Downtown
One of the best kept secrets about the New Haven area is the abundance and variety of its restaurants. And one of the best things about the restaurants in the compact downtown area is that most are within walking distance of one another, so you can stroll along checking out menus and decide at a leisurely pace what you are pining for. Even better, you can have hors’ d’oeuvres at one restaurant, dinner at another and dessert at a third. Or you can have drinks at Hot Tomato’s or Casey’s, pop over to Cafe Pika Tapas a for a tapas dinner, and then grab an après-dinner beer at Bru Rm. at Bar. If you are still hungry, go across the street to Louis’ Lunch, where the hamburger was invented. Louis’ is open until 2am Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

There is ethnic fusion at the chic Zinc, contemporary American at the smoke-free Tibwin Grill, and traditional American at the classic turn-of-the-century Richter’s Tap Room, New Haven’s oldest bar. Lalibela’s offers the curious gourmand authentic Ethiopian cuisine, served at traditional moseb tables. They have a great collection of wines too, which brings up another slew of eateries with astounding selections of wines and beers.

You can get excellent sushi at Akasaka’s or Haya’s. The buffet at Miya Sushi’s may be the best around. In the mood for Thai? The award-winning Bangkok Gardens, near the Yale campus, sates your appetite while you people watch in the dining atrium. The Indian restaurant Gunung in Westville is worth the drive for the delicious pan-fried roti topped with curry sauce.

If it’s Mexican or South American you crave, then look no further than hot and sunny Villa del Sol, serving authentic Mexican cuisine, or salsa your way to Roomba, delighting patrons with an eclectic mix of Central and South American and Caribbean fusion cuisine. Try one of Roomba’s tropical elixirs—you won’t be disappointed!

Thanks to Yale students up at all hours studying (or partying), there are plenty of late-night locales. If it’s coffeehouse style you want (or need), then pop into Koffee?, and maybe squeeze in a late night cyber chat using the laptop portals in this cozy, artsy hang out. The Atticus Cafe offers meals around the clock, and you can see people there reading books and drinking cups of coffee any hour of the day or night.

Little Italy
Wooster Square’s “Little Italy” is famous for its dueling pizza shops: Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria and Sally’s Apizza, each vying for the title of best pizza in the world. But Wooster Street is also chock full of Italian restaurants exploding with traditional and local specialties. Try Consiglio’s, Abate’s or Tre Scalini, then satisfy your sweet tooth at one of the neighborhood’s fine bakeries or ice cream shops.

Shoreline
There are some excellent restaurants in the upscale shoreline towns within a short drive of downtown. Heading east, you can get global cuisine at Stuzy’s in historic Guilford, or hearty all-American fare at the Dolly Madison in equally historic Madison. The sizzling Esteva American Cafe on the Guilford Green is a new hot spot with a New York City bistro-style atmosphere, and The Stone House near the Guilford Marina offers contemporary seafood dishes with a water view to boost.

Cafe Allegre in the heart of Madison serves nouvelle French and other delicious delectables, and if you can’t bear to leave, they have rooms for overnight guests (as does the Dolly Madison). Need to beef up on your dictionary skills? Try Webster’s in nearby Branford. In tribute to the lexicographer Noah Webster, who lived in New Haven, definitions are labeled on everything from ceiling to floor. Seeking surf and turf? Lenny’s on Route 146 is a Branford landmark.

To the west of New Haven in Milford, try the best fish and chips around at the oldest Milford eaterie, the Seven Seas Restaurant and Pub. Gabriele’s on the border of Milford and Orange is a favorite with the university crowd, offering casual Italian fare.

North of New Haven in Hamden you can find the Irish restaurant The Playwright, where you can eat traditional corned beef and cabbage to the accompaniment of live Celtic entertainment. If you need to fill up at midnight, try Eli’s on Whitney, also located in Hamden.

Close-in West Haven, at the mouth of New Haven harbor, boasts Duffy’s Tavern, a casual local favorite. Across the bridge, on the east side of the harbor, you can get ribs and all the trimmings at the Rib House in East Haven. But no matter where your travels or tastes take you in the greater New Haven area, you are sure to find the kind of eating experience you want.