Best Date Night Restaurants in Hamden

We went to Gioia for the first time tonight, and it was an amazing experience! The food was super tasty and fresh and the drinks were really good too. The restaurant and rooftop were both beautiful. Our waiter Nick L was so attentive, friendly, and made us feel taken care of. Highly recommend giving this place a try!

We absolutely loved your afternoon tea. The sandwiches were delicious! My favorite was the beet and goat cheese. I am not a truffle lover, but I did enjoy the egg salad sandwich with a hint of truffles. It was not overdone, it was just right. I loved the scones, especially with the fig jam and clotted cream. I prefer savory over sweets at an afternoon tea. I find many places do far too many sweets. You had just enough to complement the sandwiches. If I may, I would like to suggest the addition of Darjeeling to your teas. They do call it the King of Teas, after all. It is very different from English Breakfast and Earl Grey, both of which are blended teas. I feel Darjeeling would really complement your lovely afternoon tea. Thank you for a lovely afternoon, Sincerely, Lorraine Pagano

I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to go here. Needed a place to dine for Christmas Eve and since Encore by Goodfellas was opened I decided to make a reservation. As soon as I walked into the restaurant, I was impressed with the upscale classy decor. We were greeted by the hostess who took us to the upstairs level that we requested only to be more impressed with the atmosphere and classy vibe. The waitstaff was super attentive and couldn’t do enough for us. AND….what a menu! A large array of appetizers, salads, pasta dishes, steaks, seafood veal, pork, and chicken. Took me 15 minutes alone to decide what I would order, Well we placed the order and one dish was better than the next, absolutely outstanding and well presented large portions, Dessert was out of this world as well, Great Chef!!! Our dinner was so special that we decided to make another reservation for a few weeks down the line. Encore doesn’t deserve 5 stars, it deserves 10. Now this is coming from a native New Yorker who has had access to all the finest restaurants ( and dined in most of them as well). Encore by Goodfellas stands amongst them’

Everything was great. All 7 of us had great meals and there were no complaints as far as I remember. The ribeye was huge and flavorful. The mac and cheese app was very cheesy with a wonderful hint of smoke flavor. The seafood salad was very tasty as was the oysters on the half shell. I had the honey glazed salmon which was perfectly crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Service was also very good. Phenomenal experience overall.

We were a group of seven and our server was ver friendly and accommodating. Food was fantastic and large portions. Stuffed squash leaves were amazing as was broccoli rabe and mussels. Our meals were even more delicious if that is possible. We had various dishes including veal, eggplant, pasta and chicken. Everyone was more than satisfied. Arturo is an awesome chef. Love this place.