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

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.

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.

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.

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, 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 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.

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.

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 under $10; toppings are extra and include options like jalapenos or a fried egg. For non-carnivores, there are a couple of falafel options, too.

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 meet-up spot that takes everything from buttermilk brunch biscuits to fruity cocktails and mocktails seriously.

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 curried mussels. 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.

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. 

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.

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 recent addition.