Port of Call
15 Water St.
Mystic, Conn.
July 9, 2026
Walking into Mystic’s Port of Call is like walking into a schooner that was built by Hugh Hefner – in a good way. The bistro – which is inspired by global port cities, currently themed around Paris – embraces a nautical theme but with an elevated masculine energy. Smooth leather seats surround wax-dripping, candlelit tables. Circular mirrors hang like portholes on wood-paneled walls between windows lined with velvet curtains. Even the bathroom – labeled “head” – features a charming pull flush and scented candles.
It’s a place to excuse yourself to enjoy port and cigars after dinner on the Titanic, except in this case, food and cocktails are the main event, and it’s a different kind of port.
Delicious “pain”-based options make up half the appetizer list, including baguette and butter, bread with prosciutto, and their Baked Melinda Mae, a delicious, creamy toast made from jam and Mystic’s own brie-like Melinda Mae cheese.
The star of the small plates – and arguably of the whole menu – is the champignons larb salad. The flavorful dish features chopped maitake mushrooms served with aged fish sauce, fermented chilis, lemongrass, ginger, mint and cilantro. Despite its more pungent ingredients, it is refreshingly light and minty, the fish sauce almost undetectable.
The fishiness, unfortunately, appears to have transported itself to the bouillabaisse, where even the strongest pescatarians among our group found the flavor overwhelming and unpleasant.
Main plates offerings feature French classics like coq au vin fried chicken, tuna nicoise salad and steak frites. The menu’s French Onion Burger is a highlight here, served cut in half and face down atop a shallow sea of gruyere. The pommes frites that accompanied the fried plates could have used more seasoning to counter the potato-skin dominant flavor.
A better side is the Honey Harissa Carrots, another star of the menu and arguably the best carrots I’ve eaten in my entire life. The carrots were rich and flavorful, perfectly cooked in Middle Eastern za’atar herbs, topped with toasted sesame seeds and balanced with a lemony creme fraiche.
The menu’s two dessert options include a chocolate mousse and a Paris-Brest baklava, a bagel-shaped take on the Middle Eastern dessert with a creamy honey pistachio center. But the mousse reigns supreme, with a unique, rich olive oil flavor, topped with sea salt to complement the dark chocolate.
For many patrons, especially locals, the extensive cocktail list is the anchor of Port of Call. The Curry Barbados is one of the restaurant’s most popular options, featuring three-year-aged Real McCoy rum mixed with curry, ginger, lime, bitter chocolate and fennel bitters. The curry and ginger mix gives the drink a light but subtle kick, and the taste was otherwise fresh. It did, however, leave me with an aftertaste that unfortunately had notes of disinfectant, but none of my fellow diners shared that experience.
Despite its flaws, Port of Call is a pleasant establishment and a perfect complement for the coastal town.
