The Laurel Opens in West Hartford: A Global Menu From Former Millwright’s Chef Ashley Flagg

Leeanne Griffin January 21, 2025

Chili Shrimp, Oyster Plate
Profile Photo c/o Mike Chiovitti @growth.media.mgmt

The Guinness signs and pug-themed decor have disappeared, and the menu no longer features fish and chips, Irish nachos and shepherd’s pie. The new era of The Corner Pug’s space begins Jan. 23, as chef Ashley Flagg officially opens her first restaurant, The Laurel, in West Hartford.

In July, The Corner Pug’s owner Ted Vetter announced he would close his Irish pub on New Britain Avenue after more than 20 years in business, citing his age and rising costs as reasons for the decision. Soon after, Flagg announced she would be taking over the landmark space in West Hartford’s Elmwood neighborhood, with plans for globally-inspired shareable plates.

Flagg, who most recently served as the executive chef at Millwright’s in Simsbury, co-owns The Laurel with her wife, Rebekah, who is also the general manager. The couple lives in Bloomfield and initially wanted to open their first restaurant there, Flagg said, but they weren’t able to find the right space to fit their needs. When they next toured The Corner Pug, they knew they could make their vision work there.

“You walk in and you immediately see the exposed brick, the tin ceilings; it’s an older building,” Flagg said. “We’re really going for comfort in our overall concept, and this building gives that. It has such a good feeling when you walk in the door, which I think is why it’s been a bar and restaurant for so long. It’s just very successfully a cozy environment.”

The Laurel hosted a preview night Monday for friends and family, showcasing its offerings with influences from multiple continents. Spanish pintxos share menu space with Peruvian-style hearts of palm ceviche, North Indian tofu kaju masala, Manila clams in Thai tom kha broth and Japanese karaage chicken with crispy rice cakes and black bean aioli.

“It’s just a natural way for me to cook,” Flagg said of the wide-ranging flavors, noting that there’s no “set cuisine” at The Laurel. Her career path was inspired by her grandmother, who was raised in northern Spain’s Basque Country and has also lived in Mexico and Nicaragua – but learned to cook in the United States from Julia Child cookbooks.

Flagg wanted to learn more about her grandmother’s background through the cuisines where she’d lived, she said, and later sought inspiration from “what everyone else’s grandmother cooked.”

At Millwright’s, Flagg asked for input from her team members, learning recipes from cuisines she didn’t know as well and encouraging them to create dishes that she’d eventually add to the restaurant menu. A dishwasher there taught her to make lablabi, a Tunisian chickpea soup, and a Ghanaian cook showed her a recipe for a traditional West African peanut stew – which later ended up on the menu at The Laurel. When the team members’ dishes made the cut for the Millwright’s menu, the kitchen staff would cheer and celebrate every time one of their colleagues’ items came up on a guest ticket. She’s continuing that tradition at the new eatery.

“I love it. I think it gives them ownership in the restaurant and connects them more fully to our project,” she said. “And it also is just super fun for me to learn from them.”

Flagg said her opening team is “killing it” both in the front and back of the house positions, praising her executive sous chef Jetzel Cruz in particular.

“He’s just going to be a big [deal] in the Connecticut restaurant industry, and I hope he stays with me as long as he can tolerate me,” she said. “He is just so very talented.”

The menu’s categories include “chilled” items, with a selection of raw oysters, hamachi crudo with carrot-coconut vinaigrette and shrimp pintxos served with giardiniera gribiche on a focaccia crisp. A lineup of vegetable plates features two salads, including a spicy Caesar with chili crunch, and roasted elephant garlic served with pimento cheese compound butter. Several vegan options include artichoke rangoons made with yuzu kosho cashew cream cheese and plant-based Argentinian-style empanadas made with lentils, cashews and a chimichurri aioli.

Flagg said she and her wife began following a more plant-based diet a few years ago, and were intrigued by cuisines that naturally offer more vegan options, like Jamaican and Indian dishes. As diners, they didn’t find enough plant-based options when they’d go out, she said, so as entrepreneurs, “we recognized that gap in the market, and we’re really going to lean into it as much as we can at the restaurant.”

Seafood plates include grilled rainbow trout with romesco beurre blanc, chili shrimp with garlic bread and a Hong Kong-style shrimp toast with lobster, nuoc cham, sesame and herb salad. Heartier meat plates include a spicy sausage agnolotti with vodka-style sauce, pork belly char siu, an 8-ounce griddled burger with pimento cheese and crispy cheddar and a 12-ounce New York strip with ancho chili jus and pink peppercorn gastrique.

Flagg focuses on using top local farms and purveyors, sourcing produce from Young Farms in East Granby, duck and chicken from Bella Bella Gourmet Foods in West Haven and breads from Small State Provisions, with bakery locations in Avon and West Hartford.

The global inspiration extends to the beverage menu, with composed cocktails like A Thousand Faces (Trinidadian rum, Vietnamese spiced gin, bianco vermouth, strawberry, pineapple, tarragon and coconut oil) and Boogie Nights, with Japanese whiskey, Jamaican rum, PX sherry, apricot, orange tawny port and aromatic bitters. The Anything But features Junmai sake, sushi rice-soaked barrel reserve gin, yuzu and pandan. Other drinks include twists on classics, like the Paloma with butter-washed blanco tequila, mezcal, grapefruit soda and lime.

Flagg said beverage manager Michela Zurstadt has curated a list of spirits by companies that are predominantly female and/or minority-owned and operated, and Rebekah Flagg has done the same with the restaurant’s wine list.

“It took a lot of extra care and meetings and tastings, but it seemed like the right move for us,” she said.

Desserts lean fun and nostalgic, with the Unbirthday Cake (angel food cake with rainbow sprinkles, cream cheese icing and toasted meringue), a salted caramel creme brulee and a chocolate icebox tart with graham cracker crust, whipped cream and cinnamon spiced cocoa. A vegan whipped cheesecake features sugar cookie crumble, citrus, coconut and cashew, and the Okinawa sweet potato crinkle cake features roasted purple potatoes and sweet cardamom custard among layers of flaky phyllo dough.

The Laurel will be open Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday for dinner to start, Flagg said, closing Tuesday and Wednesday to give the team two consecutive days off in a row. Dinner hours will start at 5 p.m. on those days, and as they settle in, she hopes to add weekend brunch hours and happy hour.

The Laurel is at 1046 New Britain Ave. in West Hartford. 959-333-4968, thelaurelrestaurantandbar.com, @thelaurelct.