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Categories: American (Traditional), Bars, Caribbean [Edit]
348 Thames StRed Parrot is a great place for a reasonably priced meal (especially if you're with family and/or children) in Newport. My sister (who lives in Bristol) comes here once in a while and had been telling me about it for some time, so we went recently, and I can see why she returns.
The restaurant offers a very wide and reasonably priced menu with something for everyone and the atmosphere itself is attractive and interesting. The fare here is heavily seafood-based with a variety of meat and pasta dishes as well, and the portions are huge. I ordered blackened chicken pasta, which was very good, although I'm somewhat, reminded of chain restaurants like Cheesecake Factory with the varied menu (this can be both good and bad). Others I was with ordered burgers and salads, and everything looked good, if a bit generic. We were seated upstairs in the cozy wood-paneled dining room and the restaurant was fairly quiet on a Friday evening, although I guess that can be expected since it's the off-season.
Red Parrot definitely has competition in Newport, but I think it's very good and would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for something for everyone and a reasonably priced comfortable location for a meal.
We decided to come here for dinner before cocktail hour for my cousin's wedding party before the big day. Anyway, Newport is a gorgeous place to visit even in the rain. But during the winter season, the place isn't as lively as in the summer.
This place was recommended to us by the Courtyard Marriott employees where we stayed that weekend.
The building/restaurant was impressive. Lots of wood and elegant decor. There were 3 levels to this place.
We sat at the 2nd level with a street/harbor view. It was romantic. The menu was extensive so it was quite difficult to choose what to eat.
We started with the lobster bisque and the french onion soup. My fiance said the FOS was good but my lobster bisque had way too much sherry and not enough lobster. The essence of lobster was there but no lobster meat. We were also served bread but the bread wasn't warm/hot so not sure if that was the norm. Then we tried the Seafood Pu Pu (2 raw oysters, 2 raw clams, 1/4 lbs of spiced shrimp, 3 crab claws). I am not a raw seafood person but I tried the raw clam with a squirt of lemon and lots of cocktail sauce. BLAH! It was so hard to get it down my gullet. My fiance had the same problem with the clam but she had no problems with the oysters. We really polished off the shrimp and crab claws. They were good!
Now for the entree: We both shared the Lobster and Sole with jasmine rice and asparagus. Much to my chagrin, the sauce they used for the Lobster and Sole was the same as the lobster bisque. UGH! More sherry flavor! I barely finished my half of the entree. That sauce had too much sherry as well!
All in all, it was a fairly moderate/expensive dinner with fair service and good food (except for that damn sherry flavor!) Seafood in New England is totally different than seafood in the Washington, D.C. area cause it was FRESH!!! I would say a lot of seafood restaurants here in New Engalnd pwn the ones in D.C. Even the expensive ones in D.C. No comparison! This place was okay! It was worth the try...
After walking up and down broadway, I went from not feeling so hungry to having strong craving for some seafood. However, most of the decent looking restaurants are quite formal, crowded and pricy. My friend and I definitely wasn't dressed for a fancy dining experience, my wallet wasn't prepared for splurging and I really just wanted to variety of seafood to nibble on while i have a beer or two.
We decided on Red Parrot since it easily grabbed our attention--it's big and busy and it's menu looked pretty decent. I decided to stay after seeing that we could dine at the bar (thus no pressure to order full meals). The bar-tender was friendly although he wasn't great at his job, but since I wasn't there for the bar experience I am going to let that pass.
I ordered lobster bisque and seafood pupu to nibble on. The lobster bisque was bland, and for $7/cup it was serious lacking in substance. I might have come across a few nano pieces of lobster, but it didn't contributed much to the flavor or the substance, instead "cream" dominated those two fields. Let's just say I was eating hot flavored cream with lots of crouton in it.
The seafood pupu was on the other hand amazing. It had 2 littleneck, 2 oysters, 2 jumbo shrimp cocktail, 3 crab claws and 1/2 lb of red stripe shrimps on one big platter. The littleneck, oysters and red stripes were especially outstanding.
I took off two stars b/c of the lobster bisque and the average service at the bar. Although the pupu was really great, it was b/c of the freshness of the seafood not due to the culinary skill of the restaurant. I definitely plan on visiting Newport again, but Red Parrot most likely won't be my restaurant choice next time.
A colleague and I were in town for a conference. We made it to the Red Parrot. We were happily surprised! Great food, great service. Our waitress was attentive and friendly, as were the hostess and other staff in the establishment.
We had our beers - which were fabulous and on draft. We then both ordered salads. Hers had mandarin oranges and walnuts and a fantastically tangy dressing. Her own words, not mine!
I had The Mistress salad, which was a simple side salad with a fabulous blue cheese dressing! All ingredients were fresh and crispy. The best side salad that I have had in a long time! You wouldn't think that it would be so hard to get it right, but the Red Parrot got it right and then some! Fresh greens, cucumbers, shredded carrots, red onion, croutons, green peppers, and grape tomatoes - with the delectable garlic-blue cheese dressing. So savory!!
My friend had the Caribbean jerk chicken wrap. She loved it and the sauces on it. Unfortunately, I didn't pay much more attention since I was loving my super rich Red, Red Russell sandwich! This sandwich was so rich and so not healthy. I loved every last bite!! It was warm, tender, thinly sliced roast beef with boursin cheese, bacon, and swiss cheese. This sandwich was so messy, and thus, so good!! I loved it. The only downfall of the meal were the fries. They were thicker than I prefer and with the crusty stuff on them some restaurants use.
I REALLY wish that I had had room for dessert. The coconut cake sounded fabulous, but I was simply too full. Next time!
I enjoyed my time at the Red Parrot and recommend the food, atmosphere, and friendly staff to everyone! It is a much better option than the Brick Alley Pub. Thanks, Red Parrot!
When I was a graphic design major at Roger Williams University my friend and I would travel to Newport, RI for the day. Walking the busy cobblestone streets and sidewalks we were looking for a place to grab a decent bite. Being a fairly large group coming to a decision was difficult and I was starving. Finally after what felt like 20 minutes of searching we came across The Reb Parrot that stood out along one of the busy street intersections.
It was a great spring afternoon and the restaurant had the windows open which let in the breeze that came off the ocean nearby. We all sat around one of the large tables in the upstairs dining area. Looking over the menu we saw that they have a lot of delicious options to choose from at great prices.
I don't like to complicate things too much so I prefer to stick with my standard burger and fries when walking around for an afternoon. I was delightfully please finding the burger to be cooked to my liking (medium to medium-well) juicy, plumb with just the right bit of char as it rests between a bun with lettuce, onion and a tomato. A well portioned of fries and a fresh dill pickle spear waited along to the side.
It's been some time since I've visited Newport but I always like to come here for lunch because it has great food at a great price and reminds me of the days I was in college not too long ago.
I was attracted to this restaurant when I saw there windows. The service is friendly, but the food is so-so.
We order the Grilled Mahi-mahi which is bland and the side, we chose mashed potato was just average quality.
We also had 2 teasers : Siamese sticky wings and Indonesian Chicken Satay. They are 2 dishes from different culture, but they were served with the same dipping sauce. The Siamese sticky wings is the best out of the 3 dishes we have.
Disappointed with the food overall. Guess this is what you get from Touristy location, whereby people don't expect return customers?
I've eaten here several times over several years. My visit last week was typically pleasing. Wonderfully large menu with lots of interesting and varied choices. My favorites include the conch fritters, nachos, black and white seared tuna, Jamaican Me Crazy Mon Pork Chops, the Portuguese stuffed clams, and the steamers. All the portions are generous.
It's a very busy, very noisy place. The hostess is usually pretty accurate with her estimate of the waiting time. On a weekend night the wait can exceed an hour; we were told it would be 30 minutes and it was. I'd probably agree to wait 45 minutes for a table at the Parrot... waits all over Newport can be long. The wait staff is always friendly and mostly attentive. Blender drinks and other apps are remembered as superb from my previous visits. And yes, the Swedish Fish cocktail does "taste just like the candy."
I read some of these reviews about how great the meals are here and I had to go back to see what I missed. Have been going here for many years and last night I confirmed what I always knew. A place with standard pub food, great to share a late night appetizer and beer at the bar that is about it. In the summer months forget about parking, very loud, and very busy. Will you see you again when all the tourists go home, grab a seat at the bar with a beer and nachos watching the Patriots.
Red Parrot and Brick Alley Pub could morph into one they are so similar. Both menus are too large,… Read more »
saw lines waiting and friend heard good things about this place, thus went in to wait and try.
first, the waiting system is so confusing. they have 3 floors but instead of getting in one line at a centralized location, you are greeted by the G/F hostess, then sent to one of the floors above, where you'd be greeted by ANOTHER hostess, who'd ask you to leave your name and wait around there. so it is possible that someone above or below you who arrives later than you could have a seat before you, or--on the bright side--you could be that lucky ba5tard someone else is cursing at while you get seated.
after name was taken, we might have been given a buzzer (don't remember now), and were told something along the lines of not to leave the FLOOR coz we needed to be there when name is called/buzzer vibrates. some dictatorship stuff only restaurants that don't care about customer service would announce. that or they just want you to spend money on drinks at the bar, conveniently located right next to you, on the other side of the crowded hallway & staircase where everyone else was waiting for a table.
were seated after some 15-20 minutes, reasonable for table for 5 on a weekend. while everything looked enticing on the menu, not everything that arrived lived up to its name. the "conch fritter" appetizer had no distinct taste or texture of conch (all chopped up, of course), and the batter was too buttery and mushy. maybe fritters are supposed to be that way, but now i learned. it was crunchy on the outside, though, i'd give them that much. but for an appetizer that costs some $10 or so for 6 pieces, i'd expect a little more seafood taste than the soup my grandma makes w/conch.
the steamed clams were ok, but nothing to remember by. meager portion too, slightly. had a couple sips of friend's "award-winning clam chowder"; it tasted more like campbell's cream of mushroom to me. now i remember--there seems to be a gold medal on their label too, on the can. yeap, award winning.
for entree, friend ordered a lobster BLT, which she enjoyed considerably. others said their respective dish was so-so or ok. i ordered the stuffed shrimps dinner w/mash and asparagus as sides. i mean, the first shrimps or two were probably ok, but after that, i found the stuffing too much in proportion and too dominantly in taste that i really didn't feel like i was eating any shrimp at all. well the shrimps were dead for long (probably frozen) and their meat had no taste nor crunch to it to begin with. probably why they're stuffed in the first place. the mushy mash was like baby food, almost watery. and the asparagus was completely overcooked (ahem, over-boiled); they were frail and tasteless.
so, still care for dessert? i dare not.
on the bright side, wait staff were quick on their feet and generally friendly, and service wasn't lacking given how busy they were. but with sooooo many fine restaurants in the area, i wonder why this one got such huge lines. my only reasonable explanation: a classic tourist trap.
Oh Red Parrot...there you sit on the corner of Thames, beckoning to every tourist that passes...
Ive been here a few times. Its fine. I went back recently at the request of my parents on Memorial Day weekend. I was dreading going here because it was a) Friday night of Memorial Day weekend, b) gorgeous weather all day and c) it was the night before the RWU graduation...all a sure recipe for at least an hour+ wait at the infamous RP.
By some miracle...there was no wait. We were seated immediately on the first floor (YES! I hate sitting upstairs!) at a huge booth with a great view of the Thames/Memorial intersection. Our server was incredibly friendly and patient with my mildly neurotic parents.
The menu is soooo long and for the most part, predictable. They do try to get a little creative with their cajun inspired dishes but since these are Newport prices and you are at the mother of all Newport tourist traps, their interesting dishes are way more expensive then they should be.
I went with a simple penne in a light tomato sauce with a huge helping of ricotta cheese on top. It was good, but basic. I didnt eat a whole lot of it but later that night after a few drinks, I fell in love with this dish in my hotel room. My husband went for the cajun chicken with beans and rice which he liked for the most part, although the chicken was overly coated in jerk seasoning that tasted a bit too salty. Like me, this dish was better appreciated much later that night back at the hotel. My parents had forgettable burgers that they seemed pleased with.
Bottom line: sufficiently overpriced tourist trap with a huge menu in a great location in Newport. Go so you can say youve gone, but next time you come to town, branch out a little and check out some of the smaller, out of the way restaurants.
After asking my friends where I should go in Newport, those who knew the area recommended a stop at The Red Parrot. I was told it was really different that what you'd normally find in Newport. I didn't think it was that different but I do agree that it's worth checking out.
The waitress was either new or a little slow. After she failed to ask, I spoke up and specified which sauce I want on my pork chops she looked at me like I had eight heads. I'll cut her a little slack because the menu is pretty huge, maybe she didn't get to the chapter on chicken and pork entrees yet. Once the food arrived I was surprised to find 3 chops and a mountain of potatoes on my plate. The food was good but one chop and a large hill of potatoes was left uneaten and went home with me for lunch the next day.
After a long night of riding the porcelain bus, my boy friend and I headed to Newport to do the christmas mansion tours. Gay/touristy I know. I loved it none the less. I digress. Where was i? OH! ok so i felt like total shit and needed to eat...and the only way to cure a hangover(which is what ill call this because i was still drunk) is greazzzzzzzzy, overpriced food(JK on the overpriced food. I like a good ol roach coach. minus one star for price).
Yes, this place is a major tourist trap, but honestly who really cares. It is a cute place. I come from SF...the home of the tourist trap restaurants...and some of them are actually worth going to anyway. I will say, I was actually pretty impressed with the food. I might not be if i had it now, but at the time it was heavenly. I got the monterey chicken sandwich...melted monterey cheese, roasted red bell pepper and artichoke hearts. amazing. I dont know what kind of bread they use, but it was SO good as well.
Service was way slow. Like...snail mail slow. It wasnt too crowded either, which made me wonder. The waiter made up for it though. He was super nice. And wearing shorts...it was in the 30s. I dont get it.
This is a MUST stop while in Newport, Rhode Island! We love the conch fritters (the sauce that comes with them is awesome) and the sweet potato fries. The menu is HUGE! Every type of person will find something here! Their salads are larger than you think, the chili rocks and everything else our table had was completely devoured! We love this place! Our waitress took our order without writing anything down. We were quite impressed when she didn't screw up at all!
EAT HERE!
Not a fan of most of the places in the Newport wharf area, mainly due to the tourista aspect, but we hit the Red Parrot on the recommendation of some friends...very pleased...
They have a very large variety (something for everyone), reasonable prices, and great service...will definitely keep this in my back pocket the next time I have out-of-town guests asking to hit Newport...
The only thing I liked about this place was the my entree. Starting out going to Scales and Shells but they weren't open for lunch and I didn't want to wait until dinner time.
My boyfriend ate here with his parents months before and said it was pretty good.
We entered and found our way to a hostess stand, there were two college girls talking, we stood there for about 60 seconds until one of them noticed us. She asked how many, I said 2. She then told us to go upstairs and find the hostess stand up there... FIND it. My frustration was beginning to build up. We were able to find the hostess stand easily, but I noticed that it was extremely hot in upstairs portion.
We were sat at a 2 top near the window facing the water which was nice.
Our table was dirty with the previous guests crumbs. The server felt bad and quickly cleaned off the table. (something the hostess should have noticed.) Also, the second floor seems to be the place where they seat large parties and families, it can be irritating if the family is obnoxious, but our family was pleasant.
Our server was friendly and prompt, she welcomed us to Newport and to the restaurant. We ordered the calamari for an app. It was just okay... wayyyyy overcooked as it was rubbery and a little oily.
For an lunch I had this lobster sandwich with this amazing mayoey sauce. It was fantastic, it was huge and the lobster was fresh!! I would go back there and get that again and again.
My boyfriend had a fried catfish sandwich, it was pretty decent.
I would eat here again for lunch and maybe get some drinks.
All of the times that I have been to the Red Parrot in Newport the food has been great! Both on dates and with my family it was enjoyable, the menu is huge, parking can sometimes be a little tricky! I would suggest this place to anyone going into Newport! Good prices and good bar! I did have one horrible experience with a waitress here, I hope she got fired cause my entire party was livid at her!
Whenever I come here I am always like ehhhhhhhh. The frozen drink list is pretty extensive and creative if your into that kinda thing. But the lobster bisque gave me a tummy ache and the oysters tasted like flavorless mush. This is coming for a gal who knows her oysters, Bucko.
Oh and the bartender didn't really seem to know that he was doing. My martini wasn't even cold!
We went here for lunch on memorial day holiday weekend on a friend's recommendation. It was of course crowded, which is expected but what was not expected was the hostess/s attitude!!!
As we enter and go up to the hostess and tell her table for 2, she sends us upstairs, where these 2 college girls are standing, talking to each other. When we tell them we need a table for 2 , we are told it is 15 - 20 minutes wait. I go back dowstairs to check if a table has opened up and the hostess downstairs says..I cannot take your name down but you can come back after 20 minutes and see!!! Whereas I see a clipboard with her with names of people and number of guests..I should have called her out on it!!!
We go back up and they give us a buzzer that lights up 10 minutes later. When we go up to the stand, one of the hostess looks at the other one and goes " it's table...." and the other one shrugs her shoulders and the hostess says "follow me" and sits us right next to the bathrooms...it was stinking!!!
We go back and ask for a different seat and then we get roll of eyes, a sigh and then we are asked to go upstairs. We were then seated on the 3rd floor near the window.
Our server was friendly and prompt though the food took a long, long time to come. We ordered the catfish and sole sandwich for lunch. The sole sandwich was good but the catfish was all batter and barely any fish.
The food was ok and was definately not worth any attitude at all!!
The Red Parrot on a Saturday night is packed, regardless of their almost infinite seating areas. At the same time, our party of 6 was seated in only 20 minutes after being told it would be 45, which was a good start.
I can't say there was anything remarkable about the Parrot. The service was decent, the food was pretty good, the prices were fine, and there was plenty of space in the dining area upstairs where we ate. But this place isn't really memorable in any way, shape or form.
What I can say is that their menu, which is like going through a mail order catalog, is ridiculously long. I would think that having so many choices on the menu would make it difficult for the chefs to be able to make any one item on it delectable. And I would probably be right.
The ribs I had were monstrous and fairly tasty, the sweet potato fries were piled on high, and my beer was cold. I can't say much more than that. I also tried the lobster ravioli, which was actually pretty good.
If you've got a large party, like say a bachelorette party (of which there were 3), this is a good place to go for dinner. You'll probably get seated fairly quickly, the menu is big enough to appease everyone, and the drink choices are plentiful as well. But I doubt anyone in your party will say "hey, that was a great dinner!"
Little background on The Red Parrot:
The building is listed on the National Register of Historical Places in Newport. It was built in 1898 by John Alton Barker as a meat packing house, where it employed hundreds of people during the era known as "The Gilded Age". Through the years this building has housed a variety of eating establishments serving heads of state, diplomats, royalty, movie stars, the thousands of people visiting Newport each year...
This place has a HUGE menu and features steaks, chops, seafood and chicken with a Caribbean flare to it. Delish. Be sure to check out their EQUALLY gargantuan list of bevvies! Lots of hot and cold drinks to wet your whistle...AND...the Red Parrot is within walking distance of many of the area's hotels and B & B's so you can go for a romantic dinner, stay for drinks and tumble back to your room for a little whoopee! I mean...you know, if yer into that. ;)
I frequent here a bit and grab drinks at the three bars that are inside this spot. It sits in a prime location and is on Lower Thames which is where the action is. The drink creations are the best. Try the Swedish Fish concoction. It is awesome. The menu is a mox of seafood and steak and other stuff more like bar/grill food. I enjoyed the dinners but it wasn't the greatest food. It is what it is for this type of place. I would say it is more a drinking/appetizer place since there are tons of better places along this popular street. Try it out though, since it really does do a good job with the drinks and the place is very big to accomodate large groups!
The Red Parrot is located in the heart of downtown Newport on Thames Street. Mostly a tourist trap and overpriced.
The menu tries very hard to be Caribbean and has an overly descriptive menu.
I was disappointed with a berry dessert I had that ended up only being strawberries. Half of the strawberries were fresh and then they mixed in canned-type strawberries. Not good!
It's been a while since my dining experience at the Red Parrot, but I remember it rather well. My friend and I were visiting her brother (who went to RWU) who was staying in Newport for the summer. After walking around Newport for a while, we decided to get some dinner and drinks.
This place was packed and we had quite a wait before we'd be seated, so we headed up a huge flight of stairs and over to the upstairs bar to indulge in some yummy concoctions. After making it to the table, we started off with Mucho Nachos which were mucho good - they must have been, because I can still remember them. I believe, I had the Portabella-n-Veggie Fajitas for my meal. I can't remember what my friends ate, but I do remember that we were all pleased with our Red Parrot experience.
The menu was extensive and made up of several pages - like twenty - and was filled with all types of traditional American food, some of which included a touch of the Caribbean. The food alone earns three stars, while the fourth star gets picked up from a combination of things: good service, nice atmosphere, and menu variety.
We sidled up to the upstairs bar of the Red Parrot and I treated my husband to his first-ever oysters and bloody mary. Boy am I glad we came here! We initially thought we would just start our night here with the previously mentioned yummies but the oysters were so big, and so good, and the bloody's so damn perfect, we wound up staying.
A few beers and the rare tuna salad and lobster quesadillas later we left happy. If I could rate the food separately, I would give an enthusiastic 5 stars. High quality, low prices.
However, the service was not good. Drinks sat empty for greater than 20 minutes at a time, and even were cleared away without asking if we wanted another! Same thing with the menus, they were just taken away with no inquiry about what we wanted off of them? Why did you think we had them in the first place?
Great people watching, not many locals, but funny tourists (not unlike ourselves) to talk about. And when we were there, there were a few groups of very young girls who tried to buy alcohol, got carded, and all happened to "leave their ID's in the car" or wherever. Quite amusing, especially the second and third time this happened.
All in all, a fun place!
Huge place, decent food, sloooooow service.
Maybe it was just a bad day, but the service was awful and nothing about the food made up for the service. Further, a pet peeve of mine was that dont have brewed iced tea, just the fountain type, yuck.
Eh...that about sums it up but I'll provide some more words to be useful:
I was the receiving end of the Lobster Ravioli mentioned in a previous review but let me reiterate. Finding the actually ravioli beneath the vast ocean of "a light red sauce" (ERRONEOUS) was much like the Caribbean treasure hunt the kitchy menu implied. After locating said treasure I will admit it was tasty.
The whole place was more or less an overpriced Applebee's with a decent wine list and seafood you can trust (as far as i know). They had "signature" beverages that came in obscenely huge glasses, which is typically a big red flag for me and it reads TACKY. It was also over run with college girls, the type that don't wear jackets when its pissing rain and 25 degrees and carry massive sparkley bags that scream class and allow one to question the credibility of their attendance at the bar...but I digress.
Dessert was what one would expect at such a place....Large and average in creativity/quality.
I will say however that our waitress was very nice and attentive, the place was clean, and the wine was good...thats all.
Eh.
Though props to stocking one of my fave restaurant wines (Ruffino Orvieto), I was underwhelmed. I got the Baked Stuffed Shrimp, which was effectively crabcake on top of 4 butterflied shrimp. The stuffing was preferable to the stuffed, mostly because I kept discovering overcooked gristly exoskeleton pieces in the shrimpy bites. The asparagus were mushy. Really good basmati rice, but rice does not a dinner make.
My friend ordered Lobster Ravioli, which was so drenched in sauce it reminded me of searching for the flag in the Double Dare pool of slime.
The Key Lime Pie was alright, and the slice they give you is huge. If you really want to see huge, however, go for one of the sundaes - mammoth. I think if I was ever to come back here I'd probably just order dessert.
We visited Newport over the Easter weekend and headed to the Red Parrot with 2 kids in tow. The food and service was excellent and the place is big enough that our noisy offspring didn't upset any other patrons (I hope).
I had the baby back ribs which was enormous but I managed to get through the lot. My wife had a burger which was cooked properly and had good flavour. Unfortunately the kids menu was fairly limited and had the standard fair of chicken fingers, mac & cheese and hot dogs. Instead, we ordered off-menu a spaghetti marinara which the waitress was happy to do.
While Newport is a great place to visit finding good food can be tough, but that is where the Red Parrot comes in.
I have eaten here about 3 times. The food is generally very good and I have no complaints. Getting seated and served can be slow during the summer, but this is to be expected.
Besides all the other good platitudes, the best thing about the Parrot are the oysters. The are superb, definitely better than Legal's
"Oh your parents are coming to town? So, you're going to the Red Parrot, then?" Those are nearly the only occasions that I've been to this place. It's a 3-star restaurant trying to pawn itself off as a 5-star one.
The food's ok. I think the pizzas are decent. But this is one of those places that has so much shit on the menu that really don't do any one particular thing really well. It's generally ok, but it's not cheap, the service is pretty much "par" and etc..
A lot of people like to suggest this place because it's close to all of the horseshit on Thames St., but I think you can do better elsewhere.
Food and atmosphere were excellent. We sat down right away and got a nice window seat. Very cute place, although I think sometimes it can get pretty crowded in there.
We had the oysters on the half shell and a caesar salad to start. If I were rating just the oysters, I would have given this place a 6. incredible oysters. These were the most enormous and best tasting oysters I've ever eaten. And I've never had oysters I couldn't eat in one bite before. Also the caesar was very very good.
My boyfriend got the Mussels and Clams with linguine, which was only ok, was absolutely swimming in some kind of broth and was not served with parmesan (something he felt might have saved the dish). also, the waitress was not around to ask for any. This is why the Red Parrot only gets a 4.
I had the Baked Stuffed Shrimp- Jumbo butterflied shrimp stuffed with crabmeat stuffing, served with fries and asparagus. The shrimp was really really good, loved the stuffing. Only problem was that $18 only bought me four shrimps, and despite being called jumbo, were very average sized.
The oysters and salad were easily a 10, and the atmosphere was a 5, but my boyfriend's meal, the disappearing waitress, and the price/per portion of my meal bring that down to about a 4. Would definitely go again...they have a huge menu!
The Red Parrot is awesome. Right downtown in Newport. Three floors of bars and tables. You can always get a seat here even on the very crowded summer weekends. Great for large parties. Great for lunch, dinner or just late night drinks. I highly recommend the RP to anyone who will be going down to Newport in the future. The prices are reasonable and the menu is the size of a book. There are so many good choices to choose from that I won't even try to list them here. A large assortment of beers and wines also. Plus a full bar. The pasta dishes are humongous. The seafood is great too. I stop here every time I go to Newport. You can't be disappointed in this place.
The Red Parrot was just what the doctor ordered the morning after the tsunamai that is hanging out with my friends who live out of the country. The only way to make up for so much lost time is to go completely wild. The only way to recover the morning after is to eat something hardy.
Well, Red Parrot came through. However, you can pretty much get anything you want, heavy or light, since this place has a menu of biblical length. Seriously, in my somewhat damaged state of mind, the menu was so long that looking all the way through it was a chore of epic proportions.
My food was quite good and I really enjoyed sitting next to a window and people watching as the ozone laden air wafted in to cool us off. It was a delight, really.
As far as the other comments go, I didn't have a Bloody Mary, but I saw some folks drinking them and they did indeed look great.
Went there a number of years ago when my son graduated from Brown Graduate School. A great place for a group ( I think we numbered 10, maybe more) we sat on the 2nd or 3rd floor.
The menu is extensive and the wait staff just seems to want to make sure you have fun. Right on one of the main streets in Newport, this is a great place for a long lunch - adequate amounts of food bolstered by more than adequate amounts of beverages.
Next time you are in Newport, give it a try.
Yes...a bit touristy, but....worth the trip. Great bar food and a nice location. A perfect place to start the evening with plentiful apps and a cocktail.
I was not impressed by the Red Parrot. Their menu is too big, &they need to narrow it down and concentrate on making a couple of good dishes. We sat at the bar to eat and the service was fine. Beers were fine, can't really screw that up! We ordered the Conch Fritter for an app. and they were burnt...I ordered the Jerk Chicken for my main course, and it was really dry. My friends weren't to crazy with their meals either. I wish I had read these reviews before I went! lol :-)
The only thing this place really has going for it is location. The food is average at best...i've been three times in the last two years and twice the entrees came out warm, not hot. Service was unven at best and on the way out my last time I stopped to talk with the manager (owner??) to alert him to some of the shortcomings my party had experienced...and he was an insufferable prick. Pass on this place.
Not the greatest food in the world, but it is a decent place to go with friends or family and centrally located to most of the touristy stuff in Newport. If you're going to spend $20+ per person, there are much better places in Newport.
Go to the Red Parrot if you're looking for mediocre greasy bar food and a sticky place to bring you kids. It's packed with tourists. They do have good bloodies, though, hence the second star.
During a recent visit to the Red Parrot, 4 out of 8 of the group came down with a probably case of food poisoning within 30-45 minutes. When we returned to the restaurant to use their restrooms after getting sick, 2 of the 4 stalls were out of order (coincidence?). A guest in restroom indicated also that last year, they too got food poisoning after eating at the Red Parrot and had to pull over before even making it home. When asked to speak to the manager, we explained that we all got sick from their food. They essentially denied that it was due to them and said it could have been caused by anything from up to 3 days ago. Was it really just a coincidence that within an hour after eating there, FOUR out of 8 got sick? No refund or partial refund was granted. Poor Customer Service.
Newport, RI
Category: Local Flavor
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