"In various forms, the Anchor Spa has been a Connecticut institution since 1939. Across from the Shubert Theatre, steps from College Street Music Hall, and around the bend from Yale Repertory Theatre, it had aged into a well-loved, sometimes raucous dive known for its blue facade and diverse cross section of guests. It shuttered in 2015, but less than a year later, Yale alum Karl Franz Williams — who also owns Harlem cocktail lounge 67 Orange Street — gave it a vibrant new life with fantastic cocktails and food to match. Sink into one of the round booths framed by collegiate wood shelving and order the Yale Beets Harvard, a bold yet balanced cocktail featuring two types of rum, beet syrup, orange acid, and molasses bitters, or a mule with house-made Uncle Waithley’s Scotch bonnet ginger beer. For food, try the goat curry, the shrimp and garlic fry bread sandwich, or a generous plate of plantain chips." - Stasia Brewczynski
