DeWolf Tavern59 Thames St. Bristol254.2005
While most upscale restaurants like to decorate their dining rooms with fancy artwork, DeWolf Tavern decided to adorn its walls with graffiti.
Of course, century-old drawings located in the counting room of a 19th century warehouse can hardly be considered in the same class as spray-painted gang symbols.
The tavern's menu is also far from traditional: It features American staples such as lamb chops and steak, but everything is fused with an Indian flavor and style, putting favorite dishes in a whole new light.
The tavern is a fairly new addition to the Ocean State, having opened only a little over a year ago. Located on the water at Thames Street Landing in Bristol, the restaurant is housed in a restored stone warehouse that was built around 1818. Featuring dark wood tables and elegant hardwood floors, the dining room is actually split into two different but connected restaurants on separate floors. There are also two separate bars on each level.
The downstairs menu is less expensive, offering time-honored pub fare with Indian additions, like chicken tenders with a sweet mango sauce. Upstairs is the more traditional dining room, replete with high-backed chairs and a fireplace. There is also a view from the water that goes perfectly with drinks and the sunset. Not to be missed from the upstairs menu is the appetizer of mushroom gnocchi with crisp pancetta, swiss chard and parmesean cream.
The man behind the menu is Chef Sai Viswanath. A graduate from culinary school in America and hotel school in India, Viswanath comes to Rhode Island by way of Indigo, a restaurant in Mumbai, India that Condé Nast voted one of the top 60 restaurants in the world. He has also spent time in the kitchen at the Union Square Café in New York City.
Now that he is here, the Ocean State better hold on to him.
