Hamden Is Finally Getting The Restaurants It Deserves (Includes List Of 57)

I grew up in Hamden, graduating top boy from a class of almost 800 students in 1975. However, there were six girls ahead of me. When Principal Fitch called me to his office and asked me to be a co-valedictorian with Betty Pearlin, who was first in our class, I declined, pointing out that there were five other individuals more worthy of that honor. I knew the Principal was trying to balance the genders, but I didn’t feel deserving.

Now I have moved back to Hamden, after living the past year in Bethel and residing the prior two decades in New Haven. And I’m psyched! I will be around some of my old friends, I will be in easy reach of New Haven (Connecticut’s best food town), and I will have ready access to Sleeping Giant State Park (my favorite hiking place in the state).

I have always liked Hamden, a town which has enough university faculty, doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects and other professionals to give it some gravitas, but also has enough hard-working blue collar residents to keep it from turning too snobby. When I first moved to Connecticut from Oregon at age 11 in 1969, Pine Orchard was complete culture shock. I came from a state settled by pioneers whose residents admired individualism. My parents believed in hard work, intellectual pursuits, appreciation of other cultures and charity toward one’s fellow man. I was not raised to believe people who had a lot of money were necessarily more deserving of high esteem than those who didn’t.

I didn’t live in Branford again until after I was married, by which time I was immune to that kind of snobbery, which seemed mostly to be confined to small pockets along the shoreline. Over the years, Branford developed a number of restaurants worth a trip from New Haven. My favorite reasons for visiting Branford were dining out, kayaking throughout the Thimble Islands and walking some of the nice trails along the sea.

But back to Hamden… A good part of the reason I’m excited about my return to Hamden is that the town finally seems to be getting the restaurants it deserves. Restaurants are nothing if not plentiful in Hamden—I can see at least five from my living room window. But as a food writer, I naturally prefer quality over quantity. Hamden has always boasted at least a couple of good restaurants, but it hasn’t been a major food destination. Over the last fifteen years or so, the three restaurants with the biggest reputation with real foodies might have been Ristorante Luce (which recently changed its name from Raffaello’s), Sono Bana (which recently changed its name from Hama) and the Tymes Restaurant (which recently changed its name from the Colonial Tymes). From what I can tell, none of these restaurants changed their ownership or made drastic changes to their menus, so I could ask—what’s up with that?

Maybe these establishments were trying to give area restaurant critics an excuse to revisit them or to boost themselves in the rankings of the Zagat Survey. As a restaurant consultant, I have counseled more than one restaurant to adopt this strategy. The latest version of the Zagat Survey lists only four restaurants in Hamden, a terrible job on its part. The four are the aforementioned Ristorante Luce, the aforementioned Tymes Restaurant, Kumo Japanese Restaurant, and the latest SBC (Southport Brewing Company) outlet, a recent Dixwell Avenue addition.

For years it was said that the better end of Dixwell lay to the north of the Wilbur Cross Parkway, but the stretch of that busy thoroughfare just south of the parkway has greatly improved over the last few years. A moribund Bennigan’s was replaced by SBC. The tired Dunkin’ Donuts remodeled and was rejuvenated. A Home Depot opened, the Benham Street intersection was redrawn, and the adjacent, mostly-boarded-up strip mall was re-energized, with new tenants Zio Franco’s and Sakura Garden drawing a lot of business. The main Post Office gained a proper parking lot, a spacious 7-11 opened, Giovanni’s Pizzeria found spiffier quarters, the Terrace drew high praise from the New York Times for its Thai cuisine, and the space that housed a succession of forgettable Mexican, Indian and Colombian restaurants landed Ibiza Tapas & Wine Bar, a more casual sibling of highly regarded Ibiza Restaurant in New Haven. (I might have had something to do with that.)

In my well-researched opinion, Sono Bana/Hama was for years the best Japanese restaurant in the state, despite never getting any recognition from the Zagat Survey. A handful of places have surpassed it for sushi in recent years, but its Japanese kitchen offerings remain the best in Connecticut. Raffaello’s had quite sophisticated Italian food and one of the best Italian wine lists around. Our Playwright Pub branch served the best food of the three, between Hamden, New Haven and the now-closed Stamford outlet.

But as a restaurant destination, Hamden seemed to turn the corner with the arrival of Mickey’s in 2007, located diagonally across from the now-deserted Town Hall. Over the years, mediocre to bad food had been served in that prominent location, but Mickey Josephs, a handsome Israeli who operated Rosemary & Sage in Old Saybrook until a woman drove a car through it late one night, brought terrific contemporary American and Mediterranean fare to the location.

The opening of aptly named Taste, a contemporary American restaurant, also helped. Technically, through some inexplicable geographic anomaly, Taste is a North Haven restaurant, but the opposite side of Whitney Avenue is Hamden and downtown North Haven is several miles away.

More recently, the addition of Park Central Tavern to the Spring Glen neighborhood has re-energized the Hamden restaurant scene.

In years past, there were few fine-dining options in Hamden. For more sophisticated cravings, one generally had to make a trip to New Haven. Now residents can save their gas and parking money, because there are numerous appealing dining possibilities. In fact, brand new additions like Ibiza Tapas & Wine Bar and Park Central Tavern should begin to generate a reverse traffic flow, with residents of New Haven and its suburbs making the trip to Hamden.

With apologies to any entities omitted, here’s an annotated list of 57 Hamden food purveyors of interest:

1. Ibiza Tapas & Wine Bar (see blog entry of 6/25/09)
2. Park Central Tavern (see blog entry of 6/13/09)
3. Mickey’s (see review of 3/18/08)
4. Taste (technically located in North Haven)
5. Ristorante Luce (extensive Italian wine list)
6. The Tymes (gracious American dining)
7. SBC (also in Branford, Southport, Stamford and Milford)
8. Playwright Pub (great revitalization of its tired predecessor)
9. Sono Bana (first-rate Japanese kitchen and sushi)
10. The Terrace (Thai eatery drawing a sophisticated crowd)
11. Kumo Japanese (hibachi joint added glitzy New Haven sibling)
12. Szechwan Delight (opened sibling Formosa in North Haven)
13. Sakura Garden (hibachi joint with soothing water wheel)
14. Sushi Palace (popular for its all-you-can-eat sushi special)
15. Eli’s On Whitney (great place to work out Yankees-Red Sox rivalry)
16. Eli’s Brick Oven Pizza & Market (former Bimonte’s Pizza Castle)
17. Blues Brick Oven Pizza (thin-crust pizza and live music)
18. Glenwood Drive-In (burgers, Hummel hot dogs and crinkle-cut fries)
19. Kelly’s Kone Konnection (located inside Glenwood Drive-In)
20. Ixtapa Grill (fairly imaginative Mexican offerings)
21. Andale Mexican Restaurant (formerly Dickerman’s Steak House)
22. Aunt Chilada’s (cleverest Mexican name north of c.o. jones)
23. Café Amici (cozy little neighborhood Italian joint)
24. Side Street Grille (big portions, cheap beer, loud music, lots of coeds)
25. China Lantern (in an earlier incarnation, the place of my first date)
26. Exotic Thai (just up the road from DMV)
27. Thai Awesome (gotta love the confidence reflected in the name)
28. Midori (surprising little Korean & Japanese joint in Mount Carmel)
29. Blessings II Go (original Blessings in New Haven was a favorite)
30. Sushi Maki (quick and easy sushi right downtown)
31. China Buffet (your typical Chinese buffet)
32. Pacific Buffet & Grill (pricey, but not your typical Chinese buffet)
33. DiMatteo’s (better than strip-mall location would lead one to believe)
34. Acropolis Diner (exactly what one would expect)
35. Hamden Town House (another diner)
36. Three Brothers Diner (yet another diner)
37. Barbara’s (a neighborhood institution)
38. Cuda’s Seafood (seafood joint that delivers)
39. Giovanni’s Pizzeria (new quarters on Dixwell)
40. Tonino’s (pizzas, strombolies, calzones, oh my!)
41. Sergio’s (popular pizzeria in northern Hamden)
42. Si Mangia Pizzeria & Panni (pizzas and stuffed breads are popular)
43. Zio Franco’s (just south of the parkway on Dixwell)
44. Olde World Apizza (easily missed, if you’re not careful)
45. Sorrento’s (pizzeria and restaurant always draws a crowd)
46. IHOP (really caring ownership elevates this outlet above others)
47. B & B Deli (popular sandwich stop I frequent)
48. The Corner Gourmet (try meatloaf sandwich, but bring your appetite)
49. Brown Stone House (seems to have outlasted the Town Hall)
50. Taco King (deep in the heart of China)
51. Monster Grille (intriguing burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads)
52. Panera (welcome chain outlet when not overrun by high schoolers)
53. DiSorbo’s Bakery (I’ve been patronizing them since the early 1970s)
54. Bread & Chocolate (bakery especially popular for its breads)
55. A Giant View (charming panini shop with view of Sleeping Giant)
56. Wentworth’s Ice Cream (some feel it offers best ice cream around)
57. Ashley’s Ice Cream Café (others may disagree)