The Port of Call

"Restaurants in Mystic, Connecticut, where Executive Chef Reneé Touponce struggles to find advanced cooks with specific skills post-pandemic." - Adam Reiner

"The Port of Call is another of Mystic’s newer marquee restaurants, and the group behind it, Dan Meiser’s 85th Day Food Collective — which also runs Engine Room in Mystic and the new Haring’s just down the road in Noank — ignited Mystic’s modern dining renaissance with the opening of Oyster Club in 2011." - Adam H. Callaghan

"International small plates, fancy cocktails, and a side of jazz or a drag show in a room with a horseshoe bar made from salvaged boats—welcome to Port of Call. Any of the small plates here are good, like Hawaiian pork musubi, squid ink empanadas, dumpling soup, and smoking kofta, and the eclecticism really works. All of the dishes somehow play well together, and so do the cocktails like the Quiet Night in Tokyo with rum, nori, and sesame. If you want to keep the night going after dinner, find the stairs near the restrooms and stroll down to Dive. The rowdy little bar has an under-the-sea theme, loud music, a photobooth, and cheap pours of good wine." - tanya edwards

"International small plates, fancy cocktails, and a side of jazz or a drag show in a room with a horseshoe bar made from salvaged boats—welcome to Port of Call. Any of the small plates here are good, like Hawaiian pork musubi, squid ink empanadas, dumpling soup, and smoking kofta, and the eclecticism really works. All of the dishes somehow play well together, and so do the cocktails like the Quiet Night in Tokyo with rum, nori, and sesame. If you want to keep the night going after dinner, find the stairs near the restrooms and stroll down to Dive. The rowdy little bar has an under-the-sea theme, loud music, a photobooth, and cheap pours of good wine." - Tanya Edwards

"Renee Touponce of the Port of Call in Mystic, Connecticut for Outstanding Chef." - Erika Adams