On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Loading...
Tradition and bloodlines rule in Newport. It's filled with classic people of all generations, all married to one another and very gossip friendly. ("You remember Richard, dear? He was married to Louise before she left Andrew who is my first cousin, Kathleen's step-brother.")
American history is right under your nose in Newport, and you're also surrounded by the expensive, glamorous world of international yachts. I love Newport. And I love The Mooring. Like many of the historic sites and gorgeous mansions lining Bellevue Avenue, The Mooring has been around forever. I can't give it five stars, as the food is seldom innovative and in many ways, it is a destination for tourists, not gourmet lovers. BUT, it is a friendly, welcoming destination right on the water in downtown Newport. Their menu overflows with traditional New England food, with award winning chowders, lobster and steak. (It is not very vegan friendly.) Their wine list is amazing for this kind of place. I have always discovered new labels when I am here.
If you can, sit outside on the deck where you'll see the boats come and go, watch the sun shift around the horizon and absorb the scene. The Newport air is crisp and clean. You may want to check in for a while, so bring a sweater. When the sun goes down, it can get chilly on the water.
The Mooring is very family friendly in addition to being a hot spot for singles on a busy Saturday night in August and members of the Newport Rat Pack at the bar. Kids are always welcome here. Love that.
The Mooring is not at all pretentious or arrogant. It's not showing off or trying to be some exotic newcomer to town. Newport has enough of those. The Mooring will always fill you up with generous portions of traditional New England food, warm friendship and large glasses of wine. Thanks for being there. I can always rely on The Mooring.
The Mooring is and has been solid for a good many years. I started coming here before I was married and had kids and the place has blossomed and grown in that time, not so much in size as stature because of the quality of the cuisine. In the summer we always have seafood, in the winter I go for the hearty dishes like duck.
After riding the storm waves at 2nd beach we dropped in and had:
* raw bar of course necks and oysters, love the pickled jalepenos garnish.
* 2 lb Baked Stuffed Maine Lobsta with jumbo shrimp and scallops, almost too much for one person.
* Bag of Doughnuts (upscale Clam Cake like fritter with lobster, crab and shrimp).
* Fish and Chips
* Baked Sole
It was all quite tasty and served with a flair. The service was impeccable. Only the desert was a bit of a let down.
* in the summer sit outside if you can.
* two spacious bars, sit at one if you are just two
* great open main room.
* extensive wine list
* Giada De Laurentiis graced this place with her presence, sorry I missed that.
* Food Network site features Chris Ferris' Chowda recipe.
No complaints (other then paying $12 to park). Bartenders were very friendly, food, servers and atmosphere was very good.
Great view overlooking the water.
OK, there is a caveat to this rating...the food is really great and I would give it 4 stars but I have to take 2 stars away because of the horrible service. I thought it was just the first time I went, but even worse on the second visit. If you decide to go any way, I really hope you will get better service to go with the good food they serve!
Quite possibly the best seafood pie i have ever had!
Great views, good beer, good service and decent prices. We shared the Bag O' Doughnuts for an appetizer and they were like wee bites of fishy heaven. The seafood pie was so good my mouth is watering now thinking about it. All washed down with a cold newport storm amber ale to top it off.
On a recent trip back east we spent a few days in Newport and I was thrilled with this Yelp pick. Yes, you heard me. I planned my dinners around what everybody else had to say.
I really liked this place for the casual yet elegant environment. We started off with a cocktail in the very lively bar that was quite the scene... in a good way!
We were then escorted to the outside patio which made me a little hesitant due to the noise but it turned out to be a great spot. The view right on the harbor watching the boats come in and out at sunset was just beautiful.
We started with the cheese plate which I didn't expect much from considering we were in a place that specialized in seafood however to my surprise it was delish! I had the scampi which was so fresh and citrus based and Mark had the Filet and shrimp. We were both so excited about our meals. Then on top of it all they brought us each a glass of complimentary Champagne to acknowledge our Anniversary.
It was such a nice touch and very much appreciated. The service and ambiance were great and we would definitely go back on our next visit to Newport!
I went here for lunch with a few of my girlfriends during a weekend visit to Newport. The restaurant is gorgeous and very spacious, with dark wood paneling and leather upholstered seats with stud detailing. The whole back end of the restaurant has wonderful open views of the water. We elected not to sit outside because of the strong midday sun, and we were thinking we'd regret this because we wouldnt' have a view of the water. We were pleasantly surprised to have a wonderful view of it because we were seated at a large window table.
The wait staff was attentive and very friendly. Our drink orders were placed quickly and my Arnold Palmer was refilled without me asking when it was a quarter full. One of the girls complained that her mojito was too tart and didnt' have enough sugar syrup in it. That was maybe the only complaint of the meal, everything else was stellar! For appetizer, we decided to share the "bag of doughnuts", deep fried fritters of seafood with a chipotle-aioli dipping sauce. It was well seasoned, crisp and hot, and very tasty!
We decided to have a soup/salad or soup/crab cakes combo for lunch, as we had a full day of tours and sightseeing to do and we didn't want to be too stuffed. Two of us ordered clam chowder, one ordered the award-winning scallop chowder, and another ordered a simple salad of greens. It was all delicious and so fresh. The chowder was creamy and delicious, it had the sea salty cream flavor that's essential in a good chowder! Me and another friend decided to get the special, which was cod cakes with fried green heirloom tomatoes. The rest of the group got crab cakes and stuffed fried oysters with andouille sausage. All of the food was well spiced and seasoned and crisply coated and fried.
I would definitely come here again when in Newport. Excellent dining experience and wonderful wait staff!
WOW!!! Amazing food and service - couldn't have been happier.
We had a large group (8 people) and we were placed on the back patio (right on the water - and overlooking the harbor). Beautiful sunset, and great atmosphere!! Just remember to bring your sunglasses if you're sitting facing the water - the sun hurts!!!
For my appetizer, I had the Seared Tuna (great sushi-grade tuna - and had a very nice spice kick). I should note about this appy that I am not one to choose spicy items of the menu (I believe spicy food masks the true taste), but this Seared Tuna App was wonderful.
"Wonderful" is not the word for the entree that I had - Georges Bank Scallops. I received this entree in the most eye-appealing display of culinary art. AMAZINGLY DELECTABLE would probably be more accurate - wish I could have asked the chef how he made it so that I could have it everytime I had dinner!
Complements to the chef!!! And the Port Wine for dessert - perfect way to top off my meal!!!! You can NEVER go wrong with Taylor Fladgate!!!
I look forward to revisiting this place again!!!! :)
it may look touristy, but oh boy, their "bag of donuts" is just amazing! Their scallop chowder is also a must- rich with a hint of alcohol. request a table on the patio with a view, I promise you won't regret it.
We went here after a really long day of working at the Jazz Festival. I'll be honest, I am wavering between 3 and 4 stars because there were some goods and some just ok's!
The staff was great! It was a Saturday night, it was the weekend of the Jazz Festival and they were rocking busy. But they all kept smiles and were polite. We waited a while for a table (expected!) as we did not have a reservation, but the bar was great for waiting, so the time went fast.
The Bag of Donuts is amazing...have it! We could have eaten another. We also ordered the crab cakes appetizer which was really great as well. When it was time for dinner I had a caesar salad (again great!) - but the dinners left a little to be desired. I had the Seared Ahi, and while the Ahi was really good, the entree as a whole was very bland. Others in our group agreed that the dinner was just on the okay side.
The atmosphere was good, a little more casual than I expected and it was pretty loud. I think if I would have stuck with appetizers and drinks it would have gotten four stars from me.
Do you ever feel compelled to order seafood in a seafood restaurant, even if none of the dishes appeal to you? Especially, when you can smell the salt air and hear the surf crash from your table?
*********************************
No? Oh well, it just must be me. Since I couldn't bring myself to go with the Murrays Free Range Statler Chicken or Hereford Beef Sirloin, I was locked into the "From the Water" side of the menu. I really would have loved some halibut, but the closest fish there was roasted "Whole Stuffed Flounder," for $24 with Brussel sprout leaves, cipollini onions, crispy pancetta, and pear & fennel stuffing.
Sounds mouth watering on the menu, and the presentation was a sight to behold, but the fish itself was bland. (Yeah, I know. Flounder can be that way.) And I found out that I can't stand cipollini onions. I usually don't like Brussel Sprouts, but they made this bed for the fish with the leaves and they were really, really good.
As previous reviewers have noted, the "bag of doughnuts" are absolutely to die for. Can you picture fritters stuffed with lobster, crab, and shrimp? They come steaming hot in a little paper bag and are served with aioli sauce. I only tasted one, but could have eaten the whole bag in lieu of an entrée. I'd eat them with a knife and fork, putting the little morsels in my mouth, torturing my dinner companions with groans, cries and whimpers. "No, I'm sorry, if you wanted one, you should have ordered them yourself."
Props for Julie, our server! She was attentive even though the place was packed. Come to think of it, I should have asked Julie for a menu recommendation.
In the "off season," which we qualified for, you can also get two 3-course meals, with a choice of 4 entrees to include "Cornmeal-crusted Blue Cod," and a bottle of (Beringer) wine for $49.
I'd definitely go back to The Mooring, if for nothing else but a bag of dougnuts.
Great lobster. Nice service. Parked across the street at the meters to save $$.
Everything about the restaurant is nice, save for the food which I thought was exceptional. Again, nothing is terribly inventive or daring, but the Mooring seriously served some of the best food I've eaten in quite some time.
My girlfriend got the baked lobster stuffed with scallops, shrimp and bread crumbs while I got the New York steak while splitting a baked mac and cheese. I'm typically a steak person, but I got some serious plate envy after tasting the lobster. It's a must try.
For dessert, the mint chocolate creme brulee stuck out to us, and it was awesome. Neither the sweetness or the mint-iness dominated the dish, and it was the perfect pairing with the Mexican organic coffee we shared to finish off a great meal.
I really enjoyed this restaurant.
First off, the location is great and the restaurant overlooks the water and Newport harbor. We came around sunset and the view was spectacular.
The bar serves great cocktails, and I was very impressed with their presentation.
The food was really delicious. We went on a Tuesday, and were able to get a 3-course prix-fixe menu for two, with a bottle wine, for $50. Especially since I was here with work people, expensing the $10 wine charge on the receipt would not be an issue!
The blue cod I had was amazing, and I'm not even a big fan of fish. The calamari app was delicious- definitely try it because the cumin sauce was my favorite.
Overall, this is a great place, especially if it's your first time to Newport.
I was very pleased with this restaurant. The location is beautiful, right on the water. The service was very good and so was the food. We tried several items on the menu to get a better idea of the quality.
We had the stuffed clams and they were tasty. We had the bag of doughnuts which was scallop and shrimp fried cakes and they were exceptional. I had a salmon dish and it was delicious. My husband had a pot pie sort of dish and it was very good. I would definitely go back and highly recommend it to anyone in the area looking for a nice restaurant with high quality seafood.
Husband and I had lunch here the other day after discovering that the French Bistro is gone; now there is a restaurant called Flukes in the same location, but that was not open so we didn't get to try it. Off season and all...in any case, we started walking toward Thames St to check menus and find a place to eat.
After seeing the interesting items listed at the Mooring we decided to enter and give it a try. It was about 1:00 and we were seated immediately. I overheard some women at the next table asking the server if there was a corned beef and cabbage special (we were there on St Patrick's day) and there was not, but listen, there are about 1,000 pubs on the other side of the street, so I don't know why they didn't go there first.
OK, our meal. We ordered the doughnuts and fried calamari to share. These doughnuts are fritters with clams and bits of other things. A paper bag of six served with fabulous aioli, so good. The calamari were also fabulous, served with a salsa-like marinara. He had a bowl of the clam chowder and proclaimed it delicious, and I had a field green salad with walnuts and goat cheese. Now this is my kind of salad. No iceberg lettuce, just wonderful fresh baby green leaves and herbs and goodness.
We had all this with a great white wine, Ste. Michelle Horse something? Why can't I ever remember wine?
Service was great and this must be a perfect place to dine in summer.
We had dinner here last night and overall had an excellent experience. We got there at 6:45 for our reservations and were a little surprised at how sparsely populated it was (it did fill up as the evening progressed, though).
The staff was welcoming and friendly, and I had trouble selecting from the many choices on the menu. We ended up ordering half a dozen oysters from the raw bar, the bag of doughnuts appetizer, and my fiancee had the scallops while I had the seafood pie. Everything we had was quite tasty! The oysters were very fresh and delicious, the "doughnuts" withe the special mayo - YUM!, and both entrees delicious. For dessert, we had a pecan frosted pumpkin cheesecake that was decadent and tasty as well.
I would have given this place five stars, but as the restaurant started filling up, the service became slower and slower. There were a couple of large parties in our area (one of which apparently couldn't read the menu because they asked about what was in each and every dish on the menu according to our server - okay, maybe there were some allergies there, but still. . .) and our server said that the area was only being covered by two of them. I felt kind of bad for her, and it's not like we were in a rush, but the time between dropping off the dessert menus and taking our order was on the order of 15 minutes, and then another 10-15 minutes to receive the order. I don't necessarily blame the server, but management should have recognized that there may have been a problem.
I would hate to see the crowds here in the summer (and I will definitely avoid that situation), but we will definitely return again during the off-season.
We stopped in for a couple of pints after a walk. The bar area is quite nice - lots of dark wood. A huge wide wooden bar in a square configuration. Not too busy on a Monday afternoon. Our first bartender was this nice Irish guy. Our second shift bartender was kinda sketchy.
We got a cheese plate, which seemed to have three slices of the same type of cheese (and not very interesting cheese at that). However, they DID give you a small bowl of honeycomb, which was super fun to dig into, harvest your honey, and then apply to your cheese laden cracker. Since my father-in-law keeps bees, I'm saving this idea for future dinner parties.
The sunset was nice. And the company beautiful.
Three of us had the Scallop Chowder to start which was very good, the only complaint being that the scallops were slightly over cooked - I guess it's a fine line when putting them in hot soup since scallops cook so quickly. One person got the Clam Chowder and I had a taste, now that was delicious and I wished I had ordered it instead. We tried an order of the Seafood Doughnuts and they were good, the spicy aioli really made the dish.
Two of us had the Seafood Pie and while it was good, it's a favorite of ours at another restaurant called Oyster Creek, Leeds Pt, NJ and comparisons were inevitable. This one had the seafood on the bottom with a piece of puff pastry balanced precariously on top and we were mystified about how to eat it, literally asking the waiter what to do! He said to sort of mash it down into the seafood which we did and It was messy and awkward, if I wasn't eating with family I would have felt self conscious. Once mashed down it soaked up the small amt of juice there so the dish tasted kind of dry. Again, the scallops were just a tad overdone. (The seafood pie we agreed we like better and get near home is like an actual pie, the dish being lined with the pastry and seafood on top, like chicken pot pie, and there is more sauce and it's creamier).
Another of our party had the Ahi Tuna, rare and the other had the Seared Scallops and they were both perfectly cooked and delicious.
The table shared a generous side of mac & cheese which was possibly the best I have ever had out, plus a garlic and spinach which was fine.
We ordered coffee since we saw they were using french presses but unfortunately they were out of them when we ordered. It was still decent coffee though.
Our dimpled waiter was wonderful, helpful, attentive and timely without being obsequious or overbearing. It's a lovely location, right on the water.
I would definitely go back here, get the clam chowder and seafood doughnuts and maybe try one of their sandwiches or salads.
Aug 08 Update:
yeah, I don't think I'll go back to the Mooring. Last year when I went we had a good experience - the food was good, service was great.
I went a couple of weeks ago with Mom and Aunt, and it was just OK. I thought it would be a good place to bring the out-of-towners for seafood, nice to sit outside and look at the boats. The food was adequate, but probably overpriced given the quality.
But last night was the final straw. The girl at the table next to us had been at the ABC all day (I know because I saw her there) and was WASTED. Loudly talking, dropping f-bombs every sentence while the whole patio area heard how stupid she was for "falling in love." Ugh. NO ONE said anything to her - not even her dining companions, despite getting the stink eye from everyone sitting around them.
Meanwhile, our food arrived. I had a 2lb lobster, hubby the sirloin. First of all, there is no way my lobster was 2 lbs. But I didn't complain about that since hubby took one slice of his meat and sent it back since it was well done. (instead of medium rare like he'd asked for.) So, I start to eat my lobster, sharing with him while he waits - and parts of it (particularly on the body and in the claws) were not cooked enough. I mean, how hard is it to cook a freaking lobster, and don't you get enough practice working at the Mooring? it needed probably 2 more minutes - so not raw or anything, but the uncooked parts were runny and mushy. And of course I was completely finished with my lobster (the edible parts) before hubby's meal came.
When the steak finally did arrive, it was cooked properly but really just wasn't very good. Like, wasn't a good cut of meat, and the sauce that was on it was disgusting tasting. Taste is a personal preference, so fine. Won't get that again.
Hubby finishes eating and had had enough of drunk girl, so goes to complain to the manager. Unfortunately too late as they were now leaving anyway. When they get up, I notice this girls ISN'T WEARING ANY SHOES. Didn't have them in her hand, either, just didn't have any. Why on earth would they seat a drunk girl, much less a shoeless drunk girl, in a place like this? And why didn't anyone on the wait staff or management say anything to this table which was clearly causing a scene?
I felt kinda bad for our waiter - I don't think he'd been in the biz long and he had to field our complaints about the kitchen (which we repeatedly told hm we knew weren't his fault) and then about this woman.
Anyway, we won't be going back. And we won't recommend it to friends when they come in to visit.
The mooring got a new chef over the winter, and apparently the food is greatly improved.
We had the…
Read more »
This place was OK. I wasn't as excited about the food as I was at the Black Pearl. Lobster sandwich was kind of dry and atmosphere wasn't as good. We sat on the back patio and it was LOUD. I wouldn't recommend sitting out there unless you bring your ear plugs. Service was great, but not sure I would go back.
Great location in the middle of Newport, parking can be tough especially in the summer. The lot in front costs $20.00 to park and there is no validation. Always sit at the back bar whether to eat or just drink, has a quiet reserved atmoshpere, great bartenders and very attentive. I find the meals to be inconsistent, sometimes great sometimes not so great. The items I have had and are consistently good have been the bag of doughnuts, great chowder, fish and chips, and incredibly one of the best burgers I have ever had. You will pay tourist prices but the food is decent and the portions hearty. Older more sedate crowd compared to other places, not many kids or drunk 20 somethings.
Last summer...(taken me some time to write a review...induced to now because I want to go back to Newport)....After a a day in Newport we headed to the Mooring and luckily we were able to sit outside adn watch the sunset while eating extremely fresh seafood. It was a pretty casual in my opinion and I was very pleased with everything. I had sole which was top notch. I would definitely head back for some cocktails and seafood overlooking the Newport Harbor.
I ended up having dinner here as well before leaving Newport. A small group of 18 of us flooded one section of the restaurant right before the kitchen closed for the evening. We ordered damn near everything on the menu: appetizers galore - calamari, crab cakes, oysters, and doughnuts galore (not the sweet kind, the seafood kind). I was full before my meal arrived (the crab cakes were tasty and the doughnuts super super good). Actually, the side dish I ordered I could've done without and only ate a couple of bites. Despite hearing great things about it, I was not a fan - a crispy little fried cake of mushroom risotto in a tangy lemony creamy buttery sauce which I just did not care for. No matter, I ate myself into Thanksgivingesque fullness levels by polishing off my scallop entree. Four perfectly seared scallops with super yummy and crisp basil polenta with the most perfect, tangiest, sweetest, most delicious tomato salad. I would've carried those tomatos' babies if they asked me to. After the first two scallops I swore each bite would be my last until I had eaten everything on the plate save for a few bites of polenta.
The steaks looked good, the fish dishes looked good, the mac n cheese looked good and the paella was giant and amazing. I heard no complaints from any area of our giant table and we all left stuffed and happy.
I had lunch at Mooring on a fantastically crisp and clear spring day. The sky was amazingly blue,… Read more »
Nice beach view for lunch. We had clam chowder in another place so we tried scallop chowder this time. It was amazingly great and so were their mini donuts.
You can use the coupon came with Mansion house visit for the meal. Tips are automatically calculated if you use coupon since it adds back the coupon amount to the baseline.
Service was great and prompt.
The view of the warf at sunset was phenominal! So amazingly beautiful and romantic. I felt a bit overdressed, possibly due to my habit of dressing to the menu and more likely to the typical tourists habit of eating after wandering around in the heat and showing up unbathed and in running shoes. (Have the days of bathing and proper society fallen entirely by the wayside? My goodness!)
The calamari wasn't overly impressive. The mussels were fantastic, though a huge portion! Dessert, a molton chocolate cake with fresh fruit, was fantastic! Plus, dessert coffees were a great addition and a nice night cap!
Go if you can get a table outside and don't let them rush you to leave!
AHHHHHERWGTET$T#!! I just found out that on your birthday, you can eat up to $30 of food for free! So...I plan to take my girlfriend here on HER birthday, then I'll be a hero. ;-)
Usually I just go here for the chowder, which is the best I know of in Newport. If you like value… Read more »
I went here for my birthday this part weekend, and I thought everything was amazing.
There was over an hour wait, but since it was so pretty inside, we decided to stay. But we ordered drinks and apps at the bar...so in no time our table was ready.
Our waitress was super nice. My friend said it was my birthday, so she brought us out complimentary champagne and even said my dinner was free. I dunno if this is normal, but I was super-pumped!
Our apps: Crabcakes, Stuffed Peppers and Seared Tuna. All delicious. We licked the plates clean.
Dinner: Ahi Tuna - Excellent, Seafood Pie - Excellent, Chili-Crusted Scallops - Amazing; Sirloin - Excellent, but the mushrooms cheescake was just ok. The Fried rice and Potato sides were all delicious.
PS. Pretty much all the servers are beautiful people. Me and my friends had fun checking out the guys. =)
All 16 of us hungry, hairy, horny men for a bachelor party dinner. Everything was great, especially the seafood Appetizers like mussels and crab legs and scallops and oysters so on
But !
I did not hesitate to send back my god damn steak because I'd ordered it rare and it came to me from the inexperienced waiter god damn medium well done! Hell No. If I am spending 35$ on a piece of meat, they'd better cook it to order and do it right. I can Hear the Hell's Kitchen TV Show with Chef Ramsey screaming about the meat in my head.
Sitting, waiting, watching my friends eat their yummy plates, I fantasized about the tasty time I had a rare steak and fries while eating at an Argentinian Steak House on the famed Champs Ellesse in Paris..ahhh...
So I really hoped my steak would out come soon and without fault.
Within 10 minutes, The floor manager brought a huge, perfectly cooked steak to me with a smile, asked me to cut it and approve it in front of her. I smiled at her and went on to absolutely polish off the steak and fries with gorgonzola butter. I would go back. The views are fantastic and the food is fairly priced for the quality and quantity and atmosphere all make it memorable and enjoyable unless you hate dining on a wharf.
This was a great atmosphere for a quick evening meal.
The chowder was fantastic. We had to wait a little to be seated, but we hung around the busy bar, and grabbed a drink while we waited. It was one of the busiest places i've seen in newport even though it was only may. The staff was ok, I feel like she may have forgotten about us for a little bit, it took a really long time to get the check and pay.
but other than that, no complaints. Food was great, we swapped entrees half way so we could try eachothers.
Nice place, good atmosphere, great wait staff. Great menu that you can tell was created by the chef. I had the stuffed lobster which was recommended by another reviewer- it was deelish! Also had the bag of doughnuts, which were good- dipping sauce was really good. It was maybe a little too much fried dough for me, I expected a little bit more seafood substance in there- but they were good. I will most likely go back here when I go back to Rhode Island, but there are so many other restaurants tempting me!
I had lunch at the Mooring over Memorial Day weekend. Their scallop chowder is exceptional! Absolutely price worthy, you can taste the freshness and natural sweetness from the scallops and the cup of chowder came with 2 whole large scallops, and it was cooked perfectly. Not overcooked. We had oysters too, which was really fresh. I prefer crab cakes to be chunkier, but it was still good.
Overall, great food tasting experience. Its a little pricy, and as a raw oyster lover, I wished they had more than 2 varieties of oysters.
I don't quite understand the great reviews. The food was standard pub grub. The waiter was pleasant, but the manager (? the only guy in a suit and tie) and the hostesses were snooty to say the least. We thought the food was slightly overpriced for what it was, but that's to be expected in such a tourist laden area.
I've been to this restaurant for both lunch and dinner many times and every single time this place has delivered a very good meal. It's location couldn't be any better, right on the water, in the middle of all the shops and other attractions. They have outdoor seating outback that is right on the water and provides great views of Newport Harbor. This year they added onto the outdoor seating area, allowing more people to enjoy eating outside. I've had everything from burgers and fish and chip type meals, to seafood pastas and other fresh seafood meals, and everything has been tasty and above expectations. The service is usually pretty good and attentive. The bar is a good place to hang around and grab a drink while waiting for your reservation (I recommend making reservations for dinner as it fills up fast). The meal prices are about what you would expect for the area, not too pricey, but not the cheapest in the area. Overall I would recommend The Mooring to anyone looking for a nice meal in Newport.
On our first night at Newport we were looking around for a place for dinner. We decided on Mooring. We didn't have a reservation but it only took 20 minutes for a table. Good thing we weren't too hungry. The seafood doughnuts were delicious. We had the baked lobster. I loved the lobster but the stuffing was a little dry for my taste.
Service was excellent and friendly. Our waitress was helpful giving us directions to Block Island for our trip the next day. Definitely will repeat when we're back in town.
I love this place. The service is great, the wine list is decent, and the bag of doughnuts are an absolute must. This is a great place to unwind after doing the Cliff Walk or spending a day at the beach.
I rarely give 5 stars, but the Mooring was amazing. Let me just preface this review with the fact that it was our wedding anniversary, and they treated us like the king and queen that we are :)
At first we were a little overwhelmed by the bible of a wine list, but our waiter was fantastic. He spent a good 10-15 minutes with us just discussing different wines and helping us to make a decision in our price range. The wine we chose (or, rather, the waiter chose for us) was so delicious that we savored it slowly, taking almost 3 hours to finish the bottle. It was grand.
For entree, I had the scallops. They were cooked with a hollandaise-type sauce on top, except the sauce was fruity. The fruit flavor was unexpected and really brought out the flavor of the scallops. Hubby had the pistachio crusted salmon. "Wow" is the best way to sum up that dish- i was sticking my fork in there like crazy!
After dinner we lingered over our wine (there were no more seatings for that night, so we were given the OK) and our waiter brought out dessert wines to try compliments of the house and a complimentary dessert. It was really and truly a special, memorable meal.
I was glad that I listened to other's review of the restaurant and enjoyed dinner here. We made a bit of a tapas meal, consisting of the "donuts" (so good), crab cakes, asparagus, and fish enchiladas. Adding some Riesling to the mix and a waterfront view made for a very enjoyable and filling evening,
For the most part, my dinner at the Mooring was excellent. I commend myself for picking out a great wine, as my friends and I downed a couple of bottles. My friends and I also agreed that the Moors had the absolute best oysters we've ever eaten. I talked one of the people with us into eating one and she can no longer say she doesn't like oysters.
However, I have to deduct one star due to the fact that my tuna was overcooked and not very tasty. Regardless, I would be glad to go back and try something different or maybe just stick with the oysters.
We had apps and drinks at the bar while waiting for a table here. The Arctic Char risotto and Bag o' Doughnuts (fried seafood fritters) were outstanding! Drinks were great too. We were seated for dinner and the bartender came to our table to tell us that he gave us the wrong bill and had to re-run our tab. No biggie. But our waiter was like Flash Gordon! He barely checked on us and seemed to be in a big hurry. We were put off by the service, honestly. The Salmon sandwich was great, and so was the mac n' cheese. The Seafood Scampi was way too buttery and not outstanding. Cappucino's were great and I'd go back to try things we wanted to order but didn't have room for. Not a fantastic but far from bad.
Middletown, RI
Category: Restaurants
Newport, RI
Category: Restaurants
Newport, RI
Category: Restaurants
Newport, RI
Category: Restaurants
Newport, RI
Category: American (New)
If you want to eat well, representative of what…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
