The front door at 451 Main Street still has its peephole. The ship's wheel is still inside, and so are the wooden barrels at the host stand and the bar. The dark woodwork is gone. The bar now has light wood paneling and a copper ceiling, and a plaid booth wraps along the dining room wall toward a new kitchen window. This is The Mariner Tavern, which opened on Sept. 9 after an eight-month renovation of the room Ridgefield knew for decades as The Ancient Mariner, according to the Ridgefield Herald.
The restaurant serves Wednesday through Sunday and is closed Monday and Tuesday. Line that schedule up against the rest of the town's November and almost everything falls on the same five days. The Ridgefield Playhouse, Keeler Tavern Museum and the Chamber's downtown events all run on that week, so a November night out on Main Street really happens Wednesday through Sunday.
The Mariner's Week
Owner and chef Shannon Sturz bought the restaurant in spring 2025 and opened it that May. He closed it in January 2026 to rework the space for functionality and brought in designer Christian Arkay-Leliever to redo the bar, dining room and bathroom, the Herald reported. Tom Quinn founded The Ancient Mariner in 1974, so the address has more than five decades of history.
The menu is in what Sturz calls its second phase. Seafood stays at the center, joined by a new program of prime cuts, a fowl section with duck and chicken, and pastas that can be made gluten free. Wings and fish and chips are still on the menu from the old days. Desserts include sticky toffee pudding, Basque cheesecake, churros, and mini ice cream sandwiches made with Linden's Cookies, which Sturz's family owns.
Here is the schedule that matters for November planning:
- Wednesday through Friday: lunch and dinner
- Saturday and Sunday: brunch and dinner
- Monday and Tuesday: closed
Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, Nov. 26. For holiday-week hours, check the restaurant's site before you plan around that week.
The Playhouse Keeps the Same Calendar
The Ridgefield Playhouse on East Ridge Road shows the same pattern. Every evening show it has listed from Nov. 1 through Nov. 29 falls between Wednesday and Sunday.
| Night | Date | At the Playhouse |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Oct. 29, 8 p.m. | Toad the Wet Sprocket, Rings: The Acoustic Tour |
| Wednesday | Nov. 4, 7 p.m. | Mike Super, Magic & Illusion |
| Thursday | Nov. 5, 8 p.m. | Michelle Wolf |
| Friday | Nov. 6, 5 and 8 p.m. | Theresa Caputo Live |
| Saturday | Nov. 14, 8 p.m. | 2026 Fall Gala: An Evening with John Legend |
| Wednesday | Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m. | John C. Reilly is Mister Romantic |
| Friday | Nov. 20, 7 and 9:30 p.m. | Robby Hoffman, listed as sold out |
| Saturday | Nov. 21, 8 p.m. | Lou Gramm |
| Sunday | Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m. | Rufus Wainwright |
| Friday | Nov. 27, 2 and 7 p.m. | Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue |
| Saturday | Nov. 28, 8 p.m. | The Irish Tenors with the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra |
| Sunday | Nov. 29, 7:30 p.m. | Judy Collins, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: Farewell |
Two listings fall outside that window. The Met Live in HD encore of Verdi's Macbeth plays Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 12:55 p.m., a daytime screening. Judy Collins also has a second farewell show on Monday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. That Monday is the one November show night when dinner at The Mariner isn't an option, so plan an early meal elsewhere or eat afterward at home.
Daytime Follows the Same Pattern
The museums keep a similar week, earlier in the day. Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center at 152 Main St. lists its exhibition hours as Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. That covers 60 Objects for 60 Years, which marks the museum's 60th birthday and runs through July 4. The Holiday Boutique opens in the Carriage Barn on Thursday, Nov. 19 and runs through Dec. 20, on the same Thursday-to-Sunday schedule.
Keeler's November talks also land on those days. The Tavern Culture Series session on Western Expansion in the Early Republic is Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. in the Garden House. Nina Sankovitch speaks on "Universal Friend: Forgotten Hero of the American Revolution" on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. A Thursday lecture that ends around 8 leaves time for a late dinner a short way up Main Street.
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum's The Aldrich Decennial: I am what is around me features artists based in Connecticut and is on view through Jan. 10, 2027. Its November programs are both Saturday mornings. Co-Create, A Family Art Adventure starts in the galleries and moves into the Studio on Nov. 7 at 10:30 a.m., and the free Third Saturdays program follows on Nov. 21 at 10 a.m. Either one fits before a weekend brunch, which The Mariner serves only on Saturdays and Sundays.
A.C.T. of Connecticut's Beautiful: The Carole King Musical runs Oct. 22 through Nov. 22 at 36 Old Quarry Road, according to the inRidgefield calendar. Check the theater's own schedule for performance days before you book a table.
This Weekend, Halloween Fills Every Day
Thursday, Oct. 29 opens the busiest stretch on the calendar, with Toad the Wet Sprocket at the Playhouse that night at 8. Here is the rest of the weekend:
- Friday, Oct. 30, 10:30 a.m.: Halloween Storytime & Parade at the Ridgefield Library, 472 Main St.
- Friday, Oct. 30, 5:30 p.m.: The Aldrich's in-person and virtual conversation with Decennial artists Lula Mae Blocton, Anoka Faruqee, David Driscoll and Kristy Hughes, moderated by Karis Medina of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to noon: Ridgefield's Halloween Walk on Main Street.
- Saturday, Oct. 31: Nod Hill Brewery's ninth birthday party in the Biergarten at 137 Ethan Allen Highway, with a costume contest and live music throughout the day.
- Sunday, Nov. 1: First Sunday at Keeler Tavern, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. sitewide. It's also the last day of the Hands-On History: Living Off the Land exhibition in the Carriage Barn.
- Sunday, Nov. 1, 2 p.m.: Meet the Orchestra, featuring the Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra, at the Playhouse.
Nod Hill has its own news for the birthday. The Herald reported that the brewery now brews on a new BrauKon brewhouse from Germany. Rob Bollard, head brewer at Kent Falls for six years, has joined and plans smaller, more experimental batches.
One Less Table on Main Street
The busiest nights may also be harder to book. Tequila Escape closed its restaurant at 439 Main St. in August, Patch reported. It had opened there on May 2, 2019, in the former 439 Kitchen and Bar space, and served brunch, lunch, dinner and late-night food. Management announced no plans for the space. On a Saturday when the Playhouse has a sold-out show and the Aldrich has a crowd, that means one fewer downtown dining room taking diners.
The first big test is Thursday, Nov. 5. That's the date of the Ridgefield Chamber's Sip 'n' Shop, which invites people to start their holiday shopping downtown with festive drinks, then have dinner at a local restaurant. The Chamber says more details are coming. Michelle Wolf plays the Playhouse at 8 p.m. the same night. If you're going to both, book dinner early.
Where the Five-Night Week Ends
The season's first big downtown night comes the Friday after November ends. The Chamber's Holiday Stroll is set for Dec. 4 and 5. The Herald's listing puts the free Friday evening from 6 to 9 p.m., with a DJ at Town Hall, Victorian carolers, toy soldiers marching down Main Street, and horse-and-carriage rides. Keeler Tavern holds a Holiday Stroll Open House the same Friday from 5 to 7 p.m., so you can start at the museum before the Main Street program begins.
For anyone planning November evenings in town, that leaves an easy rule. Monday and Tuesday are the quiet nights. Wednesday through Sunday is when the Playhouse, Keeler, the Chamber and The Mariner Tavern are all open.
When we help families get to know Ridgefield, we start with a calendar like this one. If you're thinking about what your own Ridgefield home is worth before the holidays, the Marion Filley Team is happy to walk you through it. Get My Home Valuation.
