Best Casual Restaurants in West Haven

Wonderful place - amazing drinks, inventive food. Occasionally the food has been a bit more inventive than tasty, but I can count the times that has been an issue on one hand - really a great new(er) spot in New Haven - ALSO THEY HAVE A PARKING LOT. Great service, chefs that know what they are doing, and wonderful drinks. Very much recommend.

We had an issue with seating (I requested no high top chairs and our table had them). They took care of this right away. Service and food awesome, though we weren’t expecting a limited and price increased selection menu (it was Valetines Day but I saw no mention of this on their website or FB). Noise level was pretty high due to a musician that was singing this evening. Overall was still a great experience. I’ve been here many times and will definitely return.

Last night, we had an amazing dinner at The Luke Brasserie in New Haven. We were treated to a multiple course gourmet and imaginative dinner. What an experience! The restaurant serves a limited menu, changed daily of outstanding food. The dishes are presented for table sharing from the beginning to the end of the meal. Each course was creative and outstanding. We started with two dishes, one of heirloom beets and the other of white asparagus. Both were delicious. Our next course was yellow fin tuna in an Asian style sauce. This is followed by a scallops dish perfectly prepared!  From there, we progressed to pasta rigatoni with snow crab, quite excellent. The next dish was cavatelli with pancetta and chestnuts. Perfect! Our last dish was delicious porchetta in a sauce of beans, chestnuts and panchetta. Again outstanding!! we finished with frozen mascarpone and citrus ice, and the meal ended with a piece of delicious chocolate. You should not forget the great bread and a bottle of wine that we enjoyed during our feast. With each course, will be given a new plate and fresh silverware. We were served by a wonderful staff, and at times the chef came to our table to explain the dishes. Chef Vincent has roots in Italy, studied at the Culinary Institute of America, and has worked in many restaurants in New York with many great and famous chefs. The restaurant is located in the old ballroom of the Taft hotel, next to the Shubert Theater in New Haven. The beautiful architecture adds to the elegance of the restaurant. Our meal was truly one of the best I’ve had in a long time. It brought back memories of outstanding food that I experienced while living in Bologna Italy. The many courses that we had were spaced and were never rushed. Congratulations to the staff and to Chef Vincent for such an outstanding culinary experience. Jay K

What a great spot ! We came in to have lunch with our daughter who is away at college and what an incredible lunch we had! The food was amazing, (the arancini were to die for). Our waiter was so attentive. Cannot wait to return.

The manager was excellent, very helpful to our whole party.