Arethusa al Tavolo, Bantam, Connecticut

The Litchfield Hills splurge worth planning a trip around — a farm-to-table New American restaurant fed by its own dairy farm next door, and an OpenTable Top-100-in-the-US pick.

The short version

• A celebrated farm-to-table restaurant in Bantam, in the heart of the Litchfield Hills, opened in 2013 and named to OpenTable’s Top 100 in the country.
• Nearly everything ties back to the Arethusa Dairy Farm right next door — the milk, cream, butter, cheese, and ice cream all come from their own ~350 cows.
• It’s the “one dinner you book ahead” of a Litchfield Hills weekend — refined, seasonal, and genuinely special.

What is it?

Arethusa al Tavolo sits beside the Arethusa Farm Dairy store on Bantam Road, and the connection is the whole point: the restored Arethusa Dairy Farm raises some 350 cows, and chef Dan Magill builds an innovative New American, farm-to-table menu around their milk, cream, yogurt, butter, and cheese. It’s polished without being stuffy — the kind of dinner that makes a Litchfield Hills weekend feel like an occasion.

Why go?

Because every Five-Star Math trip has one meal you actually plan the day around, and in the Litchfield Hills this is it. Save your splurge for here — and don’t leave without something made from the farm’s own dairy.

Good to know

• Where: 828 Bantam Road, Bantam, Connecticut.
• Reservations: book well ahead — check the official site.
• Cost: the weekend’s splurge dinner — worth it.
• Pair with: the Litchfield Hills foliage drive.

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