168 York Street Café: Eggs & Inclusivity-Brunch at New Haven’s Oldest Gay Bar

The quiche Lorraine was fluffy, flaky, and mile-high, served with a crunchy wedge salad on the side. Crab Cakes Benedict glistened alongside seasoned home fries, while tender slices of smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers on a bagel made the New York transplants at our table nod with approval. Mimosas and Bloody Marys appeared and disappeared, as did the occasional espresso martini; our server was on-the-spot and full of wit. 

Were we at a boutique hotel, a swanky resort, or a storied antique tavern? No: our delightful Sunday brunch, which easily stretched out into a two-hour party, was at 168 York Street, a laid-back gay bar on the lower level of a brownstone in downtown New Haven. The 30-seat dining room is simple and somewhat bare-bones, and the prices are equally modest: all the entrees on the brunch menu are just $12. Jumbo omelettes with veggies and meats of your choice? $12. French toast, Birds in a Nest (just like Mom used to make), even steak and eggs? Each dish only $12. Miraculous but true, and all prepared by Eddie Swanson, who has been the man behind the pan at 168 York Street for 27 years. Eddie has always managed to create big flavors in a tiny kitchen – seriously, it measures 10 by 16 feet -- with generous portions and appealing plating (orange slices are always a plus).

Let me back up a minute: when I said 168 York Street is not a storied tavern, I fibbed. In fact, it is considered by regional historians to be New England’s longest-running gay bar, and if its walls could talk, I can’t even imagine the stories they would tell. The place started life as The Pub Café on Chapel Street in 1977 and, after a fire, opened in its current location (which had been a blood-and-guts biker bar, though you’d never know it now) on Christmas Day in 1993. According to owner Joey Goodwin, it has routinely offered dinner four nights a week and brunch on Sunday. I fondly remember a period when dinnertime meant regular specials, including Meatloaf Night, when everybody from grandmas to toddlers chowed down on generous slices of saucy meatloaf with mashed potatoes and salad, and Prime Rib Fridays, when diners could choose from two portion sizes: Queen Cut or Bigger Queen Cut. 

The pandemic hit 168 York hard. “After Covid the state of Connecticut shut us down for 16 weeks, and we’re still feeling that,” explains Joey. Things have been steadily improving, however. The current Sunday brunch menu was introduced in October, and now dinner is offered Wednesdays through Saturdays (closed Mondays). “I have a lease until August of 2025, and I have no intention of going anywhere,” promises Joey. 

You don’t have to be LGBTQ+ to love brunch at 168 York Street Café. I and several similarly cis females have been going there Sunday after Sunday, making an unabashed racket, sometimes joined by Clean Plate Club hetero males. Our indulgent waiter/bartender, Walt Pastet, is always kind and unruffled; one afternoon we brought along a young teenager who lit up when Walt brought her a Shirley Temple, loaded with cherries (she never caught on that the pancake syrup was in a repurposed Frangelico bottle). As for the vegan among us, she was content ordering salads – until the day that owner Joey coaxed her into going “off menu,” then emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of steaming penne, sautéed vegetables, garlic, and olive oil that he’d cooked himself. It’s that kind of place – a friendly neighborhood watering hole with yummy food, and, on Sundays from 11-3, a beacon of brunch welcoming one and all.

168 York Street Cafe 168 York St, New Haven (203) 789-1915

The entrance is under the stairs farthest to the right of the building.