Carousel Grille

No horses
but some
pretty
good food

Carousel Restaurant is located right on Oakland Beach and is open year round. It's a new place, less than a year old and was named for the great old carousel that once graced the beach. A group of people are recreating the carousel piece by piece and horse by horse and hope to have it completed by the end of the decade.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/oakland-beach-carousel-foundation-warwick#hrid:_ZOxSomGmKEm5hgm-IpCzw/src:self

The restaurant has a nice bar to accommodate the horde of summer boozers and blottos and tables for those who wish to sit down for a meal. It's not a exceptionally large place but the tables are spread out so you can indulge your gluttony in comfort. Perhaps in the crowded summer months they will decide to squeeze in more tables.

Of course they had the usual Rhode Island seafood on the menu as well as a variety of soups, steaks and pastas. The portions were large enough to satisfy the trenchermen that frequent the area and considering it was off season the food was quite good. It can be difficult to compare seafood because of all the variables that affect it but everyone was more than satisfied with their meals.

The service was exceptional pleasant. Attentive without being fawning or saccharine. I don't like waiters that act like you're a long lost friend. The young man here was friendly and accommodating without being phony.

The restaurant also has some nice lunch special during the week and entertainment during the summer. A nice place to spend some time and gain some weight. Just don't expect to see a carousel.

No horses
but some
pretty good
food

Went here last weekend to take advantage of a Groupon. First thing, I have used Groupon's and similar offerings in the past and in some places they make you feel second class as soon as you bring the coupon out. Either that, or there are so many limitations on them that they are challenging to use. Well, the waitress at Carousel didn't even blink and we were happy with her service throughout.

Anyway, we had the clamcakes, which were fine (on a side note, I still have never had a clamcake that's"loaded" with clams; I've always thought that clamcakes were always a blob of batter that had a few bits of clams in them - not sure where people have had a clam cake that is like crab cake, which to read some reviews is what all clam cakes should be). Dinners come with either a small salad or soup. My wife had the salad, which was about was expected, mixed greens and a few other vegetables, and I had the New England clam chowder, which was also fine, neither the best nor worst chowder I've had. For entrees, we had the baked scallops and the fried shrimp special. Again, both entrees were okay, right smack dab in the middle of average.

As we were finishing our dinners, a 3 woman musical group started performing. They seemed to be quite entertaining, and many of the people there seemed to have shown up for the show. A friend of mine later told me that the group that was performing there gets good reviews. Maybe we should have stayed for the show, but he already had other plans for the evening.

So would we go back? I'm not sure we would go out of our way. It seems like quite the locals/neighborhood establishment and if we lived in the neighborhood we could conceivably stop by there more frequently. While the food was ok, it wasn't anything that would necessarily draw us back, unless we had another Groupon I guess. I suppose that if there was a show that either of us really wanted to go to, we wouldn't have a problem returning, but otherwise, we can find similar dinners in other locations.

I've gone here a few times, and while I can't find anything wrong with it, I can't find anything great about it either. No, scratch that. The food is decent, service was good. At times the menu had me wanting more, wanting something different than what they offered.

First started going here in the summer of 2010 and found that, due to the beach crowd and Iggy's, Carousel was never that busy. The consolation prize, if you aren't satisfied here, you can always go over to Iggy's and OD on clamcakes and doughboys, which are always a reliable backup plan if all goes wrong otherwise.

Food is great. Plentiful portions and very reasonably priced. Ample parking. Amazing seafood. Very nice atmosphere. I have eaten there on more than one occasion, most servers there are wonderful, there is one to beware of, she is not the most professional and has messed up orders in the past, seems its more important for her to get her cigarette break in than my order in. Seems a bit unfocused and flighty. Other than that, I highly recommend it on any night.

Came here to try their 2-for-20 special on Tuesday. Although I can't necessarily complain about the food, it really was nothing special and probably isn't worth it's value if it wasn't for their promotion.
Oakland Beach has many other dining opportunities that will be much more enjoyable than here. Drive right past Carousel Grille and stop by Iggy's or Marley's on the Beach.

I attended a fundraiser event last week for the Hurricane Sandy Victims.
It was fantastic! The food was good as always but the fun was off the charts.
It has always been such an awesome mix of people, all ages, all are welcome.

I moved to N Prov from Warwick and still make the drive. Over the years my son has worked his way through the entire menu. I have never had a bad meal.

It is a great place to go to be with friends.... and meet some new ones. :)
The owners are an asset to the community. They are always giving back to their community.

Would just like to say Thanks to the staff and cooks for making a huge success for a private party we had! The All you can Eat Chicken Dinner was absolutely delicious!
Service was fantastic as well!!
Thanks Again I will be back!
Sherry A.

DON'T DINE-IN YOU'RE IN A HURRY, OR HUNGRY OR APPRECIATE COMPETENT WAIT STAFF!!!!! The restaurant was only 1/3 full on a Friday night, that should have been a sign to stay away but my wife purchased a "group-on" that's what brought us in. We sat for 40 mins before one of the six waitresses even acknowledged were we sitting there (only because we got up to ask the hostess if we had a server). Our meals hit the table 2 hours after we sat down, the waitress only asked if we wanted refills once during that time. The food definitely was not worth the wait. We could've gone to Iggy's and got similar grub for half the price and way better service.

Why would yelp remove this review?

We've been coming here since the place opened. First off, it makes a better bar than a restaurant (their seating setup is just unnatural) and their menu is bland and unimaginative. Second their service has gone WAY down hill. We waited almost 10 minutes for drinks, none of which were mixed or difficult. In fact, we were told (with 3 kids in tow) that bread is only available "if you ask me for it" meaning they wont be bothered otherwise? "L"'s tone was very catty. The owner was present and seems more concerned with their outdoor weekend seating scanning the room for potentially unhappy customers, leave restaurant owners in a good spot and they get lazy. That will be the very last time we go there even for date nights i'm all set, i'd rather wander across the street spend a few extra hard earned dollars and know i'm taken care of and the food will not disappoint.

Everything tastes like it came out of a Sysco container.... yuck nothing is fresh. overpriced as well.