Parkside Rotisserie & Bar

My girlfriend and I went back to give this place another shot after the owner had contacted us about my review and I must say I am still not impressed with this place. The waiter did not know what the specials were and when he learned them presented them in a such a way that you could not distinguish between the dishes. Please keep in mind that this was AFTER we had to ask if they had any specials to which he replied «yes» and we followed up with «and they are??»
The oysters weren’t as good as before however and were somewhat gritty (don’t get me wrong — definitely had worse oysters, but they were better the first time).
We ordered Shrimp Cocktail, 2 dozen Oysters, the Mussels appetizer, Caesar Salad & the Steak Tartare — sharing everything. We couldn’t finish the Steak Tartare and gave up after two bites since the dish was SMOTHERED in Dijon mustard. The crispy potato chips they served with the Steak Tartare were also soggy when they arrived since they too were basically drenched in Dijon sauce.
Giving two stars this time since the waiter at least didn’t repeatedly tell us «I’ll be right back» and the fact sitting outside was great since it was quiet and valet had our car waiting for us soon as they saw us get the check.
After two attempts, and two mostly mediocre/​negative experiences, I can assure you this place is NOT worth going to — even for the $ 1 oysters. With all the places you can go in Providence I would definitely recommend you do go elsewhere.

I’ve hosted several business dinners at Parkside when a large menu, great food and service, and a casual atmosphere are the order of the day. The Parkside staff consistently pleases with its attentive service no matter what size group. I typically reserve the back of the restaurant which offers a quiet area for large groups.
The extensive menu offers something for every palate, including vegetarian and gluten-​free diets, and portions are always generous! As indicated in its name, rotisserie is what Parkside is known for, but don’t miss the Colossal Thai Dumplings appetizer — I could make a meal on them alone. AMAZING!

It was our first time there and wow — excellent food and service! Duck salad (pictured here) was great!

Excellent food and service!
I had a wonderful time.

Giving this place 2.5 stars and most of the rating earned by the great $ 1 oysters. It’s an over-​priced restaurant with average food… would much rather dine at other places in Providence. Not sure if it was because it was busy but both our meals were overcooked… I had the roast duck salad… which was edible but the duck was slightly over cooked to my liking. My dinner mate had a pork chop from the grill and it was charred beyond the belief. We were really hoping the risotto would save it but that just lacked flavor. If you’re only going for dollar oysters, then this is a decent spot… but any other meal– eat somewhere else where you can get your money’s worth.

An okay restaurant, good for people w/​diverse tastes. Food was not outstanding. Very loud with lots of banging of pots from the open kitchen. Good drink selection to meet everyone’s needs.

Booked a special Birthday dinner for my boyfriend’s 53^rd and let the waiter know when we sat down. It was not very busy, since we were seated at 830pm. The waiter appeared disappointed when we ordered sparkling water, instead of a bottle of wine. He never told us the specials, which included a rib eye that I would have ordered. Atmosphere was plain dark walls with some commercial looking poster prints and slippery wooden floors. I wanted to order the crab cakes, but the waiter convinced me that the spicy pork wontons were a much better choice. They were mildly spicy, hot, but VERY greasy. Had a paper napkin been available I could have dabbed the excess grease off. The duck came with folded flour tortillas and the concept was to build a duck burrito. It was awkward and messy. The waiter appeared put off when he was asked for wetnaps, as if this was some faux pas. My 10oz. Filet was tender and perfectly cooked medium rare, but the mushroom sauce only had 3 pieces of chopped mushroom. Three stalks of grilled asparagus seemed a bit sparse as well. The thin layer of scalloped potatoes were not very flavorful. Desert was on the house, which was a nice touch. I am not sure if I will go back or not because the quality/​value to price was a bit high for this place. If being a high end French restaurant is what they are trying to be, then better trained wait staff would be an improvement.
One more thing… when we went to get the car back from the valet, he handed us the key and pointed down the road and said that it is just a block away!!! Totally put off, we took the key and walked down the street. I asked my boyfriend where the heck his truck was. We walked back and the valet made a mistake as he had given us someone else’s car key! A man, who seemed to be the ‘leader’ of the group of valets, apologized to us and then had the same guy that had given us someone else’s key go and fetch our car. It was one of the most bizarre valet experiences of my life. What a sh@! show! Totally unacceptable!

The Parkside never disappoints us. We often dine with friends here and every meal is super from the cocktails to the delicious food. Recently my husband and I went for lunch after an appointment downtown. It always feels so decadent to enjoy leisure afternoon drinks and special lunch choices. I went for the crab cakes and a side salad — just perfect with a martini.(the bartender makes the best drinks). My husband had the burger special and it certainly was that. Huge burger with blue cheese and onion rings on toasted tuscan bread. Cooked to perfection, love the fries, more than enough for a meal and reasonable price at $ 10.95. What more is there to say. The thing with late lunch is this usually very busy dinner spot is not so crowded in the middle of the day.
Go there soon and often.
Also as I have back issues and recent surgery, the staff is always very accommodating with my seating requests.
Cocktails — Martini perfection, Oh LaLa delic, & great varied wine list.
Appetizers — all favs. Try The calamari with corn salsa
Salads — love the beef filet — I enjoy as an entrée
Main courses — awesome, varied, and large portions (the pork chop is like a small roast.)
Side dishes — plenty of choices
Desserts — almost never have room but yummy
Staff — all pleasant, helpful and attentive

I came here for lunch on a weekday. I was surprised to see how large the dining area is. The space is bright (during the day) and clean.
This place was bustling with staff from the courthouse next door. It appears to be a very popular lunch spot for attorneys who get a lunch recess from 1−2pm.
Fortunately, we were seated right away. Our waiter was fairly attentive, though interactions were brief. Our food came out rather quickly after we ordered. Our water glasses were never empty. I ordered a pizza. It was good, but certainly nothing special.
Lunch entrees are between $ 10-​$ 25.

Service was perfect and food was excellent. Everyone was pleased with what they ordered. We got to the restaurant early and they let us sit at our table and order drinks. The place filled up quickly. A sense of fun with diners peeking at neighbors choices in either anticipation of their meal or to assist in making up their minds. It was expensive, but worth it.

We have often passed by this restaurant when we visited Waterfire. It always looked inviting so last night we gave it a try. I was floored. The food and drinks was excellent and the service was top notch,
We started with the Golden Calamari. It was prepared differently then I have seen in other restaurants. It was served with a sweet & sour corn & spicy pepper relish. Just the right amount of hot and spicy.
For an entrees I ordered one of the specials, 4 lobster raviolis with 3 scallops. This dish was fantastic. My wife had the Spicy Lemon & Cashew Chicken. She like it as well.
I had two drinks. «The Hypnotized Pear «and the «The Eiffel Tower «I highly recommend these drinks. The Eiffel Tower is a fruity drink that is a little on the sweet side. It consists of Absolute Berri Acai, with muddled blueberries and limes, simple syrup, splash soda. The Hypnotized pear is more of a martini, Grey Goose Pear vodka, Hypnotiq liqueur, dash of sour, straight up. They also had a vast wine list.
To finish off the night I had the «banana tart» I am usually not a dessert person but this was out of this world good.
The service was top notch. We had Dan and Erin. They were spot on with their knowledge of the menu as well as the history of the restaurant. They were there when needed but they did not hover.
We are going to this restaurant whenever we can. Good food and drinks and impeccable service.

Parkside is the BEST restaurant in the city based on price, quality and service!
The pork chops and dumplings are to die for! The sauces they have are unreal!

Parkside is a mainstay for me, both for business lunches and for after work cocktails and apps. The service is 5 star. The food is always delicious, although the portions are sometimes too large and the plating leaves me scratching my head. (I can’t cut a piece of chicken that is perched on top of something that moves around…) The apps are really tasty. You don’t need reservations, but it can’t hurt on some days.

When we first moved to town we used to come here all the time, but we haven’t been back in several years. Tonight we were looking for a place to go, without a reservation, and without it costing a fortune. As there was a open parking space right across the street alongside the park, we decided it was a sign we were meant to go there.
Parkside is one of those places where a couple could spend an easy $ 100 on dinner, but if you choose carefully, you can do it for less than $ 50. Then lemon cashew chicken is a good value. You get ½ a nicely glazed, tender rotisserie chicken over a bed of fries sprinkled with whole cashews all for $ 15.95. And it comes with a side salad! We can never eat it all at one sitting and always go home with a take away bag. I got a cob salad, which was plenty big for a full dinner portion and came with plenty of fresh chicken atop, along with gorgonzola, avocado, and a nice little pile of wonderfully cooked pork belly over a pile of whole bib lettuce. It came with some unimpressive pink dressing. (I would have prefered a balsamic vinaigrette, or some plain flavorful olive oil.) The waitress offered fresh cracked pepper which was a nice touch.
For dessert we had a hard time choosing between the berry tart and the crepes filled with chocolate mousse. The mousse filled crepes won out and they were yummy. Two to a plate, the two of us could only finish one, and took the other one home for tomorrow (for dessert after we finish the rest of the cashew chicken?) Camomile tea rounded out the meal. All for under $ 50. The service was good, and while nothing was extraordinary, it was all perfectly lovely.

On the way to Hemenway’s one night, we happened to spot a light in this restaurant, and decided to check it out. We were very glad we did. The service was great, matching a classy décor. We had jumbo shrimp, duck salad, and Ceasar salad. The duck was delicious, nice portions with a honey glaze. The Ceasar was simple, but of good quality. The desserts are made in house — a banana liquor tarte was not too heavy, and nicely sweetened. The crêpe Suzette is good as a lighter option (served with ice cream). This restaurant was a nice surprise and worthy of a visit.

I came here with my mom when she came into town. This place is pretty pricey. The food is good but I wouldn’t pay this much for the quality. I got the Spicy Lemon & Cashew Chicken which came over a bed of fries. The fries were a little soggy and oily. However, the chicken was pretty tasty. It was a large portion and I couldn’t even finish the amount of chicken. They have a huge selection of rotisserie chickens which is nice. The inside didn’t stand out too much to me. A nice place for dinner but not a favorite.

My boyfriend and I stopped in one night when we were visiting his parents in town. I did a Google search and this place popped up. Great idea! It’s a small place with a lot to offer. We sat at the bar and ordered a couple of drinks. The bartender was very nice and carried on a wonderful conversation. He bought us over a basket of freshly popped popcorn to munch on while enjoying our drinks. We did not stay for very long because we had plans. But if we didn’t have plans, we have would have stayed for a meal accompanied with drinks.
We stopped in again about a month later on a Friday night. The same bar tender that initially served us was working. He remembered us and continued to pick up where our conversation left off from our prior visit. That was awesome and made us feel like we mattered. He also informed us that on Fridays they have $ 1 oysters. I live for $ 1 oysters!
The next time we are in town, we are going to go there for dinner. If you can, give it a try. You will not be disappointed!

Perfect place for upscale drinks & delicious rotisserie! Try the calamari! Delicious martinis & a wonderful staff! Love this place! Visiting from Boston.

Came here for the Water Fires, and accidentally stumbled upon this little gem… We had the Sword Fish Special and the Pork Mignon, and both were outstanding. Old Italian music in the background, the hustle of the city, outdoor
Seating = a little slice of heaven…

Well I did not like the Chinese Chicken salad and they took it back! That was really something The service was terrific and I liked the wine list. The fettuccine ended up being much better, but to my dismay there was a bone in it. That’s a first for me. I don’t come here often actually this was my second visit and it’ll be my final. I was really happy with the service but the food…
a bone in my fettucine?!