Gates Restaurant & Bar

Although the staff is very friendly and accommodating, the food is not very good. I loved the truffle oil caramelized onion pizza until today. There seemed to be no truffle oil, they added arugula on top, which was confusing to me, and the crust was overcooked and unappetizing.
The calamari was undercooked and when I sent it back, the brought back the same food I sent back instead of a newly cooked plate.
My last visit, everything was doused in salt and hardly edible.
Although I loved going to Gates before the new ownership, I won’t go again. As I sit here writing this, I wonder how soon until I have to run to the bathroom.

We went there one Saturday afternoon and have to say that the «new» ambiance, isn’t. The old Gates had a certain charm that we now miss because now it looks like they opened it up to be one big room just to fit more people in. Too bad, we won’t be back.

Bring back the old Gates crew.
The décor is fine, the design is nice but it ends there.
We went with our parents who said it was bad twice but may be an anomaly.
I had to have the old «original» lobster bisque (loved the old bisque). It was not good and very brothy. Why the hell do you call it «the original lobster bisque» when it is so clearly not the original recipe. Not even close.
The other meals, pappardelle and the gates salad were average at best. The pizza was good.
Not a huge deal in general, but the kids menu (we ordered kids pizza) has an ice cream option. For $ 3. It comes with strawberries and whip cream on it.
They came with nothing on it and charged $ 4. The extra buck isn’t a big deal but the fact the ONE option for desert on kids menu was charged wrong and came without what is on the menu, is a clear sign that something is very very wrong with the team there.
Advice: Spend the money and pay a top level chef and team to support. The rest will fall into place.
Get the real original bisque recipe back.
You have the name. You have the location. Hire the team to live up to both.

I won’t be returning. 2^nd time for dinner. Wait staff is nice but not trained in serving: I was handed a plate so hot it burned my fingers-​and why was I handed a plate? Wine ordered arrived after the entrée was consumed. Food was good but overshadowed by the unpleasant experience. Both times, tables wobbled and had multiple coasters under the legs for balance. Management better pick up the slack or they’ll be looking out over a cavernous, empty restaurant sooner than you can say «check please».

We held off on a review after our first visit thinking maybe we just caught a bad day however we went back for Mother’s Day and there were still some missing elements that need to be corrected. We want to like the place however our first two experiences were less than satisfactory.
The first time we went we sat at the pizza bar where we waited 15 minutes for a server to arrive to take a drink order. Meanwhile, other couples sat down after us and were served drinks and subsequently food before we even had a drink. Aside from that he food was good. I had a salad and pizza and my wife had a salad and both meals were good. The beer and wine selection were also good.
On Mother’s Day we returned and my wife was set on trying the pizza. The service was better this time however they ran out of pizza dough. Kind of bizarre for a place that has a dedicated pizza bar area with brick oven and a sizable selection of brick oven pizzas in the menu. My daughter had the Supreme Bowl and said it was excellent. My wife and mother had the Parpadelle Bolognese and both said is was very good. I had the Hanger Steak and asked for rare however it came out medium at best. I don’t like to return things so I ate it and it was okay but I only like rare meat so his was less than desirable. Additionally, we ordered a side of roasted vegetables which never came and was not on the bill so the order was probably not placed.
So, the food seems to be good however overall service needs to be polished up. I’m not sure we will return which is too bad because it has a nice ambiance and we were hoping to have another good place to go in a town that already has several good restaurants.

I ordered the Supreme Bowl and it was one of the worst restaurant meals I’ve ever had — basically just a huge portion of unseasoned white rice with a very small amount of bland toppings. (The salmon I ordered as a side was very good but I still left feeling disappointed.) Though I like how the owners renovated the place and updated the décor, the menu was very uninspired and just not up to the level of NC dining.

The newly reopened Gates Restaurant has an urban feel and live music like the old days! I ordered the Salmon and it came out perfect. It was delicious. My daughters order the quinoa salad which they did vegetarian for them and they loved it. The band was entertaining and the crowd was lively. I would recommend Gates for dinner or for drinks at the bar.

Sorry but I have to say the food at the old Gates was better and a better value. Also much higher price point, which would be OK if the food was good. Pork chop I had was very bland, wings were ehh, and wife got a grains salad with steak and she felt the same, very bland. Add two drinks and you are looking at an $ 87 bill for a nothing special meal. On the plus side the complimentary bottled water was a nice touch.

A few kinks to work out. Food is good enough but truly a customer service horror — we ordered sliders — half with cheese — half without — a very simple request. Our waiter took our order — when it arrived — another story. A different server assured us we ordered all with cheese — hmmm — when we said no a second time — he returned with our order with the cheese scraped off! We did not walk out but pretty much everyone we know would have. Probably won’t go back.

We ate last night at the newly reopened Gates. There were four of us and we each ordered something different so it gave us a decent sampling of the menu. Here are the highlights: Pizza — pretty good, although the crust was a tiny bit soggy. We ordered a margherita pizza and the tomatoes on it were pretty juicy so perhaps that was the problem. Salads were good, especially the Caesar. Burger was a bit dry, not awful. Pork chop was good, meat loaf was OK but was smothered in a sticky brown canned gravy which we had to scrape off. Mashed and FF potatoes were very good. The star of the evening was the rib rack. Just excellent — we will all order that the next time.
The look of the refurbished place is «industrial cool» which seems to be the reigning motif in new restaurants (think South End and Uncorked). The only problem with this aesthetic is that it can lack in creature comforts. The chairs were hard, the tables spaced so close together the servers could hardly move around and the noise level is excruciating. We are going to try eating in the bar next time to see if that is any better. Service was pretty good. A little slow but the place was packed and it is new so I am forgiving for a while but long run they will need to pick up the pace on the service. This is not the kind of place where you want to settle in for the evening so they need to work on getting the orders taken and delivered a bit more timely. As an aside, they lost our reservation which had been placed a few days before. But they were gracious about finding us a place to sit once our whole party got there. I wish them luck and hope they have as long a run as the old Gates did.

Fantastic! Gates is back open and delicious! Ordered a pizza, volcanic wings, salad, and grass fed sliders. Food was great, ambiance was nice and we are looking forward to returning!

This place is back and open. A cooler feel, darker, a nice bar, steak/​salads/​pizza/​sandwiches…

SO GOOD! My boyfriend took me here on a Sunday night before I had to drive 3 hours back to Boston.
Besides the multitude of tasteful options, I’m a sucker for a good burger so I got the Gruyère burger. I also got a small bowl of tomato soup (nothing crazy but tasted good). They served bread for the table that was truly delicious with garlic butter. I never would have thought to pair garlic butter with brown raisin bread but it was delicious.
Now onto the burger. Cooked medium rare (perfect), topped with the usual condiments and some perfectly sized onion rings (not overflowing) all sandwiched between what seemed to be brioche buns. It was amazing. I would get it again in a heart beat.
On top of all of that, their service is great. Super friendly and very personable. Hopefully I’ll be back the next time I’m in the area.

We stumbled upon this place by accident because the restaurant we wanted to go to was closed due to New Canaan street fair. We were quite hungry so anything goes at that point. There’s a small entrance which opens up to a much bigger space than you would image (from the look of the outside). Once you stepped inside, it made me feel like I was having lunch in a garden somehow.
To our surprise, both of our meals were delicious. We ordered lobster bisque & ½ sandwich (Thanksgiving panini) and Mesquite chicken sandwich. Lobster bisque was very good, but by the time I finished half of the bowl, I felt like there was just a tiny bit too much salt in there. My panini was decent, turkey was moist, went perfectly with lobster bisque. Mesquite chicken though. was outstanding. Chicken was very well seasoned and moist. Jelepeno cheese added a pretty spicy kick to the sandwich. Thinly sliced onion ring fries added extra crunchy texture. Everything about that sandwich was great. I highly recommend it.
The restaurant has a casual and relaxing atmosphere, a little gem lunch spot in New Canaan. I would rate it 3.5 (but there’s no half star here). I’ll return.

Gates is one of the older restaurants in New Canaan, and continues to be a favorite for many locals. Gates is also one of the larger restaurants in New Canaan, and can usually accommodate a large amount of people at any given time. In addition to having a large dining room, Gates also probably has the largest bar in New Canaan.
In terms of the menu, Gates offers a variety of American dishes, combined with other cuisines. As a whole, I’m not crazy about their menu, but they do have great salads, particularly their pear and arugula salad.
The service is always great, and the staff is always very friendly. Prices are reasonable as well.
Overall, Gates provides a casual environment that is good for both families and adults. On Friday and Saturday nights, Gates is one of the few bars/​restaurants in New Canaan that stays open past midnight (generally 2:00 AM) and caters to the late night crowd.

My family has been going to Gates for years. We have consistently gotten good food and service. Yes, every restaurant has bad «days», and the kitchen also might have a rough night, but this is not generally our experience. Food quantity is hearty without being grossly oversized. Everything is always freSh & cooked to order. The prices are not great, but not unusual for this area. Great for a family with kids as they offer «a little bit of everything».

Had a really great lunch here this weekend on our impromptu trip to New Canaan. Upon first glance, my companion and I were completely charmed by the vibrant, eclectic décor. The walls and tables are brightly colored with a variety of floral, gardening motif. Huge, exciting, paintings fill every wall, and the buzz of happy, hungry people filled the air. There was cute and modern music underscoring the cheerful din. Our server was prompt and friendly, quickly delivering my unsweetened tea (fresh brewed) and a jack and coke (strong but ringing in at $ 9.00 a pop) before taking our order. We got two items from the specials menu: the spicy beef gyro and the chipotle chicken crossaint. Our food arrived promptly and was flavorful and well spiced, I loved the chipotle sauce soaked into the crispy, grilled croissant and the flavorful gyro meat. Our sandwiches were accompanied by a generous pile of shoestring and sweet potato fries, respectively. Both were very good, for fries. We had a very nice meal overall and we would have sampled some of the VERY yummy sounding desserts if we had had any room left!
I’d go back again any time!

Great place in New Cannan! Their lobster bisque is very tasty and the herb salmon dish is very light. I went there a couple of times and I’ve bee very happy with the service and the food quality. Compared to the restaurants on the same street (Forest St.) it had the best/​most reasonable prices.

A terrific place for locals who don’t leave New Canaan all that much.
However, war-​weary and famine ravaged peoples of far off lands best avoid it. It’s overpriced, mediocre and staff can vary between rude and clueless.

I find this the best, most consistent food in New Canaan (not that
that is saying all that much, NC food tends to be crazy expensive and not all that great).
Best price/​quality wise here if you go for brunch — the sandwiches and salads are pretty good and love their croissants with strawberry butter!