55 Degrees

Do you ever read some reviews and wonder, 'Did they go to the same place we just went to??'  I waffled a bit between four and five stars and decided on five after four excellent experiences at 55.

When an offer was made for a free dinner, I jumped at it.  I also jumped at the suggestion of going to 55.  It's a particularly good choice on Sunday and Monday nights since they have a prix fixe menu for $29 with 40 percent off all wine bottles.  This might be a good option for people who complain about waiting too long as it's much less crowded on these nights.

We started off with the caprese salad and the stuffed squash blossom.  The mozzarella is handmade and delicious along with fresh tomatoes and a light pesto sauce.  The blossom was stuffed with cheese and served along with sliced zucchini.  It was flavorful and probably the first time this dish lived up to the hype when I first heard about stuffed squash blossoms on NPR a few years ago.  

The halibut was prepared perfectly and served over sauteed spinach and topped with a corn salsa.  The pasta was panzerotti stuffed with butternut squash like a ravioli and had a nice (but not cloying) sweetness.

Dessert included mango sorbet as well as profiteroles served with ice cream and chocolate sauce, both of which were good, although the profiterole pastry could have been a bit fresher.

Dining at 55 is enjoyable with its two level dining area above the bar.  It's tastefully decorated and very open with a two-story ceiling.  Complimenting the space is the professional service, which is attentive without being intrusive.  Even on a very busy night during restaurant week, I thought the wait staff did not miss a beat.  

After trying it during restaurant week, I always wondered why I had not heard more about 55 as it's certainly better than a lot of other places around.  I'd recommend checking it on a Sunday or Monday.  Enjoy the great food, discounted wine, and great service!

I really hate giving places a bad review..but our experience here was just not worth even a decent one. I read the reviews others have posted about the place, and it looks like a few have had the same bad experience we had here last Friday night.

We arrived at 8 in hopes of having a nice, calm meal before looking to catch a movie around 10 after. The restaurant was packed as we assumed it would be (we'd been here before not to eat but just to grab late night drinks as their bar area is pretty lively on the weekends, definitely recommend that) and we requested possible outdoor seating as it was finally a nice Friday night weather wise in Fairfield County, and to our delight we were seated right away. Unfortunetly that practically ended the good about the whole experience right there. The waiter served our drinks efficiently enough, and took the orders in quick time. We ordered mussels for the app to split, and I had the seafood pan roast for the main.

All I can say after that is thank goodness we were sitting outside and there was a lot of people watching to keep us busy, as we began one of the longest waits I've had in recent memory for a starter to come out. At one point my girlfriend pointed out that it was 9pm, meaning the starter didnt come out for almost a whole HOUR. Much too long, and worse yet was when it did finally arrive, we didnt recieve any apology from the waiter at all, he just set the plate down and left without asking if we needed anything else. The mussels were good, sauce was full of flavor, but it made me regret ordering the seafood pan roast as there were just more mussels to come along, definitely a poor decision on my part.

And so after this is cleared we settled in for another 25 minute wait. At this point we had been there for an hour and a half with the starter just barely under our belts, and no sign of improvement anytime soon. Finally, at around 930 the mains came, and we wolfed these down, as we were both starving and anxious about missing our movie time that was now looming closer. I'm not one to really complain or ever send food back (if you put any kind of food that looks half decent in front of me trust me I'll eat it, thats what happens when you starve yourself as a 4 year college athlete) but the seafood pan roast was dreadful. No flavor, very boring all around. You could tell the chef didnt taste a thing that night as there was practically no seasoning on the plate at all. Very low quality food and service all around, and to sum up a very long review and a lot of wasted time for me to even write it (the guy who hates writing reviews) this is a place we will not be back to for food again.

I don't understand the negative reviews, but I have been here about four times and I've had great service and food each time.  I always order different things and I've never been disappointed.  The bread is delicious, every app and entrée I've had was amazing and don't pass up the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding!!