We were staying in Hamden for the weekend and since we don't know the area, did a quick search and…read morefound a couple of options. Brian stone was closer but I skipped over it based on the rating and the pictures of the decor. We drove a little farther to State street Cafe and it was too busy, so we drove to Brown Stone. Stepping in reminded me of "The Pantry" in LA. A little run down, stuck in time with the decor, but a recognized local favorite and food go to for those that know. Brown Stone had the same vibe and feel as soon as we went In. I loved seeing the locals and the staff immediately greeted us and attended to us, bringing some coffee. Breakfast items are relatively simple, nothing fancy here, nor were we looking for it. I just wanted a good meal. I ordered the avocado and ham omelette special and my wife the egg and Belgian waffle. Breakfast came out quick, hot, and good! I was pleasantly surprised, and should not have been so judgy. Like the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover. Looking forward to going back tomorrow morning. I'll take some photos to add to this later.

This is an A1 place for breakfast/brunch. Eggs are incredibly fresh. I have had scrambled, over…read moreeasy and eggs Benedict which was among the best I've had. Also a good selection of lunch items. The staff is friendly and efficient. Because the decor seems old and untouched sjnce the 50's. 'one is pleasantly surprised by the products that appear on your plate. Parking lot free and close. Check out menu online.

Meat and Co is a creative sandwich shop in New Haven's upscale East Rock Market Food Hall. If you…read morenotice the sign, you'll see they've rotated the lower case "a" in "Meat" so it's upside down. Think of it as a culinary warning that they don't do things the normal way. I've had two sandwiches from Meat and Co. on two separate visits in 2025. The first was the Haute Tuna Melt. The tuna salad itself was good. It has some hot pepper and chive flavor. The tuna sandwich was on a panini-pressed ciabatta roll. I prefer some type of grilled sliced bread, which I think is more common, for a tuna melt. But that's fine. The biggest miss for me was the cheese. The American Cheese was not at all melted. So it's really just a tuna fish sandwich with American Cheese, Lettuce and Tomato. Good for what it was, but it wasn't a Tuna Melt. The second was The Rick Reuben. It must be more "Rick" than "Reuben". because it is the least "Reuben" Reuben sandwich I've ever had. It had pastrami, which is acceptable for a Reuben. That was about it. Instead of kraut, they had a mild red cabbage slaw. Instead of Swiss, they had cheddar. Instead of grilled rye bread, it was on a long panini-pressed pretzel roll. Admittedly, I didn't pay careful attention to the menu description because Reubens usually fall into one of a small number of types, and I like them all. Although, the online menu I saw did not reference the pretzel roll. This sandwich was too far away from any accepted form of Reuben to be called a Reuben. If it had been called a Pretzel Pastrami Melt, which is far more accurate, I wouldn't have ordered it. It was fine for it was. The pastrami was average though. Given how much I like the other East Rock Market vendors, I'm unlikely to return. If you go, pay close attention to the menu and maybe ask questions. 3.25 Stars

I was excited to find out that there was a panini shop near me and I want on 1/2/26 a Friday night…read moreat 6 pm and the person working there seems like he did not want to work! He was in his phone the whole time. I asked if it was a panini and he said "no, ciabatta". I ordered a Voodoo chicken which was supposed to be spicy but it was disappointing with no flavor . My husband ordered a steak and cheese and the steak was cheap cut mostly gristly. Our paninis were not toasted, COPD AND HARD BREAD and I'm not sure why as they have the equipment to do it. We also ordered fries but the person refused to make them and said " I don't have any ready ". Okay but can you get some ready? He was extremely lazy and didn't want to work. Cold hard ciabatta with sub par ingredients. $40!! 2 sandwiches. We will not be back . Extremely poorly managed. Lazy employee and sub par ingredients.

First timer at Side Street. Food was excellent. Service was great! Ask for Katie! Enjoyed playing…read moretrivia.

After being a regular here for years, my visit tonight wasn't the best The waitress seems like…read moreshe had better things to do and places to be. She bothered my spirit. We were the only ones in the dining room and she acted as if it were filled. Had to repeatedly ask for things and she never came and refilled my water. I asked for a well done, not burnt burger and what did I get, burnt. I cut off the burnt part. When I mentioned it to the waitress, she acted like she didn't care. The onion rings were amazing. Best part if the meal.

This place was extremely disappointing…read more I've had their bread at local restaurants and always thought it was excellent, which is what motivated me to visit in person. Over the past few months, I tried stopping by three separate times, twice they were already closed, and once they had completely sold out of bread. I finally made it there on a Sunday morning, and they had only one loaf left, and not a type I wanted. We decided to order two egg and cheese sandwiches (one with turkey bacon). Both were terrible. The rolls were soft, soggy, wet, and flavorless. Each sandwich had a single egg placed off-center, so half the roll barely had any egg at all. The turkey bacon was so bad we removed it and threw it out. Normally, I would have just moved on and not returned. But what really pushed me to write this review (which I never write) was the carrot cake we purchased. We took it home, refrigerated it, and tried it later that evening. It was, without question, the worst piece of carrot cake I've ever had. The frosting was hard, dry, stale, and completely lacking flavor, no sweetness at all. The cake itself was equally bad: dry, crumbly, and utterly tasteless. There was no hint of carrot, cinnamon, nutmeg, or any spice, just bland, dry crumbs. The cake was completely lacking sugar. After two bites, we threw it in the garbage. I don't say this lightly. I've been cooking and baking for decades, hold a degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management, and spent over 20 years in the industry. I've traveled extensively and eaten outstanding food around the world. For me, someone who genuinely loves desserts, to throw cake away (which is rare) says everything. I understand it was a Sunday and that fresh baking may not be happening that day, but it's simply not acceptable to sell baked goods from prior days that are clearly stale. Even more concerning than the staleness however, was the complete lack of flavor in the product. The sandwiches were disappointing, but that cake was on another level. I won't be returning for sandwiches or desserts, but perhaps the bread.

Stopped in and got a cappuccino and a Caprese sandwich. The cappuccino was quite tasty, just a…read moresolid coffee drink. Can't go wrong with that. Caprese was good. Plenty of cheese which I will never complain about but lacking enough basil. Truly just a couple sad leaves in there. Ultimately it was really more of a mozzarella sandwich. Service was very good and it's nice that you can sit outside at picnic tables. I did not have any of their pastries but wow they look incredible! I'll have to return for coffee and goodies!

In Old Saybrook on Main Street I stopped by Cafe Toscana for some coffee with my two friends. This…read moreis a tiny little coffee shop that also makes some breakfast options. It looks cute from the outside, but looks like it could use a little refreshment both inside and outside. The outside screen door is hanging by a thread. The man working inside appeared to be the owner. And he was the only one I saw working. There was a woman in front of me, who was waiting for her order. Then it was my turn, I walked up to the counter to place my order, and he immediately said "do you know what you want? I'll take him instead." Referring to a customer sitting down. I just walked over, I wasn't hanging out. I'd say that's a bit uninviting and off putting. I quickly ordered a French Vanilla ice coffee, a hot coffee and an ice tea. There is an area where you can add what you need to your coffee. At the counter there is a sign that says to step away after you make your order. We got our coffees and sat outside. These were actually 20 ounce coffees for $10.00 altogether, so it was a real bargain. My coffee was perfect, flavorful, fresh and delicious! He truly makes excellent coffee here. I didn't like how off putting he was. Starbucks is just a few doors away. I'd much rather support a small business like this one then a chain like Starbucks. Coffee is excellent, I can't speak for the breakfast, there's plenty of room for improvement for the establishment and the vibe inside.

This place has gone downhill. Used to be cute and quaint... now it's filthy. There's a plastic…read morecontainer on the counter holding baked goods that's visibly dirty, and the AC unit is caked with dust. I noticed all of this while I waited for my food and wanted to cancel my order. How clean can the kitchen be? Sorry, the place needs an overhaul.

Go in order and then get told to pick up drink at other counter. Wait for a bit and ask. Apparently…read morethey ran out whatever not too pressed about it. We get sandwiches mustang Sally and endevour, sally was absolute garbage had a strong expo market taste like wasabi which is pretty much all you taste. Endeavor wasnt horrible but you could easily make it at home and was dry. Maybe there's better things and what I got was bad but I'll never know not going back.

First time at Olive Oyl's and there's a lot going on here! Seems to be an exceptionally well run…read morebusiness. We all had egg sandwiches to go (two wraps and two traditional) and enjoyed them. Iced tea was good. Service was very good. The store has a lot of interesting items, especially if you like nostalgic candies. Decor was very charming. There's a deli case that might be great for lunch and I didn't read the menus on the walls. Sandwiches are made fresh and they appear to either have a bakery or a relationship with one as there were quite a few pastries that looked creative and fresh. It takes some time to make the food so my recommendation is to call them ahead of time so it is ready when you arrive. There are a few tables inside and a few more outside so there is seating. If you read my reviews you might know that the highest I give on a first visit is 4 stars. If I go back and the place is excellent again I raise it to 5. This is so that a place that is consistently the best of the best (vs a one time great experience) gets 5 stars over a place that just does it once. Olive Oyl's would definitely be eligible for a 5th star and I'm virtually certain to give it to them on the next visit. It was such a perfect combination of choices, quality, service and ambiance! We've been coming to Essex for so many years and always passed this place by for no reason in particular. Now I think we will visit every time we're in town!

The employees are the loveliest folks on the shoreline. Always smiling, patient, and eager to…read moreplease. The best hard packed ice cream locally and they always have all my favorite flavors. Good size portions and now they have picnic tables for outside eating! My favorite summer tradition.

There were 2 of us getting sandwiches and no one else in the store at 5:30. The service was sooo…read moreslow. The young woman making our sandwiches was on the phone wandering around while she made the sandwich. We are boaters and were so happy to have a place nearby to grab sandwiches to go. I guess not. She was oblivious to us. So disappointed

I must say, this diner is growing on me. Each time I come, I try something new and I have never…read morebeen disappointed. On this Valentine's weekend, they were much busier than usual. We were seated immediately and our order arrived piping hot. My grits could've been creamier but the taste was perfect - not too salty. My omelette was turned into a sandwich with my rye toast. We left satisfied but not stuffed. A perfect way to start the day.

early morning mist of new haven moving through gray fogs and breakfast stomach rumbles and the Toot…read morehas coffee and Canadian bacon on his mind. roll up and down the coffee dream two eggs over medium, home fries, two slices off the rye, 3 thick slices of Canadian you know what--endless coffee pours seat by the window down down down, quiet clink of kitchen the perfect coffee cup.