Bars in Guilford

Recently named the state’s best family dining restaurant by Connecticut Managzine, Chips’ Pub III fills the bellies of its guests with steaks, seafood, and other homestyle dishes. An impressive list of 15 hand-pressed burgers, each char-broiled over an open hearth, dominates the menu, which also features Chips’ specialties such as the Primo prime rib with housemade horseradish, and platters of scallops, shrimp, and calamari.

The flames at Prime American Grille have escaped the kitchen. Not only do they live inside the sizzling-hot grill, they also exist atop flickering candles and inside the dining room's roaring fireplace. Flame-kissed rib-eye and new york strip steaks arrive at tables coated in house-made peppercorn, gorgonzola, or mushroom-and-onion sauces. Chefs also bolster their menu with ocean-fresh seafood, pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches. Bottles of wine litter a massive rack inside the restaurant's dining room, which boasts a warm color palette, dark woods, and strategically placed mirrors that make the space feel airy and light, like a helium balloon filled with tossed salad. On the weekends, Prime American Grille pulses with live music from DJs and bands, and each night, diners can sit at the full bar to watch sports on seven flat-screen televisions.

The deep swell of rolling balls and cacophony of falling pins punctuate conversations at family-friendly Amity Bowl. After retrieving shoes and selecting spherical pin-bashing implements, pairs of guests will assume command of a lacquered lane for ten frames of relaxed collaboration or energetic competition. Partake in traditionally lit pin-thrashing, or revel in the dim splendor of cosmic bowling, which, like most leisure and every incident of smearing toothpaste in a friend's hair, occurs during the weekend. Two frosty cups of bubbly beverages may help reinvigorate wearied bowlers during the seventh-frame stretch. As an automated mouth at the lane’s end continues restocking its hourglass-shaped teeth, bowlers may also visit the snack bar to sink their own teeth into classic bowling-alley munchies.

Cuisine Type: Farm-to-table tapas
Established: 2013
Reservations: Recommended
Handicap Accessible: Yes
Number of Tables: 11?25
Parking: Free street parking
Most popular offering: Diver scallops with market vegetables
Kid-friendly: Yes
Alcohol: Full bar
Delivery/Takeout Available: Takeout Only
Outdoor Seating: Yes

Q&A with Albert Greenwood, Owner

Tell us a little about your restaurant. Oak Haven Table & Bar is a tapas-style gastropub that specializes in beer, wine, and bourbon. It is nestled in historic grotto neighborhood of New Haven. The caf? opens as a trendy gastropub and transforms into a vibrant bar at night. As our name suggests, we are a fusion caf? that sells delicious wines, craft beers, and spirits that complement a farm-to-table food menu. We support local farms, vineyards, microbreweries, and distributors whenever possible and want to be a sanctuary for the cultured consumer. Walk in and see the warming wood accents, rustic edison fixtures, the abstract furniture, that all seamlessly flows together to create a feng shui ambiance that makes everyone inside feel comfy.

In your own words, how would you describe your menu? Our mission is to sell fresh and unique food and drinks. Our product must meet the highest standards of quality, freshness, and seasonality while combining both modern-creative and classical styles of cooking. Oak Haven Table & Bar always keeps its concept fresh, exciting, and on the cutting edge of the hospitality industry. Lastly, we give back to the New Haven community to improve the quality of life for everyone in our neighborhood.

Zafra refers to the term harvesting sugarcane, which is one of the main ingredients in rum. And Zafra Cuban Restaurant knows rum, stocking its shelves with more than 300 different types of the liquor. Guests can drink rum mixed into mojitos and martinis, or sip the libation straight. While the rum selection is impressive, Zafra is also known for its cuisine, nabbing top honors from the OpenTable Diners? Choice award for Cuban food. Chefs tuck mango chicken into housemade empanadas and serve ceviche inside a coconut shell. Cuban entrees include guava-glazed salmon and grilled flank steak slathered in a chimichurri sauce. Another Cuban tradition occurs every Sunday night, when high-energy beats fill the restaurant and guests can spin and dip their way through salsa routines and games of tag.

Joker's Wild Comedy Club's stage showcases comics drawn from both the national touring circuit and the local scene. The intimate venue, which recently replaced its space-hogging booths with brand-new seats, features headlining comedians who fill Thursday?Saturday evenings with laughter during 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. shows. On Wednesday night, fledgling funny folk strive for their five minutes of fame at open mic night. Joker?s Wild also runs its own School of Comedy, where budding comedians can chase their dreams of cracking up audiences and keeping glasses of water on a stool. The club?s full menu of pub food mutes growling stomachs with appetizers and entrees for patrons hoping to perfect an onion-ring spit take.