After nearly a decade in Milford’s Woodmont neighborhood, the Beach House restaurant shuttered in January. But a month later, the team in charge of its newest incarnation announced that it would become Gulf & Anchor, a stylish but approachable American bistro.
Beach House owner Frank Perrotti Jr., also known for his former 500 Blake Street in New Haven and Colonial Tymes in Hamden, brought on two other well-known names from the shoreline’s restaurant scene to help with the conversion. Executive chef Jeffrey Renkl, former co-owner of Westbrook’s Café Routier, came on board to modernize the menu, and Suzette Franco-Camacho, former co-owner of New Haven’s Roomba and Bespoke and Branford’s The Suburban and Tacuba, was tasked with updating the interior design. She has stayed on as general manager.
Gulf & Anchor, named for two Milford beaches, debuted in early May just in time for the busy summer season in the coastal city. Franco-Camacho and Renkl describe it as a “total changeover,” with new flooring, banquettes and paint. The new space with seating for 220 is appropriately ocean-themed, with cerulean and navy hues illuminated by modern pendant lighting; a sea creature motif features fish and an octopus stretching its tentacles along the length of a back wall. The vintage bar remains, as does the open kitchen format, with its attractive gas-fired stone oven.
The new, more contemporary menu is heavy on fresh fish and shellfish, but with crowd-pleasing variety and accessible price points. When Renkl first came to Milford, “I barely looked at the [old] menu,” he said. “It was heavier, more continental. We’re focusing on fresh and seasonal.”
Franco-Camacho says the perception was that Beach House was pricier, so guests would come for special occasions and not for casual meals. “We’d rather have people come in here all the time,” Renkl said.
With the restaurant’s proximity to the waterfront, “it just makes sense to be seafood-heavy,” he said. And it is – a raw bar features Blue Point oysters, littleneck clams and jumbo shrimp, and starters and “shareables” ($7 to $15) include clam chowder with roasted poblano peppers, seared sea scallops and Rhode Island calamari. Mussel pots, ($19) are served in three preparations: “Marseilles” with white wine, garlic and tomatoes; blackened, with Andouille sausage and “cornhusker” with bacon, scallion and corn cream sauce, accompanied by grilled toast and pommes frites.
An Indian-spiced salmon dish and a Portuguese fisherman’s stew are among the entrée highlights, and a summery pan-seared halibut features heirloom tomatoes and basil. The Connecticut-style lobster roll with butter, lemon and chives – made with freshly cooked and picked lobster meat – has been a natural best-seller.
“We might as well just make those all day,” Franco-Camacho said. “We knew once we put that on the menu, that would be the case.”
But there are plenty of “land” dishes to satisfy as well, like the aged 12-ounce New York strip with bourbon butter, a newly introduced grilled marinated leg of lamb, and grilled chicken with trofie pasta. A “house-blend” beef burger with aged cheddar fondue, glazed bacon and crispy onions “surprisingly sells very well,” Renkl said, especially on Friday nights. Conversely, a vegan dish of stuffed baby eggplant with white bean and artichoke ragout has been so popular since day one, he said, they’ve chosen not to rotate it out.
Although many are coming in for traditional dinner service (with entrees priced at $17 to $29,) neighborhood-area visitors are enjoying more casual options. Gulf & Anchor offers a rotating prix-fixe menu on Tuesday through Thursday nights, with two courses for $19 or three courses for $24. Guests will come in specifically for that deal, Renkl said, or they’ll take a seat at the bar and enjoy a cheese plate with a glass of wine. Weekday happy hour specials include buck-a-shuck raw oysters, flatbreads and discounted drinks, wine and beer.
Next, Gulf & Anchor plans to finish its patio, adding another 50 to 60 seats for outdoor diners. Renkl will continue to keep the menu fresh, adding and subtracting new plates as seasons change or inspiration strikes. “I tend to get bored very quickly with my own items,” he said. “I always try to move forward.”
In Milford, he says he’s enjoyed the community of locals, and says word is starting to spread outside of city limits to surrounding towns.
“I believe people expected Beach House at first. But I think we’re starting to make a lot of new friends.”
Gulf & Anchor, 141 Merwin Ave., Milford, is open Tuesday through Thursday, 5 to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 5 to 9:30 p.m. 203-877-9300 and gulfandanchor.com.
