Instead of waiting for next summer to enjoy the Connecticut restaurant’s menu, diners can stop in all winter long.
That is because, after an electrical fire damaged the interior of West Shore Seafood in 2024, the owner saw an opportunity to open the restaurant year-round.
Owner Susie Bertaccini Pregno created a winter menu, which was revealed to customers. There’s a smoked fish dip, crab cakes, a salmon BLT, baked shrimp, fish and chips, an Angus burger and grilled swordfish. New additions include a pork ribeye dinner, Tuscan chicken and stuffed butternut squash. Pregno’s exclusive recipe for lobster butter biscuits, chicken wings and lobster ravioli are also featured.
“I wanted to have a new variety of food on the winter menu, for dining in,” Pregno said. “Also, our summer menu is pre-ordered at the window. This is a sit-down menu. I also wanted to keep it tight, with different dishes. I think people will like it.”
The fire, which happened in January last year, caused enough damage to require reconstruction of the kitchen and store.
“We decided it was an opportunity to do something to keep it going all year,” said Pregno, who opened West Shore Seafood in 2007. “We had heavy smoke damage and some structural damage, and we had to gut the building.”
The project took more than a year to complete. “In the summer of 2024, we reopened with a trailer and ran the restaurant while the work was going on,” Pregno said. “We opened the first week of June with the new kitchen and restrooms, but we had to wait for the bar top to open the dining room.”
The custom L-shaped bar was a special order, created by a company in North Carolina out of ground oyster shells, was worth the wait, she said.
“It just made the whole room come together,” Pregno said.
Charlie Russell, a neighbor, stopped in for a beer and admitted it was his first time at the seafood restaurant. As Pregno discussed the menu, he said he was getting hungry.
“My wife’s got dinner waiting at home,” he said with a laugh. “I’m definitely coming back here soon.”
Waitress Hayden Southard and bartender Caitlin Orsino were on duty, waiting on customers in the dining room.
Southard, who’s worked at West Shore Seafood for three years, said that during the summer, the big favorite on the menu were the lobster rolls.
“I don’t know what (the favorite) will be with the new menu,” she said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
The new section, which seats about 20 people, features tables for two or four people, with wicker chairs and shiny white tabletops. The bar seats about eight people. New windows provide plenty of natural light.
The décor is simple and bright, with cream-colored walls, a few nautical decorations and green plants; restrooms are located adjacent to the restaurant’s small seafood store, which offers customers fresh fish and shellfish daily. Frozen salmon burgers are ready to take away from a small freezer.
Google reviews mostly rave about the food, such as one diner who said, “The lobster rolls are the best in northwest CT. The shrimp and grits are likely the top 5 I have ever had. Burgers are cooked to your preference. Dry rub wings are delish! Well crafted cocktails that hit the spot. The staff is lovely and attentive.”
Adjacent to the dining room, a flagstone patio is now enclosed by a tent with a service bar, stools, tables and chairs, which was used for gatherings during the summer and early fall. Beyond the patio, a grassy yard is filled with picnic tables, a white outdoor tent with more seating, and a large parking lot. During the summer, parents can bring their children and even the family pet for dinner outdoors.
By dinner time, the parking lot was filling up, and customers were filing in, curious to see the space and the new menu.
Pregno, who spends much of her time in the kitchen, was happy to see people arriving for dinner, and to be open at last.
“Special things take time,” she said, running her hand over the customer oyster-shell bar. “We had a great summer; the weather was fantastic. Now we’re just looking forward to welcoming our customers to the new space.”
West Shore Seafood is located on Route 209 or 449 Bantam Lake Road in Morris. Call 860-567-8000, visit Westshoreseafood.com or find them on Instagram or Facebook.