The Safari Room

This restaurant is the perfect place to watch the sunset in the summer while having dinner. I’ve been here several times and each has been excellent. The waiters are very attentive, checking in on tables consistently. The food is amazing. I have had both the grilled chicken sandwich and the lobster mac n cheese, which is my favorite. The atmosphere is spectacular; a part of the gorgeous Ocean Cliff Hotel. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone in town or visiting Newport.

Went for dinner last night and had a wonderful time with my wife. The setting is beautiful located in the gorgeous Ocean Cliff Hotel in Newport. Tucked away in the back corner an unexpected gem of a restaurant you wouldn’t expect in the area. Call for winter hours but you will have a fantastic time. Looking forward to our next visit. Thank you once again

A great choice for Restaurant week fall 2015. Squid, Venison, filet of beef, and apple tartlet were large portions and delicious. So glad we choose The Safari Room. Service was very good. There was a wedding and a large party but none of that interfered with our meal

Beautiful space but staff still having a problem balancing private weddings and restaurant customers. Made a rez to celebrate my husband’s birthday weeks ago. Asked for a table on the patio so that we could sit along the water and watch the Queen Mary depart down the channel. Host indicated there would be a wedding next door and as a result, all but three tables would be taken off the patio — but we could have one of them. Called a few days later to see if we could order a small cake as a surprise — they don’t do that. Okay. Came for our reservation to find that the wedding had pretty much taken over not just the patio but the entire restaurant, our table was taken away and we were relegated to the back of the bus as it were. We just left. Weddings bring big money to restaurant venues, we understand, but if the restaurant is going to remain open to the public, that they should figure this out. We are part of that public that patronizes these establishments long after the tourists and the weddings have gone away for the winter.

Great service, awesome views. Crab cakes and cheese board were awesome.
Nice place to stop in between lunch and dinner. They offer nice combo plates of food and wine pairings.
Hard to get a reservation but we walked in and got a table right away.

Everytime I go to Safari Room I love it a little bit more! The first time was for my girlfriends birthday, I had called ahead made reservations and asked the hostess to make sure the check was not dropped at the table and to know I was going to slip her a Tiffany & Co box for them to incorporate with her dessert of choice. Unfortunately the host that was on the night I came was not aware and didnt end up taking the card nor box. I had to «go to the bathroom» just to make sure my server was aware. The food was absolutely amazing, I had steak, the margarita pizza and penne with pomodoro sauce, dessert was excellent, blueberry cheesecake! The overall experience was excellent but the lack of communication for the surprise I had was eery. Kirk is an amazing server and his diversity makes the Safari Room excellent! Just make sure you tell them you’re in a hurry or else everything will be laid back and relaxed.

Beautiful views especially for sunset, both out on the terrace or under the awning. Understandably, this place primarily is for wedding or events, but if I had a wedding or event, I probably would be just as disappointed, except for the views. Went on 7/​29, a weekday evening and it was not really busy, maybe a little over a dozen tables were seated and there was a small corporate function inside. It seemed to have plenty of staff. Waited over 10 minutes for our server to come by initially, waited another 20 minutes for cocktails and over 15 minutes for Crab cake appetizer which was very good and worth it.
Rob, our server was unfortunately awkward and ill-​trained in semi-​fine dining, shirt hanging out, unbuttoned like it was a club. Not meaning to be pretentious, but standards should not allow this when working with the public. Rob is handsome, but some more training with details in the menu if he is to do more than serve banquet-​style. Hopefully this is not the norm here. Entrée quality (Salmon and Ahi Tuna) was good, but just that,… passable. Decent size portion, but I like to cook and am not trained in culinary arts, I could have easily done the same sauces at home, or better, Not worth the $ 30 price, but I guess you are paying for the location.
Probably will return and give it another chance for lunch, however.

The view and atmosphere is fantastic. The food had been on the great side as far as I can remember, but lately, I noticed that the service has been dicey lately.
Perhaps that is because of the wedding receptions that was being held at the same time, where most of the staff are diverted from the dining area. I hope that is not the general trend.
My faves are the lump crab cakes with jicama slaw, and the chorizo and littleneck clams — the quintessential RI dishes.

Great atmosphere. We went to watch a sailing race. We watched from the front lawn after lunch and drinks. The building and grounds are absolutely beautiful! The food is good, though not outstanding. The greatest selling point is the location. It was a very good time.

Went to The Safari Room for Restaurant Week. Food was amazing large portions. I had the roasted beet and granny Apple salad. Broiled lamb chops, hubby had calamari seared George’s bank sea scallops. We both had strawberry vanilla bean and basil tart. Service was great, they also offered discounted bottles of wine. Good experience.

Pretzel stick were described to me as sticks of dough, I was hysterical. Bartender was cute, might need to brush up on his culinary views though! They were ok, the tips of each one were hard but inside soft enough I guess. But was there for the drinks anyway! That was just fine thanku very much!

I took my children (12 and 14) for the Thursday night steak special ($ 20 for 16 oz sirloin steak and fries!). The food was fabulous and the waiter was prepared to address their food allergies based on a comment I left on my Open Table reservation. It is so nice not to have to explain everything twice.
The waiter was attentive, but it too.
Of course, the view was superb. Keep up the good work Safari Room.

We have eaten here many times over the years. The service was deplorable. We had a party of 8 and not dish was satisfactory. We will be taking out business to Castle Hill next door.

Nice ambiance, lobster roll on a very thick bun so while plentiful was a bit much … Salad on the side made it less filling.

If they didn’t have this setting going for them, it’d probably be a 3. But they DO have this setting. Small section of lawn down to the water w/​Adirondack chairs. You can sit outside to eat in all kinds of weather as you’re under a large covered… pavilion I guess is the best way to explain it. So pretty. Food was good, not great. Prices are in line w/​the area and menu.

I am surprised this place only has a few reviews thus far,
I was vacationing back east with a friend and spent the last leg of my trip in Newport RI. This restaurant was recommended by the concierge at our hotel so we decided to give it a shot.
After 30 minutes of winding roads through an upscale neighborhood we came across the Oceancliff, the hotel and event venue that has the Safari Room.
The restaurant has a great location. While there is a pseudo indoors section (A roof, but no walls) they have an amazing patio that offers a fantastic view of the water. The airy, open, dimly lit setting makes the restaurant seem like something you would see, well on a safari haha.
We were seated promptly and started with some drinks. The mojito was excellent and my friend said the white wine was nice as well. They start you with a basic bread basket served with olive oil, parmesan, and butter. Nothing spectacular, but hey its bread. For starters I had the lobster bisque which was excellent and served with actual large chunks of main lobster. As my main course I had one of the specials. A Chilean sea bass with asparagus, served on a bed of brown rice. While good, it didn’t blow me away. The chili style sauce they served on the sea bass was a bit odd. My friend had the lobster mac and cheese and loved it.
Our server was a younger gentlemen who looked about high school age, but he was extremely nice and continually checked up on us.
My only complaint about this restaurant was that I left with a good 20 mosquito bites. My friend jokingly told everyone I had contracted chicken pox (Very funny) While I know this is not necessarily the restaurants fault, there are a number of things they could try/​do to reduce this problem.
Overall, I liked Safari room. If I ever find myself in RI again, I would come back.

Great views, good service and reasonable portions. Went on a Saturday afternoon for lunch, it was quite busy although the season is over. Ordered the open faced roast turkey sandwich and my friend ordered the braised beef short rib. My sandwich was delicious, my only complaint is that the cranberry sauce was a little overwhelming. My friend was very pleased with his order.
The room itself is decorated after the name, don’t know if everyone is fan of the safari…
I would go back to try their cocktails, as we just ordered wine.

A Romantic quite lunch. The views are breathtaking! The Safari room has a warm & welcoming atmosphere. The décor is Safari like with large palms, earth tones & bamboo. The sun warms & brightens the dinning room. Safari inspired stools line the restaurant length bar across from the dinning room. The Oceancliff hotel is a place that is very dear to my heart, I said «I do» to my soul mate here.
We enjoyed a prix fixe lunch during Newport restaurant week. I enjoyed the potato soup, open face turkey with cranberry & pumpkin crème brûlée. My hubby loved his fresh salad with apples & pecans, short rib, & the bread pudding. A very tasty, romantic, leisurely lunch is exactly what was needed!
After wards we walked around the property and soaked up the sunny, ocean breezes.

Absolutely gorgeous views. They really can’t be beat. The cocktails are inventive and delicious, and the service is quite good. The menu could use a little work – the price point seems a little high for the quality of the food, to be honest. I’ve ordered an absolutely delicious omelet for lunch, and also had their seared tuna sandwich. The tuna sandwich left a bit to be desired. The tuna was seared well and was flavorful, but the bread overwhelmed the delicate fish, and the inclusion of bacon left me puzzled. Bacon is such a strong flavor… wouldn’t you want the fish to shine?
Either way, the fries are good :) If you have an afternoon free and want to drink some wine and watch the boats go by, you can’t beat The Safari Room.

Meh. A tepid three stars.
If you want to enjoy upscale cocktails and bar bites in a swanky setting right along Ocean Drive with water views, your options are The Inn at Castle Hill or here, The Safari Room at Oceancliff. In all the years I’ve been visiting my Newport family, I’ve never once come to the Safari Room — and the Grands’ house is literally a quarter mile up the road (of all things, it took the wedding of one of husband’s rand-​o friend’s to get me here). It’s good to know I wasn’t missing out this whole time.
The ambiance, views, and drinks just aren’t as good as their competitor’s. I give them extra credit because no view of the harbor is a *bad* view, but really, that doesn’t have a whole lot to do with The Safari Room itself. I’ll continue walking the extra five minutes to Castle Hill instead.