21 Best Restaurants in Newport County and East Bay, Rhode Island

The first tavern opened here in 1673—and ever since, the premises have served, in turn, as a tavern, boardinghouse, restaurant, and even a meetinghouse for Colonial Rhode Island's General Assembly. Today, the tavern provides an intimate fine-dining experience, the mood set by the low dark-beam ceilings, uneven plank floors, and four still-working fireplaces; an outside patio is a more recent addition.

Excellent service, perfectly cooked steaks, and an extensive, award-winning wine list make dinner here a memorable experience. Although the restaurant is known for its steaks—and it's impossible to go wrong ordering one—you'll find plenty of choices if you're in the mood for something from the sea.

With five indoor and outdoor dining areas, this casually elegant restaurant is the center of Jamestown nightlife in the summer, especially at its expansive open-air bar. A 150-year-old beech tree in the courtyard lends its name to the locally owned restaurant, which has retained key staff from the former Trattoria Simpatico at the same location and menu highlights include local calamari, sticky ribs, house-made pasta, and grilled seafood dishes.

No other restaurant in Newport can compete with the spectacular water views from Aurelia, one of four dining rooms inside the historic main inn. A perfect spot for an indulgently romantic dinner, Castle Hill Inn also serves lunch and dinner on The Lawn, allowing you to savor regional cuisine while watching sunlit clouds drift by. Weekend drinks on the inn's lawn is a Newport summer tradition.

Drinks at a bar favored by the sailing crowd, intimate dinners by the fire, and relaxing lunches overlooking Newport Harbor are a few of the experiences possible at this multilevel complex. The first-floor Candy Store serves casual fare and has a sushi bar; the second-floor offers casual dining in the Bistro and cocktails in the Midway Bar; and the Summer Porch and 12 Metre Yacht Club Room on the third floor have elegant fine dining requiring proper dress. The Sky Bar serves Newport's most expensive cocktail, Newport Water, made with top-shelf Champagne, Grand Marnier, and St. Germain poured over ice.

A summertime pilgrimage for people from every corner of the state, Gray's has been around since 1923 and sells more than 30 flavors of ice cream, all made on the premises. Coffee is the go-to flavor for many Rhode Islanders, but specialties such as Indian pudding and apple caramel spice have their adherents.

This aptly named two-story café is abuzz with college students and foodies who appreciate the freshly baked bread, especially when it's used to make inventive dishes like vegetable and chicken pot pies enclosed in shortcrust pastry. The extensive breakfast menu (served 12 hours a day) includes thick-cut French toast, butternut cornbread hash, and granola made on-site.

At this mainstay on the Newport waterfront, you can choose your dining experience based on the ambience and vibe you're looking for. The posh, plank-floored Commodore's Room (business casual dress required) features country pâté, escargot, rack of lamb, stuffed lobster tails, and other classic offerings, while the Tavern has a more casual experience, with standard American fare like salads, burgers, and grilled meat or fish, old nautical charts on the walls, and a four-season patio.

This Tiverton restaurant masters the art of elegant waterfront dining with views of the Mount Hope Bridge and a menu that covers all of the New England seafood bases, from the raw bar and chowder to calamari and cioppino. It's the kind of place meant for lingering over a long dinner, but not too pretentious to leave sandwiches off the menu. If you want a burger or a shrimp po'boy, that's no problem, but do wash it down with a dessert cocktail like the Iced Rhody, a mix of espresso, Irish cream, and cinnamon syrup.

Now located in the Perry Mill building after years on Bannister's Wharf, this tiny espresso bar has views of Newport's vibrant harbor and downtown. Pair a flavored latte and a pastry on a fog-bound early morning, and you'll feel the essence of the city as it awakens around you. Stop back for in-between-meal snacks or a pick-me-up after a night out.

Not only are johnnycakes a unique Rhode Island food, but there are also regional variations within this small state on how to make these white corn pancakes. Located right on the Little Compton Commons, of course, the Commons is a leading purveyor of the thin and crispy East Bay variety, along with family-friendly meal-time options, and fried local seafood. 

From Russell Morin, one of Newport's most exclusive caterers, comes this chalkboard-menu café where beautifully crafted light fare is served at surprisingly down-to-earth prices. Breakfast—try the egg- and tomato-topped avocado toast—is served all day (including weekend brunch) and creative salads and sandwiches are the makings of a perfect picnic to tote down the street and enjoy on an oceanview mansion lawn. 

An 1818 rum distillery houses this distinctive waterfront restaurant—look for the timber ceilings, African granite from slave ship ballast in the walls, and framed sections of early-19th-century graffiti-covered plaster. Chef Sai Viswanath reinvents traditional New England fare by combining it with Indian preparations to create dishes like seafood sandwiches on naan bread and lobster sauteed in curry-tinged coconut milk.

Tacos, sharable Mexican snacks, and spicy margaritas are among the go-tos at this casual and—by local standards—affordable restaurant right in the corazon of Newport's lively Bowen's Wharf. Indoor and outdoor dining, including on a roof deck, make Diego's a magnet for visitors on a summer afternoon or evening, and it's worth getting up early on the weekend for a brunch spread that includes a menu of $8 specials like tortas, huevos rancheros, and hash when you buy a tequila-twisted Bloody Mary or other breakfast eye-opening cocktail.

This family-run roadside seafood shack draws summer visitors like moths to a streetlight. Lobster chow mein is an unusual specialty of the house, but the menu also includes more familiar fried seafood favorites along with burgers and other quick bites. There is a small dining room, but most people just order at the takeout window and eat at one of the picnic tables out back, cooled by breezes off of Nanaquatucket Pond.

With Bruce the shark out front and a weathered, kitschy vibe, this local institution across from Easton's Beach in Middletown is as casual as they come. Lobster rolls, fried seafood, baked fish, clam cakes, cold beer, and a great raw bar make for long lines in summer. A smaller second location is at Island Park Beach in Portsmouth.

Folks have been coming here since 1929 for lobster: as a salad roll, on pizza, or whole—but wait, there's also grilled swordfish, pan-seared cod, broiled scallops, bouillabaise, and steak or chicken, too. At lunch or dinner, start with a craft brew or cocktail, then build your own plate from the raw bar: jumbo shrimp, oysters, littleneck and cherrystone clams, or cold lobster cocktail.

This casual eatery within walking distance of Easton Beach in Middletown has a simple "mission"—deliver great burgers, fries, and hot dogs to the hungry and thirsty shore crowds. A thick and juicy cheeseburger can be had for about $10; toppings are extra and include options like jalapenos or a fried egg. For noncarnivores, there are a couple of falafel options, too.

The “mother” at this Long Wharf eatery refers to the naturally fermented sourdough that underpins the pizzas sliding out of the Neapolitan-style oven, dished to guests alongside selections from an extensive wine list and Rhode Island draft beers. White and red-sauce pizzas are topped with cheese, figs, pineapple, carnitas pork, summer vegetables, and other creative accoutrements.

The East Bay's best Italian restaurant can compete with any establishment on Federal Hill with its house-made meatballs, classic veal and chicken preparations, and a thoughtful wine list. One wall of the elegant dining room is paneled with wine crates; breakfast and lunch are served at the affiliated Roberto's Cafe.

Share green curry mussels, spiced-up Thai lobster, sinful tuna poke tacos with fried wontons for wraps, and other seasonal small and large plates at this restaurant with a rustic garden setting.  With sprawling indoor-outdoor bars and seating, it's a quirky-fun meetup spot that takes everything from buttermilk brunch biscuits to fruity cocktails and mocktails seriously.