Two-fisted: a dozen fried clam cakes (rounds of clam-studded fritter dough) with a cup of Rhode Island clear-broth clam chowder. The shore-shack starter.
Clam cakes evolved out of New England fritter culture, with the Narragansett Bay quahog catch driving the local version. The fritters travel best fresh out of the oil and dipped into chowder. Rhode Island has its own clam chowder tradition: clear broth, not Manhattan's tomato and not New England's cream. Iggy's at Oakland Beach makes it the canonical shore-shack way and was featured on CBS's Best of America series for chowder.
2 editor picks for Clam cakes and chowder in Providence, ranked by editorial score. All Providence signature dishes · Clam cakes and chowder across every city.
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.
Hemenway's ★ 4.3
downtown · 121 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903
Hemenway's on the Providence River reopened March 5, 2025 after a refresh of the bar, raw bar and lobster tanks. Anchor downtown seafood since 1985.