Gourmet Guide To Hartford CT: Best Restaurants

Historic Hartford, Connecticut’s fourth largest city, boasts a dining scene that is both a nod to its historical New England traditions and still faithful to its contemporary, innovative spirit. With a range of cuisines on offer from classic Italian cooking to farm-to-table fare, The Culture Trip’s updated guide on Where to Eat in Hartford will help you choose the best cultural restaurant for you.

Did you know – Culture Trip now does bookable, small-group trips? Pick from authentic, immersive Epic Trips, compact and action-packed Mini Trips and sparkling, expansive Sailing Trips.

City Steam Brewery Café

The City Steam Brewery and Café is Hartford’s very own brewery-cum-bistro and boasts a beautiful restaurant space combining the old and the new with a rustic, wood-panelled and exposed brick interior. Established in 1997, the brewery is dedicated to creating high quality brews and lovers of beer will enjoy sampling varieties like its smooth, easy drinking dark lager Uncle Dunkel or the chocolaty Black Silk Stout. City Steam’s menu focuses on classic American fare with dishes like its best-selling entrée beer braised pot roast amongst a number of burgers, sandwiches and all-day omelettes, while guests can also enjoy the brewery’s many live music events and comedy nights.

Max Downtown

Max’s Oyster Bar

Definitely a must-try for lovers of seafood, Max’s Oyster Bar as established in 1999 by restaurateur duo Richard Rosenthal and Bob Cooke and in that same year went on to win the Best New Restaurant title in Connecticut Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards. Executive chef Scott Miller cooks up creative and contemporary interpretations of classic American seafood with dishes on offer that include the New England quahog clam chowder with house-smoked bacon and the yellow fin tuna with a fennel crust, zucchini parpardelle, yoghurt and mint. The restaurant’s interior was designed by award-winning designer Peter Niemetz and features a spacious dining hall, high ceilings and a contemporary yet rustic ambience.

Pond House Café

Nestled on the edge of a pond in beautiful Elizabeth Park, The Pond House Café is a trendy, cosy eatery serving up eclectic and imaginative dishes based on locally sourced, organic ingredients – some of which are grown on-site in the café’s own herb and vegetable garden. Guests can choose to dine in the café’s stylish interior full of exposed brick, banquette seating and colourful artwork, outside next to the fire pit on its patio or stop by the café’s take-out window for a quick bite while strolling the park. Must-try lunch items include the turkey sandwich with smoked cheddar, arugula and artichoke aioli on cranberry-walnut bread, while dinner entrees include grilled salmon with walnut gremolata, sweet beets and grilled asparagus.

Vivo

Vivo is a seasonal trattoria specialising in dishes inspired by the cuisines of Northern Italy and Northern California, located in a ground-floor space within the Hartford Marriot Downtown Hotel. The restaurant’s motto is ‘fresh ingredients, prepared simply’ and its focus on market-fresh and seasonal produce handcrafted into contemporary Mediterranean and California recipes certainly delivers. Vivo’s vibrant and inviting interior makes it perfect for a romantic dinner, business meeting or fun evening with friends, and guests can choose from executive chef William Reardon’s tempting dishes like the fried calamari appetiser with arugula, cherry peppers and lemon butter, or the coffee spiced hangar steak with caramelised onions, truffle fingerlings, ancho mole and crème fraiche.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.