Rhody has plethora of top tables with view

SPECTACULAR SCENERY: A view of the Atlantic Ocean as seen from the dining room of the Spiced Pear Restaurant at The Chanler. / COURTESY THE CHANLER
SPECTACULAR SCENERY: A view of the Atlantic Ocean as seen from the dining room of the Spiced Pear Restaurant at The Chanler. / COURTESY THE CHANLER

Now that the summer season has gotten under way, the search is on for outdoor tables with the best views. Restaurateurs, hosts and concierges all are fielding calls and emails daily from diners in search of restaurants located in scenic spots with picture views or that “table with the best view in the house.”
Since we do most of our dining out in the Ocean State, when thoughts turn to tables with a view it is natural to assume that an ocean view is what is desired. But that is not always the case depending on the perspective of the diner.
I received a very nice photo posted to my Facebook fan page of the new view from Simpatico Jamestown, which is also new or at least made over. The former Trattoria Simpatico changed hands over the winter and the new owners made a substantial investment into a near total makeover inside and out. Simpatico has long had the reputation for fine dining on the island of Jamestown going back before the restaurant boom.
According to the new owners, the philosophy of the design theme was to open doors, lift up the windows, and literally take out the walls to get to the glorious gardens. One obstacle in the way was a large fence that blocked the view from the restaurant’s deck. The new owners rectified that and now the view takes in the harbor and the Jamestown waterfront.
So I asked my radio listeners for their choice of which restaurant they might pick for its view. I was on location in East Greenwich so I thought I might get a list of only West Bay eateries, but that was not the case. Kim from Barrington was shopping at Dave’s Marketplace where I was set up to broadcast. She took a moment to think and then picked The Port on lower Thames Street in Newport, just open for its second season. Some may remember this restaurant and raw bar under its previous iteration, H2O.
Ann from Warwick had two choices, both in Narragansett. She named Spain on Ocean Road, at the top of the list for many visitors for years. Her other choice was one that she and many others hoped to visit again this year. The historic Coast Guard House in Narragansett was badly damaged last fall by the storm called Sandy. The 125-year-old restaurant required an extensive rehabilitation to repair the numerous broken windows, smashed chairs and flooded floors. Co-owners Robert Leonard and Providence municipal court judge Frank Caprio told local media they never had any doubts about the future of their landmark restaurant with its signature view. What may have been an obstacle to the restaurant’s comeback was overcome thanks to the Narragansett Town Council, which at the 11th hour approved the deck-construction phase for the establishment.
The deck was cleared to open on Memorial Day weekend, marking the first time the Coast Guard House had received visitors in six months. The lower level of the restaurant is not quite finished and the owners hope to have a formal grand reopening later in the summer or possibly in early fall.
Then the tide turned, so to speak. Longtime listener J.B. emailed from Worcester to say the restaurant with an unsurpassed view for him was the Top of the Hub in Boston, still a favorite after so many years.
WaterFire’s Bronwyn Dannenfelser was next. “When I think of a restaurant with a view, I think of WaterFire,” she said. “I have to choose among any of three spots,” she continued. “Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and of course it is always a pleasure to visit Dimitri [Kriticos] at Café Nuovo.”
Dannenfelser described Nuovo’s location as “at the crux” of the installation as she and the WaterFire team refer to the line of wood-burning braziers running the length of Memorial Boulevard down to South Water and Dyer Streets. She added a fairly recent entry to the Waterplace basin restaurant row, Jacky’s Waterplace, and tossed in a recommendation for sushi at the same time.
We choose restaurants with a view for many reasons, from sunsets to natural beauty to the view of a busy cityscape. Sometimes a choice has to be made between a great view and a memorable meal. Here in Rhode Island, we seldom if ever have to make that choice.
The menu at our restaurants is almost always guaranteed to be as stunning as the view. As longtime Newport wine expert and former restaurateur Len Panaggio said, “Bring the view inside and serve it!” •


Bruce Newbury’s “Dining Out” food and wine talk radio show is heard Saturdays and Sundays on WPRV-AM 790, weekdays on WADK-AM 1540 and on line and mobile app on iHeartRadio. He can be reached by email at bruce@brucenewbury.com.

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