Fresco

Haven’t been here in quite some time. Main dining room a bit out dated. Sat in the bar area. Dinner was very good. Scallops w/​pappardelle and tortellaci in pesto cream. No complaints about food. Service was good and just the right amount of friendly. What I didn’t get was the bizarre playlist. Not sure if it was piped into main dining room. Loud, brash and odd juxtapositioning. Big band, Jimi Hendrix, Beatles, blues, smooth jazz (ugh). I will be back though

Came here to celebrate a birthday, we were looking for a nice place to dine and thought this would be a great choice. The service at these types of restuarants seem to usually go above and beyond, our server seemed very uninterested in her job. She was nice but sort of cold and factual, no real suggestions just basically ‘here are the specials’. We didn’t really care too much as we came for the good food and drinks. The bread they serve was warm with a crunchy crust and an olive oil/​pepper blend. I ordered the salad special and was able to get a half order. This was very tasty, consisting of arugula, apples, onion, and cheese. For the entrée I got the salmon with broccoli rabe and jasmine rice. This was good but for the price I just expected something excellent.
Overall, the consensus was the ambiance was nice but nothing worth returning to. Food was good not great and service is better at a chain restaurant.

Great food, great service, great atmosphere. Took out the 5^th star because prices are just a tiny bit high for 5 stars.

Casual, elegant atmosphere. My husband loves the bone in swordfish and I love their drinks & apps. We’ve bought a few gift certificates to give to family & friends and they loved fresco as well.

All I can say is that in retrospect I am very happy that I couldn’t get a reservation for 6 people on ²⁄₁₃ anywhere near Providence. I was on Unilocal last Friday searching restaurants and I stumbled upon Fresco, read the reviews, and made a reservation on Open Table. So big deal, instead of a 10 minute drive, I had a 25 minute drive but you know the old RI thing about driving distances. We sat down promptly at our reservation time of 7:00 and was immediately greeted by our server. The restaurant was very crowed so the server apologized and told us that the bar was a bit backed up. The drinks arrived about 10 min later… Not a big deal. Our server then mentioned some specials ranging from what was described as swordfish on a bone (more on this later), a pasta special, and a pork shank and a couple of appetizers specials. The appetizers came quickly and were very good, especially the calamari and grilled pizza. My wife had the crab cake special and, although good, they weren’t anything to write home about. The dinners then came about 30 minutes later and my eyes popped when the swordfish was given to me. It was a huge round chunk of thick, white, absolutely perfectly cooked swordfish that had a 4 – 5 inch bone (like a lamb chop rib) sticking out of it. It then dawned on me that I had this preparation once before years ago in a great restaurant in Dennis, MA. It is actually the cheek meat of the swordfish! If you like swordfish, give yourself a treat and run to Fresco just to try this. Our server said it is always a special on the weekends. The dish was served piping hot with a great sauce of cold mango. I can’t say enough about it. It was so tender and flavorful that wasn’t as dense as a swordfish steak. My daughter loved her cod with panko breadcrumbs. My son had the clam sauce with pasta and said that it was good as well. I wish I could remember the server’s name, but whoever it was did a great job! We will return to Fresco very soon.

The food was great but the service was even better. Our waitress was so incredibly attentive, informative and kind. Can’t wait to go back.

Apps were great. We had calimari and coconut shrimp. I had seafood linguini which was good. The he chicken Parmesan. Lasagna and special ravioli were also really good.

There are a few times I have gone to Fresco and it is 5 stars+, sometimes I go and its mediocre. So I have an issue with the consistency. I say go at your own risk, cause when its good, its great.

We used to dine here on a semi regular basis so I’m surprised to see I haven’t Unilocaled about Fresco (formerly Café Fresco) before. We always liked it but with so many restaurants in the area, I guess we just spread our wings and started to try other places.
We decided to go back last Saturday night. We made a reservation and got a very nice table. The maitre d/​hostess and the entire wait staff, for that matter, were wonderful.
I started out with their baby spinach salad and it was amazing, studded with strawberries, mangoes, candied pecans and served with a light and lovely balsamic vinaigrette. Hubby had the Caesar salad, and he liked it very much, as well. He also ordered the veal chop which looked amazing and was accompanied by mashed potatoes and veggies. I was in the mood for pasta and ordered what the people at the next table were having! It was chicken parm with pasta (I got the rigatoni.). I guess chicken parm and pasta are pretty common and practically always taste the same. I was just not thrilled with the red sauce. My recollection of Fresco’s red sauce is something else entirely than that which I was served. The sauce was a little sweet, had no herbs or spices that could be detected, and was just meh. It was certainly not bad, just not great. I had to make use of the salt and pepper shakers as well as ask for grated cheese. The portions were very generous and we both ended up taking close to half of our meal home.
I also ordered a Negroni, and IT was fabulous. My hubby had a glass of a recommended red wine and he enjoyed it as well.
I will go back to Fresco again, but will not be ordering anything with red sauce any time soon. When we used to dine there a few years back, I believe the chef then was Tony. I know that Tony is no longer at Fresco, nor is he at Beso’s anymore (which was his next stop), NOR is he any longer at a Federal Hill restaurant that he opened (and closed) in record time! If I knew where Tony was, I’d go dine there, because he was a terrific cook. The chef now at Fresco is not quite up to Tony’s cooking standards, but we did encounter some very good food there on Saturday night, so I guess we will give them another try. i do seriously believe the red sauce is missing something major, though. And I hope the owner will read this and maybe taste it and get it brightened up a bit.

Dined here before flying back home. The dining room needs to be updated. The wait staff was not properly trained and seemed to be rushing all night. The food was better than the atmosphere and service yet I still could not afford it a 3 star rating. EG has to many other establishments to dine at with better food. Felt like a bland family restaurant inside. No ambiance at all! The music selection that was playing in the bar area also didn’t help.

First visit to Fresco last weekend. I didn’t know this restaurant even existed until someone told me about it. I can’t remember the last time I had such a fabulous experience, from the service to the expertly prepared food. I had the appetizer of tuna tower, then the seared lemon pepper scallops with artichoke hearts over lemon cream sauce. He had the grilled salmon with mango chutney. Wow, outstanding. I would have taken some pics, but it was a first date. I will definitely go back, hopefully this weekend! Very attentive staff, great prices, delicious food!

Very consistent, service good, honey onion goat cheese pizza is one of the best individual food items on main st, and I eat down on main once a week. Very reasonably priced for location and quality of food. Interior is not as warm or tactful as some of the other restaurants in area.

This place was a huge disappointment. We went out for a special celebration and were disappointed all around. The food was definitely not the freshest and the service was lackluster. Trust me, there are so many better places in eg to find great food– skip fresco and continue on up the street!

Amazing calamari, best I have had in a long time! Pizza was also delicious, thin crust and great ingredients. Drinks were very pricey or I would have given 5 stars…

I came here for some fresh fish and that’s definitely what I got. I ordered the salmon with pesto sauce and rice with some sort of broccoli greens. I wasn’t too excited about rice being a side since I don’t really like rice, however this was some very good rice. It especially went perfectly with the salmon and greens. I’m sure I’ll be back when I get a chance to come to Rhode Island again.

Honestly, the chicken piccata was to die for. Thinly pounded chicken cutlet in a lemon sauce with capers. Outstanding! People are sleeping on this place.

A night out with a girlfriend landed is at Café Fresco. We love Main Street and wanted to go somewhere neither of us had been.
I appreciated the ease of making a reservation online through their website… It was great.
Our table was ready upon arrival and we were pleasantly surprised with the size of the restaurant and ambiance. Our waiter was great and kudos to him for remembering all of the specials for the evening which were extensive.
The complimentary bread and oil were nothing spectacular… The bread was dry and seemed overlooked. Not warm in the slightest. But no big deal.
I had ordered the lobster ravioli special and my friend ordered the linguini and clams which could be ordered in half size. We really liked the fact you could do that!
The lobster ravioli was good and the portion was quite decent… I left full and with leftovers. My friend thoroughly enjoyed her dish and felt the half portion was more than enough for her.
We will be back for sure, I’m interested to try many other dishes the menu has to offer.

It’s a East Greenwich staple!
Great dinner special —ricotta filled gnocchi with veal chunks; the shrimp & scallop skewer app over risotto cake although small —very good.
The waitress was very efficient and knowledgeable and made it special by putting a candle in the chosen dessert. Although I was surprised it wasn’t complementary but in this day and age nothing is.

Dining here never disappoints. I have never seen so many specials in addition to the great menu choices. A true hidden gem on Main Street. The service is always friendly.
Try the bone-​in swordfish… PHENOMENAL!

Last Tuesday evening, my friend and I stumbled upon this place in EG, trying to find a restaurant with decent food and decent prices. After leaving two places for exorbitant entrees, we were pleased to see reasonably priced items here.
1) Food. We ordered the appetizer of short ribs and mashed potatoes. While it was a delicious appetizer, it was INCREDIBLY difficult for two people to share. I had kind of thought the short ribs would have been singular instead of all together. The manager/​owner saw it was our first time here, and presented us with a free appetizer of grilled artichokes, cannellini beans, and shrimp with a balsamic reduction. I hate seafood (and I’ve tried it often over the years). I figured, why not try the shrimp, it’s free?. I’m glad I did. It was the first time in my life I’ve eaten an entire shrimp! Thanks Café Fresco! My entrée of chicken risotto was great, as well.
2) Service. This was the golden star here. I wish I remembered my waitresses name, because she had me salivating over the specials (that were seafood, nonetheless!). She was knowledgeable about the menu (as well as pairings), and seemed to really understand what patrons want. She checked up on us often, at all the right times; never intrusive, or overly present.
3) Atmosphere. It’s EG. Every place has the same view, similar setup. This restaurant was clean, inviting, and comfortable.
All in all, I was very pleased with my experience here. I’ve told several people about my experience, and will most certainly be back when I’m in the area.