5 Best Restaurants in Providence, Rhode Island

For two decades Derek Wagner has earned a seat at the table among Rhode Island's top chefs by helming this amped-up diner on Providence's West Side (the namesake "Nick" was the owner of the original diner at the site). Breakfast features classic comfort food like pancakes and egg dishes composed with all-local ingredients, like eggs from Baffoni Farms and potatoes from Schartner Farms, and pasture-fed Blackbird Farm Black Angus beef shows up in the Bolognese sauce and slow-cooked BBQ, while all of the plated fish entrees at dinner were swimming in local waters a short time before. Grab a seat at the counter to watch the culinary magic happen.

Chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and African and Asian artwork adorns the walls (everything is for sale) at this restaurant-antiques store. The menu is extensive—seafood is particularly, but not exclusively, featured—the food is rich in flavor, and the ambience, occasionally augmented with live music, is full of personality. Brioche toast is the house specialty for weekend brunch.

Fun and kitschy Ogie's bar and restaurant fuses trailer-park chic and colorful (maybe even garish) 1950s-style decor. The "Granny Boo's Kitchen" menu emphasizes "gourmet comfort food," which translates into the likes of tater tots with white truffle oil, grilled peanut butter and jelly, and mac 'n' cheese croquettes. The restaurant's backyard is one of Providence's best outdoor dining and drinking spots.

A giant fork hangs outside this neighborhood brasserie in Wayland Square, and the chefs do things big here—from the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink chopped salad to supersize sangrias. The menu is eclectic, but you'll find plenty of Italian- and French-inspired bistro items, including French onion soup, steak frites, rigatoni Bolognese, and mussels prepared six ways and served with hand-cut frites.

Ben Lloyd, the chef-owner of this "agri-driven" American restaurant, is committed to honoring the origins of the food he prepares. He purchases humanely raised and harvested meat, poultry, and fish whole from local vendors, butchers them in-house, and uses every part from nose to tail—combined with eggs at breakfast, cheese and fries at lunch, and fresh vegetables at dinner. The weekend brunch will fill you up with frittatas, home fries, donuts and more for just $15 per person.