Restaurants in Rhode Island

The flavors of northern and southern Italy can be tasted from across the Atlantic at Stella D'oro. What seems like an impressive feat is actually quite simple: chef Sammy Cecunjanin just follows his family recipes. Dishes include classic pairings such as rigatoni, sausage, and white wine sauce, as well as heartier eats such as rack of lamb with a cognac sauce roasted into the meat. Unsurprisingly, lobster—which is the East Coast's official regional crustacean—finds its way onto the seafood-heavy menu by way of the lobster-filled ravioli, the lobster and pappardelle, and the lobster tail and linguini.

Millonzi's Bar & Grille serves its elegant take on pizzas, burgers, and other grill food in a cozy West Warwick dining room. Chef Kevin Millonzi—who has overseen catering for presidents, governors, and the kings of various hills—makes recipes such as linguine with house-made basil pomodoro sauce and roasted salmon with scallion aioli. Corn salsa tops pork porterhouses, and grills fire pepperoni and margherita pizzas. Diners can gaze at sports on four televisions, sing karaoke on Friday nights, or play Keno games.

The Bradford first opened its doors 30 years ago as a neighborhood convenience store, supplying the community with groceries, newspapers, and quick lunches of classic Italian-American cuisine. Although the aisles may have disappeared, The Bradford remains dedicated to cozy, homestyle comfort foods that draw inspiration from the Old as well as the New World.

Pasta dishes, oven-crisped pizzas, and pan-seared seafood entrees fill the menu of familiar-sounding meals. The restaurant's chefs import prosciutto and make everything from meatballs to pesto sauce in-house. Dedicated as it is to Italian flavors, The Bradford acknowledges the region's culinary character by incorporating ingredients such as locally grown produce.

The Bradford's ambiance embraces a similarly familiar vibe. Exposed brickwork and high-topped wooden tables create an inviting setting amid the earth-toned walls lined with framed artwork. Pendant lamps and ceiling fans dangle from the high ceilings, ensuring that the warm space remains well-lit and comfortable.

Patriots Diner is a throwback to the 1950s, a time when restaurants and soda fountains served as important hubs of socialization. The menu there deepens nostalgia with dishes that the owners hope emulates the cooking most people grew up with. Under glowing lights like hanging martini glasses, plates brim with juicy burgers, fish and chips, meat loaf, and pork chops. Coffee cups warm hands next to all-day breakfast offerings of omelets and waffles beneath walls decorated with vintage magazine covers and photos of Christopher Columbus’ wooden scuba flippers. The restaurant’s neon-blue lights are easily seen from the roadside and match the dining room’s royal blue booths and chrome-trimmed stools.

Come Along Inn dishes up a comforting menu of sizzling burgers, saucy wings, and sudsy brews in an idyllic neighborhood eatery crowned by a charming vintage neon sign. Slathered in sweet and spicy sauces, a salacious selection of Wicked Good wings slathered with cool dressings ($5.99) glide into mouths as smoothly as a mayonnaise-coated Slip 'n Slide. Accompanied by crispy fries or golden tater tots, the Inn’s third-pound burgers include the robust bacon cheeseburger’s panoply of bacon, american cheese, and fresh veggies ($5.99) and The 402’s mouthwatering medley of mushrooms, grilled onions, bacon, and your choice of cheese ($6.29). Flex your pop-culture prowess through mouthfuls of beer-battered fish and chips ($6.99) at Wednesday–evening trivia contests or warble slurry odes to the restaurant’s full-service bar, flat-screen TV, and homespun décor during karaoke on Sunday nights.

L'attitude's expert savory stackers craft an eclectic menu equipped with succulent patties to satisfy the empty space in a bun's life. Flirt with the brandied-pear burger with caramelized walnuts, dried cranberries, and gorgonzola ($10) or chow down on the Berube burger, which banishes hunger pangs and confuses alarm clocks with breakfast fixings such as a fried egg and bacon alongside crispy-onion strings, Vermont-cheddar cheese, and siracha mayonnaise ($10). The Missionary blue-cheese burger pairs the tangy cheese with spicy-Cajun seasoning and sliced red onion ($9.50) and the Bare Naked burger ($8 value) waltzes across palettes in its birthday suit, unrestrained by cumbersome toppings ($.75–$1.25, not included with the Groupon if extra toppings make the value of two burgers more than $20).

15 Point Road, A special treat in Portsmouth Rhode Island along the Sakonnet River. Busy, but not crowded, with an enchanting moonlit river view. A traditional menu pleases most everyone and house specialties are an ever-changing eclectic delight of innovative and contemporary dishes.