For the fifth New Haven Restaurant Week lunch, my wife and I visited Downtown at the Taft,
which is located in one of Connecticut’s most dramatic—and opulent—dining spaces. If it’s baroque, don’t fix it.
On that sunny Thursday, we decided to park in the Temple Street Garage,
which was so full we had to wind our way all of the way up to the roof.
The one advantage to the roof, of course, is one enjoys magnificent views of the Elm City. Here you see Ann standing in front of our red 1990 Acura Integra, which has 301,000 miles on it and is still going strong (knock on sheet metal).
I took a number of photographs celebrating the majesty of the Elm City (even during various construction projects) from this vantage point,
until this security guard approached me and asked me to stop.
We took the elevator down to the street, and then passed newly opened Kelly House
and Press 200,
the Cooperative Arts & Humanities Magnet High School,
the busy Crown & College Street corner,
and this Earth Day display.
We entered Downtown at the Taft (formerly Hot Tomato’s),
where we were greeted by polished manager Graziano Ricci.
I toured and photographed the bar area (very popular in the evening)
the downstairs dining spaces,
and the lounge area.
We were led up the impressive stairs
to a balcony table with great views, including straight up.
This is where the majority of people were taking their lunch,
including these nice ladies,
this adorable young man,
this handsome couple
and this loveliest of ladies.
Throughout our meal, we were taken great care of by our personable waitress, Emily,
as well as other members of the staff.
As we were given nice bread
and butter,
we wondered if the folks at Downtown at the Taft had retained the former Hot Tomato’s great four-cheese garlic bread. Indeed they had! It was one of the starter choices on the Restaurant Week menu.
Not only had the restaurant retained the garlic bread, it had also kept a few vestiges of Hot Tomato’s décor, including these stylish flourishes on the walls.
We also enjoyed the Taft-style fried calamari tossed in a hot cherry pepper tomato sauce
and the Picasso salad with mixed greens, candied walnut, apple and dried cranberries in the house balsamic vinaigrette.
We also fared well (pun intended) with our entrées. Black-and-white-sesame-seed-encrusted, sushi-grade ahi tuna was seared and served in a fig balsamic glaze with roasted potatoes and a vegetable medley.
Chicken Cordon Bleu was perfectly cooked, the breaded breast stuffed with Swiss cheese and ham and then finished with a wild mushroom sauce.
But most striking of all was the Taft filet, a thick six-ounce beef tenderloin served over an onion marmalade and topped with Stilton blue cheese.
Desserts also delighted. A slice of cheesecake was served with fresh strawberry, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.
A strawberry mousse was appealingly light.
But the best dessert of all was this chocolate chip bread pudding.
The kitchen is located downstairs,
which means the hard-working staff keeps in great shape running up and down the stairs all of the time.
The chef is Anton Pipenbacher,
formerly of historic Mory’s, a private club adjacent to Yale University, and the menu even includes a few Eli favorites like a baker’s soup and Welsh rarebit. The owners of Downtown at the Taft are reportedly industry veterans with ties to Brazi’s in New Haven, Jeffrey’s in Milford and Nino’s Trattoria in Waterbury.
A measure of the young restaurant’s success and the esteem in which it’s held, on the day we visited, Downtown at the Taft was not only handling its Restaurant Week crowds well but catering the 95th anniversary of the Shubert Theater next door.
Downtown at the Taft, 261 College Street, New Haven, 203-624-6331