Aspen Restaurant

I stopped by here for a dinner with my family while visiting Connecticut and the food was delicious. I had the salmon and my wife had the sea scallops and they were both excellent choices. Over the ambiance was warm and the service was on point. Nothing but praise for an excellent meal.

We had a great experience today. From start to finish everything was exceptional. We had people frequently at our table, water was always full, drinks were always refreshed, food was delicious and flavorful. Our server Haley was very knowledgeable about the menu, great suggestions and exceptional service. We can’t wait to come back and highly recommend!

On the search for upscale means while roadtripping sometimes is hard. This spot wins it all. The chowder was great. Not crowded at all.
Our food very delicious and the service was fantastic.
Treat yourself to the cappuccino 😁

We are having Aspen provide our wedding night dinner in the fall and came in to see the restaurant for the first time.

Melanie and I ordered the half-chicken and were very impressed with the preparation of entrees. Absolutely delicious. The crab cake was fantastic as well.

Every staff member was efficient and friendly, even as we asked to check out The Amber Room downstairs.

As good of an experience as we could hope for and we can't wait to return.

Great food and service by Kate! We started off with their clam chowder and salad which had roasted pecans, cranberries, gorgonzola cheese with a very tasty vinaigrette. We then moved onto the duck nachos and mussels. The mussels were good but not to our liking yet Kate was on-top of our opinion and sent the manager over. We then moved into the pan seared tuna which was fabulous and dessert to end. The wine prices are really reasonable. I would highly recommend going here to eat as they are very well run and organized.

The food was incredible and service extremely professional. We tried a bunch of things and were impressed with everything. We will absolutely be going back-and this will most likely be a new go to when we have visitors!

What really stood out were the martinis, grilled romaine salad, and the generous portion of lobster on the lobster roll. The New England clam chowder was the best we’ve had out here as well.

The next day we were in mystic and tried two of the most recommended restaurants and the food didn’t even compare. Aspen stood out for atmosphere, service, and food.

Kristen was amazing. The food was phenomenal, and the friendly staff gets a 10 out of 10. We came in off the Ferry, and they were not prepared for the party of 20. But they made it work. We ate, we drank, and I will never forget this restaurant. I'm going to tell all of my coworkers about this wonderful place.

Aspens is our favorite restaurant in Old Saybrook. The food is always fantastic and the service, excellent. Usually we eat in the bar area, but tonight we ate in the main dining room. My husband had the scallops with bacon fried rice, and I had the salmon with potatoes and roasted vegetables. Joe was our server and was great! Seafood is always fresh and cooked just right. Love having the fireplace going on a cold night.

Aspen recently hosted my mom’s post celebration of life reception in their private event room downstairs. It was an intimate space with a full bar, plenty of tables people to sit wherever and the food and service was excellent. Leading into the day, the events manager, Jenna was very helpful at making food suggestions for one of these types of events. Many of our guests kept stating how nice the staff and manager were and that the food selection was perfect. I want to thank you all for your help making a tough day stressful by your kindness, attentiveness, and professionalism. Thank you.

Over the years I have been to restaurants where the staff is just great, but the food was "ok", and I have also been to the opposite, Great food horrible service - But don't you just love when both come together, Great Staff and Fantastic Food... well welcome to the ASPEN Restaurant in Old Saybrook.

Without a doubt one of the finest dining experiences - food and staff - I have had in 40 years of travel, of course the best part is I only travel 7 minutes to get there. I have had Lunch and Dinner; I have sat inside and out, and each time the results are amazingly the same – consistent, creative, seasonal flavors, subtle ingredients, fresh, and delicious.

Let me start by saying every drink, app, soup, salad, sandwich, main and dessert was perfect so know I will spend more time on my "go-to-meal" but please know everything is great. So, my go to meal? The New England Clam Chowder is so good it is the only chowder I have had that I couldn’t care less if there were clams in it – it’s that good. Next - just read this combination and dream with me - the ROASTED BUTTERNUT SALAD
arugula, roasted butternut squash, dried blueberries, gorgonzola, caramelized onions, apple cider vinaigrette, forgetaboutit! The main, no hesitation VEAL OSSO BUCCO, my goodness it is fall off the bone melt in your mouth yumminess that is on a whole 'nother level! Desert is tougher - to choose between the Chocolate Raspberry Bomb and Sticky Toffee Pudding with cinnamon gelato is impossible so you will just have to come back again and again. A pleasant surprise and perfect when you want something lighter is the STONINGTON SCALLOPS with lobster and bacon fried rice - the flavor profile changes ever so slightly with each bite – especially with savory sweet soy sauce; now listen this is not a lobster dish as in loaded with lobster - like every dish at Aspen the fresh and inventive ingredients are perfectly balanced.

So lastly, with all the great food I must ask every restaurant that serves iced "tea from a gun" or bottle STOP - Aspen is always busy but they enough time to offer real brewed iced tea. And yes - Joe is the man ask for him and tell him John said hi!

This is a place to take a date for the ambience . It is very romantic and has a nice two sided fire place burning. When we went we left the kids at home and went on one of our Anniversary. The next table was a family with very unruly children and I get it bc I have 3 kids. But we wanted to have a nice quiet evening. The waiter instantly resat us in the corner so we could have a peaceful dinner. The food is always amazing but sometimes when you have food allergies it is difficult for the kitchen to always get it right. I had a pork chop with seasoning when asked for it plain. But they remade it again to my liking and apologize for the inconvenience. This place isn't perfect but always a redo place. Love going for special occasions.
The next time we went we had problems getting the manual wheelchair at the table they gave us and suggested a certain table that we have eaten at before. Although they were very accommodating it messed up their seating arrangement and they had to rearrange tables etc..but we were very appreciative for the accommodations. Not everyone was thrilled but very thankful to our waitress for thinking about us and wanting us to enjoy ourselves. A lesson learned.. Know what table fits you if you are in a wheelchair so next time you can ask for it. Saves stress on both ends.
Over the year I have loved this place not only for the ambiance but just the service and accomodations. My boyfriend had made an appointment at another restaurant for my birthday but it was a bust. He knows how much I love Aspen and called to see by chance on a Saturday if they have a reservation. The girl who answered made it work and I felt like a million bucks on my birthday. Great service. Great Food. Just a fab evening

We had an incredible meal sitting at the bar (by choice) the lamb and duck was amazing and the octopus appetizer perfectly prepared! Felicia the bartender was awesome

I, in all honesty, didn't expect such a high end dining experience. Prices could be considered relatively high. However, the quality of the food, the freshness of the food....absolutely outstanding. I was very impressed, and I will returning with family and friends for certain.

Are you looking for a great experience that can be either romantic or for an awesome casual night out?.... Well then look no forward as Aspen Restaurant is the pinnacle of excellence in Middlesex County! Honestly, if this place of business was located in another county it would be a true standout gem there, as well, as the staff here treat you just like family. They stand by their word that their food is THAT GOOD and once trying our appetizers, we were immediately hooked and are very much looking forward towards coming back here, no matter the 1hr drive!

HUGE shoutout to the General Manager Edwin for listening to my initial phone call idea of making this night special as he and his team went out of their way to make this Valentine holiday about love as we were able to forget about being in a pandemic. In addition, an amazing shoutout to the beautiful Christine as she is the epitome of excellence, patience, and attentive towards her patrons! Christine, you were awesome and thank you so much for helping to make this day special, as it would have not without you!

People come back here regularly and there is a reason for that and we were very happy to make this apart of our food journey!

P.s. be sure to visit Saybrook home (store within) as there are two lovely ladies who were awesome to chat with!

Best

Tim

Edited on 2023.08.06:
I purchased my mother a gift to Aspen after having repeatedly great dining experiences. When she used the gift card, there was an issue and the Aspen team— Edwin the manager and Kate the waitress— sprang into action to not only address the problem, but also treated my mom so well. I really recommend Aspen— not only for the dining experience, but also because of their amazing team!

Original review:
The ambience of Aspen was very nice. I especially enjoyed the lighting that was not so dim that you couldn't see your food, but also not so bright that it took away from the charm of the restaurant-- check the picture I posted. The food was tasty, the service was good, and I especially enjoyed the regional menu food/wine pairing.

Spectacular food and service. Had a party of 6 and the food was incredible, drinks were very good and service was prompt. Will absoutely dine again.

Excellent food and service. We highly recommend Aspen. Food was fresh and delicious. Should definitely be #1 on TripAdvisor.

✅❤ Best hangar steak and mashed Yukon potatoes I’ve ever had! Bravo on the cozy fire and attentive staff.

Food and service was amazing! Felicia is always the person i request to wait on us. She makes the best drinks and is very good at what she does. One of my favorite restaurants. Can’t wait to go back!

Very nice place. So accommodating. Great staff. Kate was our server, so nice! Salmon entree was delicious. Friend had pastrami panini which she liked. Nice cocktail and dessert menus. Plenty of parking. In a courtyard with a few shops.