticut, is probably best known—at least in a culinary sense—for its famous pizza style (referred to as “apizza” by locals). But the city has plenty more to offer in the food department, from Indian hot chicken to a taqueria nixtamalizing its own corn to a New American restaurant that spawned a whole-animal butcher shop.
Just 150 miles southwest of Boston, it’s an easy enough train, bus, or car ride to make a food-filled day trip out of, say, a Yale University visit, or stay longer and really dig deeply into the dining scene. Here’s where to start when you’ve gorged on apizza and you’re ready to branch out in the Elm City.
A spread of dishes at Gioia in New Haven. / Photo by Monique Chaisavan Sourinho
Gioia Cafe & Bar
Whatever else you do at Gioia, make sure to order every pasta dish. It’s a bold move worthy of this audacious new addition to Little Italy, serving chef co-owner Avi Szapiro’s well-sourced wood-fired fare right across from Frank Pepe Pizzeria on Wooster Street. Thankfully, the handmade pastas come in two sizes, so you could stick to smaller versions and reasonably enjoy all five at once, including brown butter and sage agnolotti filled with ember-roasted squash that seems too ethereal to behave in dumpling form. Save room for appetizers like broccolini with golden raisins, grandma-style pies called Wooster Squares, pistachio gelato you won’t forget, and superb drinks due to the influence of co-owner Tim Cabral, whose downtown cocktail bar, Ordinary, is another New Haven highlight. Gioia really is the total package: The gorgeous place also has a chic market for imported and house-made goods, a takeout gelato window, and, when the season permits, one of New Haven’s few rooftop patios.
150 Wooster St., New Haven, Connecticut, 475-250-3451, gioianewhaven.com.
Hachiroku Handroll Bar & Tapas
It’s hard to believe Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake Bar and its slightly newer sibling, Hachiroku Handroll Bar, have only been open since 2022, as they already feel indispensable. (A third business, all-day Japanese restaurant and market The Loop By Hachiroku, just opened this year to further demonstrate the group’s prowess.) Co-owner Yuta Kamori has nailed a hip, elegant simplicity and thoughtful sake list at both restaurants, offering a slightly wider spread of Japanese tapas with a bit of sushi at the original spot downtown and swapping the focus at this more intimate East Rock location with fewer than 20 counter seats. The selection changes frequently, so look for small bites like chawanmushi with snow crab and ikura, steamed monkfish liver with house-made ponzu, and bluefin tuna smoked and dried like prosciutto, as well as sushi full of uni from Maine or Japan, scallops, and salmon, sometimes cured with soy or miso and unbeatable either way. And keep in mind that Guilford bakery Hen & Heifer handles the desserts, like a black sesame Basque cheesecake, with aplomb.
966 State St., New Haven, Connecticut, instagram.com/hachirokustate966.
Hot Murga
Nashville hot chicken is everywhere these days—New Haven has an excellent version in the quickly expanding Haven Hot Chicken—but Indian hot chicken? Uncommon. That could change if Hot Murga has its way, though. The small, fast-casual shop from Romy Singh (whose family also owns first-rate local Indian restaurants House of Naan and Sitar) features halal fried chicken with Indian spices and variable heat levels from mild to super hot, including a signature sandwich on a squishy potato bun topped with pickled onions, pickles, coleslaw, and a vegan mayonnaise-based Murga sauce. In keeping with the clever theme, cardamom infuses a cheesecake ice cream as well as maple syrup on the chicken and waffles, while masala sauce enlivens another sandwich, the robust fries, and even the loaded mac and cheese.
140 Howe St., New Haven, Connecticut, 475-321-2153, hotmurga.com.
Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant
Scoop up a handful of fiery lentils and greens with injera at Lalibela, a downtown fixture since 1999. Owner and chef Shilmat Tessema, who hails from Addis Ababa, makes the tangy, spongy flatbread along with virtually everything else on the menu, from yemisir sambusa, stuffed with green lentils and berbere spice, and senge karya, which involves long hot peppers filled with mixed sauteed veggies, to the rare beef and tangy cheese of the kitfo and other tender meats. Thankfully, the relaxed, understated restaurant offers combo platters so you can mix and match, say, many highlights from the vegetarian section, like the ever-popular carrots and green beans of fosolia and collard greens of gomen. You can sip some Ethiopian beers and wines, too, including the honey wine that pairs so well with these layered flavors.
176 Temple St., New Haven, Connecticut, 203-789-1232, lalibelact.com.
Louis’ Lunch
There’s plenty to love about Louis’ Lunch, even if the iconic restaurant’s assertion that founder Louis Lassen invented the “hamburger sandwich” is a little shaky. The wee red building, still helmed by the Lassen family, is steeped in history; the unorthodox outward-facing booths are riddled with carvings; the dining experience is unique as you partake in a ritual dating back over 100 years. Step up to the counter and forget about decision fatigue: Ketchup and burger buns are verboten, so you can have white toast with cheese spread, grilled onion, and tomato, simple toppings for a satisfying, freshly ground patty grilled vertically in a fascinating cast-iron contraption. Whether you’re here for lunch or a late-night snack, finish with a slice of pie and a birch beer from the local Foxon Park.
261 Crown St., New Haven, Connecticut, 203-562-5507, louislunch.com.
September in Bangkok. / Courtesy photo
September in Bangkok
Perfectly executed pad thai and tom yum are just the beginning at September in Bangkok, which offers a warm, wood-accented interior and a lovely patio at the edge of downtown. Chef Win Seetamyae takes the menu from larb and fermented tea leaf salad through green curry with scallops; steak and mushroom with Bangkok curry; lychee duck; and the option to sub smoked tofu for vegetarian dishes like spicy Chinese broccoli with Chiang Mai chili paste. Cocktails match the theme, with hits of tropical flavor from mangosteen and tamarind as well as a Thai iced tea spiked with Japanese whisky and hazelnutty Frangelico.
754 State St., New Haven, Connecticut, 475-234-5239, septemberinbangkok.com.
A spread of dishes at Sherkaan in New Haven. / Photo by Monique Chaisavan Sourinho
Sherkaan
Sherkaan houses excellent street food in a dramatic space full of bright colors and bold murals. If the weather’s right, you can also enjoy your spiced okra fries, Indo-Chinese hakka noodles, and dum biryani—a cast-iron pot pie filled with rice, roasted chicken, and other treats capped with hot naan dough—on one of the city’s most pleasant patios, set within a placid, car-free corner of the Yale campus off Broadway, in the shadow of Eero Saarinen’s striking midcentury architecture. Seasonal lassis, boozy or nonalcoholic chai, and moreish cocktails augmented with the likes of pineapple curry shrub and jaggery help solidify Ankit Harpaldas’ restaurant as one of the most exciting examples of New Haven’s flair for Indian cuisine.
65 Broadway, New Haven, Connecticut, 203-405-5808, sherkaan.com.
Sunday Dinner Everyday
Large portions reign at Sunday Dinner Everyday, Dorma Bryan’s family-run ode to the home-cooked feasts that typically take place just one day a week. But in case you also face a compulsion to order the oxtail dinner when you see it, you should know that this low-key Jamaican restaurant just east of downtown will ladle oxtail gravy on other dishes, so you could still get a taste of the savory slow-cooked goodness on, say, a pile of rice and peas alongside curry chicken. This is mostly a takeout operation, but there are a few tables if you decide to stay; either way, don’t miss the savory baked mac and cheese and generous beef patties.
940 Grand Ave., New Haven, Connecticut, 475-301-9484.
Tacos Los Gordos
This tiny downtown taqueria makes its own bread for tortas and nixtamalizes corn from Oaxaca, where owner Edgar Marcial was born, for the tortillas. The top-notch tacos, tortas, burritos, and cheesy mulitas come stuffed with the likes of fried cod, lengua, nopales, carnitas, eggs for a late breakfast, and rotating specials, all lovely with whatever agua fresca or horchata is available. Pending liquor license approval, Marcial is also planning to transform the casual counter-service spot into a more intimate, plated affair requiring reservations on certain days (Saturdays to start). He’ll serve alcohol and introduce a wider range of Mexican dishes—some new, some classics with a modern sensibility, such as Oaxacan mole negro with charred sweet plantains and charred queso fresco—that show off the versatility of the chef and the cuisine.
167 Orange St., New Haven, Connecticut, 203-535-0851, tacos-los-gordos.square.site.
Elk short rib with apple mole at Tavern on State in New Haven. / Photo by Emily Mingrone
Tavern on State
Chef Emily Mingrone owns a tidy trio of head-turning businesses in New Haven, including whole-animal butcher shop Provisions on State and seafood stunner Fair Haven Oyster Co. It all started in the East Rock neighborhood at Tavern on State, a cozy New American restaurant where often-familiar dishes receive thoughtful twists, from the celery root dashi and sea beans with pan-roasted halibut to the fermented green tomato relish that lifts the fried chicken. This care extends to the cocktails as well: Gin might pair with yuzu and a fermented plum, while a hot drink of bourbon, espresso, and pineapple rum might come topped with a fernet whip.
969 State St., New Haven, Connecticut, 475-202-6883, tavernonstate.com.
Union League Cafe
Union League Cafe dates back to 1977, breathing decadent new life into a Beaux-Arts-style building that has lived many lives—including opera house and theater—since the 1800s. This venerable restaurant across from Yale’s Old Campus is about as close as New Haven gets to fine dining, but still channels the comfort and verve of a Parisian brasserie, with all the attentive service, celebratory atmosphere, and buttery escargots that entails. Order classics and specials à la carte, from foie gras pressé to canard au chou to a decadent daily soufflé (and other gems from pastry chef Teila Chappel), or, if you’re there mid-week, put yourself in executive chef Olivier Durand’s hands with a tasting menu.
1032 Chapel St., New Haven, Connecticut, 203-562-4299, unionleaguecafe.com.
