Hey friends. This past Friday I was invited to try a new bar that opened in New Haven, CT called “Anchor Spa.” Well, it’s not exactly a “new” bar, but instead a newly revived bar. The Anchor, as it’s called for short, was a bar that used to be in Milford, CT and was first opened during Prohibition (seriously, you can’t beat New England history, it’s everywhere you look!) The Anchor became a favorite spot and even had an underground speakeasy in its basement, called the Mermaid Room. After closing its doors in 2015 the bar is being relaunched in Downtown New Haven.
Eager to get to downtown, since it’s always coming up with some of the best new spots, Michael and I headed in for a Friday date night.
The new Anchor is located in the same location as an older New Haven bar that had recently closed its doors as well. Surprisingly enough, it’s the bar that my dad and stepmom had their second date at (again New England with the never-ending history). Under the leadership of award winning mixologists Karl Franz Williams and Dimitrios Zahariadis, Anchor Spa is offering amazing worldly cocktails such as “Yale Beets Harvard” (made with Brown Buttered Plantation 3 Star Rum, Smith and Cross Rum, Beets, Orange Acid and Molasses) or “Heading West” (made with Plymouth Gin, house made Lime Cordial, and “Sea Foam”).
For food there is an east-meets-west theme with small plates from the Eastern and Western Hemispheres including Asian spiced duck breast, clam flatbreads, bison tacos, and grilled octopus. We ordered three plates to share and every plate was better than the rest. The food was flavorful, inventive, and DELICIOUS!
If and when you find yourself in the awesome town of New Haven, home of Yale and birthplace of the hamburger, make sure you make time to stop into Anchor Spa. Whether you make room at the old-school standing bar or cozy into one of the teal leather booths.
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