Olde School Saloon & Bistro

I’ve been to this place a couple times, mostly for drinks. The first time I ate here the food was amazing. The bartender, who is also one of the chefs was pretty much the only person working, thank god me and my friends were the only people there.
The whole menu looked good and I could not decide so I told him to surprise me. He cooked us a 3 course dinner which was more than I was expecting but everything was very good. All 3 of us were very pleased and couldn’t figure out why we haven’t eaten here before, we also took home enough food for 3 full dinners (huge servings).
After that 1^st experience, I raved about this place and ended up taking my cousin there to eat dinner about a month later and it was nowhere as good. Half of the menu was unavailable so we ordered ribs. The ribs weren’t that good, way too much sauce, fries were overcooked and the worse part was that I felt like a fool for gassing this place up. My cousin told me not to recommend no more restaurants lol.
All in all, I would come to this place again just because my first experience was so good.

Olde School was… interesting, to say the least.
To begin, we had a Living Social… or Groupon, or one of those deals. We walked in, through the «dining room» and into the bar which was only inhabited by a few people at the time. We sat at a high top and the host/​bartender/​waiter/​manager? came over and greeted us with menus. The place was dark, and kind of strange… kind of dirty. In the corner was a house lamp that my grandma would have next to her chair. Odd. We ordered two beverages. The beer selection is mostly in a bottle, which is a good selection, and I ordered the Elderflower margarita which tasted nothing like Elder… or Flower… then just a house wine with dinner. Eh… mediocre so far.
It stated for Happy Hour, the BOLD items were half price until 7pm… so we ordered the BBQ Pork Nachos ($ 8) which were pretty taste. For dinner, I ordered the Duck Breast ($ 26) and my husband had the Coniglio Cercemaggiore — rabbit ($ 24). As previously stated, the prices are very high. HOWEVER, the portions are HUGE! Neither one of us were able to finish our plates so both got two full meals out of this one meal. So don’t let the cost fool you. I can say, that my Duck was absolutely amazing! I did not expect that at all but was so pleased.
The bill came and the nachos were not half price as the menu stated. My husband talked to the host/​bartender/​waiter/​whatever and he said «you have to let us know you want it for half price»…what? What does that even mean. If you order something during «Happy Hour Special» time… why do I need to ask you for the deal? That was SO weird, but he fixed the bill and offer went.
I can’t wait I would ever go back, which I probably won’t. The dining area is kind of nice with white linens and such… but everyone was in the bar that evening. The food was good, ambiance was not great, overall experience ‘meh’. However, being on State Street and not a fancy or nice area of New Haven, a homeless man wandered into the restaurant and sat down. Without causing any attention, the host showed the man out the back door. This was shocking and interesting all at the same time.
If you have a «deal» I say go for it… otherwise try something else.

I’ve been here a couple of times with my wife. The first time, we were seated at a wobbly table in a corner near the bar. I had the ribs, my wife had some pasta. The food was fine, but nothing special.
The second time, it took a while for anyone to find us at the hostess stand and get us a table. We were seated in the more formal dining room away from the bar. We were the only ones in that room until a group of middle aged women showed up to get drunk. The music was so loud, we could hardly have a conversation. I had the steak frites, which was overcooked and gristly.
I really wanted to like Olde School. When I moved to New Haven, I was looking to get some new favorite restaurants, and from the reviews and menu, I thought this might become a regular spot but it was not to be.
No beers on tap, so-​so food, and not a great experience. My advice: take your money elsewhere.

We really enjoyed our meal. The problem was the service. Our appetizer took 45 minutes and our waiter neglected to fully explain the specials.

Amazing food, seriously. I was surprised too. Diverse and delicious beer selection. Super friendly staff. Always something going on. The bar space is a little small for it to be a music venue, so I think the music is too loud when there are live bands and karaōke, but otherwise this place is great.

This update is long overdue.
Olde School has wow’ed me time after time. All of the staff bends over backward to make sure patrons are happy and full.
I prefer the bar side, but have had several superb meals on the bistro side. We even had a graduation party there with several families in the basement.
I am not afraid to admit there have been days where I brought people here for a business lunch, had drinks with coworkers for happy hour and then stayed late into the night for karaōke all in the same day.
If you’re not sure what to order, here are a few winners:
The Double Veggie Burger with buffalo sauce and gorganzola
The Grilled Asparagus Salad or the Smoked Salmon Salad
The Olde School Nachos
Narragansett

This review is based on a Sunday evening visit for their weekly musicians jam session, and I have to say I had a pretty solid experience here. My friend and I were promptly seated at the high top table near the bar and unlike the other reviewer’s poor service experience, our server was very attentive throughout our meal. Granted it was pretty empty when we sat down around 8pm, but it was pretty packed when we left a little after 10 and our cutie of a server checked in with us regularly. She was also very nice and quick when we asked for waters to accompany our beers as well as extra napkins and blue cheese for our tasty wings, but more on that later. The bar area is where it’s at and I especially liked the slotted shelf behind the bar where they house their liquor bottles. The décor is casual and jazzy; the perfect ambiance to listen to passionate musicians improvise their talented asses off while sipping on a cold beer and munching down on tasty pub fare.
They have beers on tap now and the Sam Adams Octoberfest even comes in that oversized German style mug with the dimples. A great beer and priced quite nicely at $ 5 bucks. We started off by ordering two apps, the BBQ pulled pork nachos and a dozen buffalo wings. The portions were ginormous and more than enough to satisfy our fat asses. There were toppings galore on these nachos and the small was easily enough for 2, maybe even 4 normal portion size eating humans. The pulled pork was generously distributed throughout this melted cheese volcano of satisfying goodness. Check out my pic for a close-​up shot. The wings were also very satisfying. In a never ending hunt to find the best buffalo wings in The Havey, I am quite disappointed that Cask replaced their buffalo wings for this Asian fusion jalapeño spiced creation. I complain every time to the Cask server in hopes that word gets back to the executive chef and he brings em back. Olde School offers a wide of variety of sauces for their wings (sriracha or chipotle and cilantro caught my eye), but the dozen buffalo wings we got were meaty, saucy, and spicy. They hit the buffalo wing trifecta nail right in the head and I can’t wait to come back to explore their other sauces.
One last note, the musicians that come here to perform on Sunday nights are no joke. There was this 13 year old white kid aka The Kid with the Lid that was straight up NASTY on the alto sax. I didn’t get a chance to tell this kid how impressed I was with him, but I’m sure he gets it all the time. Our server told us he was a regular and you can really tell he loves this and plays straight from the soul. Come check him out on Sunday and revel in this saxophonist’s natural talent. He’s amazeballs!!!

I wandered down here with Josh and Madeleine after some music and an informative presentation on the Trykke. Their was live music and a packed bar, so we opted to sit in the completely empty dining area. After about five minutes of no service in sauna-​like conditions, we got up to leave. A waiter stopped us, we told him the deal, and he convinced us to stay if he turned up the AC. It cooled down quickly, and we were pleased for a moment or so.
After an acceptable wait, we get some drinks and a variety of appetizers. The cocktails were mixed well, and the food was okay. The wings were simply wings… nothing special. The yucca fries were bangin’. Everybody should carry them. They’re kind of fluffy, and just plain amazing. I tried the beet salad, and well, I just didn’t care. It was nothing special.
I expect bad service in New Haven. It’s their thing… you know, like burnt pizza. However, I’m pretty sure the waiter was only dealing with us and one outside table. Yet, we never saw him. I would come back only if I was sitting at the bar, munching on yucca fries. Beside that, I wasn’t impressed.

Olde School has a decent vibe and some mouthwatering grub, but the lackluster service keeps it from being anything more than a 3-​star affair.
I came here with some friends when were craving a few evening drinks and snacks, but we wanted to try something other than the usual haunts. The bar area was packed full and there was live music.
We were going to leave, but the waiter convinced to sit in the dining area (alone) and eat. The air conditioning in the area wasn’t on and it was really hot and we were going to take off, but he asked (begged?) us to give him 5 minutes to cool it off. Alright. He’s trying super hard. That’s a good sign, right?
But over and over again, the service just… lacked. Drinks left unfilled. Food took awhile to come. Just couldn’t get into a rhythm. It was frustrating.
The nachos were pretty good and I enjoyed everybody’s dishes quite a bit, but it’s hard to be excited about the food when you just wish somebody would get you a new drink. I hate to be that guy who runs a separate tab at the bar, but hey… here we are.
Overall I dig the vibe of the place and there are some very cool New Haven-​ites from the neighborhood who hang out here, but until they can get me a drink within 15 minutes of my last drink disappearing, I don’t see this place becoming a personal favorite of mine.

Went here on a Friday night in the 8 – 9 hour to get some food as I couldn’t get parking in other places and I wanted to try it out. No seats which is good for them bad for me, a bunch of bottled beer but only 2 taps a major downer, Saranac White and Miller Light. I opted for Saranac which was the worst white beer I’ve ever had, hey get some more taps and people who like Miller will drink it in a bottle. Ordered the house burger with sweet potato fries. Not bad a little undercooked but I can live with that 12 bones 2 – 3 dollars more than other places in New Haven. The crowd seemed to be regulars who like the place. Me not so much.

Been here a couple of times for Sunday Brunch. I like that the menu is a la carte. Most recently there was an acoustic duo performing; they were pretty good. We sat in the saloon side which was about half full by the time we left.
Service was pretty good, our waitress was helpful and accommodating on a special request for our young son. I wish i could remember the name of the omlette my wife got; I recall it had salmon in it. It was excellent and an extremely large portion. Not being in the mood for breakfast I decided on the gnocchi with braised short rib. It was outstanding! Spinach Gnocchi were very light and tasty and matched well to the Braised short rib was removed from the bone and served in a delicious sauce with spinach. The dish had a wonderfully rich flavor without the heaviness that sometimes accompanies food of this type.
We skipped dessert as we were both stuffed. Looking forward to trying out Olde School for dinner sometime

we seem to have alot of company meetings here. The quesadillas, and especially the corned beef on rye is really good. I don’t think i’ve gotten a bad meal here, which is really impressive considering the numerous places out there that serve mediocre food.

Had been thinking of trying Olde School for some time now. The online menu had always seemed so tasty to me, yet, I never managed to get there. Tried to go once over the summer and found it locked up tighter than a drum.
Last week, my lovely mother came to town for a visit, and I figured it was the perfect time to head down to Olde School, have a couple of cocktails and a nice lunch. Well, we walked into an empty restaurant where the waiter was sitting at one of the tables twittling his thumbs. We made our own way to the bar, thumb boy came and handed us menus, then promptly told us the chef was leaving for the day, so order quick. Mumsee and I exchanged ‘WTF’ glances, hopped off our stools and hit the road. I HATE being rushed, especially at a restaurant that is open from lunch through dinner. The fact that we dumped all of our change in the meeter outside only added insult to injury.
So– sadly, I still have no idea about the food, but won’t be rushing back to get rushed out anytime soon.

Decent selection of Eastern beers, fair prices, good service.

For what it is Olde School is ridiculously good: gigantic portions of delicious – though on the fried side – food, strong drinks and a reasonably upscale atmosphere for the price. This place also makes a considerable effort to attract live music that usually adds more than it detracts. I think their beer selection is a little lacking but one can’t have everything and it is certainly serviceable.
One note about the crowd/​atmosphere: for some reason certain restaurants get overrun with Yalies in New haven while others hardly ever see students. This is one place that although it is close to campus, almost no one goes to and is never mentioned is casual conversation. If you’re a Yalie and you want a drink close to home but don’t want to be disturbed Olde School is probably a good place to check out.

Went for girls night… there were 6 of us who arrived at 6:30 p.m. There as a private party going on in the bistro section of the restaurant so we headed into the saloon. We were greeted immediately by the manager who helped us slide 2 bar tables together. The waitress came over to take our drink order and they were out of some of the staples like chambord as well as their signature drinks featuring different sweet candy such as Bazooka Joe! I was bummed as I was looking forward to trying something different. Vodka won.
I had done my research and looked at their menu online I was so excited to try the lobster stuffed potato skins but alas they were out of those also. It turns out they were in the middle of a menu change and most of the items on the current menu or not available. The manager was awesome and apologetic and worked very hard to make us happy. He prepared a complementary appetizer for us they were incredible steamers. There was an excellent broth and a type of bean I could not identify but it was delicious.
They had a limited menu for a Monday night but again the manager was very helpful in helping us select our main courses. I ordered the penne vodka with shrimp as did one of my girlfriends. Unfortunately the big party next door used up all of the penne again the manager was great and offered a solution of angel hair pasta. It was full of flavor as were the other meals my girlfriends had. The asparagus salad looked incredible. Complementary lemon as well as banana gelato and homemade ricotta cheese cake and we were happy. I would definitehly go back to visit Old School — it has a great vibe, excellent food and friendly staff. I would have given 4 stars if only they had those lobster stuffed potato skins…

I’m kind of torn on this place to be honest. I like the way the place looks on the inside and it’s in a nice location in downtown New Haven. I might be being generous because I’m judging mainly on a dish I chose which is one of my absolute favorites and a dish I learned to cook well. So I guess I went in with very high expectations. I ordered their Penne alla Vodka dish with chicken. I also got their Yucca fries with chipotle sauce and the Louisiana Shrimps as an appetizer.
The Yucca fries were pretty good but I wish they weren’t so over-​fried. I did like their chipotle sauce that came with it though. The Louisiana shrimp though were fairly bland and a pain in the neck to peel all the shells off. I felt like the shells contained most of the flavor and kept the meat from absorbing the sauce. The dish I was so critical about though was their Penne alla Vodka. The sauce itself was just a watery mess. This sauce is traditionally very creamy with a tangy flavor from the tomatoes. This sauce was just watery and the flavor was diluted. The chicken that came in it was also tasteless. The portion sizes for everything was great so we definitely didn’t leave hungry which I find important and added to their score, but the Vodka sauce and Louisiana shrimp I will never order again.
My boyfriend ordered from their lunch menu and got the BBQ ribs. I actually did like the ribs. They were very tender and had a nice flavor to them. They also gave you a ton of ribs for only $ 10.
Their service was average at best and we did wait a long time for our food. But we didn’t get bad service. I liked the concept of their atmosphere, but the jazz music played by a band in the back just made it difficult for me to concentrate on anything. Maybe I’m just biased since I don’t like jazz so I didn’t factor that in to the score.
Overall I might go again, but probably only for lunch. Their dinners are expensive and I was so disappointed from their Vodka sauce that I’ll only go back for their cheaper dishes.

I first went to Olde School soon after their grand opening. Not only did they have great specials but the chef kept bringing out different food items for us to try, gratis. Their wings are large and tasty and not expensive. They also serve delicious yucca fries. Their dining room and bar are separate which is nice because you can have different crowds in either room.
They often have random events and live music going on. One of my favorite bands has performed there several times and last time I went there was also a darts game set up in the dining room. Their Tuesday karaōke seems to get a good turnout as well.
They have some interesting candy-​flavored cocktails but their only possible downfall is they have nothing on tap. They only serve bottles.

This.
Stopped in for lunch with LW on a cool spring day, and I’ve been back several times since. A most welcome new addition to the New Haven dining scene.
The first noteworthy aspect is the décor. Incidentally, don’t bother verbally describing it to people, because it’ll sound like you’re describing Friday’s. But Friday’s it ain’t. The admiteddly confused Olde School concept is apparently that anything can be used as decoration, so long as it predates 1980 or so. Pictures of Bruno Sammartino as WWWWWF Champion from the 1970s and old Bob Dylan 8-​tracks are fair game, as are maps of New Haven from the 18^th century. Alrighty. Somehow, it works.
The Saloon menu is short, but effective (I still haven’t seen the Bistro menu, so try that at your own risk). The highlight is clearly the deli meat sandwiches. As our excellent waiter was quick to point out, they have their own deli and prepare their own meats. This includes the FANTASTIC house-​cured corned beef, thus officially marking the first time anyone anywhere in New Haven got a decent corned beef sandwich. Olde School, I salute you.
And yes, try the yucca fries. Still some kinks to work out (bigger bourbon selection please!) but as of now this place is killing it. Very masculine place, with a sensitive side.
Food: ²²⁄₂₅ stars
Ambiance: ²⁵⁄₂₅ stars
Service: ²⁵⁄₂₅ stars
Bathroom: ²²⁄₂₅ stars
Probability of going back: 100%

Went there last night with a bunch of people for happy hour and man was I impressed. We shared the gourmet nachos (OMG, amazing) three types of wings (The jerk wings were the best), crab stuffed mushrooms (yummm), and a spicy peel and eat shrimp (the flavor on these were good, but they were really messy. Probably won’t order them again). All in all, everything was great. Prices were extremely reasonable and I drank a great Malbec for $ 5 a glass.
Happy hour is from 3 – 6 M-​F and specials include ½ off all apps and $ 1 off all drinks. The drink selection is small, but good. Beer is bottled only.
The owners are two really nice guys that made a point of talking to everyone and even though they were packed last night service was never lacking.
A great new addition to the tiny New Haven bar scene.