Haring's Noank — Restaurant in Groton

I was so excited to go Harings as I had been to it’s predecessor ( Fords) many times and was always happy with the meals… And of course, the ambience.

Normally my go to is lobster salad or a hot lobster roll. I mean, what’s the point of having anything else in life but Lobster? Right? 😍😂

So two weeks ago I went for the first time-Of course the atmosphere is beyond comparable and they’ve done a great job decorating. Small changes but noticeable -and they look great.

Everybody who works there is wonderful! So when it came to the food that I ordered-, I was surprised that it didn’t measured up to what I had expected.

When we arrived, we were happily greeted by actually a few different people -everybody’s great there. Everybody has on smiles and they’re sincerely a fabulous staff. 🥳

We were seated, handed menus & a nice glass of cold water arrived momentarily for which we were grateful since it was hot out.

I decided instead of doing my normal Lobster routine I’d get out of my comfort zone and order some things off the menu. Just to check it out.

First off- their Cold crab salad is totally scrumptious! ! It cannot be beat. I would get that any day of wk all wk long. Delicate spices accompanied the fresh lumps of crab meat & If I remember correctly- I think mixed in with some sweet red peppers & maybe Little chunks of celery. Whatever it is, it’s delicious! 🤗

The lobster bisque, unfortunately, was not my cup of tea. I am used to the heavy pinkish cream base laden with lobster. Not everybody does that anymore and this is one of the places that doesn’t mix in the lobster-so I was disappointed there weren’t any chunks of it- in it. And for me- It was too salty. C’est la vie

I then ordered the crab cake-hoping it would come with chunks of crab in it but alas, it was not. You could see there was crab in there, but it was like finely shredded mixed in with an abundance of breadcrumbs. Call me a purist-All I really want in a crabcake is crab!😂🤷🏻‍♀️

On the bright side- The service is impeccable, it is A1. and of course the ambience can’t be beat!

I decided to come back a second time to give it a try again. Because the truth is, the ambience is fabulous and so are the servers!

The second time there was a board that listed the specials. I couldn’t quite see because I’m 64 my eyes aren’t that great anymore so I asked the server to please read it to me and they happily obliged reading that the special was a tomato salad with balsamic reduction & olive oil and some kind of cheese with it. I thought Awesome -tomato salad sounds great.

What arrived was a white dinner plate with four thinly sliced pieces of tomato on it with a delicate size pearl earring -piece of cheese- on each of the 4 pieces of tomato. 😳 it was surrounded by olive oil and a balsamic reduction. I looked at it and thought “well this isn’t what I thought it was going to be”because I thought I was getting a tomato salad-which to me would’ve been a bowl of chopped tomatoes with a drizzled balsamic reduction and olive oil with some cubed or shredded cheese sprinkled on top.

In this case, those 4 pieces on the plate while completely delicious didn’t warrant the $16 charge for it. I didn’t realize it was going to cost $16 because I didn’t ask when I ordered.😩 I just heard tomato salad & thought-wow that sounds great. And it was! it was delicious but not with the $16 price tag.🤷🏻‍♀️

As I explained to the owner who reached out to me because of my original review -At least put some lettuce under it or maybe put some chopped tomatoes in a bowl make it look like it’s worth $16. Again, it tasted delicious but definitely overpriced for what you get.

So here’s the deal… Definitely go there -I’m actually going back again this week again and this time I’m going to go back to my “go to” and thats either a hot lobster or a cold lobster salad 🤗🦞 because If it’s one thing Mystic does right -it’s Lobster! And certainly at Harings they’ve got the trifecta -superb service…. great ambience...

With the steep decline in quality/hospitality, and regular incline of its prices over the years, I don't think many if any tears were shed amongst its once regulars with the closing of Ford's.

Curiosity peaked when word went around there would be a new establishment starting in its place named Harings. You could hear a collective cheer up and down the coast, especially from locals, when notified who was running the show when it opened. That would be Dan Meiser and the good folks at 85th community food group, the Mystic collective behind the already legendary Oyster Club, Engine Room, and The Port of Call. All known for using only the freshest of ingredients with the vast majority sourced locally.

Today was opening day for lunch at Harings and was just as I expected...Outstanding. The NE version clam chowder was perfect and not the pasty thick type that seems so prevalent elsewhere. Had to try the Lobster Bisque as well and it was just as top notch. Along with the chunk of Lobster floating in it, unlike the typical watery bisque, this one had some heft to it and was a knockout.

The menu is absolutely killer with something for everyone, and it will be a blast working my way through it over time so I can say literally everything was tried at some point. About to go with one of the tried and true lobster roll versions, I decided to spend a few extra bucks and order the "bisquets and gravy". The biscuits are cheddar bay, the gravy another 6ozs of bisque, sherry added, and a HALF POUND of fresh lobster. Good lord, talk about a death row last meal. It was off the charts. Honorable mention should be made for the best potato salad and mac salad to go with it that I've had in ages. The key lime pie to finish things off was the, well, icing on the cake. You could tell whomever made it knew what they were doing and took pride in it. Even my 12 year old son and lunch date said it was the "Best chicken tenders he's ever had".

It's only a matter of time where the word gets out about the across the board excellence that is Harings in Noank, where it won't be near as easy to grab a table like it was for me and the spawn today on opening day. Good for them, it's well deserved and will keep them in operation here on the water for many years to come. I equate this whole experience to unloading the bad girlfriend who had worn out her welcome, and welcoming in the new one who simply makes life better in a myriad of ways. And as you well know, there is nothing quite like new love that is the real deal...

Congrats to Dan and all at 85th DFC for hitting it out of the park at their first...

Oh Haring's Noank - what a vibe. If by "waterfront dining" you meant "castaway experience with bad tap water," then bravo. One star would be generous; I'm giving them 0.5 in spirit and $36 less in my wallet. Waterfront view: lovely. Food + service: not! We rolled in starving at almost 1 PM (skipped breakfast because we were treating ourselves), greeted by charming water views and the faint scent of disappointment. They seated us in the one corner they keep for folks they'd like to forget exist - away from everyone, smelling vaguely like a dock that gave up. Subtle. After being planted like houseplants for ten minutes, l asked about drinks and was handed a card with a QR code to order a pack of beer from a nearby store to be delivered to the restaurant. That's not service, that's outsourcing. Brilliant. Innovatively lazy. Ten minutes later, our waitress Brittany finally shows up. Her menu of options: unsweetened iced tea, soda, or extremely warm, sketchy-tasting tap water that could double as a dare. We were ready to order; I said no to the weird water and started to order- and she walked away mid-sentence. No, really. She walked away. We sat there. Fifteen more minutes. That's 25 minutes before any attempt to take our order. We were shaking - not from the ocean breeze, from starvation. had to flag down another waitress because Brittany apparently had loyalty tiers: table-of-two who ordered earlier = ignored; boats that pull up for gas = VIPs. She ran to take orders and hug the boat crowd while we faded into the wallpaper. When another server finally took our order (because someone else actually gives a damn), I ordered lobster spring rolls in what I hoped was good faith. What arrived? Four sad spring rolls the size of an appetizer's shame, stuffed mostly with carrots and maybe two scraps of lobster that were clearly on vacation. They tasted like frozen Costco spring rolls that someone re-branded and charged $16 for. Not even close. I couldn't eat them. My sister's smash burger? Bland enough to induce crises of flavor - she had to dump a literal salt mine on it to make it edible. We stayed long enough to pay, out of sheer principle (and low blood pressure), not because anyone deserved our patronage. Tip? Not earned. Lucky for them we bothered to pay at all. Would I go back ? Nope. Will I recommend this place to anyone who likes being ghosted while paying Top...