Some Cozy Fall Dining Ideas
/Coals Pizza
Bronxville, NY and Port Chester, NY
We eat in Port Chester at least once a week. They have so many awesome ethnic spots, a great bread bakery and this place - Coals Pizza is our jam. The craft beer selection on draft and in cans at Coals is way better than anywhere within a 10 mile radius of our house and the Coals grilled buffalo wings are off the charts delicious.
With “pizza” in its name, Coals clearly also specializes in another popular food, but the pizzas here, just like those wings, are grilled. Grilled pizza ends up tasting quite different from your local slice joint. They’re thinner and somewhat similar to a flatbread. And though marketed as personal sized, the grilled pizzas at Coals are BIG. I think the best move for a group of about two or three at Coals is to order wings, one pizza and then get involved with Coals tasty cheeseburger.
The atmosphere at Coals is friendly, relaxed and perfectly suitable for a crisp fall evening. I’ve never been to the Bronxville location, but I’m guessing it’s pretty similar (though staff at the PC location told us their beer preferences are different downstate). This summer, Coals opened a third location in Portland, Maine! And fun fact - Coals started in the Bronx before moving to Port Chester.
Little Pub
5 locations in CT
Little Pub is essentially a CT mini-chain at this point, having locations across Fairfield County and even farther in-state. Our local location in Greenwich is basically packed around the clock. It’s one of the tastier places and town, and perhaps even more significantly, it’s one of the few sit down restaurants in Greenwich that’s kid friendly.
One of my favorite things about Little Pub is that if you visit in the colder weather, there’s always a fire roaring in the main dining room (fireplace = very cozy!) My other favorite thing about Little Pub is their nachos - they’re really good and a quintessential fall treat.
Little Pub offers a solid selection of sandwiches, salads and a few entrees. It’s the kind of pub food you crave in autumn. If you bring along the kids, they have their own dedicated kids’ menu, and kiddies are given Wiki sticks to play with upon arrival.
Bridge View Tavern
Sleepy Hollow, NY
Bridge View Tavern, as you might have guessed, offers some lovely views of a bridge - the Tappan Zee Bridge, in particular. It sits right along the Hudson River and in warm weather there’s even a great outdoor beer garden in the restaurant’s yard. A summer visit to Bridge View Tavern is certainly a good idea.
But the restaurant is a great spot in autumn, too. Like Coals, Bridge View rocks a killer craft beer list, and like Little Pub, it offers up a solid menu of pub favorites. Adding to its cozy vibes, Bridge View Tavern staff is incredibly friendly and welcoming - they make first time guests feel just like regulars. This trifecta of loveliness adds up to become a perfect choice for a fall day. Plus, in honor of fall, Bridge View now has warm mulled spiked cider, pumpkin beer and other fall specialty drinks on its bar list; and they have added hot apple tarts to their dessert offerings.
Note that because Bridge View is in the vicinity of the very popular Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, the restaurant can get crowded this time of year, particularly on weekends when tourists come to town.
Candlelight Inn
Scarsdale, NY
Oh boy. Candlelight Inn is a Westchester institution and I’m guessing you’ve heard of it already if you’re located around these parts.
Google “best wings New York” and this spot will probably come up. Candlelight opened in 1955 and basically has been mobbed ever since. Folks come from NYC and all over the county to have Candlelight’s famous meaty buffalo wings - served here with the drumette and wing attached as one somewhat creepy but totally delish wing.
Offered in sauces such as traditional buffalo, barbecue and teriyaki and heat levels all the way up to the dangerous “Chernobyl,” Candlelight wings are an autumn must do. They go perfectly with NFL Sundays. They also go perfectly with Candlelight’s waffle fries (get those waffle fries with cheese on top).
You can order anything from Candlelight to go at their little takeout shack next door to the restaurant. Or try your luck sitting in the small, no frills and usually packed dining room. Note that the ambiance here is pretty “divey” and not likely what you’d expect when you see it has as Scarsdale address - but it’s really fun to dine in if you can handle the wait.
Rothbard Ale & Larder
Westport, CT
On the opposite end of the lowbrow atmosphere of Candlelight, Rothbard Ale & Larder is the most upscale of the spots on this list. But nonetheless, kids are welcome here and the comfort-driven, autumnal vibes are high at Rothbard.
A German inspired gastropub located on the lower level of the same building that houses Jesup Hall in downtown Westport, Rothbard Ale & Larder basically shouts out “autumn.” Try one of their delicious schnitzels, bratwurst or kielbasa and some spaetzle on the side. Pair it all with a crisp craft beer or red wine. It’s perfectly autumnal.
