Fresh Salt Awards

Fresh Salt Restaurant Review:

Locals and visitors come by land and water to Saybrook Point Inn, Marina & Spa's restaurant to feast on some of the region's finest New England fare. Well-heeled wanderers dock yachts at Saybrook Point Marina, where the Connecticut River meets Long Island Sound, to enjoy gourmet treatments of locally sourced products. Virtually everything, from Moonstone oysters and big-eye tuna to butternut squash and Gala apples, is obtained from waters and farms no farther than 75 miles away. A wood exterior painted lemon drop yellow harmonizes with the watery scene all around. An interior styled with Victorian furnishings, country cottage elements and nautical accents, combined with seamless and solicitous service, makes for a charming coastal dining experience. Dishes reflect the quality and freshness inherent in carefully combined ingredients. Chilled, colossal cocktail shrimp --- one of the few seafood items not brought in by local boats --- are crisp, meaty and complemented by a tangy sauce. Oysters Rockefeller are topped with warm spinach, cheese and toasty garlic breadcrumbs. A Connecticut lobster roll, with generous chunks of butter-sautéed meat on a buttered, toasted brioche bun, is a favorite among regulars. Entrée highlights, which vary seasonally, might include swordfish chop or hand harvested New Bedford scallops. The emphasis is on the freshest catches, but meats are artfully executed, too. A hearty New England pot roast is browned in butter then slow cooked until the meat yields to the slightest pressure of the fork. Desserts also shine with selections like a lemon tart providing a zesty ending.