Reccommendations for dining in Providence - I hear the Gatehouse is a good choice? Need a romantic setting for my wife's B-Day.

Also, are taxis readily available in the city?

Al Forno, can't find anything better. They also have the Cafe Louis in Boston.

Went to Providence a few years ago and had great pizza at Al Forno, Recently saw the chef on food channel and have realized it's a pretty famous restaurant. It was good, real good. Reasonable but I think there's a long wait. I went on a week night.

Our favorite restaurant in Providence is New Rivers. It is a 1/2 block from the river on Steeple Street. It is a small place with wonderful food. Have the hot lemon tart for dessert! I don't know if you are going before Oct 27 but check out waterfire.com to see if they are having the waterfire that night.

Cafe Nuovo is a great choice especially if you can pick a nite when Waterfire is planned. There is one for Columbus day and several other upcoming weekends - see Waterfire.com for more info

Providence has become a great restaurant town. Here are some of our favorites:

Al Forno: Providence's most famous restaurant, with much more than grilled pizza (but if they have their pumpkin pizza on the menu, definitely split it as an appetizer). The tables are very close together and there can be very long waits (no resrvations accepted), so it may not be best for a romantic anniversary dinner.

Pot au Feu: Downtwon. Formal French cuisine upstairs; bistro cuisine downstairs. Upstairs does take reservations; call proprietor Bob Burke ahead of time and tell him you will be celebrating your anniversary.

Addesso: Innovative California cuisine on the East Side near Brown Universary in an modern setting. Doesn't take reservations.

Cafe Nuevo: Downtown. Modern but more formal than Addesso. Excellent innovative cuisine artistically presented. Takes reservations. The outdoor terrace overlooking the river is closed for the season, but it still is a good choice if your are fortunate to be there on a waterfire night.

Napa Valley Grill: In Providence Place Mall next to downtown. Part of the nationwide chain, but is nothing like a chain restaurant. Excellent food and the tables are spacious and far apart.

No 10 Steak and Sushi: Just opened downtown. Very chic (think W hotels) and some of the best sushi anywhere.

For a anniversary dinner, Pot au Feu, Cafe Nuovo and Napa Valley Grill would be excellent choices. All of them are at most a two-minute walk to the river and, if you are there on one of the few remaining waterfire nights, it will make for a very romantic evening. Happy Anniversary!