Welcome to Guilford, CT

Written & photographed by Laura Benys

Note: A version of this story originally appeared in the December 2023 issue of Connecticut Magazine.

Some places just have it all. Historic cachet. Close-knit community. To really pile on, even coastal views.

Which brings us to Guilford.

Located roughly halfway along the Connecticut shore, Guilford seems dreamed up by a particularly aspirational Hallmark writer — from its iconic town green to the third largest collection of historical homes in New England.

That’s not all. Perhaps because it draws so many visitors for its retail scene and summer high season, Guilford also happens to be really friendly to out-of-towners, as I discovered on a recent visit.

This makes it an ideal destination to explore and shop and eat, all while pretending you live in a nostalgic version of yesteryear.

SHOP

Guilford’s 8-acre town common, known locally as the Guilford Green, has been the heart of the community since 1639, and very much remains so ­— hosting walkers and happy dogs, couples relaxing on benches, and youths congregating after school. Back in the 17th century, local teens were probably carrying farming tools along its paths and gossiping loudly. Now, they carry iced coffees and gossip loudly.

If you’re a fan of the Shop Small movement, start here. The green is bordered by dozens of independent retailers in historic buildings.

Breakwater Books is in a Colonial home built in 1749. Coastal-themed RockPaperSistas' is in an old apothecary shop from 1832. Page Hardware & Appliance Co. occupies an 1857 building that was once the post office.

You get the point.

I spend an outsize amount of time wandering the rooms of Mix Design Store*, located on the first floor of a quintessential New England clapboard house.

Today owned by longtime customer Maggie Moffett Ferrell, Mix is the many-time winner of a local poll for best gift store on the shoreline, and I can see why. This is high design with a sense of humor — from duckhead umbrellas that are somehow elegant, to the entire room dedicated to barware under a neon sign proclaiming “We like to party.”

*Sad update: Mix closed in March 2024, several months after this article was published.

Here and elsewhere, I am consistently taken aback by the big smiles and warm greetings. Throughout Guilford, the shop associates are so earnestly enthusiastic — Lily at Flutterby; Din at Cilantro Specialty Foods — that I find myself hoping they know each other and, on breaks, meet to grab a made-to-order donut from Blazing Fresh Donuts.

Whatever they’re selling, I’m buying.

Where else should you shop in Guilford, CT?

  • There are too many distinctive shops on Gilford’s historic green to list. My advice is to just park and walk.

    During the holiday season, set aside extra time for Guilford Art Center, which hosts its Holiday Expo with gifts by American artists, makers and designers.

  • As your driving along Route 1, keep your eyes peeled for the “beautifully cozy” women’s shop Raven Rose Boutique; women’s consignment Cinderella’s Attic; and for the kiddos, children’s clothing shop Just Hatched and Jordie’s Toy Shoppe.

  • On top of everything else, Guilford’s is known for the year-round Bishop’s Orchards Farm Market & Winery.

    In the main building, follow the smell of fresh-baked goods to the back corner, and find not just a bakery, but a wine and hard cider bar with daily tastings.

    There’s also a toy train that makes a loop around the ceiling. It’s that kind of place.

SEE & DO

“Adhuc hic hesterne: Still here are the things of yesterday.” The Henry Whitfield State Museum is the oldest stone house still standing in New England. Photo by Laura Benys.

“Adhuc hic hesterne: Still here are the things of yesterday.”

This sign greets me at the Henry Whitfield State Museum, and it is no joke.

This is the former home of Reverend Whitfield, who led the band of puritans that set sail from England to eventually settle Guilford. Built in 1639, it’s the oldest house in Connecticut, period. It’s the oldest stone house still standing in New England — some say the nation. (Let’s say the nation then, shall we?)

The grounds are free to wander any time, and I do exactly that. They are lined with extensive stone walls which, being a proud New Englander of a certain age, I feel compelled to point out to anyone within earshot. Since I am the only one around this chilly weekday afternoon, I admire them loudly to myself.

Meanwhile, I have my heart set on seaside views. So in short order, I turn past the “no outlet” sign onto Seaside Avenue, and arrive at a stretch of sand and playground overlooking Long Island Sound, with Adirondack chairs aplenty. This is Jacob’s Beach, which requires a pricey season pass during summer, but is free in the off-season for all us secret recluses who love an empty beach. I hang out with the seagulls and an older couple who are bundled against the breeze. Across the way is Chittenden Park, another quiet spot with a short boardwalk and ocean view.

Finally, back in the car, I head to the Guilford marina. Here, I nab a parking spot looking out at the iconic Grass Island shack, a tiny barn-red shack built in 1930.

I’m not the only one with this great idea. Next to me are other cars with people taking in the view and contemplating their own deep thoughts, like whether those granite outcroppings are indeed pink, or it’s just the sunset. (They’re pink.) The woman in the next car over catches my eye and nods. I nod back, feeling inordinately proud of myself for finding the local lookout. She returns to staring seaward and sipping her coffee.

What else should you see & do in Guilford?

  • Hyland House Museum was built in 1713.

    The Thomas Griswold House is a classic New England saltbox from 1764.

    Medad Stone Tavern is a 14-room Dutch Colonial from 1803.

  • If your goal is to linger over history, the new Quinnipiac Dawnland Museum makes a couple centuries seem like pocket change.

    The collection, housed on the grounds of the historic Dudley Farm, includes hundreds of Native American artifacts from the area, like 10,000-year-old stone points that predate arrowheads.

  • From marshes to coastline to forests, the town also has hundreds of nature trails and parks, most maintained and catalogued by Guilford Land Conservation Trust.

    For an easy hike through deep forests and majestic boulder fields, Connecticut Magazine’s Peter Marteka recommends East River Woodlands.

EAT + DRINK

Speaking of sipping. It’s time to sample some of Guilford’s food and drink — and to quote a sign on the wall at Cilantro Specialty Foods, “OK but first, coffee.”

Located back at the Gilford Green, Cilantro roasts its own coffee in-house, presented alongside a selected menu of sandwiches, desserts and shelves of gourmet food. I post up at a window seat, and savor my cappuccino as shoppers stroll by outside.

It’s one of several great choices for breakfast and lunch around the green. Next door, Marketplace at Guilford Food Center, a beloved local hub, is another — with a café and deli, along with its long-time grocery store. Just north of the green, Belle Vie Café is known for tailoring its breakfasts and lunches to specialized diets, from gluten-free to Keto. It also sells classic baked goods. “If you don’t try this, you’re missing out,” one patron warns his buddy as he bites into an apple galette.

As for dinner, I find myself presented with a very good problem: too many choices. There are lots of restaurants around the green, at the harbor and along Boston Post Road, including some great seasonal options in summer and fall. (See “Where else to eat?” below. )

I am craving pizza — so I head to Pasta Avest & Pizzeria, which devotees say is some of the best woodfire pizza in Connecticut.

It has a small, brightly lit dine-in space, and a steady stream of takeout. Lucky me, the menu always includes pizza by the slice, and today’s selection includes tomato drizzled with a balsamic glaze. As a reminder to all of us, balsamic is always a good idea. Another good idea: The chocolate chip cookies by the register. They’re one of Pasta Avest’s specialties. I get one, and now regret not getting more.

Ballou’s Restaurant & Wine Bar | Guilford, CT. Ballou’s vibe is as cozy as a pub in France or England, and its menu features 80-plus wines by the glass. Also: fondue!

For a post-pizza drink, I follow the advice of an extraordinarily helpful shop associate from Ella Where She Shops, and pull up a chair in the bar area of Ballou’s Restaurant & Wine Bar. My server helps me select a rioja from the list of 80-plus wines by the glass, and I cheers to the tune of Ella Fitzgerald singing “I Get a Kick Out of You.” Next to me, a couple on what seems to be a second date orders the cheese fondue. I’m rooting for them. Two friends enter and beeline to the high-top at the window, tucked beside a flickering fireplace.

Ballou’s owners got the idea to open a wine bar in Guilford while on a trip to Europe for their 30th wedding anniversary. True to their vision, the setting here is as snug as a pub in France or England. It’s a fitting spot to bask in the afterglow of the day, and in a way, sum up my greatest takeaway from Guilford — that whatever charming small-town scene you dream up, sometimes, it is possible to step right into it.

Where else should you eat in Guilford?

  • For modern American featuring steak and a 1920s vibe, try Prime on Whitfield.

    For upscale Italian, locals swear by Quattro’s and Amarone.

  • For dining by the harbor, locals love the tiny Pa’s Place, which has limited indoor seating but an excellent patio for a bluebird day

    May through October, the Guilford Lobster Pound serves fresh-caught lobster on a deck overlooking Long Island Sound.

    Right next door, Guilford Mooring is a year-round favorite with plenty of indoor seating.

  • From May through October, The Place Restaurant is a local must. Here, seafood is cooked over a fire pit and diners sit on tree stumps.

    Along Boston Road, you can also find just about any other kind of food you’re craving.

    For example,

    Indian cuisine at Kamana, Thai at Ayuthai Restaurant (which shares a kitchen with Maritime Grille) and Italian at The Guilford Bistro & Grille Cafe.

    For vegan treats, visit Three Girls Vegan Creamery.

Travel writing, Travel photography, Explore CTLaura Benys