Restaurants in Westerly

At The Pizza Grille of Mystic, chefs grill freshly tossed dough over a wood-fired grill, then layer the thin, crispy discs with gourmet toppings such as ricotta, wild mushrooms, and fresh herbs. Though the namesake entree puts a creative spin on pizza dough, most dishes cleave closely to traditional Italian recipes. Chefs load calzones with housemade tomato sauce and nearly 2-dozen fillings, the same number of fillings found in the mouth of the average sugar-company owner. The kitchen team also tosses pastas with wood-grilled meats and from-scratch marinara sauce.

From Texas beef brisket to tangy Atlantic pulled pork, chef Chet’s culinary philosophy remains the same: it’s not the sauce that makes for good barbecue cuisine, but the stuff you slather the sauce on. To that end, Chet enhances succulent cuts of meat by enrobing them in piquant spices and curing them in his metal smoker behind the restaurant. There, spare ribs, wings, and hot links simmer for up to 15 hours before cozying up to southern sides such as mac 'n' cheese and sweet potatoes.

In addition to his cuisine, Chef Chet pays homage to the rural south by decking out his brick-red dining room with rough-hewn wooden booths, folk art, and wisecracking grandmas at every table.

Voted South County’s best Mexican restaurant by Rhode Island Monthly readers in 2011 and 2012, El Fuego Mexican Grill boasts a BYOB policy and a menu packed with specialty burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. Some burritos stay classic—like the one stuffed with grilled steak, black beans, cheese, rice, sour cream, lettuce, and tomato—while others take a tasty twist, like the ranchero, which subs in ranch dressing and barbecue sauce for the standard sour cream. The brave can take the taco challenge and try to devour five fiery hot tacos in less than 20 minutes. Those who succeed without morphing into dragons earn an El Fuego T-shirt and bragging rights.

In 2011, CBS's the Early Show lauded Iggy's Doughboys & Chowder House for having the best clam chowder in America. Perhaps that’s because each batch is made with clam juice instead of water, with clams added at the very end to ensure tenderness. Or maybe it’s because owner David Gravino whips up the Manhattan-style red chowder using his mother's special recipe. Whatever the cause, the effect is a zesty stew flecked with celery, pepper, garlic, dill, and basil that people are happy to stand in line for.

Within the original dining room, whose patio overlooks Narragansett Bay, Iggy's staff also dishes out clam cakes, stuffed quahogs, and landlubbing entrees such as burgers and BLTs. Housemade root beer and raspberry-lime sodas complement each meal, alongside doughboys—pastries topped with ice cream, cool whip, and powdered sugar. In addition to the main location, there’s a seasonal outpost in Narragansett proper that stays open from March until Columbus Day, the holiday which celebrates Christopher Columbus's discovery of a new world inhabited solely by fish.

In Cafe Luna’s bustling kitchen, Chef Christopher Farrell emulsifies vinaigrettes, stuffs ravioli with the filling of the day, and slides pizzas atop a sizzling grill. Cinnamon-flecked cappuccino and glasses of house wine pair with dishes from the elegant lunch and dinner menus. The elegance exudes from dishes such as roasted-pear salad and veal saltimbocca, each meticulously plated with sprigs of fresh herbs or swirls of sauces. On the eatery’s flower-filled outdoor patio, guests bask in a cool breeze while nibbling dessert biscotti and sending semaphore insults to birds flying overhead with each table’s navy-blue umbrella.

One would be hard pressed to find a can opener anywhere in the kitchen of Cilantro Mexican Grill. That's because the restaurant's chefs don't need one; they never cook with anything that's been canned. Instead, they purée the nutty flesh of ripe hass avocados into jalapeño-laced guacamole, slice fresh tortillas into triangles to be fried and sprinkled with fresh lime juice, and grill fresh, adobo-seasoned chicken, steak, and tilapia. Local growers supply the restaurant with tomatoes and onions. At the Providence, Coventry, Warwick, and Rumford locations, patrons can sip from glasses filled with margaritas or craft beers.