The town was buzzing today with news. Did you hear? Are you going? What time? I’ll meet you there. You’d think the excitement would be surrounding the Bruin’s game 7, but in this case what got us locals excited is that Trafford’s, the large waterfront restaurant on Water St., finally opened up tonight after much anticipation. I needed no excuse to do a little field investigation, for the blog of course, to find out what Trafford’s is all about.
I walked down Water St. to find a crew of young men in blue polo shirts valet parking cars at the entrance to the restaurant. Yeah, ya heard me. Valet. It is always such a nice touch; it makes me feel indulged.
The extremely friendly hostess greeted us immediately (something I take note of in restaurants) and gave us our choice of seating, inside or out. Inside was bright and sunny thanks to tall ceilings and an airy color scheme accentuated by blond woods and a few bold accent colors. Outside overlooked the water and a tent protected patrons from the sun. While my seat faced towards the town, I realized that I had a peaceful view as well with full lush trees shadowing over the historic homes of Water Street and the spire of the Warren Methodist Church poking through the canopy.
Outdoor seating just in time for summer!
The menu is a pleasant surprise. If you have been to Marguerite’s, the other restaurant owned by the Kane family, you’ll find the offerings at Trafford’s to be a bit younger and fresher. The hostess told me they aim to use local products; the menu detailed these facts for me.
I had a red sangria and I deemed it delicious. If I wasn’t the type of person who can’t order the same thing all the time, the sangria would be my drink there. It was well-garnished; no worries about scurvy over here. And yay! Two maraschino cherries! The sangria was not cloyingly sweet like other sangria, it also was a cocktail that was worth the $8. Another one of those and this post would probably be a little inappropriate. My husband liked the beer selection. This is not an inane statement – he likes a decent beer, as do most people in Warren. He enjoyed a Brooklyn Summer Ale which was elegantly served in a stemmed beer glass.
We just ordered snacks and therefore weren’t able to give the menu a full work out. The oysters Trafford were one of those snacks, and they were mind-blowingly wonderful. Sorry for the hyperbole, but they were really that good. I can’t recall everything that was on the oysters, but they had an artichoke pesto, some greens, and a bread crumb topping then baked. There was a lemon flavor in there too that burst in your mouth and made the bitter, buttery, and saltiness all make sense together.
We ate them all then remembered to take a picture. Woops!
The rest of the menu was very appealing and I have placed it in the category of restaurants that will please everyone – your foodie friends and your traditional grandparents. I could see it being very romantic as well as a damn good time. At the very least, I look forward to many more cocktails outside watching the sunset. See you there!
– Kristen from This is Warren