63 Best Restaurants in Rhode Island, USA

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.

When it opened in 1980, Al Forno put Providence on the national dining map as the originator of its distinctive grilled pizza. Still consistently good, the restaurant retains a loyal following for its thin-crust pizza, handmade pastas, and wood-grilled or roasted entrées.

Family owned and operated for four generations, this iconic Point Judith indoor-outdoor dining spot has been a must for Rhode Islanders every summer since it opened in 1920. Its peerless, waterside location and unpretentious atmosphere are the main draws, along with favorites like steamers, fish-and-chips, and namesake Carrie Cooper's clam cakes, still made using the original recipe.

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 calimari, a hot lobster roll, house-made pasta, and grilled seafood dishes.

Open up your meal with oysters Thermidor, Japanese style with miso, or grilled and topped with Parmesan cheese. Sip a fine vintage, relax, and pause to appreciate the sublime garden setting—complete with hopping rabbits nibbling at the landscaping—before diving into sea scallops served over lemon risotto or grilled sticky Thai shrimp. On a warm summer evening, there's no better place on the island for a romantic dinner.

No other restaurant in Newport can compete with the spectacular water views from the Sunset Room, one of four dining rooms inside the historic main inn. A perfect spot for a 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. For summer partying with the yachties, nothing beats the Boom Boom Room in the basement.

Built in 1888 as a U.S. Life-Saving Service Station, this restaurant has been nearly destroyed twice by storms—by Hurricane Bob in 1991 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Regardless, the dining area has spectacular views of the ocean, the roof deck is a great hangout (try the frozen Dark 'n Stormy cocktail), and the patio is about as close to the sea as you could be without getting wet.

The scents and flavors of Italy surround you at Costantino's as you peruse the amazing selection of homemade pastas and imported foods. The convivial banter between customers and employees adds to the atmosphere. While here, grab lunch, dinner, an espresso, or gelato at Venda Bar & Ristorante on the opposite side of DePasquale Square. Patio dining in the summertime is a true taste of la dolce vita.

Owned by the same family since 1948, this local landmark near Salty Brine State Beach has its own private patch of sand and beach blanket service in the summertime, along with a lively tiki bar. Try traditional Rhode Island favorites, including calamari, clam cakes, and "stuffies" (stuffed quahogs), as well as raw bar treats like oyster shooters. Get your fried or broiled seafood from the walk-up window, too. George's buys seafood directly from fishermen in Galilee, so this is also your place to sample sustainable local fish.

The city's best spot for a romantic meal is Table 21 in a private alcove at Gracie's, across the street from the Trinity Rep theater. Owner Ellen Gracyalny mixes sophistication with whimsy in the main dining room, and executive chef Matthew Varga sources many of his ingredients from a local Rhode Island farmer; Varga's tasting menus are a standard setter for fine dining in Providence.

Shuckers are hard at work at the raw bar in this awesome waterside restaurant, an offshoot of the nearby Matunuck Oyster Farm. This year-round business committed to serving fresh, local produce, along with farm-raised and wild-caught seafood, draws a crowd—snag an outside table if you can. Take a 60-minute tour of the Potter Pond oyster farm, offered several times during the summer.

For two decades Derek Wagner has earned a seat at the table among Rhode Island's top chefs by helming this amped-up diner on Providence's West Side (the namesake "Nick" was the owner of the original diner at the site). Breakfast features classic comfort food like pancakes and egg dishes composed with all-local ingredients, like eggs from Baffoni Farms and potatoes from Schartner Farms, and pasture-fed Blackbird Farm Black Angus beef shows up in the Bolognese sauce and slow-cooked BBQ, while all of the plated fish entrees at dinner were swimming in local waters a short time before. Grab a seat at the counter to watch the culinary magic happen.

Overlooking the water since it first opened as an ice-cream parlor in 1916, the Olympia's varnished wood booths and a long marble counter echo the restaurant's rich history. The kitchen focuses on local and artisanal ingredients served with simple elegance and abundant flavor, including spicy flaked haddock and Milanese-style crispy chicken.

This intimate neighborhood bistro seats only 38 patrons, so reservations are essential on summer weekends. Neutral walls, white table linens, and simple but elegant china focus attention on the artfully composed dishes of chef and co-owner Champe Speidel, a four-time semifinalist for a James Beard Foundation Award. The meats, bacon, and sausage on the seasonal menu come from the restaurant's own butcher shop. Pan-seared Hudson Valley foie gras is an excellent appetizer, well followed by bread-crusted Atlantic halibut—if available—which is accompanied by a ragout of Brussels sprouts, celery root, mussels, and clams. The wine list isn't huge, but it is impressive.

You'll find some of the best southern Italian food you've ever tasted at this cozy, family-run Italian restaurant tucked away on a Providence side street. The chef also serves up delicious grilled swordfish, whole branzino, and NY strip steak, but be sure to have the antipasto, fried dough with Pomodoro sauce, or eggplant parm appetizers—all great for sharing.

Locals come to this third-generation, family-owned restaurant in the heart of Federal Hill for the chicken or eggplant Parmesan, veal with peppers, and braciola like (your Italian) grandma used to make. The prices are reasonable; the atmosphere, warm and casual.

The informal first floor of this two-level Italian restaurant has a deli case stocked with cured meats, cheeses, olives, and traditional Italian-style small plates; upstairs is a more traditional dining room with impressive views of the Providence River. Every table receives a separate checklist of the cured meats, cheeses, and accompaniments, which are then arranged as a beautiful charcuterie board.

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 sandwiches like roasted butternut squash with caramelized onions, Vermont cheddar, and tangy-sweet pesto. The extensive breakfast menu (served 12 hours a day) includes thick-cut French toast, cornbread hash, and granola made on-site.

Regional variations on French cuisine are the focus at this upscale yet laid-back establishment inside a gambrel-roof 1785 Colonial. Nightly specials are based on the fresh catch from Rhode Island waters, which may include scallops, swordfish, and cod. If you're too full to move after dinner, the affiliated inn has 16 rooms located upstairs and in two nearby buildings.

On the city's increasingly gentrified West Side (which fringes Federal Hill), this convivial bar and restaurant occupies a single-story redbrick storefront with a handful of sidewalk tables. A mix of students, artists, and neighborhood locals find their way here nightly for fair-priced, deftly prepared bistro chow and imaginative salads.

A brewery tucked into an industrial park near the railroad tracks doesn't seem super inviting, but the tasting room here is warm and friendly, and the beers have creativity by the barrel (IPAs, yes, but also wild ales, barleywines, and a revival of a historical varietal called Kentucky Common). If the adults need a drink after a day at the zoo, Buttonwoods is right in the neighborhood, and hungry kids can be placated with comfort food and pizza from the brewery's pop-up kitchen and a rotation list of visiting food trucks.

Rhode Island's pizza universe has expanded in recent years—you can get a decent slice of New York, New Haven, or Detroit style—but the more things change the more they stay the same at Caserta, the landmark pizzeria on Federal Hill. Homemade sauce, fresh mozzarella, quality toppings, and a thick but crispy crust combine to create a unique Rhode Island-by-way-of-Sicily pie. A pizza pilgrimage site since 1953, Caserta still draws crowds despite its limited menu and no-frills dining room; walk it off with a stroll around Federal Hill and Atwells Ave. afterward.

Chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and African and Asian artwork adorns the walls (everything is for sale) at this restaurant-antiques store. The menu is extensive—seafood is particularly, but not exclusively, featured—the food is rich in flavor, and the ambience, occasionally augmented with live music, is full of personality. Brioche toast is the house specialty for weekend brunch.

A tiny Warren restaurant known for offbeat beers, hot chicken sandwiches, and a burger stacked 10 inches tall has blossomed into this second location with more expansive indoor-outdoor seating and an equally enticing menu of decidedly adult, made-from-scratch comfort grub. Pair zesty Mozambique chicken tenders that are definitely not your kids' chicken nuggets with frozen sangria on a summer's day.

Vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores flock to this funky café not far from Narragansett Town Beach for smoothies, creative juice blends, and breakfast served until 4 pm daily. Signature burgers are categorized as "hoof, fin, and claw," but there are vegan options, too. White Christmas lights and colorful lanterns are part of the indoor and covered patio decor, as is a red phone booth behind the counter that houses condiments (like the house-made ketchup).

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 lobster roasted in a 900ºF tandoor oven and chicken empanadas served with a tamarind and mint chutney.

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.

Rhode Island isn't top-of-mind when you think of great barbecue joints—this ain't Texas, Memphis, or the Carolinas, to be sure—but it's hard to find fault with Durk's succulent brisket, moist pulled pork, and smoky ribs. Savory sides like skillet cornbread and mac & cheese provide the right flavor balance on the plate, and drinks draw heavily from the collected "whiskey wall" behind the bar—you can't go wrong with the barrel-aged Old Fashioned on draft.

Creative cuisine emerges from the kitchen of this intimate bistro—the fare changes seasonally but may include pan-seared sea scallops, brined chicken, and the mouthwatering Eli's burger with seasoned fries. Arrive before opening and join the queue for a table; if they're all taken, dining at the bar, accompanied by excellent craft cocktails, is a small compromise.