Things to do

in New Haven 

Pizza!
The pizza in New Haven is truly incredible, and everyone has their favorite spot (often backed up with strong opinions). Here are the four famous ones:

  • Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (5-10 min drive, 20-25 min walk from the hotels): Probably New Haven’s most famous restaurant. Expect a line at essentially all hours. One hack is to order takeout and take it to Wooster Square park around the corner for a picnic.

  • Modern Apizza (5-10 min drive, 30 min walk from the hotels): Our favorite of the big four, Modern has the perfect pizza and a great vibe. If you’re looking for a thrill, the fried eggplant/hot cherry pepper topping combo is one of our go-to orders.

  • Sally’s Apizza (5-10 min drive, 20-25 min walk from the hotels): For years an iconically grumpy establishment, Sally’s has modernized in the last few years and serves incredible pizza.

  • BAR (5 min walk from the hotels): BAR opened a little over ten years ago, making it the newest entry to New Haven’s top tier of pizzerias by more than 50 years. It’s also a brewery and has three fun rooms to hang out in.

Pepe’s

Haven’s Hot

Restaurants

Walkable:

  • Barcelona Wine Bar: Site of one of Margaret and Sam’s early dates! Tapas bar with good wine.

  • Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grill: Pretty tasty southwestern/Mexican food, good margaritas!

  • Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake Bar: This place opened just as we were leaving New Haven, so we’ve only eaten here once but loved it. It’s supposed to have only gotten better since. 

  • Haven Hot Chicken: Casual takeout place with delicious hot chicken sandwiches and tenders. Also very delicious vegan options: their “Not Chicken” Sandwich is made with cauliflower and is excellent.

  • New Haven’s Taste of China: Solid Chinese food right across from the New Haven Green.

  • Noa by September in Bangkok: Delicious Thai food, the second branch of September in Bangkok (below).

  • Otaru Sushi Bar: Our favorite sushi in New Haven, they only offer reservations for their omakase reservation which is a bit of a splurge but well worth it. Their a la carte menu is available for walkins and takeout.

  • Ramen Kuro Shiro: Really good ramen a close walk to the hotels.

  • Sherkaan Indian Street Food: Inventive Indian food with excellent cocktails in a fun space tucked right into Yale’s campus. 

Uber/Driving (or possibly a longer walk)

  • Camacho Garage: Really good, creative Mexican food in a fun space.

  • September in Bangkok: A beloved East Rock restaurant, locally famous for being the first restaurant in years to thrive in what was previously considered a cursed location. You wouldn’t know it going there now - they have great indoor and outdoor spaces and amazing food.

  • Tavern on State: Upscale pub grub and amazing cocktails just down the block from where we used to live.

Book Trader

Havenly

Coffee/Breakfast

Walkable

  • Atticus: Coffee shop + bookstore combination with incredible fresh baked bread. Good breakfast and lunch food.

  • Book Trader Cafe: Coffee shop and used bookstore combination with tons of windows. 

  • Claire’s Corner Copia: Locally famous vegetarian breakfast and lunch cafe.

  • G Cafe Bakery Ninth Square: Where Sam and Margaret met! Good coffee, breakfast, and fresh bread.

  • Havenly: One of the graduate businesses from Collab, the organization Margaret co-founded, Havenly is a social enterprise that hires, trains, employs, and supports immigrant and refugee women. This client-run cafe has great coffee, food, and pastries.

Uber/Driving (or possibly a longer walk)

  • Manjares: Good food and good smoothies, right by Edgewood Park.

  • The Pantry: The most popular breakfast place in New Haven - at least among our friends. Really good diner, their cinnamon roll pancakes are famous.

  • Olmo: Best bagels in New Haven. Pro tip: order online in advance so that pickup is quicker, the line can be pretty long.

Lucibello’s

Arethusa

Desserts and Treats

Walkable

  • Arethusa: Amazing hand-made ice cream and cheese made nearby at Arethusa farm in Litchfield, CT. Close to the hotels.

  • Ashley’s Ice Cream: Another really good ice cream place downtown.

  • Donut Crazy: Huge, very indulgent donuts. 

Uber/Driving

Bars

  • 116 Crown (~10 min walk from the hotels): Slightly upscale cocktail bar with a nice back patio.

  • Anchor Spa (<5 min walk from the hotels): Buzzy bar a few minutes’ walk from the hotels.

  • Firehouse 12 (~10 min walk from the hotels): Where Margaret and Sam had their first date! Fun, basement level bar below a great jazz venue.

  • Ordinary (<5 min walk from the hotels): Another site of an early Margaret and Sam date. Margaret really likes the Bee’s Knees.

  • The Trinity Bar & Restaurant(~10-15 min walk from the hotels): Sports bar/Irish pub, great place to catch a game, especially soccer.

Firehouse 12

Things to do with free time

Walkable

  • Walking Tour of Yale’s Campus: Both hotels are right next to Yale’s campus, which is famous for its Gothic style architecture, several architecturally notable buildings, and more. Here is one version of a self-guided walking tour.

  • Yale Center for British Art: Beautiful building and a cool museum. (note - at least right now, this museum is closed for renovations. In case it’s still closed during the wedding, 25 pieces from their collection are actually on view at the Yale University Art Gallery) 

  • Yale University Art Gallery: Free and amazing! Very much worth a visit. 

Uber/Driving (or possibly a longer walk)

  • Check out the Taco Trucks by Long Wharf: About 15 taco trucks pull up by Long Wharf basically every day. The tacos are cheap and delicious, and you can eat them at picnic tables or on the grass along the water.

  • East Rock Market/East Rock Brewery: Right at the foot of East Rock. East Rock Market is a food hall that opened after we left but is supposed to be great and is made up of all local restaurants. The brewery is fun and has outdoor seating if it’s nice out. There are great walking/running trails on both sides of the mill river, right next to the building.

  • Edgewood Park and Downtown Westville: Edgewood Park is a beautiful, huge park with ponds, playgrounds, and walking and running paths. Favorite park of Sam’s grandmother Merle who grew up across the street from it! From Edgewood you can check out Downtown Westville or other local stores near the park including Bloom (flower shop, near Downtown Westville) and Possible Futures (bookstore, closer to Downtown New Haven).

  • East Rock Park: East Rock is a huge, beautiful, forested…rock that has several paths up to the top in addition to several more at the base of the rock along the Mill River. Great for hiking, running, biking, etc. If you make it to the top, there’s a great view of the whole city.

  • Kingfisher Adventures Kayak Rentals: On weekends, Kingfisher rents out kayaks which make for great adventuring along the Mill river. Right near East Rock and East Rock Brewery/Market.

  • Wooster Square: Wooster Square is the historic Italian district in New Haven. It’s a beautiful place to walk around and to get pizza, pastries, and other Italian food. Court Street, Wooster Square Park, and Wooster Street are particularly nice places for a walk and Wooster Square Park is great for a picnic.

East Rock Park

Yale University Art Gallery

Interested in turning this into a longer trip to explore New England? We would love to help you figure out some options! Feel free to reach out.