Coastal Connecticut restaurants dish up cuisine to please any palate.

Here's a smattering of some of the region's notable places to nosh.

Seafood Delights

You haven't really been to the shore unless you've cracked open a lobster or slurped up some chowder. These seafood restaurants in southern Connecticut make great family dining destinations.

Abbott's Lobster in the Rough

117 Pearl Street, Noank

860-536-7719

www.abbotts-lobster.com

Sure, it's a bit touristy, but Abbott's is a perennial favorite where you can feast on lobster, steamers, and other seafood delights indoors or outdoors at picnic tables right at the ocean's edge from May through mid-October. Diners are allowed to bring their own alcoholic beverages.

Bill's Seafood

548 Boston Post Road (Route 1), Westbrook

860-399-7224

www.billsseafood.com

Watch the boats go by as you dine outdoors at a picnic table overlooking the Patchogue River, or head inside, where Bill's New England- and Rhode Island-style chowders will warm your soul all winter long. Kids fussy about seafood? Burgers, dogs, spaghetti, and grilled cheese are options, too.

Crab Shell

46 Southfield Avenue, Stamford

203-967-7229

www.crabshell.com

Snuggle up to a bowl of hot chowder by the fireplace in the winter or sit outside and watch the world sail by in the summer.

Jasper White's Summer Shack

Mohegan Sun, 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard, Uncasville

860-862-9500

www.mohegansun.com/dining/summer_shack.jsp

Whatever the weather, it's always a summer day by the sea at the Mohegan Sun outpost of celebrity chef Jasper White's casual seafood eatery, where you may have a tough time deciding whether you want your lobster steamed, pan-roasted, wood-grilled, chilled, or stuffed and baked.

A Taste of History

Louis' Lunch (261–263 Crown Street, New Haven, 203-562-5507, www.louislunch.com) cooked the country's first hamburger sandwich in 1900, and you can still order one flame-seared on the original grill. New Haven also claims America's first pizza pie, and the same brick ovens at Frank Pepe's Pizzeria Napoletana (157 Wooster Street, 203-865-5762) still crank out what many call the state's most delectable pizza. Be sure to try the white clam pie.

And for something straight out of a movie scene, grab a bite at Mystic Pizza (56 West Main Street, Mystic, 860-536-3700, www.mysticpizza.com), the setting for the movie that launched Julia Roberts's career.

Memorable Meals

Want to gather the family for Sunday brunch? Three restaurants noted for their all-you-can-eat spreads are Norwalk's Silvermine Tavern (194 Perry Avenue, 203-847-4558, www.silverminetavern.com), Sono Brewhouse (13 Marshall Street, Norwalk, 203-853-9110, www.sonobrewhouse.com), and Water's Edge Resort (1525 Boston Post Road, Westbrook, 860-399-5901 or 800-222-5901, www.watersedgeresortandspa.com). Be sure to make reservations in advance, particularly for holiday Sundays.

For an elegant dinner without the kids, consider Jean-Louis (61 Lewis Street, Greenwich, 203-622-8450, www.restaurantjeanlouis.com) for cosmopolitan French cuisine; Thomas Henkelmann (420 Field Point Road, Greenwich, 203-869-7500, www.homesteadinn.com) for French food in an atmosphere of Victorian high society; or Da Pietro's (36 Riverside Avenue, Westport, 203-454-1213) which offers Italian — southern French cooking in an atmosphere you'll find either cramped or cozy depending on whether your glass is half empty or half full.

For something truly extraordinary the whole family can enjoy, make reservations at Randall's Ordinary (Route 2, North Stonington, 860-599-4540, www.randallsordinary.com), where colonial recipes are prepared entirely in an open-hearth fireplace.