Thin or thick stone-ground flint-corn meal pancakes, made with hot water or milk and cooked on a griddle. Eaten at breakfast with maple syrup, or as a side to chowder. Rhode Island's official heritage dish.
Johnnycakes pre-date Rhode Island statehood, with origins in Narragansett tribal nokehick (parched cornmeal). Designated the state's official cornmeal cake in 1968. Kenyon's Grist Mill in West Kingston has stone-ground the canonical Rhode Island flint cornmeal since 1696. East Bay style is thin and crispy; West Bay style is thick and cake-like.
3 editor picks for Rhode Island Johnnycakes in Providence, ranked by editorial score. All Providence signature dishes · Rhode Island Johnnycakes across every city.
Also in: Burlington.
Nicks on Broadway ★ 4.7
west-side · 500 Broadway, Providence, RI 02909
Derek Wagner's Nicks on Broadway in Providence is a 2026 USA Today Restaurant of the Year. Seasonal locally driven cooking; Wagner a 2025 Beard finalist.
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.
Cassarino's ★ 4.1
federal-hill · 177 Atwells Avenue, Providence, RI 02903
Cassarino's, on Atwells since 1988, is the candlelit Federal Hill room locals book midweek. Northern Italian classics, marble bar, polished service.