The Mooring

We had such a great time here. We came on a Wednesday evening and they were able to seat us outside right away. We had the crab cake and clam chowder appetizers and really enjoyed them. We loved our entrees, especially the lobster BLT wrap. They have a great dessert menu, we had the cinnamon bun bread pudding and the key lime tart along with some really great coffee. I would definitely recommend this place!

I liked this place! My friends and I visited this restaurant when we were traveling to Boston.
The Mooring is situated on a nice marina with a great view on harbor.
Our diner was amazing. I liked my Clam chowder soup and Atlantic Swordfish.
I’ll recommend this place, and in my next visit to Newport I’ll definitely come here.

The setting is stunning, and the food was very good. The only disappointing part was their lack of commitment to sustainable seafood. The bartender told me that they serve too big a volume of fish to care about where it comes from. Humm, without knowing it he hit the nail right on the head! If you eat here please first take a look at these two apps, together we can make a difference!
In case you need a visual as to why plastic straws are not a good idea~

Delicious food and excellent service! The view into the harbor was beautiful for dinner and we really enjoyed a relaxing, quiet dinner here :)

Yes yes yes!
Gluten free friendly, knowledgable staff and delicious food. I had a gf crab cake (yes, crab cake!) that was stuffed full of crab and spices. It wasn’t full of bread and was full of flavor. I had the blackened fish sandwich on properly toasted gluten free bread and a fresh side salad.
We had great service (at the bar, of course) and enjoyed the view. We are already debating on coming back for dinner tonight :)

Gotta say, this has been a fantastic spot in Newport. Here every week this summer and will be sure to come back. Bag of donuts — great! Scallops in phyllo pasty, delicious. Tuna tar tar, light, fresh and clean. Our bartender Matt took fantastic care of us, great cocktails and good service too. Thank you for an above board experience

Great food and service. We had a table of 7, but received top notch service on a busy night. The raw bar selections were generous and as fresh as they could be. This place must be a zoo during high season, but I think it would be worth the visit.

Skylar was our server and he was fantastic! Perfect amount of presence. We sat outside on the deck in the sun over looking the port and beautiful boats of Newport. We had the following:
Food:
Crispy dumplings (excellent)
Chowder (good a little bland)
Fish and chips (a little too much batter but the fish was good)
Crispy chicken sandwich (delicious)
Salmon (fish and Swiss chard was good but the jasmine butternut squash was a bit of a let down)
Take 5 pie (awesome if you love peanut butter!!)
Drinks:
Strawberry fields (great mescal kick!)
Sweet dreams (perfect end to the meal)

Probably the best lunch I’ve had all summer.

We went here to celebrate our friend’s engagement. Staff here are so helpful and kind. The food is great. I highly recommend the bag of doughnuts. Wonderful place to celebrate something special. We will be returning!

My girls decided to do The Moorings for dinner. Although they close at 9pm, we were able to get in at that time and didn’t leave till 2 hours later. So needless to say, staff were pretty accommodating. We ordered the bag of doughnuts to start as appetizers and they were delicious! We then ordered uptown salad, fish and chips and the salmon. The uptown salad was good. The fish and chips were okay and the salmon was a bit overcooked. But, this restaurant is still worth trying. We were seated right away and when we were cold, our waitress was able to turn on the heat for us. That was a bonus!

Yes The Mooring’s set along the waterfront and yes the view is something to witness while eating. That said, I found the food incredibly disappointing.
Arriving for a dinner reservation on a weeknight we were seated right away at a table near the patio railing separating restaurant from waterfront. This I loved.
Now our waiter was fantastic! One of the most concerned waiters I have ever experienced when it came to us disclosing a food allergy. He went above and beyond my expectations to make sure there was no cross contamination.
Unfortunately the food is where it all started to go wrong. Ordering a starter of mussels in a tomato broth I found them tough and rubbery. The broth was nice, but there was so much of it that it appeared as a soup. For my entrée I selected a cod dish with clams not fully realizing this was a broth based dish as well. The fish lacked flavor and had an almost mushy consistency rather than flakey. Again the shellfish were tough and chewy and the broth overwhelming compared to the other portions of fish and clams.
My father who I was dining with ordered a slice of cake for dessert, which he said was very cold in the center as if the slice had come from a frozen and now defrosted pre-​made cake. Not his favorite.
The highlight of the night was our server but wow what a difference between the quality of food we ate and the amount we were charged for it.

My favorite dining experience during the entire stay around the area, and that says a lot since I went to a couple other similar type places right by the water.
Had a reservation for 6:30, but requested a table by the window on the inside when I checked in with the hostess. Was told that the wait would be slightly longer (~7 pm) due to this, no big deal.
Moved on over to the bar to grab some drinks while waiting. They actually have two different bars — one directly past the hostess stand, and another down the hallway and around the corner. I believe the liquor selection may be slightly different between the two bars, which is kind of strange. I ordered a Macallan (at the one directly past the hostess stand), and the bartender actually had to run to the other bar to fill the order.
The price was great for a neat (~$ 12) and the pours were generous. They also have couple cocktails on the list. Tried the Sayer’s Last Word, and it was a bit too much on the sweet side for me. Had a light sip or two and then couldn’t finish the rest. By the way, they don’t do shots here… Not sure why… I have been to other much nicer speakeasies that have no issue with shots…
Got seated at 7 pm pretty much as estimated. Kudos on that!
Met Dan the waiter and got started off with some fresh Canada cups and other local oysters plus a lobster claw. The Canada Cup was pretty good and ended getting 6 more of that. The lobster claw was big! The meat was very tender and sweet. Got the tuna tartare to follow and it was lightly seasoned, which was perfect since the tuna itself was absolutely delicious!
For entrée, I went with the seafood pasta. It came with a generous amount of seafood and everything was cooked perfectly. The sauce was cream based, but it was not heavy at all. Would have loved to try some of the other entrees, but my stomach was already sending distress signal by this point. Alas, next time…
This whole dinner order probably last about 2~3 hours since I was pacing pretty slowly as usual. The service was awesome during the entire duration. My glass was never empty and every need was met. Great experience and will definitely stop by again!

Love food and Beautiful place for dinner nice service have best sword fish love love place.

I might just be a picky eater, but this place does not deserve the hype it has.
Yes, it is by the water, but the décor of the restaurant does not highlight the fact that it is right next to the water. No breeze or anything, since the entire «outdoor» area is lined by PVC curtains.
Our server was just okay, but we were mainly disappointed by the food. We ordered the raw platter, the bag of doughnuts because it is recommended on Unilocal,seasonal greens, cheese platter, and the swordfish. Out of all the items we got, we were the happiest with the cheese… which says a lot. And when I say happy, it is really only in relative terms. The cheese was nothing special, pretty regular, average cheeses. It was the last night of our vacation, so we were hoping to get some amazing New England seafood. Nope. The raw platter was disappointing, as most of the seafood offered does not taste very fresh or flavorful. The bag of doughnuts is pretty decent, but just taste like a fried squid-ball…not impressed. The worst of all though, is definitely the swordfish. It was dry and flavorless. It is difficult to justify consuming each bites of it.
Regardless of what we think, the place is very packed and busy on a Monday, so maybe it is just not for us.

Newport has a lot of «must dos» that are overrated and hyped up by tourists, but this is not one. I ate here on a Saturday afternoon only because the two doctors I sat near at the bar the previous night informed me that this was the best spot in Newport and that they have been eating here for 40 years. Now at this point I’m completely seafooded out (if that’s even a thing), but decided to give it a shot instead of eating brunch.
The place sits back one of the wharfs all by itself. It looks like an old run down inn from a distance, but it’s far from that. The inside is all custom woodwork with a bunch of antique nautical maps in gorgeous frames hanging from the wall. Must have been redone recently. The entire back wall of the restaurant is glass overlooking the water. The wait staff was on point and the manager even came over to check up on everything.
Now I can’t comment on dinner, but the lunch was perfect. My yellowfin tuna sandwich was perfectly cooked and placed on Chibata bread. My dads swordfish with avocado sandwich was also amazing. My mom got the special, which I normally avoid, but the tuna melt was packed with meat and cheese. Can’t comment on my sisters salad since I swore off those back in 1995…
So glad I listened to the wisdom of the elderly locals instead of the tourist reviews. I hope to try it for dinner next time I’m in town.

It is an amazing waterfront restaurant. I love the appearance. I love the food even more. The «Bag of Doughnuts» is one of its most popular appetizers. They are lobster, crab & shrimp fritters with chipotle-​maple aioli. They come in a bag and are shaped like doughnut holes, which explains the name. I do not eat any of the seafood in them but my parents and brother do. They really enjoyed it. In addition, they are heavy so you may get full eating them. My mom barely ate her entrée afterwards. I ordered the clam chowder and it is excellent. For my entrée, I ate an ahi tuna wrap. It was amazing. The tuna was very fresh and the sauce on it was great. The restaurant is not cheap but not ridiculously expensive either. I highly recommend this restaurant as a nice place to eat in Newport. In addition, we got there early for dinner to beat the rush. It definitely gets busy during dinner time.
If you are traveling to Newport and looking for recommendations, please go to

Driving home from a Boston weekend visiting cousins, we decided to take a detour and spend the afternoon in Newport, RI. The Mooring is fairly close to the road that brings you into town and is situated on a nice marina with great views.
Lunch was good! The service was friendly, helpful and fast.
The clam chowder was excellent. Creamy, hot, nice amount of clams — delicious.
The «bag of donuts», fried seafood fritters appetizer was just OK. The app had inconsistent chunks of seafood in each fritter — some were tasty; some tasted like fried dough. The chipotle aioli saved it from being completely underwhelming.
Finally, the lobster rolls — they were really good! Packed with fresh lobster (with only one little piece of shell in mine), the sandwiches were delicious and very filling. I personally like a bit more tarragon and some celery in the ingredients but that’s OK given the impressive amount of lobster meat contained within our two sandwiches.
My little man had the grilled salmon kids meal which was also excellent — the salmon was grilled perfectly. Finally, the fries were just OK — would had preferred either shoestring or steak fries not the in-​between cut with the fake crunch coat that these fries had.
Overall, nice lunch, nice setting, excellent service. I would recommend a visit while in this wonderful scenic and historic town.

Combo tourist trap and pretty good restaurant. Place is huge. A zoo with a view.
Pretty efficient service. Seared Ahi Tuna asked for medium rare came back sushi level– then returned well done. French fries are frozen not fresh cut. (naughty).
Mussels were excellent. Fresh, with a dippable broth.
If you can go on an off time– you can avoid some of the noise level and billions of people from Sioux Falls.

I went here with a group of seven girls on a Saturday night. As you walk in, the place is very lovely. The walls are made out of a rich dark wood so it gives it a nice ambience.
I ordered the ahi tuna (medium rare) and it came with cauliflower. The cauliflower was subtle but very delicious. As for my tuna, it was also very good. I wished they had some sort of sauce or purée for the ahi tuna because it would have given it more depth, but I was very pleased with you meal.
Next was the vanilla bread pudding. Delicious! But the ice cream to bread pudding patio was off. Huge bread pudding and not enough ice cream. We ate allll of it.

Had dinner here tonight. We got there at about 545pm and it was pretty packed (I think it was because of its proximity to the ocean because the food was just average).
We got some oysters and clams from the raw bar to start us off and they were relatively fresh albeit a tad bit expensive. Next, we decided to go with the donuts… alas they were really doughy and there wasn’t a decent amount of filling in them, which made them really unpalatable. (The bread they set out for the table was much better than the donuts) We told our waitress about it and she willingly offered to bring out a scallop chowder for us (another app that we were thinking of getting but didn’t order). The scallop chowder was much better and it was something different — there were 4 scallops in there and the corn was a nice touch.
Our entrees were the Uptown salad and the beets&farro (add salmon). Seafood were all fresh, we would expect no less from a seafood restaurant in Newport but it was nothing to write home about.
Overall, an OK experience but I’m sure you can go get your seafood fix at a cheaper establishment.

The Mooring is one of the best atmospheres in town to get your seafood fix. There are certainly cheaper options, but if you are in the mood for a Newport experience The Mooring doesn’t disappoint. Love the ambiance here — its clean and sophisticated. I always make reservations when bringing visitors here, and I request to be seated on the waterfront patio. I’ve also been solo and enjoyed my time at the bar (s) eating mussels, sipping on a cocktail, and chit chatting with the friendly bar tenders. I’ve tried quite a few things from the menu and enjoyed everything. Friends always love the bag of donuts and cocktails are always delicious. I also love that they always have at least a couple yummy vegetarian options, which can be hard to find in town especially at more upscale restaurants.
My meals here have always been accompanied by friendly, attentive and knowledgeable service. Another plus is the large parking lot out front. Most of the year the restaurant will validate for two hours, but I believe you may have to pay on summer weekends. The patio is closed in the winter and in the spring/​fall they usually have heat lamps out for chilly days. Added bonus: Their restaurant week menu is usually pretty impressive.

The Mooring is good, but it didn’t blow me away. The wharf restaurants in general try to lure you in with their oceanside views and claims of having the best whatnot, but it’s hard to get away from the tourist vibe and overpriced options. Our visit took place in the summer of 2015 (sorry I know this is quite late). I stumbled in with my hubs after a morning at the beach and lots of walking around so we were hungry and ready to be impressed by what’s been said to be one of Newport’s bests. The service and atmosphere are very cheerful and friendly. Even though we were dressed pretty shabby like we literally just came from the beach, they sat us in a great spot near the water and were very attentive.
The two of us ordered a scallop entrée, shrimp tacos, and bag o’ doughnuts (made with lobster). Everything was good — except the tacos, they were pretty bad (made a strong note to self never to order tacos from non-​Latino establishments). The bag o’ doughnuts were a fun take on clam cakes as a savory, doughy, lobster-​y. The Georges Bank scallops were tasty and fresh and came with a side of very normal cooked veggies and a pretty scrumptious corn pudding. Pricey though. Lunch was on the steep side. One entrée, two apps, one drink brought us in at about $ 80 with taxes and tip. 3.5 stars.

4.5 stars!!! I had the Scallops chowder and the Seafood Pasta. The seafood pasta tasted a little too buttery/​Greasy but delicious! Everyone there seemed to be dressed up while
I was not. Very pretty restaurant! I def recommend it!

Excellent seafood experience and great raw bar. Try the Raw platter with 3 lobster claws, 3 shrimp, 3 oysters, 3 little necks– a great way to kick off a meal.
Follow that with perfectly cooked scallops served with corn pudding and paired with warm rolls. Where do you find corn pudding these days anyway?
And the keylime/​lemon pie was tart and creamy like a dulce de leche. A great end.
Unfortunately the one area that seemed to lack were the cocktails. After sending one back, and a bloody mary that just wasn’t very bloody, I’d skip them next time. But still one of the best dinners I’ve had at Newport

First: if you’re driving, try to avoid parking in the lot right in front of the restaurant (unless you’re loaded like the majority of Newport residents). I think it was $ 3 per half hour. If you don’t mind walking, there are usually free spots north of Thames St, near Touro Park.
This was the first meal my boyfriend and I had in Newport. I was delighted to be seated in one of the best seats of the house. We were sitting indoors, but right next to the open air windows so we had a perfect view of the harbor outside. The ocean breeze was a little chilly, but refreshing.
Service was also outstanding. The restaurant was packed but someone came to fill our water and check on how we were doing at comfortable intervals.
Now, the important part… the food. Overall, it was just ok. We started off with the bag of doughnuts, which were essentially giant fried seafood balls. There were 6 in a bag, and these were enough to fill us up. They were a bit too salty, and I think the chipotle mayo sauce it came with was really the redeeming factor. We also had clam chowder, which was good, but not memorable. For entrees, I had the lobster croissant and bf had the scallops. The croissant was cold, dry and disappointing. I ordered it for the novelty factor but I’m sticking with my classic lobster rolls from now on. Scallops were ok… I’ve had better. The plate came with an awesome piece of cornbread though!
My verdict — 5 star view and service, 3 star food. Definitely a restaurant worth trying, but I would recommend against getting the lobster croissant.

Had an excellent lunch at The Mooring on a recent visit. It was a beautiful day, we had just done a sailing excursion, and were definitely starving. The hosts greeted us warmly even though we arrived 30 minutes early and we were seated at a nice corner table on the «deck» area, which overlooked the water. Our server was friendly and chatty, coming around to check on us often, but not overbearingly so.
We ordered a bottle of prosecco (as a side note: most of the bottle prices were much lower than I expected for a tourist destination) and our glasses were never more than half empty. We started with an appetizer of the bag of doughnuts. I was expecting this to be just ok since I figure most things that reach this type of cultish hype never live up to it, but the bag of doughnuts was terrific! Decent sized, filling, and with good dipping sauce. My husband and I then decided to split the clam chowder and the day’s special swordfish sandwich. The former was a tasty large portion and not too creamy. The swordfish burger was a decent size at a great price. Our total came out to $ 95 with tip.
All in all, it was a great experience during which we were able to enjoy the atmosphere without feeling rushed. Would definitely go back on subsequent visits to the area.