It's Only Natural
$$$ - expensive
Eclectic (Fusion)
Nuvo-Natural Cuisine from the kitchen of Mark Shadle
ION is a casual but hip vegetarian eatery in Middletown, Connecticut. It has been voted "Best Vegetarian Restaurant" in the local Advocate Reader's Poll for many years. There are an abundance of vegan options, but also an occasional fish special.
The waitstaff is professional and attentive--and often are dressed in theme for the night (a recent Saturday appeared to be pajama night). The menu features a wide selection of multi-ethnic dishes. They are well known for their tempeh "crab" cakes and the infamous sweet potato fries (served with a smoked ketchup). Desserts are very good and there is a large wine/beer list.
Decorations include local artists and pretty much everything not bolted down can be purchased. Brazilian music rounds out the atmosphere.
Just off of Rt. 9 exit 15. ION is in back of Main Street Market (opposite side from the ION Healthfood Store).
- (Mostly) Organic
- Kid-Friendly
- Large Group-Friendly
- Outdoor Seating
- Romantic
Added by Joshua Warchol on Apr 16 04 (updated Jul 6 04)
Reviews
I love ION!!! Foods great, the waitresses are friendly, and many vegan options abound.
On the checks...not trying to start a flame war, but perhaps the policy has changed. I have split checks there on multiple occasions, but we have always mentioned it up front. (I DO seem to remember someone saying they are not supposed to, BUT... and then doing it anyway)
ION is simply the best vegan restaurant I know in all of southern New England and the metropolitan NYC area outside of the city itself. (I confess I have not yet eaten at Ahimsa in New Haven.) But wait, the restaurant serves one fish dish for dinner, and some scant dairy, so how can I describe it as vegan? That's because the majority of the rest of the menu is vegan, so lighten up, vegheads! "Vegan" is understood and spoken here. You should know that the restaurant would have gone out of business had it not added one fish dish to the dinner menu as a last resort. (Note that the fish is cooked with separate kitchenware in a separate corner of the kitchen, and the head chef never has tasted the fish he prepares, as he is vegetarian.) That 20 percent additional customer patronage because of the fish enabled them to stay solvent, so I'm glad they made the choice, because the alternative is no ION at all. I do advise against their pasta dishes, as they all are white flour pasta, otherwise everything else is dependably excellent quality, taste, and nutrition. When vegan luminaries and friends from distant cities visit me, this is where i take them. And they all agree that the cuisine is unique and excellent. So don't deprive yourself just because it is not totally vegan.
Inventive, artfully prepared and original vegetarian and vegan cuisine. A place I love taking friends and family. They also have a great beer and wine selection, with a good handful of them being organic!
After a recent dinner at ION I was unpleasantly informed they will not split checks to go onto multiple credit cards. Not even for $130+ checks. I still recommend ION and otherwise the service that night was excellent. So if you're bringing a crowd, bring cash.
My husband, our 5-year-old son, who we are raising vegetarian, and I had just put in our dinner order when my husband excused himself to go the rest room. My son expressed that he was hungry and so I took out a small baggie of, as it happens, organic snack to tide him over until the meal arrived. A woman, who may have been the manager, came over and stared at the bag as if I had put a pile of dung onto the table. When I asked her if there was a problem, she stated that they never, ever permit outside food into the restaurant. My son looked like he was about to cry and I asked her to explain this to him. She stated that I was the adult and then continued to say that they were a full service restaurant with a children’s menu. I explained to her that we were aware of that and had in fact ordered a meal for him from that menu but my son was hungry now and the snack was to tide him over until the meal arrived. At that point she abruptly walked off. My husband returned and then the women who had seated us approached our table, telling us that she had been instructed to continue to take up the issue. At this point my son was in tears and we decided to leave. Our family is from NYC and we dine out quite frequently and in finer establishments than this one. No one has ever objected to an outside snack given to a small child while waiting to be served. I also need to add that throughout the exchange, the staff at ION never offered to bring a piece of bread or something else to the table to ease the situation. We really felt that they did not want us there. We did have a lovely dinner that night at another establishment a few blocks away on Main Street. However, it has taken several days to convince my sensitive child that he didn't do anything wrong. (5/23/08)