Restaurants in Glastonbury

A night of dinner, drinks, and dancing doesn't always have to involve three different destinations. At Shish Restaurant & Lounge, visitors can do all three, seamlessly. While they cozy up on a leather sofa, the wait staff ferries Middle-Eastern cuisine such as small plates of baba ghanoush and grape leaves as well as flatbreads decorated with lamb, hallumi, and olives. From the bar, servers transport nine signature cocktails, flutes of seven types of champagne, and draft and bottled beers to lounging diners as they watch other cut a rug on the giant dance floor. Whether visiting on swing-dance Wednesdays, Latin Thursdays, or DJ-party Fridays, there is always something to watch.

At Min Ghung Asian Bistro, bartenders shuffle back and forth in front of the sake wall, a towering display of premium sakes illumed by neon-lit shelves. The impressive selection of spirits accompanies a menu populated by Japanese and Korean entrees with meats or tofu drizzled in a variety of marinades. A separate sushi menu boasts hand-rolled creations that encase everything from apple and mango to egg custard and sea urchin.

Inside the dining room, a rotating selection of art hangs upon crimson walls. Each piece purchased sponsors Min Ghung's Art in Red Room program, which aims to increase awareness of work by local artists. Outside, strings of colorful paper lanterns decorate a patio freckled with sun sifting through nearby tree branches or flocks of cheesecloth flying overhead.

"I grew up around restaurants. I came from hospitality," Angie explains, looking around at Luna's newly painted taupe and gold walls. Luna Pizza has indeed traced her family tree; Angie and her son took over the business from her brother.

In the eatery itself, marble-top tables shine in their wrought-iron bases. "West Hartford––it's an old town with a small-town character,” Angie says. “Many of our customers can walk from their homes." The impetus for that walk is the shop’s distinctive thin crust and adventurous palette of toppings, including breaded chicken, pesto, and cherry peppers, which are prepared as needed. "We won't do a batch," Angie explains. "All the veggies are roasted fresh." The sauces are also homemade, and the ingredients sourced locally when possible. The resulting pies can hold a powerful draw, Angie says. "There are many customers who have been coming to Luna Pizza for well over 20 years. They order the same pizza, the same toppings. That's loyalty, and that matters."

At Jalisco Restaurant, the Rodriguez family whips up traditional Mexican dishes enhanced by fresh veggies, natural-aged cheeses, and homemade, preservative-free corn tortillas. Every day, chefs blend sauces and marinades from scratch to match with top sirloin steak, pork loin, and lamb shank, as well as ocean-fresh red snapper, prawns, scallops, and Dungeness crab. Crisp chips emerge from the fryer mere hours before appearing on tables to scoop up salsas or remnants of vegetarian burritos stuffed with cactus and black beans. Against a vibrant backdrop of yellow and adobe-colored walls, bartenders rim margarita glasses with salt and lime wedges or feed tropical cocktails to thirsty piñatas.

Crust that’s at once crispy and gooey, imbued with a flavor that’s subtly smoky and fresh, with a texture that’s like a playground for the tongue—this is what brick firing gives to pizza. At Giovanni's Brick Oven Pizzeria, chefs understand that a little extra attention elevates good pizza to gourmet pizza, and so they fire their thin, New York–style crusts directly on the brick of their oven. Yet this is just a single facet to their polygonal masterpieces. Family recipes are another, bringing the results of years of experimentation to pies such as the margherita and hawaiian. Then there’s the creativity—cheeseburger pizzas covered in ketchup, mustard, ground beef, and american cheese—and the variety—25 slices available every day. These are served alongside pastas in bolognese sauce and more than 19 kinds of grinder stuffed with genoa salami and other meats.

Beer and wine, such as Lagunitas and the California red Ménage à Trois, wash down meals and add the extra dimension of pairing to pizza dinners. Guests can enjoy these inside, amid rustic Italian decorations, or on a spacious, heated patio amid fresh breezes and the moon’s attempts to hit diners’ eyes. Giovanni's also hosts special events, such as holiday parties and kids' nights, and contributes to community causes, such as schools and sports teams.

It’s considered normal for a restaurant to enter a float or banner in a town parade, but in general, these contributions are all made by humans. Corner Pug breaks this tradition each year during West Hartford’s Park Road Parade, gathering local pugs to march down the street with their owners, each pup dressed to the nines in an attempt to win an award for best costume or most flattering hemline.

This annual spectacle is in keeping with the whimsy that surrounds the pub all year long. Framed photos of pugs brought in by devoted owners line the walls to form a canine shrine, and these pups peer enviously at the endless line-up of thick burgers, organic strip steaks, and English pub classics that parade to tables. In between sips of 20-ounce draft beers, visitors should keep their eyes peeled for sightings of Corner Pug’s mascot—Mac, the pug—whose likeness graces everything from the menu to T-shirts, mugs, and bottles of housemade dressing.

Despite the pub’s jocular ambiance, the kitchen staff takes its job seriously—albeit with a wink and a nod, reportedly employing a macaroni technician to make sure each noodle is standing upright. But Corner Pug’s attention to detail (they even serve the fish ’n’ chips on London newspaper print) has paid off, earning the eatery a perennial spot on the Hartford Advocate’s Best-Of list.