To serve the big corporate offices located in town, Stamford has a number of super-sized restaurants with busy bars, but sometimes you need a small table for just you and your significant someone—a place with a nice wine list, good food, and maybe a special dessert to share. Here’s a short list of suggestions.
Café Silvium—Locals in the know will willingly wait for a table in this cozy place, located in the Shippan neighborhood. Portions are large, the wine list hails mainly from Italy and California, and everyone who knows it raves about the food. Homemade pastas are a specialty here—cavatelli with broccoli rabe and lobster ravioli are two great choices—and service is friendly and unrushed. Desserts are sublime. Make a reservation early in the evening to miss the crowd that inevitably gathers outside the dining room, though if you’re in line, order a glass of house wine while you wait; the meal will be worth it.
371 Shippan Avenue, 203-324-1651
Olio—Opened just a couple of years ago in the long-established Springdale neighborhood, Olio has become a favorite with locals, and draws patrons from around the city and beyond. With a New American menu prepared with fresh farm-to-table ingredients, Olio offers an array of dishes that use flavors from an international repertoire. The menu changes seasonally, with something for the steak-and-chops guy or the light-bites woman. Desserts are special, too; try the doughnuts with a Nutella based dipping sauce—yum. While it can be busy, one does not feel dwarfed by a large room—it’s a perfect space for conversation and a toast from something on the wine list.
934 Hope Street, 203-817-0303
ZaZa—Billing itself as an Italian gastrobar, this lively restaurant downtown on Broad Street can be a bit noisy—Casablanca or The Bicycle Thief play silently on a giant screen and Euro-beat background music gently rocks the house. But grab a table by the window (come early, no reservations here) or along the left side wall, and you and your sweetie are sure to have a great meal and enjoy a conversation. With an amazing variety of small plates, a three-course, great value prix fixe meal, plus a nice range of entrees, combined with attentive but non-intrusive service, this is the place to go before a movie or show nearby, and before the bar crowd arrives and the place really starts to hop. Desserts are tempting, too.
122 Broad Street, 203 348-2300.