You’ve heard it before, but now you’ve gotten the chance to see for yourself: campus food can get pretty boring after a while. If you’re looking for good local eats, Hamden held its 9th annual Restaurant Week from Sept. 23 to Sept. 28. A total of 15 restaurants in the Hamden area featured fixed price lunch and dinner menus, including some Quinnipiac student favorites, such as Eli’s on Whitney and Aunt Chilada’s. If you’re looking for some new, local Hamden eats, here are the restaurants that participated in this year’s Restaurant Week. 

Aunt Chilada’s 

3931 Whitney Ave., Hamden

A Hamden local that’s a favorite for QU students, Aunt Chilada’s restaurant week deal was buy one, get one. If you’re a fan of Mexican food, stop by here. They have everything from nachos, quesadillas and tacos to sandwiches, burgers and wraps.

B&D Deli Works 

3584 Whitney Ave., Hamden

At B&D Deli, customers were able to choose a sandwich, a side, a drink and a type of cookie. Sandwich options included chicken parmesan, buffalo chicken, tuna BLT or Caesar salad, and sides were a small fry, soup, mac and cheese, potato salad, coleslaw or chips. Finally, to end a great meal off, customers had a choice between a chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin or coconut macaroon cookie. 

Bomb Wings and Rice Bar

2373 Whitney Ave., Hamden

For a local place that sells wings, you can go to Bomb Wings and Rice Bar. Their special consisted of a 12 piece wings, two sides and sweet potato cornbread for a total of $19.99. 

Cafe Amici

1670 Whitney Ave., Hamden

At $25 per person for a three-course meal, the appetizer options here included fried calamari, tomato bruschetta and meatballs. Second course options included a caesar salad or regular house salad, and for the main course, the choices were penne vodka, eggplant parmesan and chicken florentine. This is the perfect spot if you’ve got a craving for Italian food. 

Eli’s on Whitney

2392 Whitney Ave., Hamden
A favorite for QU students, the menu at Eli’s included three courses: appetizer, main course and dessert. Appetizers consisted of egg rolls, roasted Asian cauliflower and a Caesar salad. The main courses included dishes such as their penne alla vodka and a buffalo shrimp wrap for lunch, and braised short ribs or braised beef tomato ragu for dinner. To top it off, the dessert choices included a flourless chocolate cake or a warm apple crisp. 

Freskos

2323 Whitney Ave., Hamden

If you’re a fan of Greek food and really great deals, stop by Freskos. Their offer was your sandwich of choice, a Greek salad and a beverage for a total of $10. 

Ibiza Tapas Wine Bar

1832 Dixwell Ave., Hamden 

Stop by Ibiza Tapas for lunch or dinner! At $15 per person for lunch and $28 per person for dinner, the menus included options such as crab cake, mushroom flatbread, burrata, ahi tuna, chicken sandwiches and grilled fish. Whether you’re looking for something basic or a fancier meal, there are great lunch and dinner options here!

Ixtapa Grill

2547 Whitney Ave., Hamden

Another favorite for QU students, this place hits the spot if you’re craving Mexican. For restaurant week, they had a $20 all day menu that offered three courses; appetizer, entree and dessert. Choices included nachos, taquitos, chicken wings, salads, quesadillas, enchiladas and much, much more! This place is a great option year round. 

Mickey’s Restaurant and Bar

2323 Whitney Ave., Hamden 

At $12.95 for for an appetizer, soup or salad and entree, Mickey’s had one of the best deals during Restaurant Week. Appetizer options include hummus, mussels, caprese and calamari, and entree options include sandwiches, burgers, wraps and pasta dishes.

Mikro

0 Depot Ave., Hamden

For less traditional cuisine, stop by Mikro Depot. They have charcuterie boards, burrata and a vegetarian version of a campus favorite: General Tso’s. They also have classics, like grilled cheese, and their Sunday brunch menu features chicken and waffles and french toast. 

Playwright Irish Pub & Restaurant

1232 Whitney Ave., Hamden 

At $26 per person, the menu here had options like steak, lobster ravioli, pork chops and lime cilantro chicken. Desserts included tiramisu or apple crisp with ice cream. 

Side Street Grille

15 Dickerman St., Hamden 

For some casual comfort food, Side Street Grille was offering a variety of sandwiches with a soup for $5 to $6. Sandwich options included grilled cheese, tuna/chicken salad or a steak sandwich. The star of the special, however, was a buy one get one BBQ baby back rib dinner. For $30, customers got a rack of baby back ribs, cole slaw and french fries or a baked potato. Soup and dessert were also included. 

The Soup Girl

1242 Whitney Ave., Hamden

If you’re a fan of soup, this is the place for you. The Soup Girl has a large variety of soups, including classics like chicken noodle, sweet potato and black bean, and also split pea soups. They also have unique flavors like chickpea rosemary, tomato tortellini and Thai veggie coconut. 

Ristorante Luce

2987 Whitney Ave., Hamden

For all the Italian food you could ever want, stop by Ristorance Luce. Their restaurant week menu included classics like arancini, caprese salad, shrimp pesto and lobster ravioli as well as unique dishes like seafood crepes. 

TexiKo Tequila Bar

3000 Whitney Ave., Hamden 

For Tex-Mex inspired food, TexiKo has items on their menu such as burritos, tacos salads and ribs. They also have plenty of gluten free options, so there are lots of good options here for any kind of diet.