One of the best restaurants in the area...was totally surprised and happy with the quality of the food, servers and portions. A must for meat and seafood...limited but targeted to experienced diners... read more

I do not think I have ever been let down by Rick the owner honestly if not once a week always at least every 10 days. The food steaks are my favorite but the chicken parm to die for. The place is modern chicken the help amazing especially Frances . Will never be disappointed. Trust me read more

Visited on 5/24/26, and as usual the food was great! From apps to entree to desert this place never disappoints. Nice menu, great staff and always a pleasant dining experience. read more

I had a craving for a ribeye steak. So my friend suggested Nataz. It was midweek and getting late. We walked in and noticed the place was just about empty because it was so late but yet we were greeted as decorated tastefully and clean. Knowing that we wanted ribeyes we looked right on the menu for this item bypassing everything else. Much to my surprise they were $65.00. A little more than I had planned on Spending but the way the waitress was explaining it I had to order it. The owner Rick came out to greet us as my guest was a former employee many many years ago. He asked how we asked how we wanted our steaks prepared and we told him. He went back in the kitchen and returned. He explained the correct was to have the ribeye cooked and asked if that would be ok with us. We agreed and he explained why it was the best as the ribeye would just melt in our mouths. So after an amazing salad, bread the steak came out. As you can see from the picture it was not a typical size ribeye. It was huge. The thickness was incredible. So I sliced into this amazing piece of meat and it was like the smoothest slice ever!! I took a slice off to taste. When I tell you I have never experienced a flavor or melting ribeye in my mouth I mean it!! This is beyond amazing. I was wowed. What Rick said about his steak was 100 percent true. The mashed potatoes and vegetables were delicious as well. This meal was so big I had to wrap it up for another 2 meals at home. If you want to have the ultimate ribeye experience then this is your place. The price was definitely in tune with what was served. read more

Nataz Restaurant - Ribeye steak, mashed potatoes and zucchini - Seafood Near Me - North Branford, Connecticut

Good place to come for a date. Sunday nights seem quite so plenty of time to enjoy each other's company. It is an experience to come here. Four course meal for the price of the entree. Charcuterie board was good. Both of us devoured the salad. I just finished my swordfish that I took home, it was a little tough and overcooked but still good. My date enjoyed her heavenly lobster which she also took home for leftovers. I got back in the day they gave a dessert sampler where they had multiple desserts on a charcuterie board. They don't do that anymore but my date talked the waiter into doing it. For me getting over the holiday overload of food is the right amount of sweets, if I had to order something though I probably would have ordered the cheesecake for myself. They do a Sunday brunch that's bottomless, I definitely would like to try that someday. read more

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The food st Nataz is incredible I have been going there for years Not only is every meal prepared gourmet style and delicious but the staff add treats you with TLC and insures your meal and experience is memorable The atmosphere is cozy and relaxed We can't say enough about the magical mixture of food and ambience read more

Service was fantastic our server was pleasant meals were fairly Price food was OK only thing about not us. They had a server charge which if I didn't look at the bill, I probably wouldn't have known that so that helps staff and restaurants benefits plus if you give a tip so you're giving your server twice, but they do work hard, and Alli was definitely professional and very pleasant. read more

Went there for a fundraiser and it was served buffet style. I enjoyed the meatballs, they were as good as any Italian restaurant. The same was true for the sausage and peppers. The potato balls were also good, firm on the outside and soft and delicious in side. I also enjoyed the vegetable pasta, plenty of flavor. The rice and chicken , along with the beef dish in a stew mixture was very tasty. I would of given the restaurant five stars, except that the chicken and beef was a little dry The owner was tending the bar and was very friendly, plus the service staff was very good. I plan on returning . You can't go wrong with this place. read more

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My wife, her mother, her mother's friend, my almost four year-old son, and I came here for brunch on Sunday 5/18. This was a supremely disappointing experience. If it were just my wife and I, we would've actually left very shortly after arriving. However, with two elderly women and a toddler, we weren't a very agile group and stayed. I wish that we didn't. So let me preface this justifiably bad review by saying that we have thoroughly enjoyed Nataz for dinner over the years. I have always highly recommended the restaurant. The food, the service, the atmosphere, and the BYOB were all wonderful aspects here. I did see they are serving alcohol now and I'm actually wondering if there has been a change of ownership. It certainly would be an explanation for the experience, but definitely not an excuse. And it's probably been about two years since we have had dinner in either location due to our young growing family and the time constraints there in, but we decided to try their brunch. Unfortunately, that experience here was absolutely dreadful. First, foremost, and primarily speaking from prior restaurant experience in both ownership and management; there were serious safety issues with how the buffet food was being held. Every single sterno that the hot food was being held in was out. ALL OF THEM. There was also a small Asian section where some food was held on an electric warming station and one whole side of it was either nonfunctional or simply not turned on. Most disturbingly, there was quite a bit of food that should have been kept cold that was sitting out at room temperature simply on platters. Some of this was seafood and some of that was actually even in a raw preparation!! There was a poke trio of salmon, tuna, and swordfish that literally was just sitting on a platter in the open air not even attempted to be chilled. This was incredibly unsafe. Our reservation was for 1 PM so this was especially disturbing since the buffet had been out for hours prior to this and potentially could've been held under these unsafe conditions/temperatures for quite a while. We didn't bother mentioning the "cold" food(we simply avoided it), but my wife did mention to one of the servers that the sternos were out and they did shortly thereafter come out and light *some* of them. Perhaps they were out of sterno cans, but more likely they simply weren't lighting some of the trays that did not have much in them. This leads me to the less serious, but possibly more annoying aspect of our unfortunate experience: there wasn't much food out. Brunch there runs until 2 PM and our reservation was for 1 PM so it stands to reason that they were "running down" the buffet since there was only an hour left and there clearly wasn't much food available. From a customer's perspective though; this was really unacceptable. The amount of food that was out was sparse at best. When mentioning the sterno cans, my wife had also mentioned that most of the trays of food were relatively empty. The server did assure us that they would be putting out more food, but this didn't really happen. They put a little bit more shrimp cocktail and french toast out, but that was the extent of it. Since we were paying full price for this buffet, then the buffet should've ran the same way from beginning to end of the service. It was evident that we caught the tail end of this and they operated it on a sliding scale. This, of course, assumes it wasn't deficient from the beginning though... Moving on, I will say that the servers were all attentive and friendly, so no complaints there whatsoever. Yet the fact that they added a 20% service charge to a group of only four adults and at a BUFFET nonetheless was a bit insulting. I also understand their policy of providing a living wage for their servers, but adding a full 20% service charge in a buffet setting where your customers are getting up and serving themselves is simply bad form on their part. I fully support the 20% service charge during a full service dinner, but this was an added slap in the face to cap off this dreadful experience. Suffice to say, I will never do brunch in their North Branford location again nor would I recommend it. Quite the opposite, obviously. That being said, I'm also now reluctant to even try dinner there again. I'm not certain if the Southington location would've been a better choice for our brunch or not, but at this point, my future as a customer at Nataz in any location and for any meal is in question at best. I don't feel confident that one location could be any better than the other and it's actually a sad state of affairs to be thinking "hmm, maybe the other restaurant will be better?" As I had mentioned above, I'm not certain if ownership has changed and I'm not certain if this was just a one-off bad experience, but it's difficult for my wife and I to think we can overcome this. read more

Maybe dinner is better, but the brunch was extremely disappointing. The buffet layout is awful - there's no logical flow for people to grab their plates and pick their food, so it's just people going in at all angles, banging into each other because you're sandwiched tightly between tables. Very few actual breakfast options except for some mediocre quiche and overly sweet French toast. Bloody Mary's are made with Clamato (which is technically not a Bloody Mary). I didn't try the carving table, but I guess if you like pasta or pork as your primary brunch filler then you'll leave happy. The quality of the food itself was just okay. I won't be coming back. read more

Food was excellent. Service amazing. Dine at Nataz......you won't go home hungry. Tonight was a birthday celebration. We will be back! read more

I am not sure how more people don't know about this restaurant ... but I am not complaining because it was a hidden gem!!! The service was beyond friendly and the timing between plates was perfect. We were never waiting for anything but they gave us time to enjoy each course before bringing out the next. The restaurant itself is nicely decorated and the booths are neat. Of course the real show stopper was the food! My friends and I loved everything we ate from start to finish. Bread, cheese platter, a salad, your entree, and a dessert board are all included in the price of your entree! And every single plate is delicious. We also ordered the potato croquettes and poutine fries appetizers which were additional but so so good. The amount of quality food you get is almost unbelievable. The heavenly lobster pasta lives up to its name. I loved the porchetta braising pot special I had. read more

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Great resturant. I've been here about 3 times. The owner (or manager?) is super nice. I think at least one of times we were here, he was going around table to table introducing himself and talking to patrons. Everything was good, but the wedge salad in particular was surprisingly delicious. I wish they would bring back the BYOB. read more

Absolutely love the atmosphere , the calamari appetizer is absolutely delicious! Have had several entrees, my favorite so far the Zuppa di Pesce.. fra divolo is to die for. The portions are huge! Promise you will not be disappointed read more

We had the most delicious lunch at Nataz. We attended a graduation party. Were we given several entree choices but none that I could eat because of dietary reasons. When I asked the waitress if they could leave out the meat and just serve the veggies, she offered me other full entrees. I chose the pasta primavera and it was fabulous. I never take photos of food but I was amazed at how many large pieces of veggies were in this dish. It was the best I ever tasted. And, I should mention that the starters and salads were also delicious. When I thought it couldn't get any better, they brought out trays of four different desserts. Enough for all of use to sample two or more. So good! The restaurant is not open for lunch, except for parties. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves. I highly recommend Nataz for your private parties, read more

Nataz Restaurant - The best pasta primavera - Seafood Near Me - North Branford, Connecticut

This is a lovely restaurant, the staff is very friendly. We went there for brunch my complaint for the Bradford location is there was no eggs at breakfast. The only egg option was a souffle or deviled eggs and truthfully that was not something I checked on when I was looking for a location for lunch because I completely associate eggs with breakfast and I guess it was my fault to assume there would be some variation of it. There was also no toast, English muffin, Bagel Etc I was really looking forward on having a bagel with smoked salmon or even possibly with eggs benedict but there was no way of having anything at that sort most of the brunch items or lunch food. On the positive side the shrimp was extra large and there was plenty of smoked salmon and the meat / steak was amazing I just really wished I had more breakfast options read more

We thought the food was great. We went in Father's Day.. when offered the specials of the day not realizing the price of the up charge of the steaks kind of blew me away. I honestly thought the server would say what the prices would be as I was thinking the steaks was just a 10$ up charge. Maybe in the future the staff should do that when telling the customers. read more

Really nice place, with relaxing ambience. Dining is unique with a prefixed menu. That comes with a charcuterie board. I mean course and a dessert plus a salad with many options. Really nice spot definitely worth the drive. Don't let the location for you. It's out in a nondescript area and a shopping plaza, but it is worth every dollar. read more

Nataz Restaurant - Dining area - Seafood Near Me - North Branford, Connecticut

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I am so sad to write this bc this was hands down one of my favorite restaurants. Let me start with saying that this is fine dining and when we go here it's a splurge for a special occasion. We don't frequent these types of places. We went for Valentines with our family of 3 (our daughter is 11). We were put in the back in a tiny room that just isn't nice. Half the reason why we go here is the beautiful ambiance of the main dining room. However that back room, the wall paint is peeling and it's loud near the kitchen. We've never sat back there so we didn't know until we were seated and started. The main dining room was basically empty so I'm not sure why we were placed way back there. It felt less than fancy or special back there. We had 2 servers and they left any type of vehicle off of the grazing board. Hard to eat Brie and soft Cheeseballs without a cracker or melba toast or something. They did bring it when we asked and said it should have been there (no kidding). The salads weren't up to snuff either. The chips on top were weird and not the crispy onions they usually have. The apples or pears were hard and tart, not sweet soft and cinnamon like as usual. Our dairy free daughter had to order 3 times bc the server didn't know the menu well or what contained dairy. She's a foodie, not a chicken finger kid. The menu had changed since we had been there last (or maybe it was Valentines) but they didn't have as many nice steaks on the menu as they did before. My daughter wanted the chimmichurri for her filet but they never came back to check on us until it was nearly done. She had to eat without the sauce they usually bring bc it was getting cold. Our meals were only mediocre for the price and my cake was dry. Not as delicious as prior trips where we left in awe of the experience and taste. I have been there when Rick is there and he's usually all over quality and the service . It was to the point I looked to see if ownership changed. I'm disappointed. Add the auto 20% tip and it's just frustrating. If you're going to demand that (fine! I'm all for living wages) but also you need present that level of quality as well. It was subpar in the taste and service, honestly. read more

Let it be known that Rick and his family/staff at Nataz are the most generous, accommodating, and profoundly considerate restaurateurs I have ever encountered. Never mind the fact that the food is out of this world; no fine dining restaurant I've visited can hold a candle to their gourmet meals and menu options. Rick, you are a true treasure to the North Branford community and to Connecticut at large. From the time I was a 17-year-old kid on his first date, trying to impress his soon-to-be girlfriend (and remembering Rick making things a little less awkward with a complimentary dessert and some compliments about me being a "nice kid"), to now as a 32-year-old man, I will always be a frequenter and supporter of Nataz. God bless all who read this review. Nataz is the place to be! read more

WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?? I haven't been to Nataz in about 20 years when a young eager Chef (Rick) upset the New Haven food scene. Nothing has changed. To say the food is plentiful is a gross understatement, to suggest that everything we ate was delicious, doesn't tell half the story. We went on Sunday for the $35 Sunday feast which was just a complete food overload. Appetizers include oysters, meatballs, potato croquettes, caprese salad, calamari, bread and 3 spreads along with a great big house salad. The entrees included chicken parm, Penne carbonara, skirt steak with mashed potatoes an Asian inspired chicken with bottled water, dessert and coffee. The table was fill, our Bellies bloated and content. Run don't walk to a Nataz. Emily our server was great as was the rest of the wait team. The tables are generously spaced and I felt Covid Safe Great job Rick and team read more

Nataz Restaurant - The entrees we were served included chicken Parm, Penne Carbonara, Asian chicken and skirt steak. This was what dinner for two looked like. - Seafood Near Me - North Branford, Connecticut

If I could give 6 stars, I would For starters, the bread basket was great, and the honey flavored butter was a nice touch. Prior to our appetizer, the chef graciously presented us with a complimentary plate of 4 breaded and fried ravioli, stuffed with shrimp scampi, accompanied by a smooth, tasty vodka sauce The cheese platter was excellent, especially the goat cheese topped with toasted sunflower seeds. The salad was unique and included many diverse and tasty accoutrements. The main courses were also presented and prepared beautifully. Zuppa was enormous, with an abundance of clams, mussels, calamari and shrimp. The braising pot of short rib and porchetta was huge and delicious. Another member of our party had a beautiful filet mignon, cooked to order. The final dinner was a grilled salmon with Thai chili sauce. Our dinner was rounded out by a sampler of deserts in a tapas mode, small bites for everyone. Cheesecake, flourless chocolate tort, a zesty limoncello cake, and a tiramisu. All in all. Great dining experience read more

Nataz Restaurant - Dessert sampler - Seafood Near Me - North Branford, Connecticut

BYOB. We enjoyed ourselves at Nataz. Chef knows what she's doing. Comfortable, well-spaced seating. A class act without being pretentious or stuffy. Fish is super fresh & generously plated. The online menu doesn't list the types of fish offerings as they change regularly but we were very happy with the selections on the day we dined. Can't beat several offerings in the Prime steak department, flame grilled, many under $50 with a small up charge to the $35 prix fixe. Even with the quirky 20% mandatory add on for contribution to the staff to supplement their living wage, the prix fixe meal deal is sweet. A wineshop is located in same shopping plaza as the restaurant. WE will be back soon ! ( dined on a Friday evening in August ) read more

Food has always been consistently great. Prices have gone up but where haven't prices gone up. Would done here again.

Great restaurant; value driven and always the freshest products.Wonderful wait staff read more

Came here for Valentine's Day!! It's very nice inside and I liked all the plants to assist in dividing the space a little bit. BYOB so you can bring whatever you like which works for my boyfriend who loves craft beer. We split the calamari as an app and we loved it, great flavor nice portion. Our dinners came with a craving board that was basically mozz and tomatoes with balsamic, very tasty. I LOVED the salad that came with my dinner, it had crispy onions on it and Gorgonzola and it was so good. My boyfriend got the chicken pormodoro which was insanely huge he had lunch for the next day and he has a huge appetite. I got the chicken randy which had a creamy red sauce, it was OK but lacked a little seasoning. We got our desserts to go, I believe tiramisu and a lemon cake both were great. read more

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I have been to Nataz many times over the years, and one thing has remained consistent every time I am there, great food and experience (Heather was great tonight!!). I love the consistency in food, and kindness from the staff, and also love that they now serve cocktails. I highly recommend going there. You won't regret it! read more

Enjoyed the family dinners take out very much, the salad, entrees, and desserts were tasty and deliciously prepared. Kudos to the chef!

Came here for my birthday dinner,the service and food was excellent!! The host was friendly and inviting. The restaurant was beautifully decorated. The waitress was informative and attentive. I had a steak dinner and it was made to my liking. read more

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Six of us enjoyed a fabulous dinner last night at Nataz. Our night began with a charming and knowledgeable server, who got us started with a very tasty cheese board. He gave us time to enjoy it with some great cocktails and wine. He returned and gave us mouthwatering descriptions of the night's specials and thoroughly answered all of our questions. We all chose the house salad which was amazing and savored our meals which included the Parmesan encrusted cod over pappardelle, the short rib and porchetta pot, filets, and veal chops. All beautifully prepared and absolutely delicious. The finale of the Prix fixe menu consisted of two plates of heavenly desserts for the table. Needless to say, we left this lovely restaurant fat and oh so happy! Thank you to the entire staff for a perfect Sunday night out! read more

Always a great meal at Nataz, whether dining in or getting take out. Love all the food but the salad is sooo good.

Everything Nataz does, they make sure to do RIGHT. Service is impeccable. Food is delicious. Please try their desserts. Prefix is the way to go. Will keep coming back! read more

Had reservations for the 5:45-6pm time slot. The restaurant was packed and very loud. The table had to decide between the two choices of cheese starters- we went with the mozzarella & tomato (& it only came with one leaf of basil). It was just okay, pretty basic. The cold bread was only made nice by the tasty butter & olive oil. Next course was salad, I tried the wedge salad which was also just okay, we all had the same tho some plates received more bacon than others. Our server seemed rushed & staff seemed stressed. I tried ordering a cod special, but apparently the dinner rush had them run out of the special right away!?! How odd, it was only 6pm! My main course was the lobster with angel hair pasta, it seemed there was a delay between our salad & entree. My meal came out cold and the lobster was a bit tough to cut within a bowl. It wasn't super flavorful as my friend's steak & mash. Last was my chocolate cake & a very nice lemon cake. This part of the meal seemed rushed & we weren't offered coffee like I noticed at other tables. $35 pre fixe not a bad deal for the amount of food. But a super loud & rushed atmosphere wasn't enjoyable. BYOB $3 fee read more

Nataz Restaurant - Shrimp squid mussels clams over pasta in red sauce - Seafood Near Me - North Branford, Connecticut

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Really nice meal! This was the second time we've been and we will be back. We started with oysters which were a special. Next we had a beautiful cheese plate. We loved our salads... would have been so happy to have that as an entrée! I got the wedge and my husband had the other choice which we both enjoyed! I had the filet that was pretty good, the chef prepared me a special sauce for the steak (the didn't have béarnaise sauce but this was a great substitute!). My husband really enjoyed his swordfish special topped with lobster butter. I remember the fra Diavlo Zuppa being very good at our first visit. We had a delicious coffee and cappuccino. Took desserts to go- so much food! The service was very good- everyone kind of works together and they are very attentive! read more

Nataz Restaurant - Cheese plate - Seafood Near Me - North Branford, Connecticut

Service was great food was not. I've been here many times before and in those occasions I would have given 5 stars. I've been twice in the past 2 years and it's gone downhill. This last visit this past weekend has made me decide I won't be back. Not sure if them opening 2 more locations is the issue but the food is not what it used to be. We were a party of 12 and the bread and appetizers (the ones that cost extra) were good but the dinners were terrible. Won't be back. Zuppa - the fish was all over cooked and the meal was cold Scallop over pasta special - 5 scallops with no taste and pasta that was dry and tasteless Chicken parm - sauce is lousy, chicken was average Swordfish special - can they spare it? Very small Salmon special - just ok read more

Great food. Horrible service. And it wasn't the servers fault. Party of 8. 6 meals come out. Two didn't come out for 20 more minutes. And when they did they were cold. We were the third table to experience this. Heard from employee this location has been experiencing issue and thus have been calling in people from other locations. Shame because the food is outstanding. Just spoiled the evening get together with long time friends. read more

I want to preface this review by saying I've been here a few times before and had AMAZING experiences. Came to Nataz tonight for a friend's birthday. Had reservations for 7:30pm and got right in which was nice; Seated promptly. Nataz does not serve alcohol but you can bring your own; brought some vodka and wine for the group. Ice and drink mixes were brought out quickly. The server seemed quite frazzled and was running all over the place. Got some bread with olives, oil, and butter; it was decent though bread was definitely stale and the butter had maple syrup in it which made for an odd starter; more like a breakfast taste... The waitress was nice but had to really study the specials menu and was very uncertain about what the specials entailed and was again scattered and frazzled it seemed. We ordered appetizers off the prix fix menu and the cheese board and tomato/fresh mozzarella came out in a timely manner but no salt or pepper and the tomato/mozzarella was bland without it; requested it and made all the difference in flavors. Drinks needed lemon and lime and was told there was no lime available. After really voicing concern over needing lime, miraculously she was able to find and bring out sliced lime (maybe a tree out back ‍). Bucket of ice for drinks had no scoop to retrieve said ice, so we improvised with a teaspoon... It took quite a while to have entrees ordered and we were getting impatient. Finally got to place our entree orders and waitress was uncertain on the sides that came with the main dishes..."rice and vegetables I think..." really? The meatball appetizer came out and was absolutely excellent! One of the best meatballs I've ever eaten; light, fluffy, well seasoned and flavorful with an excellent sauce. The calamari, not so much. It was super sweet with a glaze that was overpowering and sticky. Maybe some prefer this, but calamari should be light crispy, and seasoned with a nice red or fra diavlo sauce; not sweet... We waited for our salads to come out, literally twenty-five minutes, at least. When they did arrive, one of the "signature" salads had absolutely no dressing on it and had to be requested. Meanwhile, everyone's salad came out except one person, and took another 5 minutes for his one salad to come out as everyone else ate their salads. After another 30 minutes of waiting, entrees finally arrived...well some of them. The crab legs didn't arrive for three people who ordered them. Meanwhile everyone else is either waiting to eat, or eating their food. Those waiting for our entrees waited another 8 minutes for food to arrive. Remaining entrees arrived and the crab legs were absolutely amazing! So fresh and delicious with drawn butter, zucchini, and rice. Really great. Sadly, table was cleared and we waited another 20 minutes for dessert menus, as we sat without drink mixers. Finally desserts were ordered and club soda was requested (club soda came out very quickly). Desserts arrived fairly quickly and the mascarpone lemon cake was truly awesome; light but decadent with a creamy and lemony mascarpone and delicious frosting; sooooo good. A friend's coconut custard was OK but lukewarm and just decent. Waited way too long for coffee and cappuccino to come out and everyone was done with dessert by the time they finally arrived; so disappointing. Overall, just not the awesome experience I've had in the past and serious issues that need to be addressed. Really disappointed to leave only 3 stars, but very deserved. read more

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You can't go wrong with the Veal Chop medium rare and house salad! Melts in your mouth and is picture book in presentation. Service was outstanding and ambiance more like what you would expect in a big city. Truly a gem in the rough ...without the hustle and bustle. read more

Another outstanding meal at Nataz. My girlfriend and I visited to celebrate our one year anniversary. The staff went out of our way to treat is great. Our reservations were for a Sunday night so it was a quiet night there, but they went out of their way for us. I had the hangar steak which was cooked outstanding with bernaise sauce. The salad in itself could be a meal! Was not very happy with the dessert (tiramisu), but everything else was outstanding. We were even provided complimentary raw bar oysters/clams as well as smoked salmon. I will be sure to return again in the future! Great restaurant read more

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Love this place! My boss loves to bring us here for birthdays or holidays. Truly great service excellent food great atmosphere.