The restaurant was chockablock when we happened by, so on another evening we tried the cafe instead. It is a very cozy and attractive place set into a storefront in downtown Fairfield, with some very cute tilework and hand paintied scenery, but an extremely small place, with just a handful of closely packed tables in the front part of the restaurant and a few extras back in the bar section. We did not have a reservation, so we contented ourselves with a tightly packed table in the bar section. It 's a difficult call as to what this place really is. It is a fairly informal atmosphere, so it would be tempting to put it into a family category, and the wide selection of homey pasta dishes would tend to fit that picture as well.
Problem is, neither really fits the experience very well.
This is a hangout for the social set first and foremost, and while the food is turned out reasonably well and is pretty elegant and tasty, you sense that you are paying a high premium for the opportunity to be seen at the scene. If I really valued that, I probably would be a little more cheerful about the experience. But when I go out with my family in tow, I am looking for something a little more accomodating to diners, as opposed to a place that uses the food as a garnish for the bar service. We were encouraged by the popularity of their Stamford outlet, and more hopeful that it will be more of a proper sit-down dining experience, so perhaps we can update you with the second chapter in this episode sometime soon. Us Copyright 1999-2000 Shore Communications Inc .