Restaurants in Bridgeport

Upon entering Tuscany Ristorante, guests are greeted by the sweeping country landscapes that pepper the bright-yellow walls, evoking summers spent under the Tuscan sun, sipping wine and dancing the tarantella until the INS showed up. The warm interiors paired with crisp white linens and hardwood floors infuse the restaurant with a casual elegance to match its classic, flavorful fare. The chefs whip up rich Tuscan dishes, including hearty pasta; prime, dry-aged steaks; and decadent housemade desserts. Pasta and risotto entrees showcase carb sculptures such as the rich rigatoni boccelli, which, like any marble statue, comes doused in pancetta and light vodka sauce. As guests dine, they can indulge in a bottle of wine plucked from the floor-to-ceiling wine rack that lines the walls with rustic wood planks and elegantly displays hundreds of bottles.

In 2001, the calzones, burgers, gyros, grinders, and cheesy pies that lived in the entrepreneurial dreams of then-college sophomore Mark Kalmanidis escaped and joined forces to create Crossroads Pizza. Inside the eatery, customers can send their tongue shopping for spaghetti and meatballs ($8.50) and their teeth can busily munch fried chicken served with french fries and cole slaw ($10.50). Or, choose to chew into one of the menu's more than 15 specialty pizzas—taste a small white pizza's doughy disc of ricotta, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and oregano ($9), visit a medium Hawaiian's ham-pineapple fusion ($12.99), or let a small vegetarian pizza refill your food pouch with an assortment of delicious nonmeats ($9.99).

Groupon customers may request the porterhouse steak, certified Black Angus for an extra fee.

Although the Bridgeport location has yet to be reviewed, eight Google Mappers give the Norwalk location of Viva Cantina Mexican Grill & Bar a four-star average:

French-American cuisine and sumptuous wines make their home in Epernay Bistro's casual fine-dining atmosphere. Chef and owner Peter Wroe forages for the freshest produce from local growers and irate farmers' carrot patches to craft a dinner menu that highlights seasonal ingredients. Inventive evening entrees include the provence-lamb stew over herbed noodles ($20) and a seared-sea-scallop chowder that marries onions, carrots, and celery with red potato and bacon ($23). Meanwhile, the house-made country pâté with dijon and cornichon represents the more traditional end of the fusion spectrum ($10).

Though the brick bar and large, bright front windows immediately catch customers’ eyeballs, Bare Tapas & Vino is a restaurant best represented by its Mediterranean-inspired menus of tapas, pizzas, wine, and cocktails. Elegant small plates include grilled steak tips in a demi glaze, crisp, golden shrimp, or crab cakes. Flatbreads easily carry toppings such as roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, and mozzarella, or combinations of asparagus, roasted onion, and smoked peppers. In accompaniment, wines hail from the vineyards of California or Portugal, while cocktails of exotic fruit blends sport colors more vibrant than the cheek of a crying two year old.