Restaurants in Pawtucket

Skarr introduces visitors to an exotic culture and tradition with its Lebanese-style menu and Middle Eastern-inspired ambiance. Tangerine-colored walls create a fitting aura amid hookah puffs, which fill the air with fruity traces including bananas foster and raspberry lemonade. Similarly, the cocktails menu features an assortment of sweet elixirs, such as the Godiva Seduction—a blend of Godiva white chocolate liqueur, vanilla vodka, and crème de cacao served in a chocolate-lined glass.

Owner Tony Lanni's mother Maria oversees all of the chopping, grilling, sautéing, and baking that unfolds inside of Il Fornello's kitchen to ensure that each Italian dish gets seasoned with adequate amounts of homey comfort. Piles of pasta, sizzling steaks doused in a variety of sauces, fresh seafood, and juicy chicken dishes adorn golden tablecloths inside the ruby-hued dining room, where rollaway dividers offer increased privacy and can be configured into barricades for impromptu food fights. Il Fornello also hosts private parties for up to 80 people and offers comprehensive catering services for soirees at other locations in the solar system.

The outdoor patio of Carousel Grill nestles near Narragansett Bay, bathed in the warm coastal sun. Baskets of fried clam cakes and cups of chunky clam chowder travel to tables in the arms of servers, who cradle them with the tender spirit of a stork. Carousel Grille’s menu revolves around fresh seafood, showcasing clams on the half-shell, dressed up for the casino, or stirred into creamy red or white chowder. Inside, a granite bar corrals barkeeps who serve up bottles of Boston-brewed Sam Adams beer under the glow of high-def TVs that broadcast Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots games.

After years in the restaurant business, Ramon and Armando Ruiz were ready for a change. Tired of the gimmicky marketing that characterizes many Italian franchises, they joined with Ramon’s son Enrique to open Andiamo Italian Ristorante—an intimate, neighborhood joint that emphasizes the family orientation of Italian culture. “We don’t want to say this is who we are, deal," Enrique told Eagan Patch. "We want to build relationships with our customers and encourage and welcome feedback.” To that end, their menu of mostly Italian entrees, pastas, and pizzas also includes nontraditional cuisine such as walleye fillets and burgers. The dining room’s decor remains 100% Italian. A mural of rustic wine barrels sweeps across warm orange walls, and a tricolor sign glows above its outdoor patio. Ruiz and his staff also venture beyond the restaurant’s confines to cater various events.

Cafe Gianna's freshly constructed dishes reflect flavorful Old-World Italian recipes served morning, afternoon, and evening. Executive chef Dave Thomas melds seafood, veggies, and succulent carne into pastas, pizzas, and children's songs about lost meatballs and pairs globally inspired à la carte eats such as the popular sesame-encrusted ahi tuna with gourmet desserts. The courteous wait staff, food-laden plates in hand, navigates through a cozy dining room or a private event room that holds 20–40 guests. During warmer seasons, outdoor seating offers mealtime views of Coventry and its roving wildlife imported straight from Tuscany.

A favorite celebrity haunt stationed on Federal Hill, Mediterraneo pairs its menu of contemporary Italian cuisine with a list of more than 150 Californian and Italian wines. Like a sea captain's wistful stare across the waves, the bill of cuisine reflects a deep, abiding love for the ocean, decorating plates with shrimp sautéed in garlic, roasted filets of scrod, and littleneck-clam frutti di mare. Diners capture noodles into swirling vortexes of tomato-basil-plum sauce atop their forks, and steak lovers tuck into tender morsels of filet mignon brushed with olive oil and sided with wild mushroom and a port demi-glace.