New Haven Restaurant Week starts this Sunday, November 1, and runs through November 14. The prices are the same ones the event has used since at least spring 2024: a $25 two-course lunch, and a three-course dinner at $45 or $55, depending on the tier each restaurant picks. With prices fixed that long, the restaurant names matter less this year than the meal you choose. Lunch is where the roster grew. Of the 24 restaurant cards on the official Restaurant Week page, 15 list the $25 lunch. Last fall, Market New Haven counted 11 lunch participants out of 23.
That's a change you can plan around. Last fall the event grew to two weeks, up from one the year before, Connecticut Public reported at the time. Fourteen days with 15 lunch options gives you ten weekday lunches to choose from. You don't need to fight for a Saturday dinner reservation.
Which restaurants offer which price
Restaurants choose their own dinner tier, and a few skip dinner entirely. Here's how the official listings sort as of late October. The header says 25 restaurants, but 24 cards appear on the page.
$25 lunch and $45 dinner
- Caffe Bravo, 794 Orange Street
- Chacra Pisco-Bar, 152 Temple Street
- Florian Belgian Bistro, 1166 Chapel Street
- Il Gabbiano, 501 Long Wharf Drive
- Lazeez, 40 Orange Street
- Pacifico, 220 College Street
- South Bay, 228 College Street
- Villa Lulu, 230 College Street
$25 lunch and $55 dinner
- BLDG at Hotel Marcel, 500 Sargent Drive
- Camacho Garage, 36 Fountain Street
- Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grill, 271 Crown Street
- Harvest Wine Bar, 1104 Chapel Street
- Heirloom, 1157 Chapel Street
$25 lunch only
- Claire's Corner Copia, 1000 Chapel Street
- Between Bread, 1008 Chapel Street. Its card shows a $25 price, and its menu was still marked "coming soon."
$45 dinner only
- Barcelona Wine Bar, 155 Temple Street
- Encore by Goodfellas, 702 State Street
- Gioia Cafe and Bar, 150 Wooster Street
- L'Orcio, 806 State Street
- Tre Scalini, 100 Wooster Street
$55 dinner only
- 80 Proof, 196 Crown Street
- John Davenport's, 155 Temple Street
- Melting Pot, 20 George Street
- Zinc, 964 Chapel Street
Totals: 13 restaurants serve the $45 dinner and 9 serve the $55 dinner. The $25 lunch, with 15, is the most widely offered option this fall.
Three blocks where the price point picks the street
Several participants sit close enough together that one decision covers the meal and the walk.
- College Street, 220 to 230. Pacifico, South Bay and Villa Lulu sit almost door to door, and all three list the same $25 lunch and $45 dinner. On this block you're choosing between Nuevo Latino, Mediterranean-inspired and Italian, all at the same price.
- Temple Street at 152 and 155. All three price points sit within a few doors of each other here. Chacra Pisco-Bar offers the $25 lunch and $45 dinner, Barcelona Wine Bar the $45 dinner, and John Davenport's the $55 dinner.
- Chapel Street, 964 to 1166. Six participants line this stretch: Zinc, Claire's Corner Copia, Between Bread, Harvest Wine Bar, Heirloom and Florian Belgian Bistro. Two are lunch only, two pair a $25 lunch with a $55 dinner, Florian pairs it with a $45 dinner, and Zinc is $55 at dinner. You could eat Restaurant Week lunch on Chapel Street every weekday of the first week without repeating a restaurant.
Outside downtown, Wooster Square has two $45 dinners, at Tre Scalini and Gioia. Camacho Garage in Westville, BLDG at Hotel Marcel on Sargent Drive and Il Gabbiano on Long Wharf Drive all offer lunch. If you live in Westville or along the Route 34 side of the city, those three are the lunch options that don't involve parking downtown.
What's different from last fall
You'll recognize most of the roster. The changes are at the edges. Compared with the 23 restaurants Yale Daily News listed for fall 2025, this year's page adds Between Bread, Claire's Corner Copia, Gioia Cafe and Bar, and Lazeez. Two of those four, Between Bread and Claire's, are among the new lunch options, and Lazeez adds both a $25 lunch and a $45 dinner. That accounts for most of the jump from 11 lunch participants to 15.
Three restaurants from last fall's list aren't on this year's page: Jack's Bar and Steakhouse, Olea and Casanova. Casanova's absence is permanent. The restaurant at 278 Park Street announced its closure, the Hartford Courant reported on October 17, and its own website now says it has closed its doors.
One of the newest places on College Street isn't participating at all. Twirl, the fresh-pasta shop from the team behind Olmo Bagels, began serving at 260 College Street on October 3, Yale Daily News reported. It's a few doors up from the Pacifico, South Bay and Villa Lulu block, and it's a pick-your-pasta counter, not a coursed menu. If your group splits on whether to commit to a prix fixe, Twirl is the casual option on the same street.
What the price covers, and what it doesn't
The $25, $45 and $55 figures are per person and don't include tax, gratuity or drinks, unless a restaurant states otherwise. Lunch is two courses, usually an appetizer and entrée or an entrée and dessert. Dinner is appetizer, entrée and dessert. Most participants keep their regular menus running alongside the prix fixe, so one person at the table can order off the regular menu. You book directly with each restaurant, and the organizers strongly recommend reservations. Hours stay whatever each restaurant normally keeps, so check whether your weekday lunch spot is open on the day you have in mind.
Parking is the detail to confirm before you drive in. The official page promises parking deals. As of late October, though, the offers spelled out in the Restaurant Week FAQ were dated for the spring installment. Those were free two-hour parking from The Shops at Yale with a $50 same-day receipt, and a $6 lunch rate at Park New Haven's Crown Street and Temple Street garages. Last fall, CT Insider reported the same two offers for the November 2025 edition. Check the FAQ the morning you go, not the version you read this week.
Part of each restaurant's participation fee goes back into the community. Of the $1,000 fee covering both 2026 installments, $200 is designated as a donation to Connecticut Foodshare and tied to this fall's edition. Market New Haven has partnered with Foodshare since 2009, according to Connecticut Public's 2025 coverage.
Opening day overlaps with Westville's parade
Sunday, November 1 is also the last day of Open Studios New Haven, which ends with a Giant Puppet Parade in Edgewood Park at 11 a.m. It's free. Camacho Garage on Fountain Street is the Westville participant with a $25 lunch, so you can watch the parade and have lunch on the same side of town. After that, the remaining weekdays through Friday, November 13 are open for the downtown lunch blocks, and Saturday, November 14 is the last day for any of it.
I keep my own short list of College Street and Chapel Street lunches for these two weeks, and I'm glad to share it, along with which spots are closest to your side of town. If you're also tracking what's coming up for sale near the restaurants you like, DaMore Realty can set you up to Get Early Access to New Listings in those blocks before they reach the portals.
