For decades there have been two driving forces that people have bought a place to live in Greenwich, CT. For young families our schools have always been a draw. We have 10 elementary public schools, and we have 10 private schools, all are very good to excellent. For older folks that are downsizing, and particularly want to get away from the high property taxes in Westchester County, our very low mill rate is a big attraction.
What doesn’t get talked about enough are our great restaurants. We frequently hear folks say they want to be walking distance to Greenwich Avenue, but why? For some folks it is the wonderful shops on Greenwich Avenue, but for many people, it’s more than two dozen restaurants on and around Greenwich Avenue. Restaurants bring people to Greenwich, and many of them buy here knowing that they will have a wide variety of restaurants.
I’ve become jaded to just how many good options we have. Many years ago, Libby and I went to Rome and Tuscany, for two weeks. As you might expect, we had excellent Italian food, but going on day eleven in Italy after 30 consecutive Italian meals, I started to look forward to getting back to Greenwich, where we have restaurants featuring cuisine from around the world.
So below is a guide to Greenwich restaurants on the Avenue. How many of these have you eaten at?
Greenwich Avenue
As I said, people literally move to downtown Greenwich to be near the following restaurants. If you are one of these people, you are going to have to pay a premium to live near the Avenue as the blocks around the Avenue are some of our pricier homes per square foot. Still, we have no lack of buyers. The nice thing is that we also have lots of rentals that are in demand. There is so much demand that 20 new two-bedroom apartments just got rented without any formal marketing. If you build it, they will come.
So, starting from the top of the Avenue let’s take a culinary tour.
The Avenue
- Townhouse – This restaurant took over from Luca’s steakhouse and Gabrielle’s a few months before Covid hit in 2020. Luckily, Dana Cifone, Head of Operations had years of experience running restaurants and she navigated the restaurant through those difficult time. She has redone much of the interior but kept its classic elegance. It’s a good place for that big night out.
- La Taqueria – has all the traditional Tex-Mex food with plenty of different types of tacos and burritos, but being in New England, you also have fish and vegetarian choices. One of the few nice things about Covid is it brought outdoor dining to the Avenue and the outdoor tables at La Taqueria are a nice complement to the limited number of tables inside.
- Bianca – This is one of our favorite places. I have literally tried everything on the menu. It is usually packed every weekend with regulars. Rosario Procino, or his brother, who both grew up in Naples, will greet you at the door and Raffaele Ronca, who won the Food Channel’s “Chopped” series, prepares excellent entrees . The bar is a hopping place with unique cocktails and if you order a drink with a lemon peel, it will have the restaurant’s name branded on it.
- Cottage – Another relatively new restaurant at the top of the Avenue, worth trying out. Good food and some very fancy cocktails
- Ginger Man – This restaurant has been on the Avenue for years serving well-prepared classic American food and dozens of different kinds of beer to try. It’s been the go-to place for lots of financial people to blow off steam after a tough day. The back dining room has a curved ceiling that lets you hear the people in the far corner as if they were right next to you. Of course, you’re not likely to hear that as the dining room is regularly full. The private upstairs dining room is a great place to host a holiday party.
- Miku – is the little sister to Honuku further down the Avenue. It’s a good place for lunch or dinner either indoors or out. (Now if our restauranteurs could only decorate the Jersey barriers all of these places would look more Greenwich and less Jersey.)
- Greenwich Brewing Company – The restaurant just opened, and unlike Indochine and the Lobster House, its predecessor in the same location, all indications are that it will do well. They literally sold out of food their first weekend open. Try the beef brisket sandwich and their red ale, a nice pairing and the prices are reasonable.
- Kira Sushi – Another longtime resident, Kira Sushi, feels like stepping into Japan and with its location just off Greenwich Avenue, it has a restful ambiance.
- Doppio – When I miss the Italian food I had in Italy, this is nice place to go. Also, just off the Avenue, it’s worth trying out.
- Greenwich Flavor by Myrna – Their tagline is “Serving Authentic Mediterranean Cuisine” and it’s true. It is also very tasty, and they do a huge takeout business, though there are some tables inside. I’m a fan of their Lamb Gyro for lunch and there are lots of flavorful entrees for dinner.
- Le Penguin – closer to the Avenue, Le Penguin has excellent food and is one of the go to places for birthdays. If you let the maître d’ know that someone at your table has a birthday you get one of a half dozen rousing birthday songs. My favorite is “Birthday” off the Beatles White Album.
- Orienta – If you are looking for innovative Asian food, check out Orienta. It shares an outdoor dining area with Le Penguin. They also have good choices on their happy hour menu.
- Something Natural – The old bike shop in the parking lot behind the stores on Greenwich Avenue has been transformed into a branch of Nantucket’s Something Natural. The Portuguese bread is just as excellent as it is in Nantucket. When they ask you whether you a want a half or a whole sandwich, pick the half sandwich, it’s bigger than most places whole sandwich
- Elm St. Oyster House – This is my go-to place for seafood in Greenwich. The staff is great and now that Billy is doing better, we are seeing more of him. His playlists seem to come right off my vinyl records. The oysters are from all over and beautifully presented. The crab cakes are excellent as are the other items on the menu. Since it happens to be just below, our Compass Connecticut office, I’ve met folks for happy hour on many a Friday. Attorney Phil Russell, a regular there, points out that the “Employees Must Wash Hands” signs in the bathrooms are not to be taken literally, since he held his hands out for over a minute and no employee came to wash his hands.
- Moli – This is another spot that has had several iterations and is presently a hot spot. Not many people are left that will remember it as Bob Force’s Townhouse and even before my time a bank. Moli is also better than its predecessor Dome. The vaulted ceilings are still there, and the tables are full most nights. Try the Rainbow Soup Dumplings
- Terra – another restaurant that has stood the test of time and is many people’s favorite restaurant on the Avenue. Their outdoor dining is next to a little pocket park and is usually full of well fed diners. It’s a popular place for those that lunch.
- Meli Melo Creperie – This place is so popular that it took over my dry cleaners that was next door. It is quintessentially French. The wide variety of crepes can be appetizers, lunch or dinner. The restaurant also has the biggest selection of fresh squeezed juices I’ve seen anywhere.
- Honuki – This restaurant took over from Duoro and is still a fun upscale place to go with an active bar. My client sold her house to the manager who has done an excellent job keeping the place fresh and serving excellent sushi and Asian cuisine
- Bistro V – With Meli Melo diagonally across the street, this our French section. Bisto V has very much of a Parisian feel and the sidewalk dining makes you feel like you are there. The back dining room also is a good place for Realtors to hold client receptions and do some casual videotaping about the market.
- Mediterraneo – Another restaurant with a long run on the Avenue. From the bar you can see the kitchen staff hard at work. This is a sister restaurant to Terra further up the Avenue. It seems to have more seafood entrees, and they are all good.
- Grigg St Pizza – As its name indicates it is just off the Avenue and serves pizza with notably fresh ingredients. Parking is tough on narrow and mostly Grigg St. so walking there or takeout is usually the better choice.
- Abis – This place is just fun with classic hibachi cooking. The chefs are entertaining and it’s a nice change of pace and a good place for the whole family.
- Putnam Diner – Who would have thought that Greenwich would have a classic diner on some of the most expensive real estate in the U.S. It’s been there for years, when we used to have grocery stores and barbers on the Avenue. If you want a good breakfast served fast or a turkey club sandwich for lunch this is the place to go.
- South Bay – In the same location as Casey’s was, South Bay has a nice nautical vibe with entrees that cover seafood, beef, and homemade pastas and a variety of tapas.
- East End – this place has been popular since they opened. It attracts a younger, noisier crowd; well at least younger by Greenwich standards. With lots of hard surfaces, you get a buzz of energy going when it’s hopping, and it usually is on weekends. The bar is very popular with commuters just off the train.
- L’Escale – when I’m trying to impress a client or just want an outstanding meal this is where we head. The food is beautifully prepared and presented. Several years ago, I was sitting in the bar waiting for a client to come down from his room at the Delamar, when someone started playing really intricate jazz piano. I turned around and it was Billy Joel playing. The bartender says he pilots his Cigarette Boat from his home on Long Island and they let him play the piano, while he is waiting for his lunch.
- India Avenue – Just down Railroad Avenue from Greenwich Avenue, India Avenue is our favorite Indian restaurant. The people are nice, and they always have a creative take on one Indian dish or another as well as all the traditional dishes.
- Canoe – Across the street is Canoe run by Kane Xu. It’s a fun restaurant with a variety of dishes as Emma Barhydt wrote in in her 2022 Greenwich Sentinel review. It’s a good time to stop by as you can get a table as many folks think it’s closed due to scaffolding on outside. . Just park on the east side or in the large underground parking lot. The staff are all nice and the happy hour and regular menu have several good items.
- Mason Street BBQ – doesn’t really exist, but the barbecue does. It’s a pop-up restaurant that does drops on Saturday and Sunday. Having been born in Oklahoma and gone to law school in Texas, I like really good barbecue, and this is. You order through hotplate.com and then pick it up on the weekend.
That’s a quick overview of most Greenwich Avenue restaurants. If you haven’t been to one of these restaurants, please try them out. They are all local restaurants that are run by, and staffed by local people, who are worth supporting. They also happen to serve excellent food, or they wouldn’t have survived in the very competitive Greenwich restaurant scene.
I didn’t have room to fit them all in and I apologize to those restaurants that were left out. If you like the article let me or Beth know, and I can do a second version with all the off the Avenue restaurants throughout town like the Old Greenwich Social Club, Greenwich Island Fin Poke and Rebecca’s.
Mark Pruner is a principal on the Greenwich Streets Team at Compass Connecticut. He can be reached at 203-817-2871 or mark.pruner@compass.com
