5 Best Restaurants in New Haven, Mystic, and the Coast, Connecticut

Enjoy fresh-caught New England seafood (and more) dockside at Breakwater, midway along Water Street in Stonington Borough. Dine inside or outside on the deck in warm weather; the roomy bar is a popular gathering place in winter months.

Grilled hanger steak, cioppino, and pan-roasted duck breast are among the favorites at this bistro, which specializes in New England favorites and seasonal dishes. Check out the Mood Lounge for excellent cocktails and smaller plates meant for sharing.

This isn't your typical hotel restaurant: Occupying half of The Study at Yale hotel lobby, this contemporary American eatery has a casually refined decor. The seasonal menu emphasizes the freshest locally sourced ingredients, with highlights like a warm local ricotta appetizer with thyme and truffle on a crostini, lamb cavatelli pasta, and Connecticut grass-fed beef burger.

In a sexy, dimly lighted storefront space looking toward the New Haven Town Green, ZINC turns heads with its artfully prepared and globally inspired farm-to-table cooking. Menu items include typical American standbys (NY strip steak, grilled yellowfin tuna, pork chop) modernized by adding an Asian influence (in dishes like Saigon lettuce wraps and steamed pork dumplings).