Connecticut Eats · Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury restaurants: apizza & lobster rolls
In and around Waterbury, our lists hold 2 apizza places, 2 lobster roll and clam shack stops, 2 hot dog and burger icons, and 4 diners and dairy bars, each checked open in October 2026. Beyond the lists, the Connecticut Eats app's directory covers 266 restaurants, cafés, bars, and bakeries in Waterbury, nearest first.
Free for iPhone and iPad. Until the App Store release, ask for early access by email.
Waterbury at a glance
In the app's directory, Waterbury has 266 places to eat and drink. Bar & Pub (42), Coffee & Café (27), and Sandwiches & Deli (25) lead the mix. We matched 76 of them to an active state liquor permit. 59 belong to chains with five or more Connecticut locations. 2 made our hand-checked lists; longest at one address: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, there since 2017.
On our lists in Waterbury
Every place in Waterbury that made our hand-checked lists, most honored first. The order comes from honors and years at the address; it isn't a rating. Honors are reported as facts from the James Beard Foundation's own records and other named sources. Longest at the same address: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in Waterbury, there since 2017. See Connecticut's oldest restaurants for all 55 with a year at the same address.
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
130 Reidville Drive, Waterbury
Apizza Known for: white clam pie; original tomato pie · At this address since 2017 · A branch of Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, New Haven
Waterbury branch of Pepe's with a coal-fired oven.
Frankie's
700 Watertown Ave, Waterbury
Hot dogs Known for: foot-long hot dog
Waterbury location of Frankie's, the family hot dog business founded in the city in 1933 and known for its foot-long dog.
Apizza in and near Waterbury
In Waterbury itself: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (above). Elsewhere within 10 miles, nearest first. The statewide guide lists 27. 1 more place in Waterbury has “Apizza” in the name but hasn't been checked by hand: find it in the web search.
Fuoco Coal Fired Apizza
461 West Main St, Cheshire · 7 mi from Waterbury
Apizza Known for: coal-fired thin-crust pie; Money Hots pie
Small Cheshire counter-and-banquette spot baking New Haven-style pies in a coal-fired oven.
Lobster rolls and clam shacks in and near Waterbury
Nearest first, out to 15 miles. The statewide guide lists 58.
Westbrook Lobster
300 Church St, Wallingford · 12 mi from Waterbury
Lobster roll Known for: hot buttered; lobster roll; mega lobster roll
Inland location of Westbrook Lobster, a seafood market turned restaurant, serving warm buttered Connecticut-style rolls.
Glenwood Drive-In
2538 Whitney Ave, Hamden · 13 mi from Waterbury
Lobster rollHot dogs Known for: charbroiled hot dogs; hot relish; lobster roll; onion rings
Route 10 drive-in serving charbroiled hot dogs and burgers for more than 70 years, plus summer lobster rolls.
Hot dog and burger icons in and near Waterbury
In Waterbury itself: Frankie's (above). Elsewhere within 10 miles, nearest first. The statewide guide lists 21. The directory files 2 other places in Waterbury under hot dogs, not yet checked by hand: find them in the web search.
Blackie's Hot Dog Stand
2200 Waterbury Rd, Cheshire · 4 mi from Waterbury
Hot dogs Known for: hot dogs; homemade hot pepper relish · At this address since 1928
Roadside Cheshire hot dog stand around since 1928, known for its homemade hot pepper relish.
Diners and dairy bars in and near Waterbury
Nearest first, out to 10 miles. The statewide guide lists 45. 4 more places in Waterbury have “Diner” in the name but haven't been checked by hand: find them in the web search.
Big Dipper Ice Cream
91 Waterbury Rd, Prospect · 4 mi from Waterbury
Dairy bar Known for: 50+ rotating flavors; ice cream cakes · At this address since 1986
Prospect parlor churning ice cream in the same building since 1986, with flavors that rotate daily.
Sweet Claude's
493 West Main St, Cheshire · 7 mi from Waterbury
Dairy bar Known for: homemade ice cream; non-dairy flavors
Cheshire homemade ice cream parlor since 1988, now on West Main Street.
Rich Farm Ice Cream
691 Oxford Rd, Oxford · 9 mi from Waterbury
Dairy bar Known for: farm-made ice cream; waffle cones · At this address since 1994
Ice cream stand on a working family dairy farm; ice cream is made daily on the farm.
Rich Farm Ice Cream
409 Hill St, Bristol · 10 mi from Waterbury
Dairy bar Known for: farm-made ice cream · A branch of Rich Farm Ice Cream, Oxford
Bristol scoop shop of Oxford's Rich Farm, serving the farm's ice cream.
What Waterbury eats
The 10 most common kinds among the 266 listings in Waterbury, from open map data and the state's liquor-permit list. Tap one to search Waterbury for it.