What’s on the Menu this Fall in New Haven

Fall has officially arrived in New Haven, and we have the menus to prove it. This is the foodie season of pumpkin spice everything, cider-braised proteins, and the kind of pasta that makes you want to cancel all your plans and linger over a second glass of red. Three downtown restaurants in particular are leaning into the season. Let’s eat our way through them before the first snow.

The Melting Pot newly opened in Ninth Square, is celebrating its very first New Haven fall at the same time the brand hits its 50th anniversary; which means, double the reason to dip. Their festive fall menu features a Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Fondue, which arrives bubbling and topped with whipped cream, pumpkin caramel, and spiced graham cracker crunch. Pair it with a signature Pumpkin Spice Espresso Martini, and you’re in for a good night. If that’s not enough, their Golden Anniversary menu includes a cheese fondue laced with candied bacon and a 24K Chocolate Fondue that is literally set on fire at your table.

Over at ZINC, in the Historic Chapel Street district, Chef Joseph Roberto is leaning into sweater-weather cooking with braises, root vegetables, and plenty of apple everything. “My favorite fall dish at home would have to consist of some sort of pork,” says Roberto, “Whether it be a pork roulade or a simple pork chop, I would pair it with an apple butter puree and roasted squash, finishing with some dried sage and an apple cider jus.”

Weekly specials are the move at ZINC, whose menu is built around whatever’s peaking at the market: braised lamb with cider, roasted squash sides, maybe a tart apple puree tucked under a pork chop. The vibe? Familiar flavors dressed up just enough to feel like you treated yourself.

Enter: Casanova, a new restaurant in the Broadway district . After opening this summer, Casanova is serving up cozy Italian fare with a fall farmers’ market spin, inspired by Chef Joseph Iannaccone’s favorite seasonal flavors: “pomegranate, fall squash, kale, pumpkin, and cider.” Their fall offerings including Acorn Squash Rings with stracciatella and pomegranate, a Fall Panzanella with kale and Brussels sprouts, Butternut Squash Soup that gets the pepitas-and-crispy-shallots treatment, and Sweet Potato Caramelle Pasta in sage brown butter with smoked speck (house-made daily, because of course). Not to mention, they’re throwing a full Thanksgiving dinner later this season.

You’re hungry, we’re hungry, let’s get to the point. Whether you’re dunking apples into molten cheese, sipping a pumpkin martini, or twirling sweet potato–stuffed pasta, New Haven restaurants are giving you plenty of reasons to lean into fall.

Photo: Zinc Restaurant