Italian$$$downtownTue-Sat 17:00-22:00
Bacaro on South Water Street has a Venetian-style enoteca downstairs and a full Italian dining room upstairs. Cicchetti, salumeria plates, Italian wines.
Signature: Cicchetti plates, House salumi, Hand-rolled pasta
Order: A round of cicchetti at the downstairs bar with a glass of Lugana, then a pasta upstairs.
Tip: Tuesday through Saturday, 17:00-22:00. The downstairs bar takes walk-ins; book the upstairs dining room.
American Steakhouse$$$$downtownMon-Thu 16:30-20:30; Fri 16:30-21:30; Sat 16:00-21:30; Sun 16:00-20:00
Mill's Tavern in the old Pilgrim Mill building on North Main is downtown's regular business steakhouse. Wagyu, wood-grilled fish, award-winning wine list.
Signature: Wagyu steaks, Wood-grilled fish of the day, Wood-oven flatbreads
Order: A wood-grilled fish of the day, with a glass off the deep Italian section of the list.
Tip: Monday to Thursday 17:00-20:30, Friday and Saturday until 21:30. Reservations via OpenTable.
Seafood$$$downtownThu-Mon 17:00-22:00
Ben Sukle and Bethany Caliaro's Oberlin on Westminster runs hand-rolled pastas and a small raw bar. 2025 James Beard Outstanding Restaurant finalist.
Signature: House-made pasta, Raw bar, Rhode Island seafood
Order: A pasta from the day's chalkboard and a half-dozen Rhode Island oysters from the raw bar.
Tip: Thursday-Monday 17:00 onwards; walk-ins at the counter, book dining tables on Resy two to three weeks out.
Seafood$$$downtownMon-Sat 11:30-22:00; Sun 11:30-21:00
Hemenway's on the Providence River reopened March 5, 2025 after a refresh of the bar, raw bar and lobster tanks. Anchor downtown seafood since 1985.
Signature: Shellfish platter, Maine lobster, Lobster mac and cheese
Order: The signature Shellfish Platter from the raw bar, or a one-and-a-quarter pound Maine lobster.
Tip: Reservations via OpenTable; the raw bar takes walk-ins and has the best skyline view.
Italian$$$federal-hillMon-Thu 11:30-21:30; Fri-Sat 11:30-22:30; Sun 10:30-21:30
Massimo on Federal Hill's Atwells Avenue runs contemporary regional Italian under the DeQuattro family. Gluten-free menu, all-biodynamic Italian wines.
Signature: Regional Italian pastas, Biodynamic Italian wines, Branzino
Order: Whatever pasta is being run as the regional special, with a glass of small-grower Italian red.
Tip: Monday through Thursday until 21:30, Friday and Saturday until 22:30. Resy reservations.
Southern Italian$$$federal-hillMon-Thu 16:30-21:30; Fri 16:30-22:30; Sat 16:00-22:30; Sun 15:00-21:30
Joe and Esther DeQuattro's Pane e Vino, on Federal Hill since 2002, runs Southern Italian cooking with a 120-bottle all-Italian wine list. Half-price Mondays.
Signature: House-made pasta, Veal Milanese, Italian wine list
Order: Veal Milanese with a glass of Aglianico, or a tasting of the daily pasta specials.
Tip: Half-price wine all day Monday; the Atwells patio is the best people-watching seat on the Hill.