Hartford Taste Festival Recap

Have you ever had that experience where you wanted to order everything off the menu? Do you want to sample some of the best cuisine from the Hartford region in one convenient place? Look no further than the Hartford Taste Festival. If you missed it, mark your calendar for next year!

The first-ever Hartford Taste Festival (presented by The Hartford) was developed “to further generate and extend community pride in Hartford and Connecticut, via a collective experience that proudly recognizes, showcases, and celebrates our restaurants, musical talent, businesses, and people.”  

This two-day festival brought together some of the top eateries from around the Greater Hartford region, in addition to live music, crafts, and vendors. With support from The Hartford, the Hartford Chamber of Commerce is providing the opportunity for area restaurants to participate in the festival at no charge. Most of the restaurants featured at the festival can be found in Hartford, with other restaurants coming from West Hartford, East Hartford, Windsor, New Britain, and Bloomfield.

Hungry? Each of the participating restaurants have designated food booths around Constitution Plaza, where festival attendees can purchase three to five ‘taste portions' of favorite menu items. 

Some of the taste portions were perfect snack sizes, while others could totally count as a small meal depending on your appetite. We suggest taking a quick walk around the plaza to get a lay of the land and to pick which booths you want to visit (and perhaps re-visit!).

Want to sample some of the menu items yourself? Forget cash, tokens are the currency of choice at the Hartford Taste Festival. The festival sells $1 and $5 tokens to purchase on the day of the event at the Main Entrance Tent, as well as other Token Tents which are located on-site.

Keep in mind that the food booths do not accept cash or card – tokens only!

From pizza to tacos to empanadas to ice cream, there’s a food item here for just about every palate. Note that popular menu items might sell out (which we ran into multiple times, though there were still plenty of food booths to try), so you may want to consider arriving earlier rather than later if you want first dibs.

If you’re local to the Hartford area, then you’ll likely recognize many of the restaurants represented at the festival. If you’re traveling in from around Connecticut, then this is a great opportunity to introduce yourself to a wide array of eateries in a short period of time. Most of the food is prepared to order, and we thoroughly enjoyed each stop we made along the way. 

Just a few of the restaurants appearing at the festival include Aurora’s on Capitol Avenue in Hartford, Cora Cora on Shield Street in West Hartford, Jerk Shack Restaurant on Park Street in Hartford, Poké Sushi on State House Square in Hartford, and The Place2Be with multiple locations in Hartford and West Hartford. 

Thirsty? Pick up a beer from Thomas Hooker, or a fresh squeezed juice from Juiced Up Juice Bar.

When it’s time for dessert, stop by Disheveled Diva for some refreshing ice cream topped with their signature homemade buttercream frosting.

No matter what you choose, you’re sure to have a good time enjoying great food and drinks in this family-friendly atmosphere. The live bands performing on the festival’s two stages provide the soundtrack for a great day or night out in Hartford. 

The Hartford Taste Festival takes place on June 10th and 11th from 11AM-10PM. The event is located in Constitution Plaza and admission to the event is free. LAZ is offering $5 parking all summer (for close parking, the Constitution Plaza Parking Garage is your best bet). If you’re into a little bit of competition, there will be a cooking contest on Saturday from 2PM-3PM. The contestants include Chion Wolf of WNPR, Jim Kane of Webster Bank, and Rev Lydell Brown of Th 224 and The Conference of Churches.