Rebellion Gastropub is a new Danbury bar and restaurant with better-than-average food and a sleek vibe that I enjoyed overall — but first I had to find it.
The place has what might just be the most unusual location of any restaurant I’ve been to in my 12+ years writing about food in Connecticut. The restaurant, owned by the same team behind Rebellion Kitchen & Bar, also in Danbury, is nestled — or hidden — inside Innovation Studios, a new apartment complex featuring micro-studio and one-bedroom apartments in a converted hotel. A restaurant inside an apartment complex is not unusual. There are plenty of restaurants on the ground floor of apartment buildings throughout the state.
But Rebellion Gastropub doesn’t have its own entrance, which I wasn’t expecting. I had to enter through the apartment building itself and walk through a large lobby area that feels like the ground floor of the hotel it used to be. You walk past resident mailboxes and Surreal Coffee, a sleek coffeehouse, in the lobby that is owned by the same team as Rebellion Gastropub. I know this because I stopped at the coffeehouse to ask for directions to the restaurant.
Once you get to the restaurant, it’s a wonderful space with wall plants, plush seating and upscale lighting, and it catches that modern in-demand vibe to feel cool and almost fancy but simultaneously casual and laidback. There are also enough TVs to make a sports bar jealous, and fun small touches like a menu that looks like a vintage fashion magazine.
The food itself ranges from upscale-esque twists on American cuisine, dry-aged burgers and sandwiches with creative ingredients to Italian offerings as well as other global influences — including a Korean fried chicken sandwich that I’d like to try in the future. I enjoyed the smashburger, served with gruyere, onion jam, au jus and horseradish aioli; it had a nice flavor and is a strong option for Danbury-area burger cravings. The beet salad was another winner. Slices of orange, feta, mint and sunflower seeds combined to form the perfect appetizer and a wonderful summer dish.
The layered eggplant was less of a hit. The menu described layers of panko eggplant, whipped ricotta, tomato sauce and burrata. This sounded like a fun twist on a traditional eggplant parmesan entrée, and it was to a certain extent, but it drifted further from the original eggplant than I would have liked, and the presence of ricotta and burrata, for me at least, seemed to clash a bit.
The cocktail list featured many classics, and I enjoyed a mint-forward whiskey smash. The restaurant also featured mocktails, and the bartender there during my visit took pride in these creations as well, which is always great to see. There’s also a unique outdoor space in what used to be the hotel courtyard.
All told, the Rebellion Gastropub and its location is intriguing to me. The whole Innovation Studios complex still seems to be a work in progress, but Rebellion is off and running. While nothing I tried wowed me, I liked the spot and would be very happy to have a place like it in my neighborhood and would be glad to return here.
Erik Ofgang shares his opinions on food and drink in the state. He is the co-author of “The Good Vices” and has written for The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Smithsonian, Forbes and other publications. He pens a Connecticut Magazine column titled “Craft Cruising” about the state’s beverage scene.
Dining and Cooking