Greenmans' Landing offers upscale family fare at Mystic Seaport
Mystic — For several decades, The Galley was the place at Mystic Seaport Museum where visitors could grab a burger, hot dog or sandwich.
It's now been renovated into the spacious Greenmans' Landing, with whitewashed wooden walls and ceilings with blue trim, newly painted floors, new tables and benches and ordering kiosks with touch screens. Tables offer views of the village green and the waterfront. There is a separate room that can be used by groups such as summer campers and a drawing of the steamboat Sabino is etched into the glass doors.
But the biggest change might be the menu.
Among the offerings are grilled salmon BLT, beer batter cod wrap, sea salt and lemon pepper calamari, disco fries with cheddar cheese, bacon and chicken gravy, lobster and corn bisque and butterfly shrimp po boy. The chicken club includes fresh avocado puree and fresh citrus and the restaurant's own butter is used with the clam frites. Desserts include Key Lime pie and Sarsaparilla float.
"We wanted to give it a higher-end feel," chef Dennis Anderson said Thursday about the changes.
But there still is a burger and hot dog and the kids' menu features traditional favorites. Sandwiches, which come with french fries, range from $12 to $20. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Anderson said his firm Lancer Hospitality invested $600,000 in the 140-seat restaurant and also is running the museum's Spouter Tavern and the new coffee shop in the Thompson Building named Propellor. The Seaport receives a portion of the revenue from the three operations. Renovations began in January on Greenmans' Landing and it opened last month.
A table in the restaurant features locally made food products, and Anderson said he hopes to partner with local food vendors. There is also a coffee bar that sells Fuel Coffee and a grab-and-go area with ready-made sandwiches.
The upscaled Greenmans' Landing is among various museum efforts to improve food offerings and offer more events and opportunities for visitors to get out on the water.
Lancer Hospitality is a subsidiary of culinary management group Elior North America, and specializes in institutions including museums, zoos and aquariums. Lancer started working with Mystic Aquarium in 2019. Coastal Gourmet had been running the Galley Restaurant and catering operations but its contract expired.
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