Westville is one of New Haven’s quietest suburban neighborhoods, but chef Arturo Franco-Camacho — also known for City Point waterfront favorite Shell and Bones — has turned a former gas station into a daily destination for contemporary Mexican street food and nightlife, proving there’s an appetite for more action in the area. Take a seat at the emerald-tiled center bar or sit on the large, semi-enclosed terrace for a view of the Central Patio, a section of street reclaimed from cars to make room for arts markets and free dance classes from neighboring Alisa’s House of Salsa. Alisa Bowens-Mercado, who owns the dance studio, is also Connecticut’s first Black woman brewery owner; pair her refreshing Rhythm Brewing lager or a pisco sour with Franco-Camacho’s braised lamb barbacoa flautas or some quesadillas featuring wild mushrooms and huitlacoche.

A block off the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, between art center NXTHVN and the Q House community center on the corner of Dixwell and Henry, chef DeAri Allick cooks lamb chops with smashed potatoes and crispy steak-and-cheese egg rolls served with DND sauce, his seafood-based, umami-rich signature. An anti-violence advocate and community organizer, Allick runs his casual restaurant down the street from Hillhouse High, where he played basketball as a teen. Dope N Delicious serves as a gathering spot where neighbors enjoy multiple meals a day and events draw exuberant crowds.

After capturing New Haven’s affection with East Rock’s new American charmer Tavern on State and the city’s only whole-animal butcher shop Provisions on State, chef Emily Mingrone has made Northeast seafood the star of her latest venture. Whether you’re peering out of the portholes in Fair Haven Oyster Co.’s trendy midcentury modern dining room or sitting on the deck overlooking the Quinnipiac River, focus on small plates — like Maine scallop crudo or roasted littleneck clams with gochujang butter — paired with cocktails like the Diamondback Smash, a blend of shiso-infused bourbon, cognac, yellow Chartreuse, vermouth, and lemon. And of course order a round of East Coast oysters for the table, served with Zab’s Hot Sauce and nori mignonette.

Duck down a pedestrian-only path off the bustling Broadway Triangle, which hasn’t yet given way entirely to chain stores thanks to indie shops like Neville Wisdom and Grey Matter Books, to find Sherkaan’s colorful dining room and ample patio amid Eero Saarinen’s midcentury Yale architecture. This place is a hip highlight of New Haven’s strong Indian food scene, serving dishes like goat biryani and chickpea chole bhature inspired by Central and South Indian street foods. The drinks are also playful yet poised, from shareable punch bowls to complex mocktails; try a nimbu pani with lime cordial, black salt, lime juice, masala soda, and mint before catching a show at Toad’s Place.

An iconic stop from lunch through late night, Mamoun’s started out in Greenwich Village in 1971 before the Chater family opened a New Haven outpost on Howe Street in 1977. Located halfway between popular watering holes like Three Sheets and Rudy’s Bar, the petite restaurant has glowed up with a significant patio out back in the former parking lot. Obviously the falafel — crispy on the outside, moist and bright green inside — deserves your attention, but don’t sleep on the kebab, shawarma, fava bean ful medames, and eggplant makdous either.

Roger Sherman, a Founding Father and New Haven’s first mayor, once lived at this historic site across from Yale’s Old Campus; the current building, designed in the 19th century by local architect Richard Williams in the Beaux-Arts style, has housed a private social club, an opera house, and a theater. Since 1977, French-inspired brasserie Union League Cafe has lived here, becoming a go-to for celebratory occasions like graduation and parents’ weekend. Embrace the luxe vibe and start with duck confit or escargots, followed by butter-poached lobster or oxtail ravioli. Save room for pastry chef Teila Chappel’s desserts, like mon coeur, a bittersweet chocolate mousse with cherry compote, cherry coulis, and a cocoa biscuit.

In various forms, the Anchor Spa has been a Connecticut institution since 1939. Across from the Shubert Theatre, steps from College Street Music Hall, and around the bend from Yale Repertory Theatre, it had aged into a well-loved, sometimes raucous dive known for its blue facade and diverse cross section of guests. It shuttered in 2015, but less than a year later, Yale alum Karl Franz Williams — who also owns Harlem cocktail lounge 67 Orange Street — gave it a vibrant new life with fantastic cocktails and food to match. Sink into one of the round booths framed by collegiate wood shelving and order the Yale Beets Harvard, a bold yet balanced cocktail featuring two types of rum, beet syrup, orange acid, and molasses bitters, or a mule with house-made Uncle Waithley’s Scotch bonnet ginger beer. For food, try the goat curry, the shrimp and garlic fry bread sandwich, or a generous plate of plantain chips.

Louis’ Lunch may or may not have invented the hamburger — it’s a claim that has been both certified by the Library of Congress and invalidated by evidence. Either way, the fact is the patties at this tiny brick-walled restaurant are ground fresh and cooked to order in vertical cast-iron grills dating to the late 1800s. Don’t ask for ketchup; burgers come on white toast with your choice of cheese spread, grilled onion, and fresh tomato. You can eat your burger with potato salad or a local Foxon Park birch beer in a small wooden booth etched with decades of graffiti, or consume it as originally intended: on the go.

New Haven takes apizza, as the famous Neapolitan-inspired style is called locally, very seriously, and yes, you should sample it all — from pizzeria/brewpub/nightclub Bar’s mashed potato bacon pie to the Big Green Truck’s New Haven-adjacent-style wood-fired pizza on wheels. When visitors are in town, however, you need to school them in Charcoal Fingers 101, so take them to Sally’s. Sit with a Nebco SeaHag IPA in the narrow, memorabilia-filled dining room to watch the famous coal-fired oven at work. The platonic ideal order at Sally’s consists of two pizzas: one red (half tomato pie, half pepperoni) and one white (half potato rosemary, half clam).

Chef Sandra Harris Pittman takes after her mother — Alabama-born chef Mary Harris, namesake of Mama Mary’s on Whalley Avenue — when it comes to making memorable soul food. Visit Sandra’s Next Generation in the Hill neighborhood, down the street from Yale New Haven Hospital, for a taste of oxtail empanadas and a church plate piled with crisp and juicy fried chicken, collard greens, Carribean rice, black-eyed peas, and fried okra. Sandra’s eliminated indoor dining during the pandemic but offers outdoor seating, including covered picnic tables.