Filtering by Tag: Oysters,Oyster Bar

Shuck Yeah! Chef Emily Mingrone Strikes Again-Fair Haven Oyster Company is Now Open

Restaurant Openings Seafood New Haven Oyster Bar Lobster Lobster Roll Homepage

Kristin L. Wolfe

Well, Connecticut. Your gal Emily Mingrone did it again. The one so rightly deemed our latest Chef of the Year has now brought you seaside with Fair Haven Oyster Company along the Quinnipiac River. She gives us cozy date nights with Tavern on State; she brings us into the kitchen with Provisions on State, and is now taking us to the water.

Barely two weeks old, her latest venture with business partner and libation genius Shane McGowan is satisfying CT gourmands just in time for summer and for that much-longed-for taste of fresh seafood and just-plucked-from-the-garden veggies.

Many might be surprised to know, but the idea for Fair Haven was brewing well before her award-winning spot Tavern on State came to be. “I’ve been in Connecticut my whole life,” says Mingrone, “so summer lobster rolls, steamers and oysters are something I look forward to every year. [Even though] seafood spots dot the shoreline, there’s really nowhere in New Haven like Fair Haven. With its small, “stop in and enjoy” atmosphere, there’s nothing grandiose or overwhelming about the location or the menu (let alone dear Chef Mingrone, tbh) “I always had this idea in the back of my mind, to create an elevated New England seafood experience.”


Tavern On State Owners Opening Fair Haven Oyster Bar in New Haven

Features Restaurant Openings Oyster Bar Seafood American Bar Cocktails Waterfront Outdoor Dining

Stephanie Webster

Emily Mingrone (recent winner for "Chef of the Year" at CT Restaurant Association’s Crazies Awards, and her partner, Shane McGowan, are expanding their presence in the New Haven area with a new spot opening this April, Fair Haven Oyster Co. Co-owners of Tavern on State, as well as the nose-to-tail butchery, Provisions on State, in the East Rock neighborhood, they are poised for a trifecta with this new seafood focused oyster bar on the waterfront of the Fair Haven Marina, a beautiful old water town dating from the late 1700’s.


Marygold’s on Main Opens in Newtown From Chef Neugold of The Foundry Kitchen & Bar

Restaurant Newtown Openings American Pizza Cocktails Seafood Oysters

Kristin L. Wolfe

Walking along Newtown’s Main Street has always felt like stepping back in time. From dark painted Colonials with bright colored doors to a classic, yellow Federal house or the more decorative Queen Anne, you know every home has a story and the spirits of the town’s past are within reach. And, like the best pieces of historical fiction, Marigold’s on Main gives us a sense of two worlds. There’s something so exhilarating about being inside a place that has been revived from the past. Time stands still in the middle of yesterday and today. The space feels at once old and new; and, although there are thoughtful nods to another time on the menu, it is as inventive and fresh as you’d hope a new place would be. Not to mention, with Chef Clark Neugold at the helm, you know as worlds collide, he’ll still invent something that stands on its own.

Run by Chef Neugold and his wife Kate, of Foundry Kitchen & Tavern, and barely a mile down the road in Sandy Hook (see CTbites Feb 2019 for info), they know a thing or two or three about breathing new life into an old space. And, despite the setbacks Covid has undoubtedly thrust upon the industry, Marygold’s is off to a successful start. Alongside Chef Neugold, Derek Kustanbauter as Chef de Cuisine, and Steve Roth as Sous Chef, the team has brought forth a menu Connecticut diners will surely want to try.


Boca Oyster Bar Opens On Bridgeport's Steelpointe Harbor

Restaurant Bridgeport Black Rock Seafood Oysters Oyster Bar Openings Homepage

James Gribbon

Drivers casting their eyes randomly about, desperate for a diversionary glance at anything besides traffic and out of state plates between the concrete shoulders of I-95 may settle their gaze on a new brick building on the waterfront of Bridgeport harbor. Slightly reminiscent of a lighthouse, it sits at the other side of the new development in Steelpointe Harbor from Bass Pro Shops, and - as of this week - houses the new Boca Oyster Bar. CTBites hit the bar during their soft open at the end of May to give you this first look. 


Hummock Island Oyster Company Lauches "Oyster Tours"

Features Seafood Events Oysters Norwalk Specialty Market Education

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

You may have been told not to eat raw oysters in months that don’t have an R.  It’s not true.  It was a beautiful, temperate August afternoon when I stood on Hummock Island slurping freshly harvested oysters and casting their shells onto the ground below. Hummock Island Oyster Company recently started offering “oyster tours,” giving the public an opportunity to visit the island, witness the operation, and taste oysters fresh from the sea.  I eagerly accepted their invitation to participate, which is how I found myself indulging in oysters in early August.


25 Spots For Great Oysters In Connecticut

Restaurant Oysters Seafood Best of CT

Emma Jane-Doody Stetson

It’s no secret that oysters are a catalyst for romance.  Ordering from the raw bar is adventurous, yet sexy: the perfect start for a date.  With its proximity to Long Island Sound, 618 miles of coastline, and bustling culinary scene, Connecticut is the perfect place to dine on fresh seafood. 

Here are 25 CT restaurants in the state that serve up delicious oysters.