Seafood was really good -- fresh and flavorful. Prices were fair for the quality, and overall it was a solid experience. I'd definitely go back. read more

Ambiance. Tear down. Food. Tasteless clam strips. Probably Morton's from Stop&Shop frozen food section. Service very nice. read more

I miss my Nick's Char-Pit. Nick's was my go-to restaurant for simple satisfying meals. Oh special orders do not upset them. Food comes out quick and hot for your dinning pleasure. I/We went to Nick's any chance I/we got. Unfortunately, I do not live in the New Haven Area anymore. I now live in New York State and my visits are not doable. I recommend Nick's to anyone and rate their place 5 stars. My favorites were well done hot dog with cheese and bacon with well done onion rings. It's a shame I can't get delivery. read more

Well, we have been going to Nicks for 30 years! The food is consistent, fairly priced and always so fresh! The French Fries are like mashed potatoes inside. Hot dogs and burgers are the family favorite! Seating is plentiful, and comfortable. Family owned and operated, service is excellent! read more

Friendly service decent food. Excellent cheese burger and onion rings. Hot dog and red hot over cooked for my taste

I have eaten at Nick's for years. There chili dogs and seafood are the best. This evening, I went their for a chili dog and some calamari. Samantha took my order. I noticed that she grabbed my hot dog bun without gloves after playing on her phone and touching miscellaneous objects. I asked her to put on gloves. Samantha proceeded to throw things and talk to me in a condescending manner. I decided to cancel my order. The young man, part owner, intervened and offered to finish making my order. Samantha continues to be disrespectful. The young man tells Samantha to go to the back. She refuses and continues to talk. The female owner, according to Samantha, comes to the register and asks what she walked in on, and Samantha replies, "I was only changing my gloves." The man yells and tells her she doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut. At this point, I am done. They offered me a full refund but I refused. I take my food and leave. Again, I have eaten at this establishment numerous times. Samantha cost them a faithful customer. I will NEVER eat at Nick's again. She took something such as wearing gloves to somewhere it didn't need to go. Maybe the health inspector needs to pay them a visit. To the owners who tried to resolve the situation....I appreciate you, but your employee is going to cost you more in the long run. To Samantha, one day, your big mouth and nasty attitude is going to get you in a lot of trouble. read more

Nick's Char-Pit - Calamari Rings - Fast Food Near Me - North Haven, Connecticut

See all

Went to the char pit tonight instead of my Regular stop ( Glen wood )... I now have a new stop... food was excellent!! Portions were more than I could eat in one sitting.. I really wish everyone could discover this gem for themselves. Once you do, trust me you will treasure it... read more

First of all, the staff is awesome. The whole menu is delicious... bestest onion rings EVER... the only thing that I wouldn't recommend is their fish sandwich. It's literally a dry fillet on bread. I was super disappointed about that. read more

Nick's Char Pit is one of those restaurants that I miss, when they close for vacation, or if I'm working in a different area and can't get over there. When I order a hotdog, french fries and onion rings, it takes me back to my childhood... It tastes like Summer. read more

Food is very good and serviced too they're hotdogs I love them. They make the best hotdogs and their fish sandwich is excellent. The only thing is I wish sometimes they were open on Sunday, but I understand they want a day off. read more

I eat sweet potato fries everywhere these were THE BEST!! Not soggy and they were crispy, Now I'm addicted! Hot dog was good too. read more

Food is great service is very good fast to dine in or to go you can't miss I have been going for many years.

This was the first time my husband and I have been there. You place your order at counter and then sit. Their platters include fries, onion rings and Cole slaw...yes, all three. Food is delicious and service is great. There is a family room in the back that could be used for large groups. Plenty of seating inside and out. read more

Enjoy this place! Great food, try the onion rings. They don't add salt to a lot of foods, you can add on the side. I love that! They just updated there website and added online ordering threw Clover. Great job with these improvements guys! read more

NOW A CAR HOP ! ! ! #ADAPTiIMPROVISEiOVERCOME #OURAH CoV ID #19. Safe social distancing. Order ahead, wait in your car. I have a hard enough time when they go on vacation. Jonesing got hot dogs and steak sandwich. Always perfect whole belly's n Lobstah whatevah .... eyeh. Smilies sure knows their turf. Filet of fish is how we separate the king Fish from the minnows. Love them all. This place is the best. We call it Smilies cause they're all so nice. Go for the steak sandwich. Home made onion rings. The homemade pickled eggplant on a dog is good too. Good homemade fast food. Who could ask for more. read more

Nick's Char-Pit - NOW A CAR HOP ! ! ! #ADAPTiIMPROVISEiOVERCOME #OURAHCoV ID #19. Safe social distancing. Order ahead, wait in your car. - Fast Food Near Me - North Haven, Connecticut

Great food, reasonably price. Service is quick. Restaurant is clean and plenty of seating.

Staff was nice to me and had a nice conversation with the owner as I usually try to do anywhere I go for the first time but my steak sandwhich was dreadful. It tasted like a dirty grill sooooooo bad. You can really get someone sick. read more

Picked up some seafood and a burger. Burger was mediocre, there're definitely better fast burgers nearby, same goes for the fries and onion rings. For the seafood, they give you a pretty good amount, and it isn't too heavily fried, but a little bit more seasoning would go a long way I think. Not bad but not too good either. read more

Went the other night for a dinner with my wife. I ordered the fried scallops, which came with fries and onion rings and tiny cup of coleslaw. Someone had mentioned earlier they give a generous portion of fried seafood. I receive lots of fries and onion rings but I do not feel 10 scallops is a generous portion. The biggest issue I feel was the scallops were absolutely terrible. I am not sure if they were old but it was like chewing a round piece of rubber. The bread batter they dipped it in before frying just completely fell off the scallop. As for taste, it was totally missing from the seafood. Very bland no matter how much tartar sauce you use to add some sort of taste. The onion rings and fries had a funny taste of old cooking oil. The coleslaw had a strong vinegar taste to it. The diet soda was the best part of the entire meal. I seriously doubt I will be returning anytime soon. read more

Love the Char-Pit!!! Burgers, dogs, fries, steak and cheeses. The best !!! Oh and a damn good lobster roll too. One of the best dogs in CT. Great fries read more

I have been eating at Nick's Char Pit since 1971 and I have never had a bad meal or a bad time ever! The food is always fresh and tastes great, they make the best dogs I've ever had and the toppings are terrific. I usually get a dog, fries and clam strips and its the best. The restaurant is always clean and they are always efficient. I have never gotten a wrong order or gotten someone else's food, and they are very fast. Priced right, and a good all round menu. If you haven't tried it, stop in you won't be disappointed. read more

Something is amiss at Nick's Char Pit....maybe new owners? The staff was arguing, the girl at the grill was yelling at another worker and he was so disturbed by it...it was embarrassing for anyone there to witness such nastiness. The fellow wasn't doing a thing wrong but I think the girl was just being totally unprofessional and rude. Then she proceeded to be rude to another worker. It was so uncomfortable and if we hadn't already ordered our food, we would have walked out. The hotdogs were foul....even the bread smelled and tasted weird. Definitely no longer Hummel's. We couldn't eat them. This was a total disaster and we will not be returning again. Note: No one wants to go out for a meal and witness nastiness by one staff person...she just wouldn't quit. Did she think she looked like the 'boss'? I think she was but she made an arse out of herself. She is so very unprofessional. read more

Called the other day an the man that answered was just so rude. Told me he wouldn't take my take out order said he was to busy to deal with take out. Last the I go there The people behind counter are very rude and some of the food is pre made like the filet of sole sandwich, it was fresh fish it had press design on it and tasted like Gortons frozen food read more

Great place. Food is always good. Been going there for many years. Their onion rings and fries are great...Not greasy!

Joint # 90: NICK'S CHAR PIT, North Haven, CT. Nicks Char-Pit has been in business since 1971, still owned and operated by the originally family who created the joint. I read about it in a hot dog list and have wanted to try it for some time now. Al (co-owner) and his staff were very friendly and outgoing, letting us sample some chili and hot sauce. They made small talk and seemed interested in our pursuit of finding a perfect hot dog. Overall, we got a warm vibe at Nick's. RATING(S):... J. Diggity Dog: 9/10, Dog Man Sac: 9/10. J. Diggity said, "We are at Nick's Char Pit, here in North Haven, Middletown Avenue, 22. One of your older looking drive-in type of places on the inside anyway, drive-in joint. We had a Hummel Bros, beef and pork, it was on a flat-griddle first, then it was char-grilled. Chili...very interesting chili. You gotta have it by itself as well. Lots of flavor to it and it's got some heat. And it's very good. Mustard was good. Dog was natural casing. It had snap to it. I added half of hot relish, which is also homemade, on one half of the dog. I'm going with a 9 with this dog overall. J. Diggity 9. It was a little bit messy, but what can you do - have to add your own toppings." Dog Man said, "I will tell you... this place is 'legit'! It's been here for 44 years. Opened in 1971. The owner's name is Al. They do the dogs on an open-flame, char grill. They start them on the griddle, they warm them up and then they transfer them over to the flame, grill them on that and they put them on a nice, toasted bun. They have a great chili. I don't know how to explain it. You can try it by itself. It's very unique. It is thick and pasty. It was spicy. It has all sorts of ingredients mixed in there. It's fantastic. Not to mention (and we did not rate this), but they have a pickled eggplant which was phenomenal, homemade here. I highly recommend it. Dog was delicious, very juicy, very hot. We had the mustard and onion (you put it on yourself). I'm going with a Dog Man Sac 9.0 for Nick's Char Pit. Get down here!" - The Dawg Tour read more

See all

Haven't been here in over 8 years, stopped in for a hot dog on a Saturday afternoon. Dogs are still great, but ...the service stunk! No "hello, can I help you?" No "here's your order, enjoy", our food was slapped on the orange plastic tray and that was it. What's funny is that they have a sign saying something to the extent "to serve you better, please don't use you cell phone". While I was waiting for my order, the cashier, cook and woman making the onion rings were on THEIR phones. A little customer service goes a long way. read more

Nick's Char Pit has been around forever but the restaurant needs to get in touch with the times. Not accepting credit cards or debit cards is a MAJOR turn off and generally keeps me driving right by for another place to eat. I went to Nick's recently for lunch and ordered a well done hot dog with clam strips and fries. I immediately received a unfriendly look from the cashier when asking for the dog well done and as I went to pay I forgot it was cash only. Since I already was getting poor service I muttered a comment "oh right you guys still don't take cards" which didn't get me any brownie points. Believe me I don't expect much when going into a fast food style restaurant but the employees can at least be friendly. As far as the food goes all I can say is so so. It was very greasy and didn't bring back those childhood memories from eating at this place. The food was pricy as well and almost $15 dollars which is not worth it. I understand food costs have gone up but that doesn't mean your quality should go down. I'd recommend trying another restaurant as Nick's just doesn't satisfy for taste or pricing. read more

I've been going to Nick's since I was a kid. The place hasn't changed a bit, from the owners, the staff, the menu, and the quality of the food. Great place to eat, and good if you have kids. Pros: - Great burgers and hot dogs (pretty sure they're Hummel's dogs). - The Clam Strips are the best around, especially when they're in season. I'm a pretty big guy, and I often can't finish the plate. Clear a favorite of mine. - Good assortment as far as the menu goes. - Casual atmosphere. Cons: - A bit on the expensive side, but worth it IMO. - They only take cash. This sometimes deters me from stopping in as I usually don't carry cash these days. read more

Massachusetts continues to lag embarrasingly behind, so the search for more hot dogs in Connecticut continues. Nick's Char-Pit doesn't look like much, stranded along the industrialish edge of where New Haven fades back into Connecticut. In fact, it didn't even look open at first. But inside this generic fast-food building was another fine entry in the proud Connecticut hot dog pantheon. I had my usual chili dog, the baseline I've been using to compare lately. The dog itself, a footlong, was not bad -- a little bland, but that could have been just relative. It was, however, grilled nicely, amply blackened (though me being me, ample sometimes is never enough). The roll, a standard variety, was toasted beforehand, an always-appreciated reinforcement against condiment sog. The real standout, though, was the chili, which not only had a good balance of bean, beef, and tomatoey goodness, but was actually spicy, a quality too many lowest-common-denominator places have abandoned. Not painful like Merritt Canteen, but pleasantly sharp and lingering. I even asked for a fork when I was done, to scrape my plate clean. Maybe the finest attribute of Nick's Char-Pit is the condiment station, which not only features the standard ketchup, mustard, and the like, but relish-mustard, malt vinegar, hot sauce, raw onion, a vat each of onion sauce and sauerkraut, and even pickled eggplant! There are lots of charming photos of the owner, both doctored and real, in various entertaining situations. I thought that was a nice touch. Easy off and on from 91 north or south, and worth the stop next time you're hungry in these parts. Definitely a grade above the usual fast-food offerings right at the exits. read more

A friend told me they had good lobster rolls, so I was nearby and tried it. Yes, the lobster roll was filled with lots of lobster, nice and tender with some butter poured over the top, on a pressed roll. But I had to eat it in a really dingy old space that kind of smelled with KC-101 playing on the PA system. It felt like the place hadn't been updated since the 70s. If then. Depressing. I can't vouch for any of the other food. But if you want a lobster roll around the New Haven area, this one's tasty, but I prefer Lenny and Joe's Fish Tale. It's a bit smaller lobster roll, but it's cheaper and it comes with cole slaw, and I like the bun much better. Much nicer atmosphere to enjoy your food. Update the space!!! read more

My favorite place in the area for hotdogs / fried seafood. It's a great place to grab a quick meal. The hotdogs are crispy on the outside which is a must! The chilli for the chillidog is actually spicy. Know what you want before you stand in line or else you'll get yelled at :) read more

Nick's Char-Pit - Fast Food Near Me - North Haven, Connecticut

See all

If I am in the mood for a good burger, this is the type of place I want to go. None of that fast food crap. A nice char grilled, fresh made burger is what I am looking for. They do it very simple here, but quite good. Very basic and add your own condiments. They do seem to over char the bun, as it got a bit dry and wanted to fall apart on me. The platter comes with both fries and onion rings. The rings were good, but the fries were standard frozen ones. My opinion, if you are burger place and are doing fries, make them hand cut. They are so much better. If they did hand cut fries, I would be back all the time. The dog was good as well. Nice char to it as well. One downside for me (like any place that does this anymore) is that its a cash only place. Yes, they do have an ATM on site, but i really have a dis-like for places that only do cash. Maybe that is just me. read more

Maybe just a step up from fast food. Had heard good things over the years. Didn't disappoint but wouldn't go out of my way. Guida's & Blackie's are both better in the way of hot dogs. Service was fast and the team was friendly. read more

I visited here today after many years, and I was not disappointed. I ordered clam chowder and a clam strip platter. The service was fast and friendly. The food cooked perfectly too! I love onion rings and Nick's has some of the best. I will definitely come more often, and the prices are affordable. read more

Some of the best burgers and dogs you'll ever have. If you're in the area Nicks is a must. Ask for Bobby he will cook your meal to perfection read more

Flame Grilled Hummel dogs. What else can be said. Chilli and cheese always. Love the sliced piclkes on the condiment counter. Cheese burgers excellent. Fried seafood great. Love the choice of raw or sautéed onions. 3 different mustard and relish choices. Highly recommend. read more

having lived my life a mile away from this place, i may be a bit biased but forget Glenwood, Nicks is the place in the area for burger, dogs and seafood. Love the chili dog, hamburgers, fried clam strips, scallops shrimp cant go wrong with any of them. Cash only no credit cards here, they have an ATM. A little pricey but well worth it read more

Very bad experience. Onion ring were like 2 days old dry and tasteless. Chicken nuggets hard crispy shell with raw inside ! Hamburger didn't help my appetite at all, not mentioning the taste. Clam chowder was literally a bowl of congealed gravy. We were very hungry I had to swallow the nuggets, my sister had some fries. Cheap, unheigenic, and tastes bad. First and last time read more

Seemed friendly enough, but the food was dearly lacking salt. I felt like I was dining at an old folks home... I had the fish sandwich with fries/onion rings, and none of them had any salt or seasoning whatsoever. Some things you can add salt to after the fact. Fried food isn't as easy. Food was hot, most things on the menu are fried read more

This was def a PIT. Walked in, the people behind the counter acted like they couldnt give a toot we were there. Not a hi! Just a bored attitude, reminded me of a full room of Eyeores. The cheese burger ? Wheres the beef? Was burnt as well. Smelled like it was left on a out door grill far after the grills been off for sometime. The real clincher was the french fries smelled and tasted like seafood. Think about it! Someone alergic to seafood and they eat these !! Im never going again. read more