33 cheap eats places in Providence, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in Providence: the places editors actually return to. All Providence food.
Olneyville New York System ★ 4.8
olneyville · 18 Plainfield Street, Providence, RI 02909
The 1946 hot wiener counter in Olneyville Square, founded by Greek immigrant Anthony Stevens and his son Nicholas. James Beard America's Classics winner 2014.
Olneyville New York System ★ 4.8
olneyville · 18 Plainfield Street, Providence, RI 02909
Olneyville's signature combo: three hot wieners with mustard, meat sauce, onions and celery salt, plus a coffee milk. Under $13 in Olneyville Square.
Seven Stars Bakery Hope Street ★ 4.7
east-side · 820 Hope Street, Providence, RI 02906
Seven Stars opened its Hope Street flagship in January 2001 at Hope and Fourth. Country bread, croissant, the morning bun every East Sider knows.
Aleppo Sweets ★ 4.7
fox-point · 107 Ives Street, Providence, RI 02906
Youssef Akhtarini's Aleppo Sweets is the Ives Street Syrian counter that opened in 2019. Eight baklava styles from walnut to chocolate pistachio.
Seven Stars Bakery Broadway ★ 4.6
west-side · 342 Broadway, Providence, RI 02909
Seven Stars Broadway opened in 2007 as the West Side sister to the Hope Street original. Country breads, pain au chocolat, the same croissants.
Knead Doughnuts ★ 4.6
fox-point · 55 Cromwell Street, Providence, RI 02907
Knead Doughnuts on Cromwell Street in Providence, the Rhode Island gourmet doughnut counter using locally sourced flour and dairy with rotating seasonal.
Bolt Coffee at the RISD Museum ★ 4.6
college-hill · 224 Benefit Street, Providence, RI 02903
Bolt Coffee's RISD Museum counter on Benefit Street pours the city's reference espresso. Small museum-floor cafe; closed Mondays with the museum.
Iggy's Doughboys and Chowder House ★ 4.6
oakland-beach · 889 Oakland Beach Avenue, Warwick, RI 02889
Gaetano 'Iggy' Gravino's Oakland Beach clam shack in Warwick, founded 1989. Award-winning RI clam chowder, doughboys, clam cakes; the year-round counter.
Caserta Pizzeria ★ 4.6
federal-hill · 121 Spruce Street, Providence, RI 02903
Caserta on Spruce Street has been selling Rhode Island pizza strips since 1953. Sicilian-style square slices with sauce only or sauce-and-cheese.
Allie's Donuts ★ 4.6
downtown · 3661 Quaker Lane, North Kingstown, RI 02852
Allie's Donuts on Route 2 has been a North Kingstown morning landmark since 1968. Cake doughnuts under $3, drip coffee for $2; the long line moves fast.
Scialo Bros Bakery ★ 4.5
federal-hill · 257 Atwells Avenue, Providence, RI 02903
Scialo Bros opened on Atwells in 1916 and reopened in 2021 after a pandemic-era closure. Cannoli filled to order from brick ovens dating to the 1920s.
Ellie's Bakery ★ 4.5
downtown · 250 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903
Ellie's reopened on Westminster Street in August 2024 after relocating from its longtime Weybosset Street room. French pastry from croissant to madeleine.
Bolt Coffee Washington Street ★ 4.5
downtown · 61 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903
Bolt's downtown flagship on Washington Street has counter seats, a long bar of pour-overs, and the steadiest WiFi of any specialty cafe in Providence.
Ceremony ★ 4.5
college-hill · 406 Brook Street, Providence, RI 02906
Ceremony on Brook Street is the College Hill third-wave cafe and tea room, with a sister on South Main; bright space, communal workspace tables daily.
The Beehive Cafe ★ 4.5
downtown · 10 Franklin Street, Bristol, RI 02809
Beehive in Bristol is the breakfast and lunch anchor, scratch baked pastries, salads and sandwiches with New Harvest pour-over. Sun-filled upstairs balcony.
Ellie's ★ 4.5
downtown · 250 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903
Ellie's relocated to a bigger Westminster Street room in August 2024 as the daytime bakery cafe to sister Gracie's. French pastry, sandwiches.
Del's Lemonade trucks ★ 4.5
downtown · 1260 Oaklawn Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920
Del's Lemonade has pushed frozen lemonade carts across Rhode Island from a Cranston HQ since 1948, when Angelo DeLucia adapted a Naples family recipe.
Iggy's Doughboys ★ 4.5
oakland-beach · 889 Oakland Beach Avenue, Warwick, RI 02889
Iggy's Oakland Beach order at the window: a dozen doughboys with cinnamon sugar plus a clam chowder for under $15. The Warwick original is year-round.
Knead Doughnuts Elmgrove ★ 4.4
east-side · 139 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence, RI 02906
Knead Doughnuts has multiple Providence storefronts; the Elmgrove cafe on the East Side is the steadiest. Daily rotating brioche and cake-doughnut menu.
Ceremony South Main ★ 4.4
downtown · 121 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903
Ceremony's downtown South Main outpost is the tea-focused sister to the Brook Street original. Loose-leaf service plus the full Ceremony espresso programme.
Borealis Coffee Riverside ★ 4.4
east-side · 250 Bullocks Point Avenue, Riverside, RI 02915
Borealis Coffee opened in 2016 in a restored 1850s train depot in Riverside on the East Bay Bike Path. Specialty roast, gluten-free bakery, cyclist stop.
East Side Pockets ★ 4.4
college-hill · 278 Thayer Street, Providence, RI 02906
East Side Pockets on Thayer Street has been the College Hill Middle Eastern counter since 1997. Syrian-family-run; falafel, kebab wraps, late-night hours.
Dune Brothers Providence Shack ★ 4.4
downtown · 239 Dyer Street, Providence, RI 02903
Dune Brothers' seasonal Jewelry District seafood shack: counter service, picnic tables, fish sandwiches using underused species like dogfish.
D. Palmieri's Bakery ★ 4.4
johnston · 624 Killingly Street, Johnston, RI 02919
D. Palmieri's, in the Palmieri family since the 1905 Providence original, still slings pizza strips, spinach pies and Sicilian loaves from Johnston under $6.
LaSalle Bakery ★ 4.3
downtown · 993 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908
LaSalle on Smith Street is the Smith Hill neighborhood Italian bakery; cakes, cookies, sandwiches, breakfast pastries, a steady morning line.
Hartley's Pork Pies ★ 4.3
downtown · 871 Smithfield Avenue, Lincoln, RI 02865
Hartley's English pork pies use the 1902 recipe Thomas Hartley brought from England. The Lincoln RI satellite serves the Somerset MA original's classics.
East Side Pockets ★ 4.3
college-hill · 278 Thayer Street, Providence, RI 02906
Thayer Street's Middle Eastern counter has fed Brown and RISD students cheaply since 1997. Falafel and gyro wraps under $13, hummus plates, late.
Knead Doughnuts Smith Street ★ 4.2
downtown · 900 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908
Knead's Smith Street outpost serves the daily brioche and cake-doughnut rotation in the same morning window as the other shops; counter ordering.
Den Den Cafe Asiana ★ 4.2
college-hill · 161 Benefit Street, Providence, RI 02903
Den Den Cafe Asiana on Benefit Street is the all-day Korean and Japanese counter from Den Den hospitality. Bibimbap, soba, espresso and matcha.
Charuma Tea Bar ★ 4.2
downtown · 45 Weybosset Street, Providence, RI 02903
Charuma on Weybosset is an authentic Taiwanese bubble tea bar with Taiwanese street snacks. Whole-leaf brewed tea, imported syrups, popcorn chicken sides.
PVDFest Food Truck Village ★ 4.2
downtown · Downtown Providence, Providence, RI 02903
PVDFest Food Truck Village pulls dozens of mobile vendors into downtown Providence over a September weekend each year. Free admission, block-party setup.
Spike's Junkyard Dogs ★ 4.0
downtown · 1623 Warwick Avenue, Warwick, RI 02889
Spike's jumbo all-beef Junkyard Dogs come loaded with tomato, pickle, scallion, banana pepper and mustard, from a Providence-born hot-dog counter in Warwick.
Fellini Pizzeria ★ 4.0
fox-point · 166 Wickenden Street, Providence, RI 02903
Fellini on Wickenden has been the family pizza counter since 1980. New York-style slices, fast service, open to 02:00 weekends; the cheap late slice.