Restaurants in South Windsor

Culling its name from a miniature statue that was at the center of a bygone prank played by one of the owners, The Iron Frog Tavern is home to a menu of upscale pub fare—90% of which is prepared in-house daily. Decadent stacks of short ribs accent classic grilled cheese sandwiches, while signature "Nooks and Crannies" burgers beautifully boogle palates with a mix of beef, cheddar cheese, and crowning fried egg. Toe-tapping tuneage often echoes across The Iron Frog’s idyllic outdoor patio, treating ears to aural feasts as friendly servers package leftovers in eco-friendly containers and soybean takeout cups. Guests take in weekly entertainment, including trivia on Wednesdays, open mic night on Thursdays, and table-side magic shows on Saturdays. Those eager to assault early-rising appetites may partake in brunch served every Sunday.

"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."

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.

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.