Recommended dishes: Haddock Fish and Chips, Clam Chowder
Ron Day
The Haddock is fresh and amazing, the chowder is first rate, and for a treat you can get up early in the morning and listen to the locals gossip while you have breakfast. Plenty of street parking.Parking: Anywhere on main street. I've never had an issue finding a place to put my car.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Haddock Fish and Chips, Lobster Roll, Haddock Sandwich
Norma Guyot
We ate lunch at this restaurant and our food was delicious. We shared a meal of Seared Scallops and a bowl of Smoked Haddock and Clam Chowder- they were both great. We even ordered a bowl of chowder to go, it was soooo good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood, Clam Chowder
Heather Cooper
The food taste was pretty good, but the service was pretty poor. It seemed like they didn’t want to even deal with us. I understand maybe it was at the end of a big lunch rush, but it’s not a big place and should be easy to be hospitable even if it’s busy. Our order took quite a while. We ordered salad with lobster, they cost $14.99 for the salad and $14 extra for bits of Lobster, which would have been fine if it were a good sized portion, however it was about the size of a side salad with not much lobster. 3 of us ordered them and it was over $86 for 3 salads.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Otter Adams
Go for breakfast, and it’s a good breakfast with great coffee. Go for dinner and you’ll keep coming back and make it date night! Surprising unique wines, delicious food, friendly staff and patrons. I love this place. ❤️
Update: in response to owner - you’re advertisement for the Fish Fry was very easy to understand. You apparently don’t know how to write what you really mean or fulfill what you actually advertise. Show us where you describe the stipulations I noted below in your Facebook advertisement. Don’t blame your failure on the customer - cheesy way out.Their Fish Fry is a straight up lie. False advertising. You get one and a half pieces of haddock and fries. Not all you can eat! Plus you don’t get shrimp either and if you do it’s an up charge and not combined with the haddock.No where on their menu nor Facebook posts does it detail any of this. Only tell you when you are seated. We should have just left at the time.Place is a ripoff. Heard they might be closing and that’s probably a good thing. Not going to be missed if they do close.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Dave MacLeod
We ate dinner and lunch while visiting. Chowder, lobster roll, haddock platter delicious. Salads need a little work but in all very good. Coffee too!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Haddock Fish and Chips
Jeffery D
Place is practically a part of Stonington history.New management has made it unfamiliar. It's not that it is a bad place to be. Some of the changes bring some stuff that is good for the area. It's just that it's not what it used to be. And frankly, if I have to trade THEE Harbor Cafe for those things, I would just do without them.It also seems to be another example of business catering to one group of people and disregarding the people who live and work here day in and day out. Sad and disappointing.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Delora Bradish
Sadly, this is the “Greasy Spoon of Stonington”. We have eaten here 5 times (2023 Aug) as most restaurants close down in Stonington on Mondays and Tuesdays. Whatever nonstick spray (?) they are using on their flattop can be tasted on everything — eggs, burger buns etc.My husband has been sick in bed all day from what we can only conclude was the (deep fried) grease-permeated breakfast “hash brown”. Tonights dinner, the beet salad with some strange horseradish dressing and (extra charge) fried shrimp was put promptly in the garbage. The cheeseburger was tasteless, except for what was added by the flattop, which is a shame as Cabot Cheese is a friendly neighbor.In conclusion, we’ll opt for granola bars before returning.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Yifanova
The lobster is super fresh and tasty! The room is decorated with beautiful oil paintings . Waited a while for the food and the bill…
Went for breakfast while we were camping in town. Had the western omelette with the blueberry muffin griddled. Muffin is a must try and so good! Iced latte was also great which I didn’t expect for a small breakfast place! Would come back and recommend :)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Daniel Perry
My family and I were visiting from out of town for the first time and the Harbor Cafe made us feel so at home. The chowder, which had smoked fish and clams, was literally the best chowder I've ever had. We had it multiple times while in town.I also had the lobster roll and the fish and chips. The haddock was fried perfectly and the tartar sauce had lots of dill, which is my favorite kind of tartar sauce.My only regret is that I didn't go more while visiting Stonington to try everything on the menu!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood
Joe Hartley
This place is perfect. Cozy, friendly, unpretentious spot. Not a huge menu, but everything was really fresh and executed to perfection. Great service too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jonathan Shepard
The corned beef hash was great. It’s not the canned version that is mushy, overly salted, wet, and cut with added fat. It’s scratch cooked and great. I saw a review that said it was burned and dry. It’s not going to be wet like the canned version that’s for sure. Not sure how that one review said the potatoes were burned and the onions raw…I cook for a living and believe me onions burn a lot faster than potatoes on a flat top. Seems like that reviewer was talking out their you-know-what. The sunny side up eggs were prepared correctly and the side of French toast was well executed. The coffee is high quality…not the regular Folgers that most diners serve. It was one of the better breakfast plates I’ve had in a while. I come from the pretentious tourist trap in Saratoga Springs, and I wish toga had a diner this good. This place knows how to make breakfast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
John Jarvis
I don’t know what’s happening with them. They used to be a mainstay restaurant in downtown Stonington. Now despite what the hours say, they have been closed all week. I hope they figure it out. They have (had) great muffins.
My favorite place for lunch or breakfast evah!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Haddock Fish and Chips, Clam Chowder
The Haddock is fresh and amazing, the chowder is first rate, and for a treat you can get up early in the morning and listen to the locals gossip while you have breakfast. Plenty of street parking.Parking: Anywhere on main street. I've never had an issue finding a place to put my car.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Haddock Fish and Chips, Lobster Roll, Haddock Sandwich
We ate lunch at this restaurant and our food was delicious. We shared a meal of Seared Scallops and a bowl of Smoked Haddock and Clam Chowder- they were both great. We even ordered a bowl of chowder to go, it was soooo good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood, Clam Chowder
The food taste was pretty good, but the service was pretty poor. It seemed like they didn’t want to even deal with us. I understand maybe it was at the end of a big lunch rush, but it’s not a big place and should be easy to be hospitable even if it’s busy. Our order took quite a while. We ordered salad with lobster, they cost $14.99 for the salad and $14 extra for bits of Lobster, which would have been fine if it were a good sized portion, however it was about the size of a side salad with not much lobster. 3 of us ordered them and it was over $86 for 3 salads.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Go for breakfast, and it’s a good breakfast with great coffee. Go for dinner and you’ll keep coming back and make it date night! Surprising unique wines, delicious food, friendly staff and patrons. I love this place. ❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lobster Stew, Lobster Roll, Haddock Sandwich
Update: in response to owner - you’re advertisement for the Fish Fry was very easy to understand. You apparently don’t know how to write what you really mean or fulfill what you actually advertise. Show us where you describe the stipulations I noted below in your Facebook advertisement. Don’t blame your failure on the customer - cheesy way out.Their Fish Fry is a straight up lie. False advertising. You get one and a half pieces of haddock and fries. Not all you can eat! Plus you don’t get shrimp either and if you do it’s an up charge and not combined with the haddock.No where on their menu nor Facebook posts does it detail any of this. Only tell you when you are seated. We should have just left at the time.Place is a ripoff. Heard they might be closing and that’s probably a good thing. Not going to be missed if they do close.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
We ate dinner and lunch while visiting. Chowder, lobster roll, haddock platter delicious. Salads need a little work but in all very good. Coffee too!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Haddock Fish and Chips
Place is practically a part of Stonington history.New management has made it unfamiliar. It's not that it is a bad place to be. Some of the changes bring some stuff that is good for the area. It's just that it's not what it used to be. And frankly, if I have to trade THEE Harbor Cafe for those things, I would just do without them.It also seems to be another example of business catering to one group of people and disregarding the people who live and work here day in and day out. Sad and disappointing.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Sadly, this is the “Greasy Spoon of Stonington”. We have eaten here 5 times (2023 Aug) as most restaurants close down in Stonington on Mondays and Tuesdays. Whatever nonstick spray (?) they are using on their flattop can be tasted on everything — eggs, burger buns etc.My husband has been sick in bed all day from what we can only conclude was the (deep fried) grease-permeated breakfast “hash brown”. Tonights dinner, the beet salad with some strange horseradish dressing and (extra charge) fried shrimp was put promptly in the garbage. The cheeseburger was tasteless, except for what was added by the flattop, which is a shame as Cabot Cheese is a friendly neighbor.In conclusion, we’ll opt for granola bars before returning.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
The lobster is super fresh and tasty! The room is decorated with beautiful oil paintings . Waited a while for the food and the bill…
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Went for breakfast while we were camping in town. Had the western omelette with the blueberry muffin griddled. Muffin is a must try and so good! Iced latte was also great which I didn’t expect for a small breakfast place! Would come back and recommend :)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
My family and I were visiting from out of town for the first time and the Harbor Cafe made us feel so at home. The chowder, which had smoked fish and clams, was literally the best chowder I've ever had. We had it multiple times while in town.I also had the lobster roll and the fish and chips. The haddock was fried perfectly and the tartar sauce had lots of dill, which is my favorite kind of tartar sauce.My only regret is that I didn't go more while visiting Stonington to try everything on the menu!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood
This place is perfect. Cozy, friendly, unpretentious spot. Not a huge menu, but everything was really fresh and executed to perfection. Great service too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The corned beef hash was great. It’s not the canned version that is mushy, overly salted, wet, and cut with added fat. It’s scratch cooked and great. I saw a review that said it was burned and dry. It’s not going to be wet like the canned version that’s for sure. Not sure how that one review said the potatoes were burned and the onions raw…I cook for a living and believe me onions burn a lot faster than potatoes on a flat top. Seems like that reviewer was talking out their you-know-what. The sunny side up eggs were prepared correctly and the side of French toast was well executed. The coffee is high quality…not the regular Folgers that most diners serve. It was one of the better breakfast plates I’ve had in a while. I come from the pretentious tourist trap in Saratoga Springs, and I wish toga had a diner this good. This place knows how to make breakfast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I don’t know what’s happening with them. They used to be a mainstay restaurant in downtown Stonington. Now despite what the hours say, they have been closed all week. I hope they figure it out. They have (had) great muffins.