71 Best Restaurants in Rhode Island, USA

At the Atlantic Inn, the food and beverage experience is as elevated as the hilltop location. The menu includes both small and large plates with abundant enticements for vegetarians as well as dishes that feature local fish and game. Noshing on tapas on the lawn is a memorable experience, but it's first-come, first-served for the limited supply of Adirondack chairs.

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.

Get your Italian cookie or cannoli fix at this landmark bakery, which has been in business since 1916. The place almost closed for good, but young new owners have puffed new energy into the place.

This place generates well-deserved buzz for its wine-braised beef short rib and for its pasta with a rich Bolognese—as well as for the kitchen's willingness to satisfy off-menu cravings. It's best to split an appetizer, as portions here are huge.

Ask for a table by the large windows, as the back dining room can get noisy.

This Spanish restaurant earns high marks for beautifully prepared and presented food and deft service; the paella is legendary. Arched architectural features and greenery help create a Mediterranean mood, and in summer you can dine on a patio anchored by a three-tier fountain and a massive brick fireplace.

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.

Lunch or dinner on the deck or patio at this Wickford restaurant is an essential part of a visit to North Kingstown's most scenic village. Watch fish swim and ducks paddle into the cove as you dine on Greek-inspired pizzas and sandwiches, salads and seafood entrées, or shared plates of mussels, calamari served Rhode Island or Asian-style, and stuffed Quahog clams. In a town that's sometimes a little too quiet at night, the tavern's patio bar is one of the better places to grab a drink and some local gossip.

This superb grocery offers a family-friendly atmosphere in which to peruse the finest of Italian meats and cheeses; imported vinegars and olive oils; and candies and pastries—all at reasonable prices. In addition, Tony's deli stocks freshly prepared foods to eat on the premises or take with you. Try the Italian grinder, a Rhode Island lunchtime staple.

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.

All-you-can-eat roast chicken, bread, salad, pasta with red sauce, and fries is a northern Rhode Island tradition that grew out of the need to feed many people efficiently. The 1,000-seat wonder known as Wright's Farm has served pretty much the same family-style menu since the 1950s. With 75 ovens, six dining rooms, and four bars, the mammoth banquet facility dishes up nearly 1 million pounds of chicken a year. Fans of kitschy local lore will enjoy a visit to this certifiable tourist attraction, where the gift shop sells chicken-themed doodads, toys, collectables, and candy by the pound.

Folks come from all over to savor the affordable, fresh, lightly battered, gently fried fish and hand-cut, English-style "chips" at this local institution in Market Square. The family-owned restaurant, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2022, serves up a casual and relaxed feast in a wood-paneled dining room.