Cafe Flo — Restaurant in Old Lyme

Whether you go for the art and stay for the food, or simply go for the food; you can’t go wrong dining at Cafe Flo. We stopped by the Florence Griswold museum on a nearly perfect Autumn day and were delighted by the food, atmosphere, and service at Cafe Flo. The cafe is seasonal with outdoor seating overlooking a bend in a gentle river that meanders by. The picture perfect views complement the experience. Note: it can get breezy and be a bit cooler in the shade of the porch, so dress accordingly. The menu and specials board presented the challenge of having to choose among several great options. Choose we did, I opted for the beet and goat cheese salad, which was fresh and flavorful. My spouse order the mushroom bisque, having been inspired by the mushrooms of the Wee Faerie Villages (An annual autumn event at the “FloGris”).

Both dishes were fresh and flavorful. For dessert we enjoyed the apple crisp pie, which we found to be done just right - fresh, subtly spiced, and not overly sweet.

In addition to the season food specials, several beverage specials were available as well, including alcoholic and nonalcoholic option.

Cafe Flo is worth a visit, whether you are visiting the art...

Absolutely dreadful service and management. Wish I could tell you how the food was, but our party of six who made a reservation a week in advance for 1pm on a Saturday had to leave to go elsewhere. We arrived at 12;55pm and waited until 1:05 before someone was ready to talk to us. We told her we had a 1pm reservation and were told they didn't have a table for us and it would be about 15 minutes before they did. At 1:30 p.m. we were still waiting while watching a bunch of parties of to be seated before us. We asked again and were told it would be about another 10 minutes - this while there were three open smaller tables that could have been put together. I've never seen a reservation so blatantly NOT honored like this. Thankfully The Hangry Goose around the corner had no problem with a 6-person walk-up. Shame spending so much time sitting in the grass waiting and looking at the menu only to have to go elsewhere. Get it...

Came here on a whim for lunch. The setting is elegant. Beautiful. Tranquil. The food and drinks, excellent. Service was very good. The hostess, waitress, and support staff were great.

I was a little hesitant on going as it was tied to a museum but when we arrived it made more sense and I was glad we went. The further we made our way to the veranda dining area, the more we were in awe.

The seating was spacious, and every table had amazing, water, and waterfowl views. It was peaceful and pretty.

When we were done we meandered around the gardens and property which were relaxing and pretty.

Overall, a great time. Service, to food, to setting, and satisfaction. If you’re looking for a good place to eat and are in the area on a nice day, stop in. I’m sure...