5 Best Restaurants in New Haven, Mystic, and the Coast, Connecticut

If you want some of the freshest lobster, crab, mussels, or clams on the half shell (there are also non-seafood options), head down to this unassuming seaside lobster shack in sleepy Noank, a few miles southwest of Mystic. Most seating is outdoors or on the dock, where the views of Noank Harbor are magnificent.

Enjoy fresh-caught New England seafood (and more) dockside at Breakwater, midway along Water Street in Stonington Borough. Dine inside or outside on the deck in warm weather; the roomy bar is a popular gathering place in winter months.

Don't be put off by the long line waiting to order classic fare like lobster rolls (hot or cold, small or large), steamers, fried clams, homemade clam fritters, "chowda"—plus foot-long hot dogs. This outdoor restaurant on Shaw's Cove—where you eat at picnic tables (BYOB) alongside the marina—is a great place to eat and a great place to spend time on a hot summer day.

Seafood is the draw at this harborside restaurant—clam chowder, oysters or clams on the half-shell, "dogwiches," fish-and-chips, bouillabaisse, roasted cod, Stonington scallops, and more. Alternatively, choose a grilled chicken sandwich, flat-iron steak, burger, or soup and salad. Sit inside or outside and enjoy the view.

Dog Watch Mystic, a sister restaurant, has a similar waterfront location and menu at 20 Old Stonington Road in nearby Mystic.

At Lenny and Joe's Fish Tale, kids of all ages love to eat their lobster rolls or fried seafood served indoors or, better yet, outdoors near a hand-carved Dentzel carousel with flying horses (and a whale, frog, lion, seal, and more), which the restaurant runs from early May through August (sometimes later) and donates all proceeds to charity. Most of the menu involves fish of one kind or another, but Lenny and Joe's also serves burgers, franks, and chicken sandwiches or dinners.