Restaurants in Cromwell

Sanremo Bakery conquers appetites with traditional Italian dishes and pastries. The family-owned business opens at 7 a.m. every day of the week, powering up morning customers with its breakfast pizza composed of eggs, home fries, bacon, and cheddar. Chefs prepare more than 10 other specialty pizzas for lunch and dinner, as well as pasta trays of lasagna, eggplant parmigiana, and ravioli that are large enough to feed 15–25 people or one Italian lumberjack.

Across from the train station, Center Station Pub & Grill’s sizzling sandwiches, burgers, and wings call to the hungry stomachs of travelers and locals alike. Berlin’s Biggest Burger weighs down the menu with its melted american cheese, sautéed onions, and two half-pound patties that, when smacked together, have led many a lifeguard to close the pool due to thunder. The cooks also ladle nine different sauces over signature wings, sling chicken-parm grinders, and bedeck homemade tortilla chips in nacho cheese. Under new management since November 2010, the classic pub fare pairs nicely with the 15 microbrews on tap, poured in a restaurant that serves as an exciting gathering place for Berlin residents. Center Station schedules karaoke on Fridays and bands to perform on weekends, filling the gaps in live entertainment with an in-house pool table, video games, and dartboards.

Tabaq Masala Restaurant and Banquet Hall whisks diners away on a pan-Asian sojourn through Indian, Chinese, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi cuisines. In the 100% halal kitchen, chefs spice dishes with fresh chili, pan-fry whole pomfret, and crisp roti flatbread within the clay confines of a tandoori oven. The dining room walls reflect the kitchen’s cultural mélange with a mix of Indian and Chinese artwork, and a private prayer room facilitates diners' devotions. The red carpeting in a spacious banquet hall gives large group celebrations a glamorous atmosphere without smuggling in paparazzi inside chafing dishes.

The menus at Sakimura's two locations change regularly in order to incorporate the freshest seasonal ingredients and the chefs’ newest culinary muses. The Simsbury location is known to intermingle traditional Japanese flavors with contemporary flourishes, with specials taking forms such as foie gras with sweet miso sauce. Both locales’ sushi chefs also invent their own creative rolls, such as a deep-fried Godzilla roll and an Out of Control roll filled with shrimp tempura and topped with seared pepper tuna.

Diners seeking a hot dinner can gather around hibachi grills and watch as chefs sear their choice of shrimp, chicken, scallops, filet mignon, or any number of other gourmet ingredients. The hibachi rooms' smokeless grills and modern yet warm decor combine to create a pleasant dining experience.

Glowing sconces line the crimson and cream walls inside Namaste India, where traditional Indian dishes adorn linen-topped tables and fill the air with spiced aromas. Marinated lamb, chicken, and seafood slumber inside a clay tandoor oven until they're mildly smoky and tender throughout, while other proteins and vegetables steep in rich curry sauces, aptly scooped up with fresh-baked naan bread or ladled over delicate basmati rice. Patrons can wash down meals with sweet, salted, or mango-flavored lassi drinks, or snatch a classic dessert such as gulab jamun—deep-fried milk dumplings that are soaked in syrup and delivered to tables via an air gun.

A neon-lit façade shelters an intimate sidewalk patio where patrons chat on warm summer days over fresh seafood, salads, pastas, and meaty Italian specialties. Diners get their fill of bruschetta and mussels any time of year within Aziago's casual interior, which boasts golden-yellow walls, italian-vintage-style posters, and a hardwood bar overlooking a flat-screen TV. Main dishes, such as veal parmesan and ravioli, float to tables on clouds of house-made marinara, and forks cut effortlessly into juicy steak and pork-chop dishes. The promise of Cheesecake Factory desserts leads young ones to gobble their kiddie-sized pastas, and a quick-serve café brings paninis and wraps to the lunchtime masses. Aziago's also hosts private parties and delivers catered feasts to groups too large to sit at double-decker tables.