The Cove Restaurant

I went to the Cove last night with my husband, two teenage kids, and my sister. Our sole purpose for going was because they were holding a fundraiser for a local boy who has cancer. The restaurant was donating a portion of its proceeds from the entire day and night to go toward the helping the boy and his family. Unfortunately, that’s where the accolades end. We had been here before and enjoyed it, so we were looking forward to another good meal. We knew the restaurant would be pretty busy due to the fundraising event, but we were able to get a seat fairly quick.
We arrived at around 5:45 and Missy was our waitress. She was very quick to take our drink orders (just sodas and a milk), which was good, but it took her a while to bring those drinks back. In her defense, she did have whole back half of the restaurant’s tables to wait on, and as I said, it was busy. You would think that they would have a few more staff on to accommodate the crowds. We finally received our drinks and she took our order. My husband and sister ordered an appetizer (mozzarella sticks and stuffies), and we all ordered our dinner. Again it took a while for their apps to arrive so when I saw our waitress again, I asked if they were coming out with the dinner? She said no, they should be out shortly and asked if we would like some bread. The bread was good, but I am pretty sure they were frozen New Yorker garlic knots, like you buy in the grocery store. The apps were good, but the mozzerella sticks were not sticks. They were huge triangles, but still decent.
Our dinners arrived and everything was good. The four of us ordered a 12 oz. rib-​eye steak with fries, a burger with fries, a (was supposed to be) kids plate of penne pasta, and a Philly cheeseteak sandwich. My sister ordered fish tacos, which she said were also pretty good. After our dinner was brought to the table, we hardly saw our waitress. Another young woman took our dishes and wrapped our leftoevers. We finished our meals and again waited a long time to get our check (s). This is where my review goes south. The total of the bill came to $ 82 not including a tip. I didn’t expect it to be a cheap meal, but I sure wasn’t expecting that. The food while decent, wasn’t anything fancy, just standard pub type food. $ 82 for mozzarella sticks, a steak, a burger, a sandwich, a kids order of penne pasta, and four drinks, one of which was a milk. My sister got a separate check, so her items were not on our bill. We were charged $ 12.95 for the penne. My daughter pointed right to the kids menu selection for the waitress when she ordered (she is not a big eater). To be fair, the portion was big, but there isn’t an adult version of this on the menu, just the kids, so where did this price come from? We didn’t realize this until we were home looking at the menu online. We gave the waitress our card to pay the check and she handed our card and check off to yet another woman, while she cleaned off other tables. We never saw her again.
We didn’t make a fuss about the total of the check, because the night was for a good cause and that is why we went. I give the restaurant lots of applause for doing what they did for the young boy, but I don’t think we will be back anytime soon. Just a bit pricey for what it is.

Great food. Our first trip to Rhode Island and was looking for a seafood place to eat on the way back to Connecticut. They quickly sat all 7 of us. The waitress was attentive and very helpful. We all started off with either the clam chowder or the lobster bisque. Both were wonderful. We also had a variety of dishes. Everyone loved each end everyone.

The Cove is a great restaurant. Casual atmosphere with excellent food and service. They feature one of the best New England clam chowders and the restaurant redesign added just the right amount of ambiance. One of our favorite local places!

Best Chowda in all the land!!! Lobster sandwich very tasty. Nice atmosphere friendly staff. Will be going back

Excellent out door seating area. Yummy lobster, oysters and beer. They have entertainment on a schedule and karaōke (hard to find nowadays) that may be worth the drive.
All in all– a good haul.

Great atmosphere, good food and friendly service. Mozzarella sticks are to die for. Will be back asap

Lovely food, lovely service. It’s basically elevated bar food, so head in there with realistic expectations. The kids’ meals were ok, fries undercooked but they didn’t mind because they’re kids and ketchup fixes everything. I had crab cake salad. Great salad. Lots of veggies, tasty dressing, but pretty small. The crab cake was good sized, but not well seasoned. Pretty bland actually. It was the excellent service that elevated the meal from mediocre to memorable. Our waitress was sweet and funny, and attentive without hovering. It’s funny how service makes such a huge difference.

This was a disappointment. The menu looked great as did the reviews which is what brought our group to The Cove for drinks and dinner. While waiting for our table we ordered drinks which were entirely too strong and tasted as though they were made with the well liquor.
We were seated next to a group of a dozen college aged kids who were drinking heavily and speaking incredibly loudly… certainly not an atmosphere for a nice dinner. When we asked about the outdoor seating we were told we could only sit there if we ordered fried food. That seemed strange to us and since not everyone wanted fried food we stayed put.
Our table ordered a few different options:
Fried Mussels: Tasted like they’d been frozen and thawed. Mushy and drenched in a cream sauce. Definitely NOT worth the $ 12 price tag.
Fish and Chips and Strips: Exceedingly greasy even for fried fish. Certainly nothing you couldn’t get cheaper (and fresher) from any number of fish shacks near the beach.
«Rib Eye» Steak and Crab: This was a complete joke. The piece of meat served was certainly not a rib eye, it was a flank steak at best. ½″ thick and gray all the way through despite having ordered it medium rare. The «Crab» on top of the steak looked like tuna salad and smelled the same. This dish was so bad it was sent back and nothing new was ordered.
Service was just okay. Our waitress didn’t go out of her way to make us feel welcome. All utensils were removed before our food arrived which was odd and delayed us from eating.
I would skip this place. It might be fine if you’re college aged and don’t mind drinking lighter fluid cocktails and eating greasy OVERPRICED food. If you’re looking for seafood and awesome service in the area try Matunuck Oyster Bar. Had we known The Cove would be so awful we would have gone back there.

Super service, Narraganset on tap, and excellent food!!! And the PICKLE the perfect ending to the perfect meal. Small dill chips cut thick with the right amount of crisp and flavor. (The coconut shrimp app was amazing too)

A take out salad with a bit of rubbery chicken was what I got. It was $ 22. I will not be coming here again. Looks like the prices are paying for the renovation.
Caution: They are taking down bad reviews. I used to trust Unilocal

Just left and renovation and new menu is legit. Older blonde hostess perhaps owner, incredibly rude. Had a party of 8 spent $ 300 on drinks and dinner and this woman was nothing but straight rude. Hate to write this because we love the Cove but not right. Be kind to your patrons we are not all tourists.

I’ve had a mixed series of meals here, usually all with decent services. My first lunch involved a mushy, earthy tasting crab cake sandwich. Most food is heavy and greasy, if appropriately priced. I also remember an oily bisque, but snappy sweet potato fries. So, a mixed series of meals, but an okay experience overall.

Great food, the veggie baked fries appetizer with lettuce, salsa and hot cherry peppers were unique and tasty. Philly Cheesesteak grinders hit the spot. Clean, good value. Great staff

I wanted more out of my meal. Like many others, I felt that food was «decent» «not amazing» and «ok pub grub.» 3 diners — one big fan of the Portuguese stew, 1 «meh» on the crab and rib eye, and 1 «meh» on the burger and fries. That said, it was a long and varied menu if all you’re looking for is feeding a crowd at the end of the beach day.
I expected more out of the meal because the décor was so nice. Didn’t see it before the remodel, but new décor mod and chic. 4 stars if the menu could also get an upgrade.

Just remodeled so it’s a little better atmosphere but the food is the same. Ok pub grub nothing to write home about.

DID THE STAFF WRITE THE RAVE REVIEWS ON HERE?!
I have been vacationing in Charlestown for over a decade now and time and time again my friends and I give the Cove «one last chance.» This summer was the last straw! We are done and here is why…
As children our parents NEVER took us to eat there and when we got older and ventured there for lunch we discovered the food is nothing to write home about. Regardless, we figured it could be a great dive to grab drinks in – but we were wrong!
Aside from Travis, the staff is MISERABLE and uptight. We arrived there on a Saturday night (with our parents in tow) and found there wasn’t even music playing and though we poured money into the juke box and bar the older female bartender was rude and we had to practically beg for service. After only a few drinks she cut us off for singing Gotye. NO SINGING AT A DIVE BAR? I really cannot deal with that. Seriously, avoid avoid avoid this place, save yourself the frustration and just go to The Breachway. Better food. Better drinks. Better service.
Bottom line: The food isn’t good and the staff makes you feel like they wish you were elsewhere. So, do them and yourself a favor and just go elsewhere.

We’re always looking for a casual restaurant with good food… The Cove is just that! We ordered the Calamari Giovanni as an app which was cooked to perfection (love banana peppers!). The chowder was awesome– nice and creamy with amazing flavor. And for entrées we had the Seafood Primavera which is loaded with scallops and shrimp tossed in a delectable Alfredo sauce and the fish and chips which is made with light and flaky cod with just enough batter fried nice and crispy. Overall, delicious. Satisfied with the meal? Absolutely! Only complaint (which isn’t really one) is we ordered way too much food!!! Huge portions!

Decent food with responsive service. Had the Cajun swordfish sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries — was very satisfying. Grill pizza however was a flop! This place is all about the locals around the bar on a Saturday afternoon. Might go back for lunch but not for diner.

Pros: Fresh fish, a real nice good crisp to the Fish and Chips, super friendly service, and a sweet outdoor seating area for chillaxing in.
Cons: Although everything was done very well, nothing was «Amazing» to push this restaurant to the «5» category. We left the restaurant very happy, but we weren’t picking up the pieces of our shattered expectations.
Bottom Line: It’s good!

Great place! Got the fried calamari and the salmon BLT and they were both fantastic.
The patio is great for a summer day after the beach and the plates were HUGE!
A bit pricey for not ‘gourmet’ food but it was great anyway. Just the kind of food you want after a morning at the beach. Will definitely come back!