Rhumbline

Run away, run away! Stood there for 15 minutes hoping someone would notice. Not just ignoring us, but telling us to get out of the way. Too bad, looked interesting. We will never know and don’t care.

We sat at the bar on a Sunday morning and had brunch. I had the bananas foster french toast and it was unbelievable. My friend had the eggs Benedict lobster and the other had the crepes, they both loved their meal as well. the blond woman bartender was excellent as well.
It was not busy, I can’t figure out why, if you want a great brunch in Newport, go here.
Only downside, it is off the beaten path, in a neighborhood behind the Marriott and so there is not a view, but you don’t need a view when you see the food there.

Great food, fantastic service, wonderful atmosphere, all away from the crowd. I highly recommend this place.
I had the beet salad to start with and the mussels as my main dish. Excellent flavors in both items.
Wine list is pretty incredible also!
Check it out if you want a delicious meal away from the hustle and bustle of Newport.

This was literally the worst meal I ever had. I have never once written a restaurant review before. It was SO BAD that I felt a moral obligation to WARN EVERYBODY not to get near here. We were the only customers left at 9:45. My wife and I are amateur foodies, unable to judge how GOOD places are. But this was unbelievably bad.

Fabulous meal; Dining here was memorable. We will definitely be back to try more of the menu. Lots of choices were appealing. Go eat here ! It’s just a little out of the way, so it’s a real «insiders» find (A local friend recommended it to us). Good for a romantic dinner for 2, or a group of foodie friends, the atmosphere was very pleasant, understated design
Each dish was a sophisticated combination of flavors — and not overpriced. They also had a prix fixe selection that included choices for soup, appetizer, entrée with glass of wine + dessert for $ 24-​? something.
We had just the entrée from the prix fixe selection without wine for $ 13 (with a $ 34 bottle from their short but adequate wine list — wines by the glass also available)
We dined late, about 9 PM on a weeknight, so place was not packed, & service was easy & cordial. Our waitress, Amy, was terrific; made suggestions for food & wine that perfectly matched our preferences, complementing our appetites & the other dishes we were ordering. She chatted with us amiably and also split the plates that we were sharing. Great service. Make a reservation & dine later, if you can, to avoid crowds !
I can’t say enough good things about Rhumline’s food. We started with the spinach salad with beets, goat cheese, piquant pecans etc etc with a balsamic vinaigrette. Fabulous choice suggested by Amy.
Salty,
The 9−12″ pizza appetizer was caramelized onion & fig forming the base «sauce»: a perfect sweet contrast to the salty savory piquant Gorgonzola & something cheeses. I love this combo & make a pretty great version myself, but my dining friend said Rhumline’s thin crisp crust was much better than mine.
We split the paella (sp ?) which was a nice light version of the Brazilian (or Spanish ?) multi-​shellfish combination with chorizo accents cooked together in rice. What made Rhumline’s version outstanding was that it did not seem to be all cooked together in a mush but each elemental ingredient, shrimp, small clams, the sausage, the rice was cooked to perfection and retained its integrity and individua flavors within the overall dish whose broth-​liquor was divine (benefitting from some seasoned, lightly cheesed crostini to sop it up with) The serving size was just right: not too huge — if you’re hungry, you could eat it all without regret, but enough to split if you’re going lighter or having soup or appetizers.
Because we dined late, I was disappointed that they had run out of the flourless chocolate cake, but the espresso crème brûlée more than made up for it.
Eat here. You’ll be glad you did

Food pretty good. Good muscles and appetizer pizza. Extremely slow service and lack of staff really put a damper on the overall evening. A bit noisy too, would have been a good overall evening if service was much faster.

Had 6:15 reservations, arrived at 6:08 and was promptly seated. After that, the service was ok, not great. I had the lobster and crab cakes as well as the fried calamari for my dinner, along with a romaine salad that I split with my husband. My husband had the striped bass special. The food was ok, the service could’ve been better. It took a long time to get our food, and the calamari was overcooked. Great atmosphere, piano player was good, but other than that, not much to recommend. I was disappointed, after reading some of the great reviews.

Way over the top. Ate here while visiting the area. The food was amazing and the service was even better.
We were made to feel right at home.

Was told about the Rhumbline by a coworker and it did not disappoint Service was excellent from the time we walked in the door. One of us had the fixed price menu and the other had the mussels with truffle fries. Everything was very good. The bread served with the salads was outstanding. This was by far the best meal we had in Newport. It will be a go to place on return visits. Highly recommend, especially to get away from the more touristy places and prices.

We walked over from the Sara Kendall House, quite nearby. We had very good service, very good food, and the entrees are $ 10 cheaper than tourist places. The ambiance was nice, lively but not noisy, with a fine piano player for entertainment. It was a Friday night, ¹²⁄₁₆; according to the ¹²⁄₂₇ review, either we got lucky or that reviewers got very unlucky. Go figure.
Nothing really to complain about.

Went to this restaurant on a Saturday, off season as we live in the neighborhood. The service was deplorable, we waited two hours for our food to come and eventually walked out of the restaurant without being served. The waitress messed up the order, waited over an hour to enter the order into the system and then proceeded to lie to our table and say the food was being plated while we continued to wait another 20 minutes. The waitress was condescending to other workers and ignored us multiple times. We really tried hard to love this place but we won’t be going back.

Rhumbline — Amazing Service, Food and Atmosphere
We arrived at 8:15 pm for our 8:30 reservation and the hostess was right there to seat us as soon as we came through the front door. Once seated, our waitress was there within 30 seconds to greet us. At 8:30pm on a Sunday evening I would say the place was winding down and it was about ½ full. The service overall was incredible and very friendly. The hostess and the waitress were very easy to talk to and we did throughout the evening,. you could tell they both enjoyed her jobs and they were hard at work the entire time.
For drinks we had a glass of chardonnay and I had the Rhumbline Apple Pie Sangria. It was great but I like sweet so keep that In mind.
We started with a spinich salad with roasted beets, grilled red onions, goat cheese and spiced pecans. Absolutely excellent.
Then we had the Sicilian style littleneck clams, which was simply amazing. The sauce was too incredible for words, that tasted like it was perfected over years of crafting this dish.
We also had the lobster and crab, crab cakes which were very good as well.
For the entrée I had the Red wine Braised Short Rib with truffle whipped potatoes and bacon roasted Brussel sprouts. This was again just truley delictable. I’m not a fan of Brussel sprouts and in my 40 years on this planet, this is the first time I enjoyed them to a point where I actually wanted more!
My wife had a swordfish special with grilled fingerling potatoes and sautéed spinich, which was also incredible.
All in all… I would definitely recommend this to anyone. The people are super friendly, the chef is truley amazing at his craft and the atmosphere was exactly what we were looking for in a Rhode Island dining experience.
On a sidenote, the place itself is located off the beaten path and seems to be on the outskirts of a residential area. It is definitely a hidden gem of Newport.

Arrived there last night at 7pm. We sat at the table twiddling our thumbs for 35 minutes before we were asked if we’d like a drink. Seeing where the night was going, we ordered then and there. Appetizers took an hour to arrive (the drinks came at the 55. Minute mark), and we were there for two hours before our entrees came. My appetizer was shrimp and chorizo chowder — not a shrimp to be seen. Drinks that were ordered never came.
Completely disorganized restaurant. Third time I’ve been here with exactly the same experience — food generally good, but service is appalling. We sat there debating whether or not to leave any tip at all — service is what tip pays for. The debate raged about whether it was the wait staff, the kitchen or the Manager at fault, but we think it was all three. We observed a male waiter who just walked around the tables, not taking plates, not taking orders, just walking.
Waitresses were very apologetic at the end, but there was nothing off the bill for the Fawlty Towers-​like service, so the apologies were hollow.
Seriously, this place is a debacle.

Newport’s dirty little secret for high quality, well presented, and affordable classy dining, away from all the annoying turistas. Ask for the prix fixe menu, definitely the best deal in town! Word of caution, be mindful of the parking signs during tourist season, as you may get stuck with a stiff ticket…

Best brunch in Newport at the best price. I’ve been coming here for years and their brunch and dinner menus are fantastic. Great place for a quiet, high quality meal compared to the restaurants downtown.

Go here for Sunday brunch!
We had the eggs benedict — my boyfriend the traditional, I the lobster & crab cake. Each came with fresh fruit & a potato torte. DELICIOUS! The hollandaise sauce is house made — not from powder — and has a great, lemony flavor. The crab & lobster cake had big chunks of seafood mixed with veggies — not a lot of filler. Just how I like it. And the potato torte was a different take on hash browns — super yummy. We can vouch for the bloody marys and mimosas, too!
While there we found out the owner and chef is a local guy from Jamestown. Even better to support locally owned businesses. Definitely recommended.

I visited in September 2011, and I still remember this place. The New York Steak I had, and sat by the window. What an amazing experience. Definitely a great, intimate place with a Harbor vibe. Good for anniversaries or a first date. Full bar. Cinnamon ice cream to top it off.

Love the atmosphere.
Don’t love the service.
My biggest issue is the lack of consistency.
I’ve eaten here & it was delicious and then come again twice & it was mediocre.
It’s a bit harder to find off on a side street in a residential area away from the bustle
I’ve had the butternut squash soup– great presentation, the Sicilian little necks, crab cakes, salad w roasted beets, & salmon.
Cocktails were great & dessert excellent.
It’s just not consistent.
Parking is tough.

Food: 5 stars. The rest: 4 stars.
We had a group of 6 and went on a Friday night for dinner. We had reservations for 8:30pm. We had drinks, appetizers and dinner. The service seemed slow to me, but then again there were 6 of us on a Friday evening. We were there a total of 2 hours. The food was Outstanding! Absolutely no complaints there. Every one of us completely enjoyed all our appetizers and entrees. Our drinks were good too, but a little slow. There was no bar tender that night so our waitress also had to make our drinks. Due to what seemed to be a long wait between courses, I would have liked a little better drink service. Overall this place was great and I can’t say enough about the food!

Enjoyed a wonderful, quiet Sunday brunch (at the bar) here.
The mimosas tasted like a 95/​5% blend of champagne to o.j., so it’s no wonder their getting $ 13 bucks a pop for them; it is Newport after all.
Rhumbline is located somewhat off the beaten Newport path, between the Marriot and Goat Island, in an old historic red house, nestled inside of a quaint little neighborhood.
The bar service was great. Nothing is more satisfying then chatting with the «locals» about their favorite spots, and things to do during a Newport summer.
Now, onto the food. The food was really good, and the brunch menu was reasonably priced. I indulged in the broccoli frittata. It was covered in gooey smoked cheese, and full of veggies. Would I call it a frittata? Not necessarily… It was more of a shapeless glob of breakfast goodness. Triangle or not, it hit the spot. The potato fritter it came with was out of this world. Garlicky, savory, crunchy outside, creamy mashed inside. I could have eaten 5 of these. The meal also came with fresh fruit– a very nice and seldom seen touch. Another nice touch was the apple scones that were brought out prior to the meal. A welcome update to the bread-​basket tradition!
Dinner menu sounds great and I look forward to visiting again!