On the Backyard Road Trips food tour of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Eastern Connecticut we are continuing on with an old favorite, Joy’s Family Restaurant. Joy’s is located in Norwich, CT, my hometown. It is a greasy spoon with breakfast, lunch, and dinner options and also Mexican favorites.
Joy’s is located on Route 32 at 671 West Thames Street in a nondescript building. The interior resembles a local diner with stools at a bar and booth seating. My go-to’s at Joy’s are omelets at breakfast and Mexican food for lunch.
The staff at Joy’s is friendly and very accommodating. Popular server Brenda magically appears with the coffee pot when she senses that you need a refill.
Mexican Food
Mexican food may seem like an odd cuisine at a diner-like restaurant, but the owner of Joy’s, Chef Juan Flores is Mexican. He worked at both Joy’s and Occum Pizza which is close by. He took over as the head chef at Joy’s in 2008 and two years later became the owner.
For this meal at Joy’s Family Restaurant, I opted for the chicken quesadilla. The quesadilla is generously filled with chicken and cheese. With rice and beans, this was a large lunch! The rest of my family ordered sandwiches which they all enjoyed very much. My family’s favorites over the years have been the California omelet, with avocados and fresh tomatoes, breakfast burritos, and tasty strawberry topped pancakes. Most breakfasts are accompanied by crispy home fries.
Time to Visit Joy’s Family Restaurant!
Joy’s is not fine dining but sure is tasty. It’s among my favorite restaurants for Mexican food in the Norwich area. Joy’s frequently, and deservedly, wins “Best Breakfast” in local newspaper contests.
For more eastern CT bites, try Hoppy Days Diner.
I work with a lot of EMTs that really like Joy’s for breakfast being that Norwich seems to have a lack of good breakfast places anymore unless you want something via a drive-thru. I used to really like going to Taft Station back before it became Poppy & Rye as it was a great old diner with a good breakfast and friendly staff but I digress! Joy’s looks like it would definitely be a worth a stop especially if they have good Mexican food which I am always trying to find around here. Been a long time since I’ve had a nice plate of Huevos Rancheros!
I definitely think you’ll like it then. I’m always mourning BeeBees
Beebees was a true loss! I would like to like Old Tymes more but I think they’re in need of a refresh though I guess surviving Covid is an accomplishment in and of itself when it comes to these local places.
That’s definitely true, I haven’t been to Old Tymes in years