Restaurant Round-Up

We%26#39;re headed to Mystic for a week this summer and I would like to be prepared with a list of good restaurants. Recent trips to seaside destinations have taught us to be very wary of restaurants on the water or really any restaurants located very close to the central attractions - food quality and service quality seem to really suffer when a restaurant has a captive audience. Also I understand that quite a few of the restaurants in Mystic are just part of a corporate restaurant group.

I%26#39;ve heard about Kitchen Little and understand that we should check it out for breakfast, but otherwise I%26#39;m unsure. We%26#39;ll be travelling with our five year old son and spending a lot of time on our boat we we%26#39;re interested in casual places as well as one place for an excellent dinner for the just the two of us. I%26#39;m hoping that Cove seafood might be a good choice - feedback would be great.

We will have a car and we%26#39;re certainly willing to drive anyplace within a half hour or so.

Oh! Also are there any drive-in movie theatres near Mystic?

thank you!!!

Kate

Restaurant Round-Up

Mystic Pizza. It is downtown, right on the water, mixed in with all the shops, but you can%26#39;t miss it.

Fantastic pizza and other food, great service, very kitschy with local memorbilia and souvenirs. The movie Mystic Pizza with Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts and Lily Taylor was filmed here.

Since you%26#39;ll have a car, Mohegan Sun casino is only about 15 minutes away and offers a wide variety of restaurants from gourmet to ultra casual, plus shopping and a great spa. Foxwoods casino is also close by.

Restaurant Round-Up

Try ';Bravo Bravo'; in the Whaler%26#39;s Inn as the spot for your dinner for two. It is located right downtown near the bridge on the Stonington side. Very highly rated and probably the best place in Mystic IMHO.

For (very) casual, Abbott%26#39;s in Groton is a fun place if you like seafood, but it is often crowded so be prepared to wait a bit. You%26#39;ll eat on picnic tables overlooking the water.

If that is too casual for you, you could also try Flander%26#39;s Fish in Niantic, about 15 minutes west of Mystic right off I-95.

Both Abbott%26#39;s and Flander%26#39;s Fish are kid friendly.

Sorry- Flanders is near Niantic, but actually in East Lyme.

I just checked their website...

http://www.flandersfish.com/

Mansfield Drive-In in Mansfield CT is about a fifty minute drive. I think they sometimes have a movie night at Eastern Point Beach in Noank. The Chamber of Commerce may know.

Anthony J%26#39;s has excellent food and is a favorite for the locals. Service is really good, too. S%26amp;P Oyster Co. has indoor and outdoor dining. The food is very good and it has great views of the River. Noah%26#39;s in Noank has very good breakfasts, and is great for lunch and dinner.

Hi Kate,

In Mystic I would suggest:

Capt.Daniel Packer Inne

Bravo Bravo

Azu

Mystic Gourmet Market (Take out)

Around Mystic

-Noahs - Stonington Borough

-Water street - Stonington Borough

New London

-Brie %26amp; Bleu- Great salads, bruchetta and views of the waterfront

Written a travel blog thenewenglandcoast.com about some of the places for my last visit there.http://www.tripadvisor.com/GoListDetail-i692-The_Whaling_City_for_a_day_or_two.html

Hi Kate

If you like pasta there is a wonderful pasta place in Groton called Pauls Pasta. Homemade pasta, great prices, huge portons and nice staff. Located on the Thames River it has outside seating during nice days.

There is a movie theatre in Mystic (little, 3 screens) but it is not a drive-in.

Mystic is a nice little town. Cute shops! Casinos near by. Would be worth the short drive even if you are not a gambler. Nice places to eat, shopping and many more things.

Have fun!! Kim

One place that is a great value is Costello%26#39;s restaurant on Noank. Type pearl street into google maps to get the location. It is a clam shack that has very good clam bellies, cocunut shrimp, fish and chips, OK lobster roll. The best part is that it has a deck from which you can look out over the entrance to the Mystic River and that it is a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) and you can bring your drink and sit and watch the boats pass. Very, very informal. I think they have music (acustic guitar guy) on Wednesday and Suday evenings). It is in the marina called Noank Shipyard where we keep out boat. Very quaint and suprisingly uncrowded.

type into google maps: Pearl St, Groton, New London, Connecticut 06340, United States

In downtown Mystic, can%26#39;t go wrong with Bravo Bravo but may not want to take a kid, Anthony J%26#39;s by the flagpole by the drawbridge would be much better if you have children and the food is at least as good. If you want fancy and excellent, go to BOOM in Stonington.

Don%26#39;t want to repeat but confirm:

Paul%26#39;s Pasta - groton, low key and great homeade pasta and great portions ok for child

Anthony J%26#39;s - mystic great italian intimate not so good at night for a little one

Rice Spice and Noodle- mystic our favorite for thai food

Mystic Caterring market- there are two in town and our favorite gourmet takeout market only a few tables so sometimes hard to grab a table in the summer for lunch, but takeout and go to the beach

Cove- mystic takeout outside tables seafood not indoor ok not like it used to be.

Fish tale- in Maddison is great for seafood and indoor sit down good for kids

And always an array of choices at the two casinos

Or Stonington and then theres a trip to RI good stuff in Westerly or Watch Hill.

One more thing-

Kitchen Little is great but as the title implies very small and fills up fast and is tight quaters.

Hi Worcesterkate,

I%26#39;m probably a litttle too late to provide advice for your %26#39;summer%26#39; trip to Mystic. We just returned from a weekend visit and, on the advice of a friend decided to try out the Abbot%26#39;s Lobster on Pearl Street. Unfortunately, since it did not open until noon and we needed to be on our way, we opted for Costello%26#39;s Clam Shack next door. The setting is lovely, just what you are looking for...ramshackle style board building with a deck filled with tables overlooking the water and the boats. Put in your order at the window, get a number and wait until it is called out to pick up your lunch.

Here%26#39;s my review of the dishes we ordered:

Well....there is nothing remotely clammy about the clam fritters.....just lumps of dough deep fried!! How disappointing! Not even a briny smell or essence could be detected and all three of us had a try. Crab cakes weren%26#39;t too bad.....but a little flat and pancaky looking. OK...so I%26#39;m not an authority on Clam Fritters....or for that matter.....crab cakes. But having grown up in Britain, I am an authority on Fish and Chips. Batter Fried Cod I was told was their specialty. Well...they need to work on it. The squares of cod were golden and crisp and looked inviting......but as I cut through the batter to the fish I found that the batter was wet on the interior and that the fish was uncooked. No seasoning had been added to the batter which was bland and tasteless. French fries were crisp ....but not hot. No point in returning the dish.....this is what they do and if they cannot get it right the first time, it is unlikely that plunging the already fried package back into the hot grease is going to make it more palatable. A very disappointing experience.

Shame on these establishments for taking short cuts while catering to tourists who are probably one stop only diners. They know that they will probably not get a return visit....and so why should they care. Well now we have these public forums that can help to spread the word.

And so Ms Worcestkate, you are right in being suspect about these

tourist trap restaurants. This restaurant did display a Zagat sign, although I did not find a Zagat review.....I wonder why?!