Rogue Island

Went there for a Sunday brunch and was not disappointed by what I had read on Unilocal.The service was incredibly slow but the food was good, just not good enough to go back.

I want to like this place but nothing stands out to make me want to keep coming back. Usually my fourth or fifth option in the area when my first choices are full. The décor is minimalistic to say the least, and probably top 3 most uncomfortable barstools in Providence. Who sat their ass on one of these stools and thought they were comfortable, after 20 minutes I have to stand and give my ass sometime to recover. Only item on the menu I like are the pretzel bites, but even these have at times been badly overcooked and hard, saving grace is the good beer selection.

Rogue and I aren’t best friends, more like causal acquaintances. I like to hang out with her when I’m in the Mall, which has more historic relevance than I can reflect upon in one review.
The beer list is quite impressive, I like the local options. For the love of God, you have to get the pretzel bites if you stop in. They’re soft, salty and go perfect with their honey mustard dip. I had the pulled pork sandwich, which was flavorful yet a bit mushy. My wife had the grilled chicken sandwich, which was torched past acceptability. It wasn’t busy, so I was a bit miffed as to how you could mess up a sandwich that easy to put together.
At any rate, it’s a local place and the staff is nice so I’ll give it a second look.

Went here for brunch and bottom less mimosas/​bloody Mary’s. Great food and drink! They definitely don’t skip out on the drinks. Thank so r a great Valentine’s Day brunch!

First, I must say that this place is not aimed at my demographic. If I were 25 I probably would have loved the place.
That said, I like to support Downtown establishments so when I got an email (I have no idea how they got my email.) noting a Valentines brunch with bottomless Mimosas I thought, well, a nice V-​Day meal without the hassle. Attempted to make 11:30 reservation but they would only give me 10:30 or 1:00 so we trekked into town early to find a room with nobody in it other than a large speaker through which a DJ was blasting 20 Something music. Since the room was ours we requested the sound be lowered and it was.
We had been placed in that room because it was warmer than the bar area. There was no heat in the building. Not their fault but the combination of cold and thumping music helped us to have our brunch in less than 50 minutes including waiting about 10 minutes to Pay our bill.
A few specials and a regular menu, most not overly exciting. Two specials, crab or lobster Benedict were notable but they came with Old Bay. What is it with everyone adding Old Bay to things recently! I confirmed a regular Benedict could come without Old Bay and ordered. Wife ordered a lemon/​Ricotta Creppe hoping it would be similar to the defunct Rue’s.
It wasn’t. Though it was pretty, it was a cold dish. Not what one would expect on a –8 degree winter day. My Benedict eggs were cooked perfectly but I had to request a steak knife to cut the English Muffin. Home fries done perfectly, gently cooked ½ inch cubes that, unfortunately, had been generously peppered. I feel salt and pepper should be added by the guest at the table.
So, food was a little better than adequate but nothing to rave about.
Waitstaff friendly and efficient,
NEGATIVES –loud, kid music at 10:30 in the morning by a young DJ. who kept scratching the records like he was being held back from what he really wanted to play.
–Nice pressed metal ceilings… which reflected that music and everything which was said by arriving patrons.
–tiny chairs. Heavy wooden tables suited for a night of drinking but not a nice brunch
–Well priced food which did not include even coffee. After drinking half a cup I asked for a top off. I was brought a new cup and told that, because it was organic coffee, it would cost $ 3.00 for a refill. Thus, I paid $ 9.00 for coffee.
–An email which, though not saying it, lead one to think that bottomless Mimosas/​Bloody Marys were included with brunch. Priced at $ 18.00 each or 25.00 for both it would seem one would need to drink an awful lot of a drink for which costly sparkling wine could be mixed with a great deal of juice in order to come out ahead. Besides, given the temperature, a hot coffee cup was better in ones hand than a pitcher of cold drinks.
POSITIVES: –Friendly staff. Two, non-​generic restrooms. An incredible selection of craft beers from local I. e no further than Ithica, breweries. Actually, to a fault with Gansett bring the only non craft selection available.

There were two rooms. Ours was simply an old, rectangular storefront with a wall mounted flat screen and about 12 tables The other had more character, containing the small bar, some similar tables and a big picnic table. It was a fine drinking room to be with your friends and meet people, None of which I was interested in at 10:30 Sunday morning.
Upon leaving at about 11:20 there were six open tables in our room. Didn’t notice in bar. I think I didn’t really need to get there so early.
RECAP: Adequate food. I didn’t notice poor service noted in other reviews. Incredible beer list. Great place for ²⁰⁄₃₀ somethings to spend an evening … kind of like a campus pub.
I would think twice if you’re over 50 unless your children bring you there

Best restaurant in downtown Providence. Hands down.
The staff is incredibly knowledgeable, and treats you like your family. The menu is so fresh, and they talk about the farms they pick everything up from. they don’t even have a freezer or microwave! Don’t even get me started on the beer menu. The amount of craft beer this place has is incredible, and the bartenders are super amazing at finding what you like!
This place is truly a hidden gem in the arcade. Keep your eye on this place. They’re going to make it big.
Become friends with these people… they know how to restaurant.

Went for the #lordofthewings competition. The wings tasted SUPER fresh but I didn’t care for something about them… Perhaps the oil they were fried in? They had two sauces, an apple habanero and a bourbon now (I believe). I expected more kick to the habanero but it was still good. The other sauce was ok. Nice little place but I wasn’t really impressed with wings. I like the local flare and might be worth checking out for some other menu items.

I have been waiting to go here for some time now. The Groupon was set to expire so we decided to go for dinner. We were pleasantly surprised when the bar was offering $ 5 glasses of wine… We split an order of the Apple Habanero wings… they were crispy and delicious but could definitely have used a bit more sauce on them, the one wing I had with some sauce was delightful! We were then really excited to get the Poutine Fries… eh, not impressed. The gravy was a bit watery and lacking flavor, there was not much cheese over all, and well the potatoes had a almost frozen/​mealy texture to them! I was underwhelmed by this point so decided to split the Pork Belly Banh Mi sandwich instead of ordering two entire meals. It was way to salty and I ended up picking at it, rather than eating it! Overall I wasn’t entirely impressed, It lacked in overall experience & flavor.

I was here for a business meeting, had some time to kill, so I got some appetizers. The general manager gave rave reviews of the wings and PRETZEL BITES. I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity appetizer-​er, so I got them both.
The wings were great, but if you are here, and you don’t order the Pretzel Bites… shame on you. The pretzels were cooked perfectly (and have been every subsequent time I’ve ordered them); soft on the inside with a slight crisp on the outside. And the dipping sauce has the perfect little kick of spice.
I picked up an order last week and brought them home for my wife and 3 year old son. I made the mistake of letting him have them before his dinner… he ate more than half the order. When he kicked the basket he looked at me with his mouth still full and said «Can you bring these to me again a different time»? He ate none of his dinner that night. What are you going to do. Apps for dinner. That’s what going Rogue Island is all about, right?

The ONLY complaint was the server. She knew nothing about the menu.
Food FABULOUS. Must have the stuffed boar mozzarella meatballs!!!
Beer selection is outstanding. Great atmosphere. Apps are excellent especially the pretzel bites and bbq wings. Dessert selection was a bit anemic but the homemade ice cream was great.

Top 3 things I like best here: Happy hour $ 1 oysters. Craft beer/​local beer/​beer events. Electrical outlets at the bar (yaaas!).
Rogue Island makes a point to source from local farms and makes what could be described as elevated bar food, for example Baffoni farm chicken wings and chicken sandwich. I appreciate the fact that they source locally, however, some of the food I’ve had has been cooked inconsistently or just takes too long to get out. Service has been mixed depending on the person. Cost seems a little on the pricy side, for example a $ 17 Rogue burger with bacon.
Overall A-​ok, good not great.

The best place to brunch in providence! Amazing food, a variety of new specials every week, awesome atmosphere, and, my personal favorite, bottomless mimosas! Definitely check out this hidden gem for a brunch that will change your life!

Stopped in for some suds and apps before Star Wars. It was a 5 star until we got the bill and saw a $ 3 for a sample charge. They had a Newport Storm «2015» that they had listed at a special ale. We asked if we could have a sip, had no idea what style of beer it even was. We got a pretty big 3oz pour which I thought was a little strange. We each only had a sip and carried on with our drinks. After reading some other reviews I guess $ 3 for a 3oz sample is a «thing» here, but we had no idea and we literally took a sip each, didn’t even put a dent in the glass and still got charged. I dunno, that just seems really tacky to me, we already had like a $ 60 tab for 2 people to begin with. It just felt kinda like getting charged for a refill on a fountain soda.
The food’s excellent and the beer list is carefully considered. I give them a lot of credit for having a pretty opinionated list, not a lot of fillers like Harpoon IPA or the like. I think out of the 10 taps they had 2 10%+ ABV imperial stouts and 4 8%+ double IPA/​IPLs including a fresh keg of captain’s daughter.
It’s funny because this place is like a block away from G Pub and the place across the street from it which advertise like 30+ taps but 25 of them are dedicated to macro domestics that you can get anywhere else. Definitely make sure to stop by Rogue Island if you want to try some new/​interesting/​relevant/​delicious beers but just keep in mind that if you ask for a sip you’re gonna get charged for it.

I would definitely come back here. Great beer selection and a cool, rustic ambiance. We got bbq wings which were great and the blue fish dip, also yummy! The blue fish dip comes with homemade potato chips. The only thing I didn’t like was that we just asked to try a beer and were charged $ 3 for a sample pour. Literally just wanted to try it to see if I wanted a full pour or not and was charged $ 3, kinda lame. I would come back, but not ask to try anything this time.

Saw this place during the Unilocal Merry Marketplace this year and made it a point to come back this past Sunday and try the brunch menu.
(Served until 3pm when kitchen closes but bar remains open)
Two words — chicken & biscuit… soooooo delicious… the breading was crispy, the chicken was perfectly cooked and the gravy was to die for — with an over-​hard fried egg on top! Yum!
Would certainly go back and try other items that sounded drool worthy as well as the Chicken & Biscuit again!
My friends enjoyed the bottomless mimosas while I opted to sample a few different types of local draft beers ($ 3 for 3oz. sample glass).
The bartender was super friendly, knowledgeable about the menu and helpful with parking tips for future visits.
I also love that they serve iced water in mason jars and that the bar is complete with under bar purse hooks, plugs and USB ports! This place is a little gem tucked away in the Arcade… I say make it a point to try this place stat!

Happened to be visiting Unilocal Merry Marketplace and stumbled on this great little place!
Everyone was pleasant and they let us look around and decide if we want to eat. We decide to try it out and we were very happy with the food.
I had the Rogue burger and it was cooked perfectly. Good balance of «stuff» on it and fries were different, but great. My husband had the Bahn Mi which he enjoyed as well. They gave us a sample of their pretzel app and we wished we got an order!
Hope to return to try other items and their daily specials!

Located in the Arcade, at first glance I noticed how immaculately clean Rogue Island is, and the interior is very unique. Funky kind of bar with constantly rotating craft beers, as well as a selection of craft cans and unique liquors. I noticed Bully Boy Vodka on the shelf right away, which is made in Boston and is one of my favorites. Both Ryan and Bill, the proprietors, were around the restaurant as it was Unilocal’s Annual Merry Marketplace event at the Arcade, and they were very sociable.
It was apparent immediately that this establishment was their brainchild, and a labor of love. The the eclectic menu design, printed on regular paper because it changes seasonally, offers many unique and interesting dishes to sample. This business prides itself on being a «scratch» kitchen and using ingredients from local farms, promoting local businesses, and sustainability. I love the idea of farm to table, and we could taste the difference in quality and freshness as soon as we began eating.
My GF and I went with:
POUTINE FRIES 8.50
pork gravy, narragansett creamery cheese curd, pickled red
onions, herbs, served in cast iron dish
FRIED BRUSSEL SALAD 9
fried brussels, apple jalapeño chutney, roasted shallot
vinaigrette, spring mix, pickled fennel
If you put poutine on a menu, I’m not going to not order it, bottom line. This was a damn hearty dish, and the fries are more like giant potato wedges. It was hard to come up for air from these bad larrys.
The fried brussel salad was also on point. The chutney and vinaigrette are a one two punch, and the crispiness of the brussel sprouts add a nice texture layer to the dish. Getting the salad made me feel less bad about inhaling molten hot poutine, except not really.
We also tried their pretzel bites, pulled pork sliders, and smoked bluefish from the Unilocal Event. All three confirmed what I have said already, fresh ingredients make the difference here.
On weekends they have brunch with bottomless mimosas and bloody Mary’s…twist my arm why don’t you.
This place gets 6 out of 5 stars. I have been looking for a perfect place like this for awhile to be able to enjoy, and it’s great to see Entrepreneurship like this in Providence that has the degree of community involvement they do. Places like this benefit other small businesses like farms and breweries, and that is a damn cool thing.
When visiting Rogue Island, keep an open mind to the menu and understand their restaurants philosophy. I’d be hard pressed to say you will be disappointed.

I have to update this review after the great time my friends and I had the other night. We were a large party, in a hurry to get to a show, and the staff, food, and drinks were all AMAZING. They got our food out quickly, and were super attentive even though we were in a side room since our group was so big. Bill and Kylie specifically were the staff we interacted with. Honestly, it feels like every time I go back to Rogue Island, it gets better, even when that doesn’t seem possible. If you haven’t been to Rogue Island yet, what are you waiting for?!

Located in the Arcade in Providence gives you some places to poke around before or after coming here which is great on a cold day. Went there to try the beers and was impressed by the selection on tap. Got the pumpkin sake beer which has a great flavor even if you aren’t into pumpkin beers as this tastes nothing like the generic pumpkin beers on the market. Also had the Poutine fries which consisted of large potato wedges, these tasted great and was a perfect portion for two if you are looking to have some beer and an appetizer.
The place is really cute inside, nice change from the typical bar. Bartender was good and made some beer recommendations based on our taste preferences. Place was small but very slow at the time so sitting at the bar was a great choice.

I’ve been here twice, once for drinks and the second time, hoping to have dinner. The ambience is great, décor is rustic and charming without being too twee, and the location in the renovated Arcade is perfect. Above all, their local brew selection kicks major behind.
Beyond the set dressing, though, I have to admit I’m not impressed. Both times I’ve visited, I’ve had to hunt down someone to seat our party, and have been dismissed casually by wait staff that seem more interested in socializing than making patrons feel welcome. My second visit was very short: my friend and I entered through the Arcade and waited to be seated. Two members of the staff looked up, and then returned to their conversation until we wandered to the bar, along with two other groups that were similarly confused. One of the staff members addressed the entire group of us with orders to sit at the «big table over there».
My friend and I thought we should check with a server, who then waived us back to the communal table, where we waited in awkward, dimly-​lit silence until she finally came back, slid a couple of menus at us without a word, and hurried off.
We waited a bit longer, hoping to put in drink order, before finally giving up and heading to the Congress Tavern, which had a similarly impressive selection of local brews, plus a staff that actually looked up when we walked in the door.
For me, at least, the third time won’t be the charm at Rogue Island. It doesn’t matter how fresh your food is or how well you represent local vendors. If the staff is unable to appropriately treat guests and represent the business in a professional manner, another visit is just a waste of my time.