Steve’s Place

My fav place in Newington! I have been here many times and the grinders on fresh bread always comfort me :)

I think I just found my breakfast place. The two eggs, hash, potatoes, and rye toast are the best I’ve have ever had in my 56 years of life. Wowzer!

Oh… where to start.
Dark, old and dirty is the first impression walking in. Menu’s posted everywhere… specials board as you walk in, signs on the counter, signs on the wall behind the counter. Takes a few minutes to figure out where to look.
First time in, I decide to go conservative. I order a chicken parm grinder, ½ size since they warn you how large the full is.
First question I get is, «Do you want cheese?» Well… it’s a Chicken PARMESAN… the word MEANS CHEESE. I should have bailed right there.
I say yes only to hear,“What kind?”
Worried, I respond traditionally with,“Mozzarella please.” To which I he says,“American, Provolone, or Swiss (???)?“
Floored…I choose provolone against my better judgement. America and certainly swiss was NOT an option.
Next question, «Do you want sauce?» WHAT? I think I just nodded yes at this point. Putting the nail in the coffin I hear,“Peppers?”
It’s simple… a chicken parm grinder is fried chicken cutlets, melted mozzarella cheese and parmesan, sauce on toasted italian bread. No need for these other questions.
I’m told to go sit down and they will deliver the food. I can pay after. I look in the display for a side salad or something and only see untouched potato salad and cold cuts sitting unwrapped on a shelf. I grab a bag of chips and a soda from the very small selection they have of both.
The grinder shows up. Big fuffy white bread loaf… not toasted or warm. Not crunchy and barely holds up to the stuff inside the sandwich. Not nearly enough chicken to fill the bread and COLD slices of provolone sitting on the chicken. The sauce, what little there was is sucked into the dry white bread. The chicken and sauce fresh from the microwave are void of flavor and the texture of the bread is a mushy like paste from absorbing the sauce.
Here is the kicker. No choice to get mozzarella on the sandwich… but as I walk out I see on the specials board there was Eggplant «Parm» (they used the air quotes… not me) which says it has melted mozzarella on it!
Brutal. Glad a friend paid for lunch.
No thanks.

I use to stop in on a regular basis when I worked in the area back in the late 90’s. I’ve been back a few times since. The food is really good and I always seemed to get good sized sandwiches. However, it is very pricey. The staff friendliness can be hit or miss.

This is simply the best you can do for good food in Newington. Great quality and delicious. Well worth spending a little bit more than a $ 5 foot long.

Excellent food. Highly recommend! Even though they have a huge menu. I always get the meatball grinder. It’s delicious.

this is probably my favorite local place to eat around town.
now, while i have been here plenty and have not tried must of the menu because i get the same thing over and over usually, those same things i keep ordering i can vouch for.
the meatball grinder is fantastic (cheese, sauce, peppers),
as is the steak and cheese (light on the mayo, peppers).
and im sure along the line i have had a turkey grinder, chicken cutlet, all with lettuce, tomato, cheese and those were superb as well.
the people working there are usually rather friendly too, and if you have been going for a while you notice that they employ the local newington kids/​teenagers and keep that cycle going. which is great for the community.
i have read reviews that say «one step up from subway», or «too pricey». give me a break. too pricey? how can you get a half grinder (which is filling), a bag of chips and a beverage for $ 10 and sometimes less depending on the grinder. i am absolutely OK with that.
if you’re not willing to spend $ 5 – 10 on a quality grinder/​sandwich (w/​drink/​chips), then you shouldnt be out eating in the first place.
and as for subway? have any of you been to a subway? they are all the same, they are all terrible. you want to talk about overpriced and being ripped off? then subway is your place. i mean, unless you really, really like extra breading and lettuce. which by reading some of your remarks, you do.
overall i have never had a poor experience at steve’s place, and i do enjoy the food. the service is fast and the pricing is on par for 2012. it’s a small business, they dont have 5000 shops around the nation. respect and appreciate what you have in town, or else this will one day be «another» subway.

I’ve been going to Steve’s since I was a kid riding my bike into the center of Newington. They have the best Steak & Cheese I’ve had. What’s weird is that I’ve noticed that if I get it to go the cheese melts as I drive home and makes it even better! Not that there’s anything wrong with eating there but somehow it seems better if it takes a 7 minute car ride first! I’ve had plenty of other subs from this place but I always come back to the Steak & Cheese. Also, don’t miss the Tort & Brocc and their pickles.

I love this place! I eat here once a week. The price is not prohibitive if you consider the amount of high quality meat they stuff into the sandwiches and subs. I was at Subway the other day, and there was literally 2 pieces of meat and ½ slice of cheese. At Steve’s, you get 4 times as much for twice the price. Sounds like a good deal to me!

I stopped by Steve’s place while visiting a friend in Newington, CT as he stated it was one of his favorite places to grab a bite in the area.
All in all, the restaurant has a very nice and cozy feel to it. It is located on one of the main streets in downtown Newington, and its outdoor seating offers a nice view of the adjoining storefronts. The interior of the restaurant also gives off that welcoming feel with nice big booths and very friendly servers. What is not all that welcome are the prices (as mentioned in prior reviews) as a sandwich and drink will almost certainly cost you upwards of double digits.
Sadly the quality of the food does not match up to the corresponding charges, though this is not to say that the food is not good. It’s just not very remarkable either. I had an eggplant parmesean sandwich, and I’d have to say it ranked somewhere in the middle among all the eggplant parm I’ve consumed in my life. My compadres each got meatball parm subs, with one friend being pleased and the other being quite displeased.
Bottom line is that Steve’s gives off a great vibe and has decent fare, but the high prices make it difficult to justify earmarking it as your «go-​to» neighborhood spot.

Steve’s Place is terrific. I will agree with the other reviews in that it is pricey, but if you ask them to load up your sandwich, it’s worth it. Without a doubt, they have THE BEST chicken salad I have ever had. My buddy lived in Newington & told me about this place… needless to say, I’m very glad I tried it.
If you live in Newington or near 175, swing by for some lunch; you’ll enjoy!

bring your checkbook, your pockets are going to cry…
$ 9 for ½ turkey on rye, 5oz of soup (cup), and bag of chips… ouch.
all in all food was good, sandwich was best, soup was bland, but they get 1 extra star for carrying state line chips.

Strange place. I had a roast beef sandwich that was alright, perfectly acceptable for an afterthought deli stop. The décor is completely unchanged from it’s [assumed] heyday in the 70s. It still smells like the exhaust of 100,000 smoker’s lungs, and is in need of a good scrub…

This place is a Newington landmark. Good location, cozy feel when you eat in too. The food is even good. The downside? It is expensive as hell. Every time I end up eating there, I cringe at the register. $ 12 for a sub? Eeek! At least when I was an EMT I got half $ 5 off. Damn!