The food was delicious. Best New England clam chowder we've had in a long time. Creamy but not too…read morethick - full of clams and potatoes in every bite. We also got the Codfather sandwich - lite panko crusted piece of cod, melted in your mouth. The calamari was large pieces, which means chewy to me, but this was tender and flavorful. Light batter that wasn't greasy. Can't wait to go back and try other items - and get more of that chowdah! The woman who greets you and takes your order was super nice and on top of everything. She made sure the food was good and cleared our dishes quickly. Very pleasant - a 5 star employee.

My first time with the new owners and everything went well…read more I like whole belly clams and finding them can be difficult and they are pricey. This is one place that has them, fried to perfection and offers them in their Combination for a small upcharge. I got an order, which was a generous pile of scallops, shrimp, belly clams and filet. I got a separate order of fried calamari with cocktail sauce; another fave. The eat in area is cute and comfortable and the two men, owners, I believe were friendly. I ate about half of my order and took the rest home. Yum!

Fantastic food and drinks and spectacular views. Amazing sunset during dinner!! I go here many…read moretimes a season!!

Walk in and we went to the outdoor patio because it was really nice out. Our server was an amazing…read moreyoung lady who was very pleasant. We came in just for the raw bar. They served us a generous portion of their famous coleslaw which was very tasty so that was a nice addition. The clams came out and looked really good however the shucker needs to be a bit more careful because most of my clams had shell fragments in it. The taste was good but I had to be careful eating them so I didn't swallow shell pieces and that took away from the enjoyment of the clam experience. Maybe the knife was dull. Not sure what happened here but I ate them anyway just on the side of caution. Would try it again because the taste was nice and fresh

Now I see why this place won first place for their lobster roll!!…read more So delicious. The lobster bisque was so tasty. The service was kind and knowledgeable The outside overlooking the water is such a vibe

I really enjoyed this lobster roll!! It was a medium sized roll and a good amount of lobster…read moreinside. Keep in mind it's cash only but there's an ATM inside. The patio area is very cute to sit on outside and the views are so nice. They told us our rolls would come out in 30 minutes but they came out in 10. Would come again!

Hubby found this place highly rated in an online magazine. Since we had been searching CT for the…read morebest seafood restaurants, decided the 1 1/2 ride would be nice since it was also great weather. Arrived around 1:30pm and found the parking lot to be quite large and half empty. Loved that it had a dedicated parking lot. And we could see they had outside seating. Decided to stay inside. We were quickly seated and given menus. They had quite a selection of drinks. Returned quickly to get our drink order and returned quickly with our drinks. For appetizers, we chose the clams casino and NE clam chowder. Then, I chose the calamari platter and the hubby chose the fisherman's platter (which he ended up choosing the shrimps, cod, scallops and clam strip). The appetizers were divine! This was the best clam chowder I have tasted in so many years. The clams casino was also SO good! Definitely worth getting again and again. Then the entrees arrived. Portions were large. The calamari was great! Real calamari, rings and tentacles. So many places just give you soggy rings. These were crisp, real tasty calamari with no greasy texture. Unbelievable. Hubby's platter had so many choices. Fortunately, he shared pieces with me. Felt like I was in heaven. Everything was utterly delicious. And there was more. Normally the condiments and fries are just filler. Not the case here. Took a bite of the coleslaw and knew it was homemade. In fact, thought they used my homemade recipe, lol. Same goes for their own tartar sauce and cocktail sauce - homemade. The fries were also Real, hand cut fries. Not found in a bag. So this place is real special. It tells me they care about what they serve. I have read some of the ratings, post visit. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I can say from our experience, this restaurant cares about their food and guests. And no one is perfect. I cook and can appreciate great food when I eat out. This is excellent. How many places make their own condiments? Really? If you want great seafood, this is the place. I definitely recommend this place and will be back!

Nice place, good food, good service…read more Forgot to take photos and don't remember what we had but would go back again.

We visited recently - Fried Cod Fish was great…read more Plenty of Off Street Parking in their lot. Mikey the Waiter was very good and attentive - thanks. Rick the Chef did a very nice job on our meal.

We were in the area and decided to have a late lunch. We both felt like seafood and found the…read moreLobster Shack thanks to fellow yelpers. Were greeted warmly. Was given a choice of upstairs or downstairs. We chose upstairs for the view. Didn't disappoint. Very pretty view. Immediately our waitress Andrea stopped by to drop off water and take our beverage order. We decided on fried shrimp and fries for me and fried clams and onion rings for my husband. The food arrived quickly and once again Andrea made sure we had everything we needed. My shrimp was delicious. Fries were good too. Hubby's clams were good too, as well as the onion rings. Hubby tried a new IPA, I stuck with a diet soda. Wish I could have given 4 1/2 stars. Everything was wonderful. A bit expensive, but would definitely return and do it again! A treat worth paying a little more than usual for us. Thanks for a great meal.

Five stars for an exceptional evening at Arturo's. I go with family and friends, and everything…read moreabout the experience is outstanding. Arturo's offers top-flight Mexican and Italian cuisine in an intimate, comfortable setting, complete with a cozy bar. It is sophisticated yet casual, and, happily, not loud. Our dinner was as beautiful visually as it was delicious. Although we lingered for a long evening, we never felt rushed. Attentive service in a remarkably civilized restaurant--an atmosphere in which one can relax, talk, and truly enjoy the people at the table.

I have never had a bad experience. They are so accommodating as well as friendly. Lots of family…read moreall awesome. It is so cozy and decorated with such class the owner as well as chefs wife also owner grandma, mom and many other hats she wears!!the food is absolutely divine any requests are always welcome as well as filled! Just a great little place.

My review addresses only the many vegan dishes here, so unless you're vegan you might want to skip…read moremy review. Nellie's is a surprising vegan-friendly restaurant in an equally surprising dockside location. Off the beaten path from downtown Branford, it is easily overlooked amid all the large pleasure and fishing boats both moored in the Branford River and dry-docked on land and in colossal hangers. Given its maritime environment, you'd expect its menu would be heavy with fish and sea animals, yet it also offers many vegan options, in fact more vegan dishes than vegetarian dishes. Don't be dissuaded by its nondescript name more appropriate for a horse, as in "Whoaaaa, Nellie." As evidenced by a streetside old signage, its more decorous former full name was Nellie's Green Restaurant, but somewhere along the way the word "Green" unfortunately got dropped from the name. Fortunately, its many vegan dishes were not dropped from the menu. They speak fluent vegan here. In addition to being marked with "V" for Vegan, the word "Vegan" stands out as the predominant first word in the names of the vegan dishes. That's Vegan 'Crab' Cakes. Vegan Layer Dip. Vegan Ceviche. Vegan Tacos. Vegan 'Crab' Cake Wrap. Vegan Burger. There's also Avocado Toast, Guacamole and Chips, several entrées marked "VO," meaning Vegan Option by omission, and two salads and several side dishes, for instance Blackened Tofu, that all happen to be vegan without making a big show of it. I recommend the Vegan Burger, which is a house-made black bean patty, not pre-fab Beyond Impossibility mock meat. It comes by default with potato fries, but faulting deep-fried food I was able to upgrade my burger with one of the several vegan side dishes, in my case the Grilled Zucchini, which was delectable. My soul-mate soy-mate lunch-mate ordered the Vegan Tacos and a side of Blackened Tofu, and she enjoyed both. The spacious outdoor patio is larger than the ample indoor dining area, is fully sheltered from the blazing sun or dripping rain, and is perched right alongside the river, though during boating season the river is so cluttered with boats that it can hardly be described as picturesque. With the recent closure in nearby Westbrook of our dearly beloved all-vegan Shayna B's by the Sea, we intend to return to experience both Nellie's and the harbor during their quieter seasons.

Stopped here in June one afternoon with coworkers for some drinks and a bite to eat. We sat…read moreoutside and the ambiance was nice. The service was great too. I had a caesar salad (can't remember if it was the full size of side size) and truffle fries. Both were wonderful and filling. Generous amount of shaved parm on that salad too. I would definitely go back.

Holy cow! What have I been missing!!!!! I decided to check…read moreit out after reading the Yelp reviews, and I am fully blown away with how amazing the food taste at this place. They were super friendly and offered me a taste test of one of the chowders that completely won me over it was the Connecticut clam chowder, which has a tomato cream base. The flavors were outstanding. I cannot stress enough how good the food was. I ended up ordering a soup to go for later and could not pass up this amazing short rib sandwich on the menu. It was short rib, arugula, caramelized onions, Gouda, and fig jam. I work close by so I will be back here over and over again!

We stopped here on a DC to Maine road trip. We were starving. CT chowder DID NOT DISAPPOINT. It…read morewas around 5pm on a Saturday and they were out of NE Clam Chowder and the seafood chowder. We were about to fallout sobbing, but the lady assured us that the corn and shrimp chowder was good. We also had the shrimp sliders and the seafood stuffing in potato skins. The chowder was a grand slam. The sliders were luscious and grucious. These people KNOW how to cook shrimp..no rubbery crustaceans here. In both the chowder and the sliders the shrimp were perfectly cooked. The potato skins were also delicious, but we couldn't finish them because after the chowder and sliders, we were stuffed. Highly recommend CT Chowder.

We've frequented Cafe Fiore at least monthly for several years. Their drinks, food & service are…read moreconsistently good and reasonably priced. Their performance begins with generous bowl of their trademark Garlic Knots and salads. Traditional Italian entrees do not disappoint. We love the place!

My husband and I were part of a larger family gathering of 11 people at cafe Fiore following the…read morepassing of a family member. While I can't speak for everyone else's experience, I can speak to my own, and I was extremely disappointed with the level of service we received. especially regarding food allergies and the zero percent effort put into finding additional information from the kitchen. When looking over the menu, I asked our waiter whether the pesto contained pine nuts because I have a tree nut allergy. He responded in an annoyed tone that he didn't know and simply told me not to order it. He didn't offer to ask the kitchen or try to find the answer, which was especially surprising considering he had just asked if anyone had questions about the menu. Since I still wanted to know if the pesto was safe, I walked up to the host stand where three employees were standing. I asked the same question, and one of the women immediately replied, "No, of course not. There are no nuts in pesto." When I asked if she was sure, she confidently said they never make it with nuts. It was clear from her reaction that she wasn't actually certain.... she simply wasn't familiar with the fact that traditional pesto often contains pine nuts. (Which is fine if you don't know but please, please ask instead of assuming!) At that point I mentioned to everyone that I carry an EpiPen because I have an allergy. Only then did she say, "Actually, let me ask the kitchen." She returned a moment later and informed me that yes, the pesto did in fact contain pine nuts. Food allergies are NOT preferences they can be life-threatening. It's alarming that staff members were willing to answer so confidently without actually verifying the information first or further more to not even have a care in the world to ask for me and told me to order something else? I hope Cafe Fiore takes this as an opportunity to better educate staff on food allergies and the importance of checking with the kitchen whenever there is any uncertainty. Instead of answering blindly. A simple question about ingredients should never be treated as an inconvenience, and guests should be able to trust that the information they're given is accurate when their health depends on it. It is not a big ask. Simply go ask the kitchen. Overall the food was just okay, the inside however seemed clean and well taken care of but I will not be returning. No meal is worth wondering whether the information you're being given is accurate. When a guest asks about an allergen, the only acceptable answer is one that has been verified with the kitchen.... not a guess. Someone else's life could depend on it.

It's been a tradition for us to come back every year because the food is so good! We loved the…read moregrilled corn, steamers, and roast clam special. We tried the mussels for the first time and that was really good too. The mussels are garlicky and just melt in your mouth. The staff are always so welcoming. It is easy to find a parking spot. There are two restrooms on site and a sink outside for washing hands.

Outstanding and Unique Great seafood !…read moreThe wife and I love this place and highly recommend