The Social Brings Draft Beer, Burgers and Live Music to New London

A bar with roughly 50 beers on tap has already given people a good reason to linger, but The Social in New London does not stop at the draft list. It adds burgers and fried chicken, cocktails with some polish, a room full of rustic vintage character, and recurring nights when a band can turn dinner into a considerably more animated evening.

The setup is pleasantly flexible. There is room to settle into a table for a full meal, or pull up to the bar for a pint, a sandwich and a more casual stop. On a music night, those same spaces take on a more social rhythm, with conversation, songs moving through the room, and sometimes dancing.

The tap selection is extensive enough that choosing a beer need not be a rushed decision. Around 50 drafts have been available, spanning a broad range of tastes rather than aiming at just one kind of beer drinker. The exact lineup can change, which is a fine excuse to inspect the handles before defaulting to an old standby.

Cocktails give non-beer drinkers plenty to work with, too. An Old Fashioned sits comfortably alongside more mixologist-minded preparations, so the drink menu can move from familiar and spirit-forward to something more playful without changing venues.

The food is built around the satisfying side of bar-and-kitchen dining: burgers, fries, sandwiches and substantial comfort food. It is the sort of menu that makes a beer seem like a sensible opening move rather than a meal substitute.

The parmesan-garlic fries have become a notable companion to burgers and sandwiches. They bring more personality than a plain basket of fries, with the savory combination doing exactly what it ought to do beside a cold draft beer.

Among the burger choices, the Honey Blue Burger brings sweet-and-savory blue-cheese flavors into the familiar burger format. It is a useful reminder that the menu is not limited to basic pub standards, even when it stays firmly in approachable territory.

For a little more heat, the Nashville hot chicken sandwich puts spicy fried chicken on the table. Fried chicken and macaroni and cheese add further comfort-food options, while chips and salsa offer an uncomplicated shareable start for a table still deciding where to begin.

The Garden Burger has been a particularly substantial vegetarian choice, described as thick and generously topped rather than treated as a token menu slot. Paired with seasoned fries, it gives a mixed group an easier time ordering without turning the vegetarian diner into an afterthought.

Salads and salmon offer a change of pace from the burger-and-fries lane. And when dessert seems like a good idea, a slice of cake has made a strong impression—simple, old-fashioned restaurant logic after a rich meal.

The Social's rustic, vintage interior is more than a backdrop for the bar. The owner has personally built furniture used throughout the restaurant, giving the room a handmade element that suits its lived-in look.

That attention to the room helps explain why dinner can feel distinct from a quick drink stop. Décor and seating matter here; the bar area has its own energy, while tables offer a place to spend a little longer with food, friends and a second round.

Live entertainment is a regular thread in the schedule, with jazz bands as well as local and tribute acts appearing on selected nights. Programming has also included a monthly first-Sunday appearance by Mystic Dead. It is worth checking the current calendar rather than assuming music is happening on any particular evening.

When there is a performance, the room can get lively without automatically becoming a place where dinner is impossible. Music nights may be loud, but conversation can still be workable, and the atmosphere can shift naturally toward dancing as the evening develops.

Even outside a featured set, music carries through the restaurant via the sound system. That keeps the room from feeling silent between lunch, dinner and the later-night crowd.

The Social fits neatly into an evening built around a concert at the Garde, with enough food for dinner and enough drink options to make the stop feel like more than a quick bite before the show. It also stands on its own for a daytime meal, a bar-seat lunch or a night planned specifically around the music.

Sunday timing can require a small bit of checking: brunch was in service during one Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., so diners hoping for the standard lunch or dinner menu at that hour should confirm what is being served. The broader appeal remains straightforward—come hungry, give the taps a look, and leave enough room in the evening for the band.