Lena’s Cafe And Confections

Took my sister and nephew here for lunch on the way home from downtown New Haven. The food was good, I had a chicken salad sandwich, lentil soup and potato salad. It all tasted very fresh. Both my sister and nephew had a chicken parmagian panini, one with home fried potatoes and the other had fresh made potato chips. They both enjoyed them. The only thing that I noticed was that the floor really needed to be cleaned.

Ordered a Vegan Salad. This is the description…
Spinach and field greens layered with grilled eggplant, roasted red peppers, red onions, avocado, carrots, cucumbers, black beans and salsa… This is what I got…
field greens layered with, roasted red peppers, red onions, avocado, cucumbers, black beans and salsa. They did not tell me the were out of anything, Carrots are always in season.
Otherwise it was a good salad but I feel slighted.

Lena’s is my tried and true spot! I have had breakfast brunch and lunch here– all have been excellent. During your wait– you are seated in a mini living room with a sofa and love seat. It is a cozy place but can get quite busy, and has an eclectic Yale New Haven crowd. They have a limited alcohol menu– but their flavored sangria or mimosas will do the trick on a Sunday afternoon! A definite place to try for a great brunch with friends!

Went here with my mom for a mid week brunch. The potatoes could have been a little crispier, but the coffee was strong and the crab omelet was deliciously light and fluffy. My mom got the greek omelet, which was equally good!
The place itself is definitely a little bit bigger than Bella’s and has some more lunch options as well if you are not in the mood for brunch.
There were a few boozy brunch drinks I am dying to try in the future.

Breakfast with some fun twists.
I generally try the most basic meal when at a new breakfast joint: coffee, eggs, potatoes and toast.
Lena’s puts a nice spin on things with very tasty potatoes and interesting bread choices. (I had olive bread)

As with previous reviews Bellas was too crowded and I have been wanting an excuse to try Lena’s. The Philly cheesesteak omelet was very good. The cherry peppers made it. The banana pancakes were disappointing I was expecting the bananas to be mashed into the batter. Sliced just didn’t cut it. Our waitress Amanda was extremely nice.

This is my where-to-go-when-the-line-at-Bella’s-is-too-long =) It’s good, but I prefer Bella’s across the street. Their baked french toast is delicious! They have self serve coffee which is nice so you never have to wait for a refill.

I’m one of the many people who ended up here because they couldn’t get a table at Bella’s but this has definitely become my first choice now.
I cannot count how many times I’ve been here & how many more times I’ll come back. I’ve had good & not so good service, fantastic food & maybe I should’ve chosen something else food, but never a single disappointing drink or coffee. My only complaint is that sometimes the wait is just too long but unlike Bella’s you can call ahead & put your name on the list to avoid sitting in the usually cramped wait area by the kitchen for longer than most because this isn’t the hugest restaurant in the world.
High praise & recommendations for this New Haven jewel. May you continue to satisfy us the next morning after a night of drinking for years more to come.

What a wonderful experience. Started going to Bella’s across the street but decided against it only because I’m not so into the exotic, funky meals. Boy, was i thrilled with this place. Very friendly, great service and a cute little set up. There are a few counter seats towards the back for those dining alone. I didn’t see them till I went to the restroom. Great food! All three of us were very pleasantly surprised! Love this place I’ll be back when I can order one of the many pitchers of drinks they have available such as the many flavors of sangria or mamosa.

A cute place for Brunch if you’re in the New Haven Area. I ordered the banana blueberry french toast and it did not disappoint! My friends ordered the vegetarian omelet, which was quite large (3 eggs) and tasty.
Pro tip: Call ahead and put your name on their weekend waitlist so that there is a seat waiting when you arrive.

Visited from out of town and was SO happy that the people we visited brought us here!
I ordered the Country Scramble. So many flavored you don’t typically see in a breakfast scramble yet not crazy different enough to turn me off. Some of the items were super creative and some classics were just really well made. My boyfriend had the corn beef hash. I normally don’t care for this in general, but I must say theirs was something else! There was a hint of mustard and it was so yummy.
They were busy but not crazy packed and we were seated right away on a Sunday brunch time.
Parking seemed a little tough but luckily we were close enough to walk.

+ Great food, excellent service. Unfortunately, I had a bad experience +
Lena’s is to Bella’s as Sally’s is to Pepe’s. If you’re not from Connecticut, you have no idea what I’m talking about. That’s okay. Keep reading.
It pains me to give Lena’s 2 Stars. Usually if someone gave a restaurant like this a poor rating, I would point my finger and scream, «Contrarian!»
So I’ll start with the good.
The meal was excellent. Omelette with bacon and sausage, if memory serves. My girlfriend got a caramel apple latte that was perfection. The service was very attentive and wonderful. The décor was elegant and classy.
Now the problem: Hair. In the omelette. It broke my heart seeing it because I was thoroughly enjoying the experience.
Now, does this kind of thing happen? Yes, all the time, even in the best of restaurants. People lose hair. But when you find one sticking halfway out of your food and you have to Excalibur it out, the experience is woefully blemished. I said as much to the waiter who handled my complaint calmly and smoothly.
I’ll say this: Give Lena’s a try. Ignore my actual rating. Because the chance it will happen to you is the same everywhere you go. Lena’s is worth a second chance.

Excellent for brunch!
The menu (especially the specials) are diverse and unique. I ordered the Farmer Frittata, which came with mushrooms, spinach, sage, and brussels sprouts (!!!) mixed in. It was quite tasty, filling, and made me feel somewhat healthy :) On an unhealthy note, be sure to try their butters… not sure how they are making them, but they are divine!

Found this on Unilocal and stopped in while passing through. This stop was SO WORTH IT. Build your own omelette came out perfectly, potatoes are tasty yet not oily, the challah French Toast was light and perfect for sopping up maple syrup, and the biscuit was (oddly enough) for me, the best part of the meal.
Actually our server, Jennifer, was the best part of the meal. There was a 20 minute wait — not bad for showing up at Sunday brunch around 11am, really — so we opted to sit at the counter. She’s happy, bright, polite, and very kind. We enjoyed our meal tremendously.

I came on a Sunday morning for brunch. I had just tried Bella’s across the street a week or two before and wanted to compare. Yes, both spots offer a nice brunch spread with creative combinations, but Bella’s is hands down much better. We were seated relatively quickly and our waiter was definitely attentive enough. I ordered a caramel apple latte which was absolutely delicious. On par with the chai I had at Bella’s. My omelette though eh. it lacked in seasoning. The potatoes were undercooked and also lacked seasoning. I was underwhelmed by the experience. My boyfriend had a hair in his food which I know happens from time to time, but needless to say also left a sour taste in our mouths. We were not charged for his omelette at all and the waiter handled it best he could. Needless to say I’ll be sticking with Bella’s.

I have never written a review but this place ruined my Sunday. Don’t bother. The only reason this place is thought of as good is because it gets run-​off from Bella’s. I had friends visiting and thought I’d try it out (line at Bella’s was 45 minutes). It was terrible from start to finish. Some lowlights:
They give you coffee while you wait. Good idea, except all the urns were empty and they were surly as hell when I asked for more.
Said a 30 minute wait. Ended up being closer to an hour and we watched as they sat smaller parties at tables that were exactly the same size as the one we ended up at. No apologies or acknowledgement of the wait, either.
We told the waiter immediately when we ordered that we were very hungry and asked for some parties for the table. The pastries were maybe 6 feet from us, already sitting out, and he never brought them – just started folding napkins. We had to go ask if we could just grab them ourselves.
The food was average and overpriced at best. At worst, the home fries were cold and undercooked, one of the avocados in the sandwich was brown and borderline rotten, and the salad looked like it had been taken from the sandwich line at Subway.
The service tried to be sweetly nice at first but kept on asking how things were and then left before we could say anything. Once we did mention the potatoes they were just kind of awkward and asked if we wanted more home fries. Eventually our server «took a couple bucks off» for the potatoes: $ 5 off of a $ 95 check. That’s worse than leaving it on and apologizing for the terrible experience. Most of us still had half our food on our plates. Finally, he took so long with the check that I had to go ask the hostess to ring us up herself.
Any one thing would have been ok, but this place was godawful across the board. Zero stars if I could.

Very good brunch! Nice big place so it wasn’t crowded on a Saturday.
Had a version of benedict that was nice.
Extensive menu so something for everyone.

The girls and I went to Lena’s for brunch on a Saturday morning around 11:00am and had a very nice experience. Upon arriving, we found one of our party already seated at a table. At this hour, the restaurant was bustling but an empty table or two could be found. Our server was promptly at our table, ready to offer us menus and take drink orders. I enjoyed a cup of coffee, which was refilled frequently by our attentive waiter. I’m always very grateful to anyone who keeps the caffeine coming!
A friend and I «went half-​sies» on our orders, resolving our decision-​making dilemmas. We shared the fajita omelette and Gouda kale omelette, both of which were excellent. I was particularly happy that Lena’s (and my friend!) were open to making the omelettes with egg whites. While both dishes were excellent, of the two omelettes, I think I liked the fajita omelette best.
Recommendations:
–For health-​conscious individuals, request an egg white omelette!
–I’ve heard that Lena’s often has a long line to be seated. While this wasn’t an issue for our brunch, you may want to plan to arrive early or wait a bit.
Verdict:
I would absolutely return. Thank you for good food and great service.

Friendly and quick service, not too bad of a wait, and affordable. The food was solid, though I wasn’t super impressed with anything (all dishes that looked amazing on the Unilocal photos were specials that weren’t on the menu for us).
THE SERVICE: I’m rounding Lena’s up a star because I left my favorite pen ever at the table after signing the bill. It’s not super special, but I’d bought it in Japan 11 years ago and have a lot of sentimental attachment to it. To my surprise, they had it the next day and saved it at the front counter for me! We got to the restaurant half an hour after they closed and they let me come in through the back door to get it.
THE COST: $ 53 total for 3 brunch dishes. Affordable by SF standards, but I hear this is pricey for New Haven.
HOUSE SPECIALTY OMELETS:
* Maine Lobster Omelet (fresh lobster meat, chive butter, sherry Newburgh sauce, w/​roasted potatoes & grilled buttermilk biscuit. $ 16) — 3.5 stars
pic:
I loved that this omelet seemed to be filled to the brim with lobster meat. However, the egg was a little overcooked just a bit — a little hard (I like my eggs soft and fluffy!). The potatoes were crisped just enough, loved ‘em. The biscuit was toasted nicely, but was on the dry side. Wished they had house made jams, but they only had those single serving Smucker’s packets at the table (albeit in several flavors)
BRUNCH SPECIALS:
* Fall Harvest Poached Special (turkey sausage, kale, green onion on garlic bread, w/​poached eggs & butternut squash bisque. Comes w/​potatoes & small salad. $ 13) — 3.5 stars
pic:
This was tasty — the bread was a little hard, but everything on top of it came together really nicely. The potatoes were great, the salad was light with mixed greens.
* Banana Bread French Toast (house made, topped w/​vanilla mousse, chocolate syrup, caramel sauce. $ 13) — 3.5 stars
pic:
Definitely unlike any French Toast I’ve had, and this is my go-​to brunch dish so I’ve ordered a lot! This isn’t the usual soggy, thick giant slices of bread that you soak in maple syrup. The slices are small — as you would imagine for a banana bread — and it’s soft, but the edges are hard from toasting. You gotta put their butter on each slice, as that tiny hint of savory flavors mixes in really well with the bread.
Our receipt:

I always leave here expecting a little bit more. I’ve never had an issue with their service, in fact it’s almost always been shockingly fast. On my most recent visit to Lena’s I had the eggs benedict which was really tasty. I’m a big fan of their hollandaise sauce, it has a great flavor. I had the same experience as some other reviews did with the potatoes — they were definitely cooked earlier and reheated. The food was on our table within five minutes of ordering it, I would’ve rather waited an additional five minutes for my meal to come out if that meant having fresh potatoes.
Their hot coffee is delicious and I love the fact that they serve it in a big mug, not the standard small sized diner mugs. And brownie points for leaving bottles of hot sauce on the table! It’s the little things. I’ll continue to come back here, but I think there are definitely better breakfast spots in New Haven and I think Lena’s needs to take note of their increasingly poor reviews as of late!