The Spread South Norwalk — Restaurant in Norwalk

After settling in our hotel after a long drive, we discovered that Thursday Evening at The Spread is Havana Nights, where you can enjoy a Cuban style dinner for two for only $70. It included a pitcher of Mojito/Sangria or Bottle of House Wine, two appetizers, an entree with two sides, and a dessert to share.

Because it was pouring outside, they did not have live music but they improvised with Cuban music playing in the background and most of their staff wore Hawaiian shirts. The dimmed lighting gave the restaurant an intimate vibe.

The food was well plated, delicious, of high quality, and of great value. The service was above and beyond. Our server Rigo was friendly, sociable, and attentive. The staff cleared our table in between courses and refilled our beverages.

For the drink, we ordered a pitcher of Mojito. It was so strong that Brendan consumed majority of it.

My only compliant was you had to place all three courses at the same time. After placing our food and drink order, we received two warm pieces of cornbread with butter.

For appetizers, we shared the Empanadas de Pollo and Ensalada Mixta. The Empanadas de Pollo consisted of two crispy cornmeal dough stuffed with shredded spiced chicken filling served hot off the press with with salsa. The Ensalada Mixta consisted of spring mix, tomatoes, carrots, onions, cucumber and avocado tossed in a tangy citrus vinaigrette. I liked how the salad was quite refreshing.

For the main course, we shared the Vaca Frita with Rice and Beans and Tostones. The Vaca Frita consisted of shredded flank steak with caramelized onions and lime juice. I loved how tender the flank steak was and how the caramelized onions gave the dish a sweet and savory flare. Rice and Beans consisted of white rice mixed with black beans. The Tostones consisted of crispy round Plantain chips.

For dessert, we shared a Flan Cubano, which consisted of thick custard with sweet runny caramel and toasted coconut flakes. The combination of flavors...

Wow. First of all, the Spread, at its new location on Washington, looks amazing. The guys did an amazing job inside and out. The courtyard patio is set up as part dining area/part longe, with tables as well as comfy couches. Beautifully built outdoor fireplace is an awesome touch, as is the wonderful fountain in the middle of the courtyard.

Service was amazing, and thats saying a lot considering that everyone is still learning how to operate under the current conditions. Cocktail menu was very well done, both in creation and execution.

Now onto the real star of the show. Chef Carlos Baez has quickly become one of the areas best chefs. If you don't know his cuisine then the time to make it's acquaintance. We started off with a perfectly cooked Tuna appetizer. Pepper crusted and served with a great Wasabi cream. We also shared the beef tongue crossing served with a healthy portion of arugula and garlic mayo. Delish. Our final appetizer was a delicious buttery Foie Gras With Fig Jam and toast.

For dinner there was perfectly prepared sea scallops - tasted as fresh as can be - perfectly caramelized on the outside, sweet and tasty - served with cauliflower rice and shiitake mushrooms. We also had a portion of skin on mackerel - nice tender fish with a tasty, perfectly crispy skin. Served with fresh heirloom cherry tomatoes, green beans and a fennel and radish salad. The last entree was a perfectly crispy roasted chicken. The lemon demi glaze added an excellent compliment to an already tasty bird. And the artisan salad was perfect on the side.

Instead of dessert we opted for another dish - the Brussels sprouts, cooked nice and crispy, drizzled with honey, topped with feta cheese and a dash of sea salt.

This entire experience was amazing. I find it hard to believe there is a better...

I don’t think I’ve ever written a review but people need to know the truth. It’s over 90 degrees outside and they wouldn’t put the AC on inside and there were no fans. Their brunch menu in person is different than their menu online. We came with a 3 year old and 1 year old, asked for a children’s menu three times, and they never brought it. So many reviews say how accommodating they are with food allergies but when we asked for something/anything without dairy or egg, the only thing they could do is a kale salad with literally just kale and a couple chunks of avocado. But said plate of kale was completely covered in black pepper that it was inedible. We did not ask for pepper on the salad. Just oil and vinegar. It took well over an hour for them to bring the food, and the restaurant was not packed. Other food that our party ordered was either soggy, contained sauce that wasn’t listed in the menu description, or was spicy when also not noted on the menu. When we asked for a bowl of fresh fruit for the toddlers, they said they didn’t have any. But yet other items that were served to our table had fresh strawberries on them. When one of our party spoke to a manager about it, they were apologetic and comped the plate of peppery kale and another dish. They offered to bring the kids menu finally after we told him what happened, and offered to bring strawberries that our waiter said they didn’t have, but by then everyone was sweating from how hot it was inside, and both the toddlers were too hungry to wait for anything. We of course gave them some fries from one of our dishes, we weren’t going to starve them. But absolutely crazy experience. This place came so highly recommended and we all drove from over an hour away to eat here to celebrate a wedding anniversary. Very very disappointed and won’t be...