Westport Connecticut

[menton1]

We are going to the Westport Playhouse in 2 weeks, and need a restaurant that we can go to before the show, that will get us out in time. Prefer New American or French, moderately priced. No Italian or Ethnics. All recs appreciated!!

[ErinB]

Where are you coming from? Do you want to eat in Westport or are the surrounding towns ok?

[menton1]

As long as it's fairly close to Westport, does not have to be within the city limits-- but we have to get to the Playhouse from the restaurant pretty easily.

[funcook]

Acqua - 203-222-8899 - Mediterranean

Conte's Market and Grill - 203-226-3474 - Lots of Seafood

Chez Stephane Bistro Francais - 203-226-8356 - French

Splash - 203-454-7798 - Lots of Seafood, cross cultural / Pacific Rim

Tavern On Main - 203-221-7222 - American cuisine

I have enjoyed every establishment except the Chez Stepane Bistro which I have never been but heard good comments.

Enjoy your play and have fun.

Fun

[jeffperez62]

You should really go to Meigas in Norwalk. It is 2 exits south of Westport and has been featured in Wine Spectator and NY Times recently said it is one of the top 5 Spanish restaurants in the country. The food is outstanding, the price is right and it is 10 minutes from Westport.

[sammy]

Why didn't I think of that? Meigas is truly a wonderful restaurant and is quite a bit better than anything you'll find in Westport.

[menton1]

Thanks for all the suggestions--

Heard a lot of good things about Bridge Cafe-- does it rate with the others on your list? Has anyone else been there?

[Willly]

Just a little Westport news -- Miramar, which was never very good in my opinion, has closed.

[menton1]

Actually, we wound up going to Tuscan Oven in Norwalk, just 5 minutes from Westport, based on a recommendation from a friend. A really pretty place, an open kitchen, so it was immaculate, lovely decor, and an interesting display of DeRuda Pottery from Italy. (Unfortunately, they don't serve your meal on those).

Salads, caesar and mesclun were both very nice with a light dressing so it didn't overwhelm the greens. We got 2 pizzas, both with a lovely thin, crispy crust; we also got an osso buco with vegetables, and a mixed sausage plate with sweet and hot sausage, a fabulous pepper "stew", and mashed potatoes. Service was attentive but not overbearing. Dinner for 4, tax and tip, was $104. Very reasonable. I could see why the place was filled to capacity.

I would recommend this place highly, not as a destination restaurant, but for a pleasant meal in the area at a moderate price with very tasty food and lovely surroundings.

[fchrisgrimm]

Norwalk's Meigas may be the finest restaurant in Connecticut - and is where we go for special occasions - but it doesn't even serve the finest Spanish food on the block, as that honor goes to Mecca.

Meigas has the atmosphere, great service, and small "haute" dishes with bright flavors. Mecca, while certainly very nice, is a little lower key (I never hesitate to go to Mecca sans neck tie). There's more of an emphasis on one-dish style main courses, with robust but remarkably complex flavors.

Jaime, the owner/chef of Mecca, was formerly a co-owner of Meson Galicia (before it became Meigas). While Meigas gets a remarkable amount of ink, Mecca produces some remarkable food.

Our favorite dishes at Meigas would include the green seafood risotto and the lamb stew. The baby eel appetizer (at the price, to be tried once) is sublime. Like spaghetti in sizzling garlic oil and the essense of the ocean!

Again, we love Meigas and go there on special occasions. But Mecca is where we take friends who visit us in Westport - and where we drop in on an almost monthly basis.

Both restaurants are far and away better than anything in Westport. Westport has an odd lack of quality dining. While I actually liked Miramar, it was WAY over-priced.

Now, for French, we head to any number of the bistros that are sprouting like mushrooms in Fairfield.

For Italian, it's Paci in Southport - a place with food so good that you ignore the fact that service can be slow. No excuse for being slow in a place with a ten foot clock projected on the wall!

Can't beat The King and I for Thai in Bridgeport (great take-out place, too).

[rshorens]

Last week, as I prepared for a trip to New Haven, I read enviously about the wonderful Spanish restaurants in the Norwalk area. Lo and behold, my daughter's apartment in New Haven turned out to be across the street from Meigas' sister restaurant, Ibiza.

We ate there for lunch, and had a marvelous selection- raviolis de bacalao(3 ravioli pillows stuffed with shrimp and codfish in pil-pil sauce,a codfish, olive oil, and garlic emulsion), pimientos de piquillo(wood-roasted piquillo peppers stuffed with saffron rice, shrimp, chicken, served with saffron aioli), gazpacho served with avocado, cucumber and tomato garnish, grilled yellow fin tuna served over Serrano ham-carrot-onion cake, sauteed fresh corn,with passion fruit vinaigrette, and for dessert flan de dulcede leche(reduced milk flan with miniature pears poached in Rioja red wine and garnished with coconut foam). In addition, we had delicious fried codfish balls with aioli, miniature madeleine-type cookies, and tiny chocolate milkshakes as complimentary extras. The food presentation was beautiful without being fussy, and the service was unobtrusive and excellent. Appetizers at lunch ranged from $6-9.50(averaging about $7.50), main courses at lunch ranged from $12.75-$15.75, while desserts were $8. I felt that this was a great value for the extraordinary quality of the food. Highly recommended- I only wish there was one near me in California!

Roz

[fchrisgrimm]

Glad you liked Ibiza - if you're traveling from California anyway, you should try Mecca.

BTW - per a post a few up, I find Tuscan Oven in Norwalk (a couple of posts above) to be only a half-notch above the Olive Garden. I'd rather get the great take-out deal from Centro in Fairfield (Centro also has slightly overpriced sit-down). The take out is a steal - $15 for a choice of fresh pasta for two, choice of sauce, caesar salad, parm, and a big ol' wedge of fresh bread. Take it home and in ten minutes you have dinner (without overpaying for restaurant wine, either!).

[sister soul]

I noticed Splash mentioned here earlier, and wanted to say that I ate there about a month ago for the 1st time and hated it! The food was unremarkable and had little flavor, and the decor was so wanna-be trendy that it just looked dated and embarassing. Just my opinion...

There is also a Centro in Darien ( I think it's related to the one in Fairfield). Great, solid Italian food -- casual atmosphere and pretty good prices. Not a "special night out" kind of place though.

If you like Indian food, there is an excellent Indian restaurant in Darien called Coromandel. It is tiny and a little cramped inside, but the food is great!

[cheereeo70]

I also could not stomach Splash. It was so "white bread," I simply could not stand it. We went in the summer and sat on the back porch with a beautiful view, but the other patrons and waitstaff were so snobby, I will not go back.

If ever in the Westport area again, try Da Pietro's on Riverside Avenue--Northern Italian/Southern French mix--excellent. Very small. Very good.

For Chinese, Little Kitchen and Asian Tai Pan are good but at Westport prices. Little Kitchen has a fun bar to sip Cosmos.