Chestnut Fine Foods & Confections

The food is excellent and the staff are courteous and helpful. The young gentleman who checked me out was very friendly and patient.

Chestnut Fine Foods catered my small wedding last week. Myself, my mom and my husband was bowled over by the amazing job they did. First of all, the food was DIVINE– several guests said it was the best salmon they’ve ever had. I’d also recommend the butternut squash ravioli. Second, the staff they provided to us were fantastic– so helpful, working really hard behind-​the-​scenes to make sure the dishes were sparkling, the table looked beautiful, and everyone was fed and happy. I would highly recommend Chestnut to anyone looking to cater a small reception or wedding. You will not be disappointed. I also thought the prices were reasonable considering the quality of the food. Appetizers, salad, dinner, cake, coffee/​tea and servers who arrived early and stayed late was all under $ 1,000 for the entire wedding of 21 people.

Came to buy a cake and left with two! Key lime pie and chocolate flour less tort! Happy Birthday!

The soups are divine, the sandwiches are delicious and don’t get me started on their chocolate dream bar. This is truly a neighborhood gem!

This is the sweetest little bakery in east rock– we’ve just tried their various loaves of bread and some of the pastries. The bread is delicious, especially if you get there when they’re fresh out of the oven and cooling on the table. The owners are really sweet, and take their time to making customers feel attended to and special. Definitely a great spot to visit for lunch/​tea or just to pick up your bread for the week

The catering service provided at our wedding was excellent! The buffet was delicious. The catering staff were very experienced and professional and helped with a variety of crucial details including table set-​up and coordinating with the DJ. They prepared plates of food for the Bride and Groom and served them to us. I regret having to say that we did have a difficult time regarding communication with the business manager in planning the event, everything beyond the actual food selections early on, which went quite smoothly. Phone conversations later on were strained and not reassuring or forthcoming with helpful suggestions. Lots of drama around beverages and glassware which made no sense to us. For the site visit, when an appt was finally pinned down, she arrived 45 min. late after we called her after waiting a half hour. We are not accustomed to using caterers, so did not anticipate the pitfalls.

Cutest little place ever! It’s like going to grandma’s house for a meal. The minute you walk in you can smell the homemade goodness that occurs here. The old 50s music makes you dive right into the theme. And the food? It speaks for itself. So freaking delicious! Everything is so fresh without the price of crunchy-​granola-​fanfare that you sometimes pay for good quality food. I couldn’t leave without also getting a pastry which was amazing! Try the Honey Almond Bar, you won’t regret it.

This place is fantastic. Fresh baguettes, bread knots from another realm, desserts straight from heaven, and my favorite; every cheese you could ever want.
Dinner portions are unique and filling. Prices are fine.
No lines to wait in, no hype train, no «Brunch Village» episodes, just good food and a pleasant country home atmosphere.
Best of all they don’t treat me any differently depending on my attire. [shrugs]

I’ve spent my adult life in NYC, Litchfield County and New Haven. I love food, and have spent more money than I should have, happily, at such celebrated food shops as The Pantry in Washington; EAT, Dean and Deluca and others in New York.
Chestnut Fine Foods in New Haven is, for my money, the best of them all. For ease of parking, variety of options, excellence of cuisine (including the terrific baking), this place tops the list of my favorite food shops. Plus they stock flowers, cheese and local jellies & jams. And the husband/​wife team of chef-​owners are lovely people.
My only criticism: the cooler is stocked with banal choices (Snapple, Diet Coke) that don’t match the food.

I’ve been to chestnuts many times over the last 2 to 3 years. The service here is always wonderful and the staff is kind and knowledgeable. They consistently offer a fresh selection of foods for lunch and really delicious dessert options. They also will make gluten-​free bread and desserts for you on order. I highly recommend this place for a lunch date or a coffee meeting!

A friend and I were hoping to stop at the Pantry for a bite to eat yet the line stretched around Lawrence Street… so not but a couple steps away Chestnut was close by offering some yummy monte cristo sandwiches :)

I went here for lunch today for the first time and I was really impressed, not only by the sandwiches, prepared foods, and desserts, but also by the incredible service. It was slow on a Sunday, and Rachel, the friendly girl behind the counter, took the time to give us recommendations and even gave us a taste of a cheese I had never had before. We ended up with a full meal – the Pâté de Campagne on baguette was delicious – and went home with fresh-​baked bread. What a great find!

Great assortment of homemade foods. Everything is flavorful and unique.

I really enjoy this place. It is like a peaceful oasis where I have enjoyed lunch and or dessert. The portions are not huge, but I’ve never left hungry. Soup and a half of sandwich is more than enough. Their sandwiches are big, made with think slices of their homemade bread and then stuffed with whatever fixing you request.
I have a weakness for good peanut butter and gingersnap cookies. I try to order new desserts, but I always end up with one of each (or two) of my favorite weakness.
Also, when they are making the bread, the place smells like my childhood. My mom used to make loaves of bread, 2 for the week and leave them to rise on the table in loaf pans, just like they do at Chestnut!
I have purchased their herb loaf to make sandwiches, toast and croutons at home.

I am pretty tired of the ups and downs of Chestnut Fine Foods. Most of their food is pretty good. Their bread is great, and the cheese selection and sandwiches are usually what keep me coming back.
But sometimes I’m really shocked by the quality of the items they sell. Once they sold me a VERY expensive bread pudding that, to my surprise, had a thick layer of sweetened scrambled egg on the bottom. Gross.
Most of the young women they have working with the costumers are friendly and nice, but other employees are sometimes rude and gruff, and act a little self righteous. Recently, a man working there gave me a hard time about about calling one of their desserts «peanut butter crinkles,» (which was how they were labeled!), schooling me that they were «cookies» and not «crinkles.» I mean, come on! On the same trip, they forgot to put my sandwich in the carry-​out bag, and I had to go back to get it. They were ready to charge me for it again!
Also, they are located in a very casual neighborhood. I live right down the street, and when I go into Chestnut in exercise clothes to grab something to go, they always treat me way worse than when I go in in my work clothes. They always treat my eccentric-​looking partner like he is a total idiot. He won’t even go in there any more. For goodness sake, this is not SoHo or LA!
Sorry Chestnut, your cheese is great, but the quality of your food generally does not meet your pompous attitude. I’ve decided that good cheese is not worth feeling belittled, especially after handing over a wad a cash. I’d rather walk the extra few blocks to Romeo and Cesare’s for some Italian specialties.

First off I seriously don’t understand why this place gets so many good reviews.
It’s so overpriced and they give you the tiniest portions I have ever seen!
Got a soup, some special cheese and a slice of cake and I couldn’t believe how much it came to!
The soup was in an average-​looking container, but when I got home, opened the lid and saw that it was ½ filled! The square of cheese was like something you would put on a mouse trap and my slice of cake I could practically see through! It was less than a ¼″ thick!
And as for the taste? Certainly nothing special.
It’s a shame.

incredibly friendly local business. Gives me fuzzies inside. :)
Their bread is very good, and the cheese selection here reminds me of my days in Europe! They had my favorite: Chaumes!

I was walking around the neighborhood waiting for another restaurant to open and I came across this fine place. As soon as I opened the door I was hit with a wave of amazing odors. The shop is small but they offer a wide variety of baked goods, cheeses, and honey/​jam.
The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. I saw some bread dough rising on a table and asked about it. They make their baguette dough a day before to give it a subtle taste of sourdough. They don’t use a starter so it isnt sourdough per se, however, the bread I bought was excellent and I could definitely pick up on the slight sour flavor. I also picked up some chaumes cheese, which isnt the easiest to find, to go with the bread.
I highly recommend this place and I look forward to returning to try more of their cheeses, especially the goudah selections.

A cozy restaurant. Bring home prepared hot and cold entrees. I love how each bite has flavor. Delicious pasta dish, crab cake, quiche, or vegetable sides. The desserts are a nice eyeful when you enter the door. Complimentary water and lemonade for customers sometimes.

I remember Chestnut Foods when they were on Chestnut Street over at Wooster Square. That’s how they got their name. They were located where Fuel coffee shop currently is located.
Being skeptical at first, I originally thought the owners were some pseudo foreign cooks catering to the hipsters of Wooster Square. But over the years I learned I was wrong. The owners, a very nice husband and wife couple, really know their stuff. They’re the real deal and could be from France (their accents certainly sounds like it). Everything they make is fresh and delicious. All the artisan breads are terrific, particularly the French baguette rolls. They have regular sandwich items and other daily items such as soups and cold foods (potato salads, pasta salads, chicken cutlets, etc.). Most everything is put on display in an open counter cooler… you pick what you want and they serve it. No waiter service. You pay at the counter.
There’s only about 5 small tables inside so you might not find a free table. Inside can be cramped but it’s homey.
Yes, everything is a bit pricey, but IMO the quality and selections are worth the price. Portions aren’t huge but what they lack in quantity, they make up for in quality. It’s the sort of place where you go to treat yourself when you have a few bucks in your pocket and when your usual daily lunch routine becomes boring. Chestnut Foods also does catering, which is a large part of their business.
During my last visit the owner handed out complimentary chocolate chip cookies to all customers sitting at the tables. She said they just came out of the oven. The cookies weren’t enormous in size but it was a nice gesture on her part. I doubt it she did it to sell cookies, but instead just to spread some happiness. The free cookie certainly made me happy that day.