140+ CT Restaurants, Caterers & Farms for Thanksgiving (2025 Edition) Ingredients Features Events Restaurant Seasonal Thanksgiving Dining Guide Guide Thanksgiving Guide Homepage Carly Terzigni November 10, 2025 As the holiday season approaches, there are restaurants and catering companies ready to make this Thanksgiving memorable. While there are plenty of businesses open for seating on Thanksgiving, there are even more offering holiday catering with all of the classic fixings to take the work out of your Thanksgiving Day hosting. To help you find the restaurant nearest you to order from or dine at on Thanksgiving, we’ve organized the guide by county. At the end, you’ll find a list of local businesses including farms, markets, and butcher shops where you can purchase turkey to prepare at home. We also noted which businesses specialize in vegan options. Happy Thanksgiving! Read More
Guide To Waterfront Dining In Connecticut (2025 Edition) Features Restaurant Water View Waterfront Guide Highlight Homepage Carly Terzigni July 16, 2025 We’re in the dog days of summer, and nothing brings instant relief like a nice cool breeze on the water. Throughout the state, whether you’re on the shoreline or along one of Connecticut’s beautiful rivers and lakes, waterfront restaurants are a popular go-to lunch and dinner spot this time of year. While many of these restaurants are open year-round, summer is the perfect time to take advantage of their picturesque views and plentiful outdoor seating (where available). To help you decide on your next date night spot or family gathering, we have organized this guide by county. Scroll to or click your local county or the county you are interested in visiting to find which waterfront restaurants are closest to you! Read More
85+ Spots For Great Tacos in Connecticut Restaurant Tacos Mexican Guide Best of CT Highlight Homepage Amy S. White May 31, 2025 Few foods stir as much passion—and appetite—as tacos. The humble taco has made its way from the streets of Mexico to American taco trucks, roadside stands, Tex-Mex eateries, and trendy taquerías, all of which strive to find that perfect blend of taste, texture, and tradition that an exquisite taco can offer. Handmade tortillas. Sizzling meats. Crispy fried fish. Grilled veggies. Fresh toppings. Spicy salsas. Endlessly adaptable and oh-so-satisfying, the taco delivers bold, layered flavors in a compact, hand-held tortilla that seems so simple but is anything but. In this article, we’re diving into the best taco spots found in every Connecticut county, from hidden gems serving up authentic street-style tacos to innovative eateries offering well-crafted taco creations. These local favorites are sure to incite the passion and satisfy the appetite of every taco enthusiast in our state. Cinco de Mayo may have come and gone, but tacos are forever! Read More
2024 Connecticut Lobster Roll Guide: 80+ Seafood Shacks, Roadside Stands + Restaurants for Meaty, Buttery Lobster Rolls Features Restaurant Road Trip Seasonal Guide Homepage Lobster Lobster Roll Seafood Serena Norr August 06, 2024
Guide To Connecticut's Best Fried Chicken & Hot Chicken Sandwiches Restaurant Highlight Fried Chicken Sandwich Fried Chicken Comfort Food Guide Homepage Carissa Duhamel March 17, 2024 Demand for fried and hot chicken sandwiches has spread across the country – and the state – like wildfire. The perfect accompaniment to an icy beer or fatty-sweet milkshake, these spicy, juicy, crispy handheld bites are equally delicious and addictive. Whether you have a penchant for a Nashville hot, buffalo sauce smothered, Sriracha drenched, or buttermilk classic version, Connecticut has a chicken spot to get your fix. Read More
20+ Places For Afternoon Tea in Connecticut: Pinkies Up! Events Features Restaurant Tea And Coffee Tea Time Afternoon Tea Guide Homepage Highlight Tea April Guilbault February 17, 2024 Tea for two and two for tea, a scone for you, petit fours for me. What a charming way to spend an afternoon, isn’t it? Simply slow down and sip; a flavorful cup of tea asks only this of us, to take time and relish all it has to offer. Around our state, there are tea rooms of every shape and size-with gardens and sunrooms, quirky themes, historic leanings-yet all encourage you to stop, steep, and slow down. Make sure to scroll the entire listing, as we first list those establishments that regularly offer afternoon teas, then follow it with a listing of interesting places around the state that hold special event and holiday teas. This is a great year to explore the world in a cup… Read More
2024 Mardis Gras Guide: 15 Connecticut Restaurants Where You Can Let The Good Times Roll Events Restaurant Seasonal Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday Guide New Orleans Carly Terzigni February 06, 2024 You don’t have to be in New Orleans to celebrate big on Mardi Gras! Connecticut restaurants are preparing everything from limited-time menu specials to all-out festivities to mark the occasion, so why not head out and take part? Read More
CTbites Staff Picks For Top Eats of 2023 (+Special Guest Eaters) Features Restaurant Best of CT Guide Top Eats Homepage CTbites Team December 25, 2023 It’s that time of year, when the CTbites staff temporarily puts down our forks, and contemplates our most memorable annual eats. 2023 saw an explosion of restaurateurs and chefs entering the Connecticut culinary scene, and the CTBites team, alongside some special guest reviewers below, did our best to eat it all. There were some clear standouts, restaurants that you’ll find repeated in the “top eats” lists below, and some hidden gems you should add to your dining dance card.Here are CTbites’ TOP EATS 2023. Read More
Guide To Great Coffee in Connecticut: Celebrate National Coffee Day Sept 29 Features Restaurant Coffee Shop Coffee Tea And Coffee Guide Best of CT Highlight Breakfast Homepage April Guilbault September 24, 2023 “I could go for a coffee right now.” “Where’s the nearest coffee place?” If we had a nickel for every time we heard or uttered those words, right? Happily, there’s a coffee house or roastery just about around every corner these days, but some of them rise above with their drinks, their blends, their hospitality. Hence, we have filled our cups to the brim with delicious offerings for you and this list is broken down by County so that you can get to that cup quicker! Sip alone, brew, sip with a friend-life is good. Read More
Dock & Dine! Boat On Up to 30 Waterfront Restaurants, Seafood Shacks, and More Features Restaurant Seasonal Waterfront Water View Restaurants Seafood Summer Dining Summer Homepage Guide Highlight April Guilbault July 16, 2023 Waterfront. Dockside. Don’t those words just bring a smile to your face? Whether you are traveling by boat to go for a summer Sunday lunch or just wanting to enjoy your dinner with a beautiful view of the water, these restaurants will fit the bill for your summer enjoyment. And how is it exactly that everything tastes better when you are near the water? Read More
Connecticut Food Trucks Guide: 150 + CT Mobile Caterers (2023 Edition) Features Restaurant Guide Food Truck Best of CT Highlight Food Truck Guide Caterer Catering Guide Caterers Pizza BBQ Mexican Ice Cream Homepage April Guilbault June 08, 2023 We are all rolling, rolling, rolling into the summer months-Yay! Between parties, vacations, and just plain ol’ exploring, the warm and sunny months have us on the move. And what better info to have in your back pocket than plans for where to eat-trucks offering food of all kinds, whether you’re stopping mid-trip or renting for your next party! We have broken down this behemoth of a list by categories so you can high-tail it to the foods that interest you: Pizza, Tacos/Mexican, BBQ, Ethnic, Lobster & Seafood, All-American, Plant-Based/Alternative Diet, Ice Cream & Sweets, Cocktails & Beer and Coffee & Tea. Happy summer, everyone, roll on! Read More
Guide to 35+ Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants & Bakeries in Connecticut (2023 Edition) Features Restaurant Vegan Homepage Guide Vegetarian Highlight April Guilbault February 04, 2023 Cutting down on meat these days? If you are, then no doubt you are on the lookout for delicious plant-based eateries. Here’s our listing for you—you little budding veggie lover—that highlight fabulous eats to break any preconceived ideas about being plant-forward in the ol’ Nutmeg State. Read More
Guide To Juice Bars in Connecticut (2023 Edition) Features Restaurant Guide Best of CT Roundup Juice Cleanse Juicing Healthy Eats Health & Wellness Smoothies Acai Bowl Homepage Highlight April Guilbault January 30, 2023 Would the New Year transition be complete without some kind of purging and rearranging (um, no)? After the cookies and cocktails of the holiday season, vibrant fruit and vegetable juices and some super-duper, feel good cleanses might just be the reset that your bod is craving. Just think of it like a Home Edit for your, well, ultimate *home*. Feel free to label and color coordinate all you please. Enjoy our ultimate Guide to Juice Bars in Connecticut. Read More
CT Guide To Outdoor Dining Guide: Igloos, Fireplaces, Greenhouses + for 2023 Features Restaurant Guide Outdoor Dining Best of CT Winter Dining Igloo Homepage Carly Terzigni January 24, 2023 Dining outside in the middle of winter may seem like a wild idea to some, but many Connecticut restaurants and bars are fully embracing the weather with everything from firepits to private igloos to keep you warm and cozy this season. In fact, moving the dining experience outdoors in the winter has been growing in popularity in recent years, with every kind of environment from firepits to heated patios to full-on private igloo villages. Listed below are restaurants across the state that offer some kind of winterized dining experience, proving that you do not have to move everything indoors just because the temperatures have dropped. Who knows, winter may soon become your favorite time of year to eat outdoors! Read More
60+ Restaurants & Caterers for Christmas Eve & Christmas in CT: 2022 Edition Features Restaurant Christmas Eve Christmas Guide Holiday Guide Caterers Homepage April Guilbault December 11, 2022 Sparkles and decorations, music and merriment, parties and gift-giving and of course, holiday dining. New traditions to begin or a revisiting of favorites from year’s past. We all have those special dishes or holiday sweets that make us pause as nostalgia fills our hearts. For those reasons and more, it is one of the most wonderful times of the year. We would like for you to be able to create new memories with those you love, so we have compiled a list of Connecticut eateries that are going above and beyond for the holiday season. They are categorized by county-Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, Windham-so you don’t have to waste time researching, you can just swan dive into celebrating the season. From our plates to yours, Happy Holidays. May it be delicious! Read More
100+ CT Restaurants, Caterers & Farms for Thanksgiving 2022 Features Restaurant Holiday Thanksgiving Guide Catering Homepage April Guilbault November 14, 2022 If you can cut through the increasing daily frenzy, it really is a glorious time of the year, isn’t it? And we should all make the effort to not get swept up in the busyness, because what is at our doorstep is a season of gathering with family and friends, enjoying meals and celebratory occasions together. We’ve come a long way, baby, and it’s time to celebrate everything that we hold dear, rejoice in it, savor it. And us-being-us (CTbites), we are offering suggestions now to help put your happy over the top. Sharing a meal is, indeed, a special thing with the people you love most and we want you to love this part something fierce. Forks up and Happiest Thanksgiving wishes! Read More
40+ Places in Connecticut for Lobster, Clambakes, + Seafood Shacks (2022 Guide) Features Seasonal Restaurant Seafood seafood boil Lobster Lobster Roll Clambake Homepage Guide Dining Guide Highlight April Guilbault June 30, 2022 One fish, two fish, red fish…lobster. And seafood in all its forms. Oh yeah, baby! Get the bibs, the frosty beers and get crackin’, shuckin’ and lovin’. Nothing signals the start of summer quite like eating by the water while the sunshine sparkles on the waves. Picture, if you will, your teeth sinking into a lobster roll dripping with drawn butter, or wistfully dragging fresh steamers through (more) butter or popping hot-out-the-fryer clam strips and fritters into your mouth. Whether dining on land or by sea, seafood rules the roost this season. These simple summer pleasures make time stand still for a few blissful moments. Summer is here, and food is easy.Enjoy our guide to over 40 summertime—or anytime—spots to get buttery lobster, chow down at a clambake, and sit and eat at a seafood shack! Read More
