Saltwater Cafe — Restaurant in Stonington

Located inside Mystic Aquarium, Saltwater Café offers the unique experience of being emotionally waterboarded while overpaying for a sandwich. The food is standard aquarium fare — overpriced, overcooked, and spiritually damp. But the real show is behind the counter.

The staff here aren’t just miserable — they’ve reached a higher plane of detachment. Dead eyes. Blank expressions. The aura of people who’ve seen things no human should see — like the inside of the nacho cheese machine at close. You could tell them you were on fire and they’d reply “Do you want a receipt?”

Ordering food felt like interrupting a funeral. One employee sighed so hard I thought it might lift him off the ground.

There was no greeting. No thank you. Just the silent exchange of currency for calories, like a grim ritual everyone regrets mid-way through.

The tables were sticky. The chips were damp. The vibes were bleak.

One star, because it exists, and that’s the nicest...

I was in today and while the cashiers and line workers were lovely, which is usual for this spot, a manager who works there named Beth completely ruined the experience for me altogether. She was rude to her employees and I can't fathom her employees feeling comfortable working there. She makes the whole company as whole look bad and I seriously hope she's fired soon.

Apparently she always acts this way? I can't imagine working for...

Well if you come there after 3pm you will be greeted by a rude cooking staff who is surprised here. I was too considering that the food was cold abd they had no care about cooking fresh food. The cheeseburger was a chilled brick, the fries were soggy ice Cubs and the chicken was very dry. Plus when walk all the seats are up like they don’t intend...