New Haven Favorites

Here is a list of favorite things to do in and around New Haven!

New Haven is well-known for its food ... and especially its pizza!

• Frank Pepe Pizzeria: A New Haven classic and is widely credited as having the best pizza in America.
• Sally's Apizza: Considered Frank Pepe's biggest pizza rival, and is better known for its red sauce. Also, has some great veggie options (tomato and garlic, potato and onion and rosemary).
• Modern Apizza: Closer to the East Rock neighborhood, on State Street. Known for the Italian bomb and its own white clam pizza.
• Bar: Famed for its mashed potato and bacon pizza.
• Da Legna: Lesser known, more of a local favorite, and offers its own versions of New Haven style pizza (took the mashed potato and bacon pizza, added spinach and smoked gouda).
• Claire's Corner Copia: All vegetarian restaurant. Long wait at lunch, but totally worth it. Lots of vegan and gluten-free options as well, and even if you don't have any dietary restrictions, seriously delicious food.
• Geronimo's: Mexican restaurant located in downtown New Haven; highlights of their menu are the margaritas and the tableside guacamole (and happy hour deals like Taco Tuesday!).
• Caseus: Caseus is a cheese-based restaurant with a cheese cellar and small cheese shop attached to it. Pricey, but easily the city's best mac and cheese. They also have a food truck.
• Prime 16: Low-key, reasonably priced pub downtown, well-known for its burgers.
• Archie Moore's: Neighborhood bar up in East Rock. Friendly, "Cheers"-type atmosphere, and has award-winning wings that are absolutely worth trying.

• Ordinary: Has a speak easy feel, with great food and drinks.
• Elm City Social: Another happy hour favorite for fellows. Has unique food (Tuna Tacos) and drink (Rubber Ducky) menus.
• Cask Republic: Great, extensive beer list. Has great discounts for happy hour cocktails, beers, and snacks. Good atmosphere and located right downtown.

• Maison Mathis: A must if you like Belgian waffles.
• Box 63: Great American brunch for reasonable prices.
• Bella's Cafe: In the Westville neighborhood, another basic breakfast/brunch place with great food and reasonable prices.
• The Pantry: Cash only, but worth it. The cinnamon roll pancakes are out of this world.

• Koffee on Audubon: Tucked away between downtown and the East Rock neighborhood, a destination for many Yale students and faculty.
• Coffee Pedaler: A nice little coffee shop in the East Rock neighborhood, with really strong coffee and bicycles as decor.
• Blue State Coffee: One of the most popular in New Haven, can find locations throughout the city.
• East Rock Coffee: Tiny, no electronics allowed coffee shop in the heart of East Rock. Reasonable prices, good food and drink, great neighborhood atmosphere.
• Book Trader Cafe: Amazing, unique blend between a coffee shop and used bookstore. Not many outlets, but a great place to sit and people watch.
• The Green Teahouse: Cute downtown shop and teahouse with great selection of teas.

• Escape New Haven: A great way to spend an hour with a group of friends. Part of the recent "escape room" craze.
• Gryphon's Pub at GPSCY: A pub for graduate students, fellows, and postdocs at Yale. Cheap drinks and a place to get away from the New Haven and undergrad crowds you might have elsewhere.
• Firehouse 12: A combination of bar (downstairs), recording studio/concert space (upstairs), and occasional pop-up restaurant on random Sunday nights.
• Food trucks at the hospital: Dozens of food trucks park outside YNHH every weekday between about 11 am and 2 pm. Mostly cash only, but some of the best food in the city (Chinese, Mexican, Thai, falafel, …).
• The Shops at Yale: Wide range of restaurants, coffee shops, clothing/accessory stores, etc., in downtown New Haven. The website is really useful for getting a sense of all the options available!

• Peabody Museum of Natural History: Has a steady rotation of exhibits and hosts many local events (Free to all Yale affiliated employees!).
• Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library: One of the world's largest libraries devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts.
• Cushing Brain Collection: This random, hidden space offers much for science and history buffs, including a piece of steak signed by Ivan Pavlov.
• Yale Repertory Theatre: A nice theater with comfortable seating, nice amenities (free coffee before the show and at intermission), and regularly showing high-quality productions.
• Yale Center for British Art: Free for the public. Features everything from sculptures to paintings, and artists from lesser known to Francis Bacon.

• East Rock Park: Contains several hiking trails, and the best overview of New Haven.
• Sleeping Giant State Park: Located in Hamden, the park has several great hiking trails, a lookout tower, and views reaching as far as Long Island Sound (pending weather conditions).

New York City (2 hours by Metro North/New Haven Line)

• Hop on the New Haven Line at Union Station, and your last stop is Grand Central Station. From there, you have access to all of the restaurants, Broadway shows, and attractions the city has to offer (e.g., Times Square, Central Park, and its many distinct neighborhoods). There’s way more to do here than you can fit into a day (or weekend trip)—fortunately the city is accessible and just a couple hours away!

Boston (2 hours by Amtrak)

• The Northeast Corridor’s high-speed rail service runs from Washington DC to Boston, and conveniently makes a stop at Union Station (just two hours away). The city has its own unique character and neighborhoods, and is home to many universities (including Yale’s rival…). In addition to having all that any major city has to offer, Beantown has a plethora of stops for history buffs.

Connecticut’s Quiet Corner (varies 2-3 hours)

• Not much of a city person? Connecticut’s Quiet Corner, located in the northeast part of the state may be for you. The area is rural and rustic, with several small towns. If you’re really looking to decompress and get away from it all, the spas may have what you’re looking for.

Burlington and Montreal (4 – 6 hours)

• If you want to go all in on a road trip, and make it international, you can’t do better than Burlington (about 4 hours away) and Montreal (6 hours away). Burlington is a college town and home to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Montreal is full of European flavor and vibes, which makes it feel like a real getaway.

• The Daily Nutmeg: Great way to stay informed of events and things to do in New Haven.
• Visit CT: Tourist's guide to Connecticut if you want to get out and explore.
• Yale Student Life: Good compilation of resources for things to do and places to go in Connecticut and New Haven.
• MeetUp: There is a really active MeetUp scene in New Haven! If you're looking for non-psychology people to hang out with, the app is a great way to meet people, regardless of your interests.