The New York Times noted food items from Haring’s menu such as its smoked bluefish, fried cod sandwich, steamed lobster, seared tuna with jasmine rice, pickled cucumbers, steak frites and quash curry in its list. Other highlights of its menu include its hot buttered lobster roll, burgers and sandwiches including its lobster grilled cheese.
The publication also mentioned that Haring’s chef Chris Vanasse and Port of Call’s Renee Touponce are chef-partners in 85th Day, a Mystic-area restaurant group that The New York Times said is “glowing up the area.”
The location of Haring’s dates back to 1931, when Haring’s Marine, a boat rental business, was opened by Al and Cornelia Haring. Throughout the years, the space has housed various businesses, including a bait and tackle shop, fuel dock, a lobster pound and eventually Ford’s Lobster. Haring’s took over the Ford’s space in 2024.
In August, Haring’s won a $50,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to preserve its restaurant and renovate the establishment. It was one of 50 restaurants around the nation to win a National Trust for Historic Preservation grant.
Currently, Haring’s offers both indoor and waterside dining options, but has not been able to operate out of its iconic buoy-covered lobster shack, because the building is in “pretty rough shape,” Dan Meiser, one of the partners at Haring’s, told CT Insider in August.
Haring’s owners intend to restore the building— which was the fictional Ferreira Lobsters that Kat Araújo (Annabeth Gish) rode past on her moped to deliver pizza to her mother in “Mystic Pizza” — into an operating lobster shack again. The grant requires all renovations to be completed by January 2026.
This story includes previous reporting by Staff Writer Nathaniel Rosenberg.
