Day-by-day eating plans for Providence. weekend classics, family routes, vegan plans, on-a-budget editions.

Day-by-day plans

Providence weekend: Federal Hill, hot wieners and Al Forno ★ 4.8

First-time visitor, two days2 days

A two-day plan built around the dishes Rhode Island invented: Federal Hill Italian, an Olneyville hot wiener stop, Al Forno's grilled pizza for dinner, and a Hope Street morning of pastry.

  1. Day 1: Saturday: bakery breakfast, Federal Hill, Olneyville wieners, Al Forno

    Morning
    Coffee and a morning bun at Seven Stars Bakery on Hope Street from 08:00. Cab over to Federal Hill by 11:30. Pick up pizza strips at Caserta on Spruce Street, then wander Atwells from the La Pigna arch.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at Andino's on Atwells Avenue. Snail salad, hot-pepper RI calamari (the state appetizer), then veal scaloppine. A coffee at Costantino's Venda before its DePasquale Plaza patio.
    Evening
    Al Forno on South Water Street for grilled pizza and baked pasta; arrive by 17:15 (Saturday opens 16:00) to walk in for parties under five. Then drive to Olneyville for three hot wieners 'all the way' at Olneyville New York System, washed down with a glass of coffee milk; the counter runs until 03:00 Friday and Saturday.

  2. Day 2: Sunday: French pastry, Hope Street stroll, Sarto for dinner

    Morning
    Brunch at Ellie's on Westminster Street, 09:00. Croque monsieur, a kouign-amann, French press coffee. Walk to Bolt Coffee's Washington Street counter for a second espresso.
    Afternoon
    Saturday market is closed today, so instead head up Hope Street to Aleppo Sweets on Ives for baklava and Turkish coffee. Across the street, an early scoop at Like No Udder.
    Evening
    Dinner at Sarto on Dorrance Street, 19:00 (one of the few high-end Italian rooms downtown that runs Sunday service). Drinks after at The Eddy on Eddy Street, the city's reference cocktail bar.

One day: the Rhode Island classics, no fine dining ★ 4.6

Day-tripper or budget-conscious eater1 day

A single-day eating route through every Rhode Island signature: pizza strips at Caserta, calamari on the Hill, hot wieners in Olneyville, frozen lemonade from Del's, and chowder and doughboys at Iggy's. Under $80 a head.

  1. Day 1: Pizza strips, calamari, hot wieners, doughboys, frozen lemonade

    Morning
    Doughnut and coffee at PVDonuts on Wickenden Street, 09:00. Stroll the Wickenden strip past Pizza Marvin if you want to bookmark a second-day stop; otherwise head to Federal Hill.
    Afternoon
    Pizza strips at Caserta on Spruce Street for $5 each, room temperature, eaten standing. Calamari and a side of pasta for lunch at Cassarino's or Andino's; the hot-pepper version is the state appetizer.
    Evening
    Drive south to Iggy's Doughboys at Oakland Beach, Warwick: a dozen doughboys with cinnamon sugar, clam cakes with a cup of clear-broth Rhode Island chowder, plus a stuffie. Finish back in Providence at Olneyville New York System for three hot wieners 'all the way' and a coffee milk; the trucks of Del's lemonade rotate from May through October.

Chef-led East Side: Persimmon, Gift Horse, Nicks brunch ★ 4.7

Splurge visitor or chef-curious eater, two days2 days

Two days following the chef pipeline that runs through Johnson and Wales: Ben Sukle's Gift Horse downtown, Champe Speidel's Persimmon on Hope Street, Derek Wagner's Nicks on Broadway brunch, and the Federal Hill old guard.

  1. Day 1: Saturday: Hope Street start, Federal Hill lunch, Gift Horse dinner

    Morning
    Coffee and a pastry at Seven Stars Bakery Hope Street by 08:30. Stroll up to the Saturday Hope Street Farmers Market at Lippitt Park (May through October).
    Afternoon
    Cab to Federal Hill for lunch at Massimo on Atwells, the bright DeQuattro Italian. Take the regional pasta of the day and a glass of small-producer red. Coffee back downtown at Bolt at the RISD Museum.
    Evening
    Dinner at Gift Horse on Westminster Street, 19:30. Ben Sukle's downtown raw bar (Sky Haneul Kim won the 2025 James Beard Best Chef: Northeast here before her October 2025 departure to Korea). Order the nine-region oyster flight; close with the kitchen's seasonal raw bar plates. Drinks after at The Eddy on Eddy Street.

  2. Day 2: Sunday: West Side brunch, downtown lunch, Oberlin dinner (Persimmon if not Sun/Mon)

    Morning
    Brunch at Nicks on Broadway, 10:00. Derek Wagner's USA Today 2026 Restaurant of the Year; the daily hash and the pancake stack are the highlights. Arrive early, the queue starts at 10:30.
    Afternoon
    Lunch (or a long espresso) at Ceremony on Brook Street. Walk Wickenden Street for an afternoon pie at Pizza Marvin and an Aleppo Sweets baklava to take away.
    Evening
    Dinner at Persimmon, Hope Street, 19:30 (Wednesday through Saturday only; if Sunday through Tuesday, book Oberlin on Westminster instead for chef Ben Sukle's pasta and oysters, Oberlin runs Thursday to Monday dinner). Drinks after at Ogie's Trailer Park on Westminster, the West End kitsch tiki destination.

Three days: Federal Hill deep-dive plus a Newport day trip ★ 4.7

Visitor with three days, wants the Hill and one Aquidneck day3 days

Three days that anchor Federal Hill across two of them and bolt on a Newport day trip on day three: Italian-American old guard on the Hill, an East Bay morning, and the Bowen's Wharf chowder run in Newport.

  1. Day 1: Friday on the Hill: Caserta strips, Camille's lunch, Massimo dinner

    Morning
    Pizza strips at Caserta on Spruce Street at room temperature, plus a coffee at Costantino's Venda Ravioli on DePasquale Plaza. Walk the length of Atwells from the La Pigna arch.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at Camille's on Bradford Street, in the Parolisi family since 1919. Order the tableside Caesar to start and a veal chop, with a glass off the Italian list.
    Evening
    Dinner at Massimo at 134 Atwells, the DeQuattro family's bright contemporary trattoria. A regional pasta off the chalkboard, then a glass of small-grower red. Drinks after at Sarto on Dorrance Street.

  2. Day 2: Saturday morning bakery, Hope Street market, evening fine dining

    Morning
    Coffee and a morning bun at Seven Stars Bakery on Hope Street from 08:00. Walk up to the Hope Street Farmers Market at Lippitt Park (09:00 to 13:00, May to mid-October).
    Afternoon
    Lunch at Bayberry Garden on Dyer Street in the Innovation District, the Dennen plant-filled raw bar with the Pedestrian Bridge patio. Coffee back at Bolt at the RISD Museum.
    Evening
    Dinner at Al Forno on South Water Street, where grilled pizza was invented in 1980. Arrive by 17:15 to walk in for parties under five. Nightcap at The Eddy on Eddy Street, open since 2012.

  3. Day 3: Sunday day trip: Newport, Bowen's Wharf chowder, Newport Vineyards

    Morning
    Drive 45 minutes south on RI-138 over the Pell Bridge to Newport. Coffee in the Bowen's Wharf district before walking to the Cliff Walk for the Gilded Age mansion views.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at the Black Pearl on Bannister's Wharf for the chowder that put the place on every Rhode Island short list; cup of clear-broth Rhode Island chowder, raw bar, sit on the Waterside Patio.
    Evening
    Drive east on RI-138 to Newport Vineyards in Middletown for a late-afternoon tasting (New England's largest grape grower, founded 1995 by John and Paul Nunes). Back to Providence in time for late drinks at Ogie's Trailer Park.
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