Families And Sports Fans Meet At Hot Shots Grille

The first thing customers see as they turn up the drive to Hot Shots Grille at 130 Mt Pleasant Road is the welcoming outdoor deck wrapped around the upper level of the restaurant overlooking the corner of Route 25 and Mt Pleasant. At the top of the driveway is plenty of free parking, and the main entrance to the restaurant and sports bar operated by Roland Bomova. It is an eatery as popular with families and travelers as it is with sports fans, pulling in a broad audience appreciative of the extensive menu that offers everything from wings to pizza, pasta, and filet mignon.

Jose Arias, a native of Costa Rica who has worked in local restaurants for more than a dozen years, including Café on the Green in Danbury and Redding Roadhouse, is the chef at Hot Shots. Patrons expecting the usual bar fare are pleasantly surprised by the lunch and dinner menu that reflect the chef’s pride in what he does, said Mr Bomova.

The main area has a long Z-shaped wooden bar with a dozen leather-seated barstools that look onto seven of the 22 flat-screen televisions in Hot Shots that provide nonstop viewing from any corner of the place. A number of other seating choices are available throughout: tables, bar tables, or banquettes as part of the crowd or in comfy corners, one of which features a cozy gas grill. A small partitioned area off to one side offers a more private setting at five small tables. An upstairs room can host private parties or serve as a second lounge with DJ, and seats about 50.

The outdoor deck with 20 tables and a tiki bar draws crowds during warm weather months. Gamers will like the sunny front space reserved for two pool tables, arcade games, and a catch-your-own live lobster tank.

Dinner entrees include seafood linguini, $22.95; chicken Margherita, $17.99; grilled salmon, $17.99; teriyaki combo, consisting of marinated chicken and an eight-ounce New York strip steak grilled in teriyaki sauce, $19.99; and Hot Shots’ Baby Back Ribs, smoked on the premises, $10.99 for an appetizer portion, $21.99 for a full rack, and $14.99 for a half rack. New to the menu this year is the Surf and Turf Trio, a 10-ounce filet mignon, half-pound lobster tail, and four shrimp, all for $36.99.

The expansive menu also features nearly two dozen appetizers, $2.99 to $13.95; salads, $3.50 to $9.99; burgers, $7.25 to $8.25; pasta, $9.99 to $22.95; and side dishes, $1.95 to $3.50. The appetizers range from chicken tenders and coconut shrimp to a combination platters of chicken tenders, hot wings, mozzarella sticks, and jalapeño poppers. Panini and wrap sandwiches are $8.95, grinders and other sandwiches, $5.99 to $9.99. Hot Shots also offers a children’s menu that includes a soda, for $4.99.

The thin crust pizzas, available in two sizes with a full range of toppings, the wings, and the smoked ribs are favorites with Hot Shots’ customers, said Mr Bomova.

Desserts are provided by Andrea’s Bakery in Newtown.

Everything on the menu, including weekly specials, is available for takeout. Hot Shots offers free delivery, as well, to Newtown, Sandy Hook, Bethel, and Brookfield.

Music is part of the environment, with soft sounds during the dinner hour, and bands and DJs later in the evening. Currently, the bar hosts two DJs on Tuesday night; karaoke on Wednesday and Saturday nights; live music on Thursday nights; and a DJ on Friday night. Hot Shots also features specials such as 30-cent wings and $6 pitchers of beer each Monday night; and $1 drafts, $3 shots, $6 pitchers, and drink specials for College Night on Tuesdays. Sunday is Sports Days when all of the televisions show all of the sports, all of the time.

Hot Shots Grille is open for lunch at 11:30 am daily, except Monday when it opens at 3 pm. Happy hour in the bar is from 4 to 7 pm weekdays.

The kitchen serves a full menu until 9 pm on Sunday; until 10 pm Monday through Thursday; and until 11 pm Friday and Saturday. Pizza is served until closing every night. The bar is open until 2 am on weekends; 1 am during the week.

All major credit card are accepted. To order take out or for more information call 270-3373.