Restaurants in Hartford, CT, offer residents and visitors a variety of cuisines.
They have upscale restaurants, seafood, steak, coffee shops, bars, Italian, French, Asian, Mexican, barbecue, fast food, Chinese, Jamaican, vegan, Peruvian, Brazilian, delis, juice bars, ice cream shops, and food trucks. Hartford has many attractions to visit the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, Connecticut Old State House, and Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
Nearby East and West Hartford have many diverse restaurants to choose from too. Restaurants serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and have decadent to healthy eating options for customers.
Restaurants in the West Hartford Area
West Hartford restaurants offer customers comfort food, cafes, Mediterranean food, bars, raw bars, coffee shops, Irish food, Italian steak houses, tea houses, breweries, pizza, comfort food, Argentine, Japanese, Southern, and barbecue.
Bishops Corner an upscale community in West Hartford has a variety of restaurants to choose from. Many are located along North Main Street, Park Street, and New Britain Avenue. Blue Back Square located near the center has bars with drinks, appetizers, flatbread, salads, burgers, salads, sandwiches, and main entrees and desserts.
This square has a steak and wine restaurant, Chinese teahouse, and brewery with appetizers, flatbreads, burgers, and wings. Along Park Road, you will find pizza, Greek food, sandwiches and an ice cream shop, cafes with American food, and alcoholic beverages.
West Hartford offers international cuisine to residents and visitors.
East Hartford Restaurants
East Hartford restaurants offer you a variety of cuisines at reasonable prices. They have pizza, Chinese food, barbecue, grinder shops, burgers, sandwiches, diners, family-style, Vietnamese, barbecue, seafood, Thai, and more.
On Main Street, you will find several pizza restaurants, Chinese, Greek, Japanese, and family-style restaurants. On Silver Lane, you will find barbecue, Asian, and American restaurants. Prices are reasonable and food is available to takeout or eat in.
East Hartford has fast food and family-style restaurants that serve tasty food at affordable prices. They have drive-ins that serve breakfast, diners, grinder shops, Jamaican restaurants, and many restaurants located on Burnside Avenue.
Going Downtown: Restaurants in Hartford’s Heart
There are many different downtown metro restaurants located in the center of Harford. They serve lunch, dinner, and alcoholic beverages.
Their menus have seafood, soups, salads, appetizers, hanger steak, fish and chips, burgers, salmon, pasta, fish, vegetarian options, and desserts. Metro restaurants have an upscale chophouse and whiskey bar with steak, pork chops, fish, shellfish, sides, dessert, wine, beer, and cocktails.
Many metro restaurants are located along Main Street, Asylum Avenue, and Front Street. Metro restaurants have an Irish pub, barbecue, southern cuisine, Italian, and American food.
They range from casual dining to upscale.
Blue Back Square
Blue Back Square located in West Hartford is an upscale neighborhood that has several different restaurants. They have an Italian restaurant with appetizers, wood-fired pizza, pasta, salad, fish, steak, and chicken. This restaurant has a full-service bar.
Blue Back Square has an upscale steak house and wine bar. It serves signature steaks, seafood, a children's three-course menu, and gluten-free options.
There is a vegan restaurant that serves brunch. It has salads, soups, risotto, pasta, organic chicken, beef, fish, juices, wine, beer, and cocktails. There is a local brewery with custom beer and pub food, a seafood restaurant with an oyster bar, a juice bar, a coffee shop, and a wine bar with appetizers. It is a trendy upscale neighborhood.
Franklin Avenue Restaurants
Franklin Avenue restaurants offer a wide variety of different cuisines. This street has a Jamaican bar and grill; a cafe that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner; pizza; a Peruvian restaurant that serves charcoal cooked rotisserie chicken; and a Northern Italian restaurant.
This street has global food choices, subs, several Peruvian restaurants, Mexican, bakeries, and a large number of cafes. The history of Hartford's Franklin Street is local food history.
Airport Restaurants: Travel in or Out with a Full Stomach
Bradley International Airport is located in Windsor, CT, and is considered the Hartford area airport. The airport is halfway between Hartford, CT, and Springfield, MA.
This airport has a saloon with beer, wine, drinks, sandwiches, entrees, and breakfast entrees. Bradley has donut shops, Chinese, fast food, pizza, seafood, taproom, lounges, sandwiches, and coffee shops. Some lounges have hot and cold food, restrooms, Wi-Fi, and information on flights.
The airport restaurants are there for the convenience of passengers arriving or leaving on flights and their families. Besides these restaurants, there are retail shops located throughout the airport.
Amazing Chinese Restaurants
There are many Chinese restaurants throughout Hartford that serve traditional Chinese food, hotpot, spicy or Szechuan food, Hunan, Cantonese, and other regional Chinese cuisines.
These restaurants serve fried rice, lo mien, chicken, fish, pork, beef with vegetables, curry, appetizers, and vegan options. Many offer traditional favorites, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Curry Shrimp, Lo Mein, Hot and Spicy Beef, and pork fried rice.
These restaurants offer primarily takeout and others have a comfortable dining room with booths, tables and chairs, and a full-service bar. Typical menu items are egg rolls, spareribs, fried fish, beef teriyaki, pork chow mien, Hunan pork, orange chicken, and wonton soup. Many Hartford restaurants have luncheon specials that come with the main entree, rice, egg rolls, and sometimes soup. Prices range from reasonable to pricier.
Several Chinese restaurants are located on Main Street and Prospect Street.
Italian Restaurants with Decadent Decor
Hartford has many Italian restaurants that are trendy and upscale to more casual family-style restaurants. Some popular eateries include Salute and Sorella. Many serve lunch and dinner and have a full-service bar.
Their menus have salads, soups, sandwiches, grinders, pasta, pizza, chicken, veal, beef, fish, appetizers, wine, beer, and cocktails. Many restaurants serve Italian desserts cannoli, tiramisu, gelato, Tartufo, cheesecake, espresso, cappuccino, and other Italian coffee drinks.
There are Italian restaurants that specialize in serving thin-crust pizza, brick oven pizza, Sicilian, specialty pizza, and New York style. Several restaurants are located along Main Street and Trumbull Street. George's Pizza and The Blind Pig both specialize in pizza-making.
These restaurants specialize in Northern Italian cuisine and traditional regional specialties.
Mexican Restaurants: Turn Spice up to 10
There are many Mexican restaurants with authentic Mexican food served in a casual to upscale atmosphere. Typical menu items are nachos, plantains, refried beans, chile relleno, tamales, grilled chicken, tacos, tortas specialty sandwiches, steak and onions, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, steaks, seafood, and vegetables.
Most dishes are served with rice, seasoning, vegetables, and beans. Some restaurants have full-service bars serving Margaritas, beer, wine, and other cocktails. Many local Mexican restaurants serve salads, wraps, kids’ menu, and desserts.
Typical Mexican desserts are baked custard, fried dough, and tortillas, and fried ice cream. Some restaurants serve a Mexican breakfast: eggs with spicy sauces, chorizo, ham, and vegetables. Hartford has Mexican food trucks and stands located in major retailers and inside El Mercado Marketplace.
Taste the Island Life with Jamaican Restaurants
Jamaican restaurants in Hartford serve traditional and regional Jamaican food. The breakfast menu often has salted and pickled fish.
Other menu items are curry, beef stew, jerk chicken, fried fish, salads, fish stew, steamed fish, dumplings, and chicken wings. Many restaurants specialize in jerk chicken or pork with special spicy Jamaican sauces. Appetizers are chicken wings, coconut shrimp, Jamaican beef patties, and crab cakes.
Some restaurants have full-service bars that serve tequila, margaritas tropical drinks, beer, wine, and cocktails There are several restaurants along Albany Avenue. They range from upscale to casual dining. There is a vegetarian Jamaican restaurant on Capitol Avenue.
Indian Restaurants: Curry Please
Indian restaurants like the Dhaba Wala Indian Kitchen in Hartford range from food trucks, casual sit-down restaurants, to upscale with a full-service bar.
Some restaurants serve Indian street food, vegan entrees, curry, chicken, lamb, fish, or goat with spicy seasonings, potatoes, and vegetables. The menus have fried rice, noodles, and fresh-baked Indian bread. Some serve Indian breakfast items: flatbreads, oats, eggs, crepes, steamed rice dough pancakes with spicy potatoes and dips. Many Indian restaurants serve meats, poultry, and seafood cooked in the tandoori oven.
Local Hartford Indian restaurants serve lamb and chicken kebab dishes, and seafood. Many have full-service bars, dining rooms and serve Indian desserts. There are several on Main Street and Asylum Avenue. There is a food truck on Church Street that serves breakfast, halal chicken, wraps, fried fish, and desserts.
Seafood Restaurants for Oceanic Flavor
The seafood restaurants have many formats. There are food trucks, fast food, casual fish market and restaurant, and upscale with a full-service bar. These restaurants serve chowder, lobster bisque, crab, lobster, shrimp, scallops, crab cakes, fried, and broiled seafood. Some restaurants have fish sandwiches, po boys, lobster rolls, and steamed seafood on the men with spices, corn, and potatoes.
Piolin Restaurant is a Peruvian restaurant that serves several Peruvian seafood appetizers, fried fish, and seafood dishes.
These seafood restaurants are located in downtown Hartford and throughout the city. Some restaurants serve spicy Cajun seafood and boiled seafood entrees.
Meatless Options at Hartford’s Vegan Restaurants
There are a few vegan restaurants that serve food that does not use any animal products dairy, meat, and honey. One of those is the well known Lion's Den.
One restaurant located on Capitol Avenue serves a vegan stew, red lentil stew, curry pot using potatoes, frozen smoothies, soup, jerk tofu, and gluten-free desserts.
Other vegan restaurants in Hartford serve plant-based meats, beans, rice, vegan patties, water, juices, and soda. There are many cafes and bistros that serve vegan and vegetarian meal options in the Indian, Chinese, American and Asian restaurant sectors. Some Hartford vegan restaurants serve cocktails, wine, shakes, and smoothies, and vegan nightly specials.
Pizza Restaurants Everywhere
Hartford has many pizza restaurants downtown and throughout the city. Some are vegetarian friendly and have gluten-free crusts available. They serve pizza with cheese, spinach, eggplant, onions, hot peppers, mushrooms, bell peppers, herbs, and olive oil.
Some pizzas restaurants serve chicken, shrimp, meats, clam, sausage, and barbecue pizzas with brisket, pulled pork, and buffalo chicken. There are white pizzas that use different types of cheese without sauce like four-cheese or chicken bacon ranch.
Many local restaurants offer takeout, delivery, and dining in a casual atmosphere and serve wine and beer. Hartford has restaurants that serve thin-crust pizza, Sicilian, New York-style crust, and gluten-free crusts. Some restaurants let you create your own pizza choosing the ingredients you want from the menu.
Several pizza restaurants are located on Prospect Street, New Britain Avenue, and Main Street.
Fine-Dining Peruvian Restaurants
Hartford has several Peruvian restaurants along Franklin Street, New Britain Avenue, and Main Street. Piolin restaurant is a Peruvian restaurant on Franklin Avenue that serves many Peruvian dishes. They are fried fish, fish with fried rice, ceviche, grilled chicken, and grilled steak entrees.
It has a full-service bar and dining room. One Peruvian restaurant serves rotisserie chicken cooked over charcoals and marinates the birds for 24 hours.
Some Peruvian restaurants serve seafood soup, grilled chicken with rice or pasta, grilled beef served with vegetables, and stir fry entrees. Other entrees you may find on the men are special potato casseroles and potatoes with spicy sauces and cheese. Prices are reasonable and many restaurants have takeout available.
Brazilian Restaurants: A Tasty Experience
There are Brazilian restaurants located along Park Street in Hartford. The restaurants range from casual to upscale. One steakhouse and grill serves Brazilian barbecued steak, chicken, and pork. It has a buffet that serves salads, chicken, pork, fish, and other side dishes.
The menu has Brazilian puddings and serves wine, beer, and soft drinks. The prices on the menu range from reasonable to pricy.
Some of the Brazilian restaurants serve appetizers such as empanadas meat and cheese stuffed pastries and allow you to build your own entree from their menu with sides and salads included. There is a Brazilian food truck that serves chicken, beef, and pork entrees, vegetarian options, kebobs, sides, and soft drinks in downtown Hartford.
Going European with Spanish Restaurants
Spanish restaurants in Hartford range from casual family-style establishments to upscale. Some offer a combination of Spanish and Latin American foods for customers.
They serve chicken, pork, and seafood with special sauces and seasoning with rice, beans or plantains. Local restaurants offer appetizers, soup, salad, custards, and cakes. Most restaurants offer takeout and delivery and specialize in seafood stews and grilled fish with special seasonings.
There are menus often written in Spanish with English translations and many eateries serve regional Spanish food.
Dinners prices are reasonable, and some restaurants have full-service bars, local Spanish restaurants are located on Albany Avenue, Franklin Avenue, Pearl Street, and Farmington Avenue.
Delicious Vietnamese Cuisine
There are many Vietnamese restaurants that serve traditional and regional Vietnamese foods. There are casual restaurants, food trucks, and family-style establishments. They serve rolls, noodle soups, grilled meats or chicken dishes, with rice and seasonings, Vietnamese sandwiches of beef and pork, bubble tea, smoothies, and soda.
Local restaurants serve northern, southern, and central Vietnamese regional cuisines.
Common flavorings are fish sauce, shrimp paste, bean sauce, spicy seasonings, and lemongrass. Many dishes are fried, braised, sauteed, or steamed. Some restaurant serves crepes, shrimp soup, family-style meal for four to six people and a variety of non-alcoholic beverages.
Prices are reasonable and these restaurants are located on Overlook Terrace and South Main Street. Most offer casual dining and takeout services.
New Restaurants
New restaurants are always opening in Hartford and the surrounding area regularly.
It offers a chance to experience international cuisines and has something for every taste. There are Italian, Spanish, Peruvian, Chinese, Mexican, seafood, steak, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, vegan, coffee shops, Vietnamese, Brazilian, pizza, fast food, food trucks, French, wine bars, breweries, and bistros.
With so many choices, everyone has a chance to try something new. When visiting Hartford stop by the many interesting tourist attractions the city has to offer.