4 Best Bars in Providence, Rhode Island

Marina and skyline views, a waterfront deck, live tunes, beer buckets, frozen concoctions, and the city's best clam cakes and chowder make this indoor-outdoor bar and grill on the Fox Point waterfront an ideal place to unwind or catch a game. The name is a nod to a time when the docks below were the domain of fishermen, not pleasure boaters. 

The Eddy specializes in classic cocktails like a Manhattan, gin and tonic (on draft), or Gibson; creative concoctions like the rum-based "Kingston negroni-doli" or the rye-Calvados-montenegro "High Horse"; draft and bottled beers; and a few interesting wines. Add charcuterie, cheese, sliders, seafood, and good bread, and you have a great night out.

East Side gentrification has not touched this (kind of) riverfront bar on South Main Street. Studiedly unpretentious, the Wild Colonial occupies the brick-lined basement of an old warehouse building; strain your eyes, and you might get a glimpse of the Providence River across the parking lot. Food choices are limited to the likes of cheese plates and hummus, but the bartenders take pride in the beer list and in pouring the best Guinness drafts in the city. If you're looking for a place to duck in for a reasonably priced beer or cocktail on Waterfire nights (or any night, really), this is it.