Stopped in real quick yesterday when I was in the area checking out the Yale University Art Gallery. I opted for a Pumpkin Lassi smoothie and took home a slice of the double decker carrot cake. Both were absolutely divine and really made it feel like Fall despite the hot weather outside for November. My smoothie took a little longer to make as I saw other customers coming and going. My co-worker ordered right before me and her smoothie was handed to her in no time at all, but mine seemed to take a while. Well worth the wait though. Hopefully it won't take me another 13 years to be back!

Claire's has been serving vegetarian food on this corner for years, and while I've been here a number of times, I've somehow only ever had sweet things, like their famous Lithuanian coffee cake and carrot cake. We got some vegan items on a recent trip - snickerdoodle cookie, lemon coconut blueberry loaf, and pumpkin whoopie pie - and they were tasty treats, the loaf our favorite of the three. I think their vegan baked goods are good, not the best I've ever had, but the best in New Haven since vegan options are kind of limited. Ample seating to work or study, and friendly staff.

I loved Claire's! As a vegetarian with food allergies, it is rare that I go to a restaurant where I have more than 2-3 options, max. I was a bit overwhelmed by all of my options at Claire's, but in a good way! They were very cognizant of allergies and other dietary restrictions (kosher, gluten free, etc.) I had the vegetarian BLT, which was very good and I added avocado. The refried beans that came with my friend's quesadilla were homemade. There was a line that moved somewhat slowly, but when I got to the front I realized it was because they were taking such care in getting each customer's customizations. I also noticed that Claire spoke to the other workers with a great deal of kindness and respect.

Claire's has been serving vegetarian food for almost 50 years! For decades I've looked forward to visiting Claire's whenever I'm in the New Haven area because Claire's offers a wide selection of vegetarian and vegan foods, bakery, and specialty coffee and tea drinks. Taking metro north to NYC? Claire's! Museum visits in New Haven? Claire's! Visiting family and friends in Connecticut? Claire's! We went for breakfast and ordered the granola bowl--a hearty, flavorful homemade granola, full of textures and flavors served with yogurt, banana and honey and the vegan pancakes with mango (sometimes you just want some mango!) served with real maple syrup. Claire's knows how to do vegan pancakes--the photos don't do them justice. We both had the iced apple pie chai special. Sweet apple flavor and the chai was still spicy. The restaurant itself is bright and cheery; a combination of brick and two walls of windows. We looked at the local art (modern sparkly paintings of Prince, Billie Holliday, and Sinatra) and the New Haven Green from our table and listened to Tchaicovsky while we waited for our food. The counter service was polite and the food was delivered to the table promptly. The lunch and dinner menu include vegetarian and vegan sandwiches (the tempeh BLT is one of my go-tos), veggie burgers, burritos, and traditional items such as quiches and eggplant parm. You will see the bakery in the glass cases as you walk in: scones, cupcakes, pies, whoopie pies, etc, and there are always vegan and gluten free options. Claire's started serving vegetarian food in 1975, before it was a mainstream thing, and there's a reason they will soon be celebrating 50 years. It's one of my favorite restaurants anywhere and I'll look forward to my next visit!

The place had a cute, homey vibe, but the food didn't blow me away. Still good though. The menu was more a confusing mishmash of chalkboards and various signs, but that being said they have a lot of options, so chances are you'll find SOMETHING you like here- even though it's vegetarian. You're brought your food, but it's primarily self serve which does help speed things along. I ordered the Avocado Plus salad which was decent, but the tofu and croutons were quite greasy and weighed the salad down. And just because the bread is homemade doesn't mean it's good-it was pretty dense, definitely needed more yeast. Still, it's a cute place so I can't be too harsh.

Claire's is the oldest continuously operated vegan/vegetarian restaurant in CT that I'm aware of. The sign says 1975. Can you beat it? The location is great. Literally at the corner of Chapel and College in downtown New Haven. It's cute inside. Location and atmosphere are definitely a plus. I am not vegan or vegetarian, but I have some experience with both cuisines. In my visits spanning the many years at Claire's, I would say things are generally pretty good, but don't measure up to the CT vegan and vegetarian spots presently doing things at the highest levels. Recently, I ordered a House Ginger Ale. It was pretty good. Had a very clear ginger flavor. Could have used some more acidity. I added a squeeze of fresh lemon when I got home and that helped. The baked goods were decent. The Lithuanian Coffee Cake seems to have actual sweetened ground coffee in it. It wasn't one of the more memorable coffee cakes I've tasted in recent years, but they are limiting themselves in ingredients. The sunbutter cookie was a thick and dense sunflower version of a peanut butter cookie. It was OK. My son only ate one bite of his half. If I'm rating the food and drink from my recent visit, it would probably be 3.25 stars. However, the history, location and atmosphere are worth a bump up to 3.5 Stars.

This was an eatery my vegetarian friend recommended as we came here on a day trip. It is a casual eatery filled with locals. The bathroom requires asking the staff to open the door. Order was pretty fast. I enjoyed the Pineapple upside down cake the best. I as enthused about my entree, but I guess that's that. Still this seems very popular with locals.