AS220

If you have a chance to see EMPIRE REVUE here, it’s a great show and the jazz band is fabulous.

I have only gone to a few shows at AS220 and most of the time they are the Empire Revue. I wrote on my blog about the review and thought I would share it here for anyone looking for a great show, it’s the first Sunday of the Month at 8pm.

I think I was scared of how hipster people told me it was here. I have no beard and no half-​sleeve of tattoos, will I be an outcast?
No! Stop being judgmental and As220 has something for literally everyone!!!
I am obsessed with the poetry slams on 1^st and 3^rd Thursday of every month. They also have amazing shows on the weekends and I recently learned (and tried) several fitness classes upstairs. They have yoga, pilates, ballet, dance, etc. The drop-​ins are pretty cheap $ 5-​$ 10. They also have art galleries, rap slams, host events, and amazing food!
Really though, for one minute lets talk about the food. Fresh, local, and great ingredients. A lot of vegetarian options but the ones with meat, have high quality meat and you can tell. LOVE IT HERE

Wanted something fresh and light. The beet and goat cheese salad was perfect. A friend had a bean and noodle soup that he raved about. Everything was fresh and good. Perhaps a little pricey for what it is.

I’ve heard so much about this place and was excited to try it. Ordered a basic salad and it was exceptional and more than I expected! Love the whole concept of supporting local artists. I think every city should adapt this idea. Love it.
There just so happened to be a free art show after we finished our dinner so we sat in on that.
Highly recommend AS220!

Small venue, but pretty great, saw a few bands there last night. The bartender was a little off, took a while to get a drink even when the bar was not busy.

Youth Poetry Slam — awesome!
Thursday nights are my favorites. $ 5 and you get to hear a lot of talent.

AS220 has sure come a long way since it was the little art space above Club Babyhead on Richmond Street (in the space that I think is now the Providence Social Club).
For a very long time AS220 was just a place for visual and performing arts, with an emphasis on indie/​underground/​youth culture stuff that didn’t have other venues. So there were punk shows, poetry slams, unjuried gallery exhibitions, drawing classes, etc.
I still have a hard time thinking of AS220 as a restaurant/​bar, as most folks seem to now. The art space is still there, but it’s in a separate room. The main space at AS220 now has a bar and a «restaurant» called Eat.
I put «restaurant» in quotes because it’s more like a take-​out stand that’s inside. You order at the counter, get your food and then go grab a table cafeteria style. There is no table service or even bussers that I noticed. The bar and food counter take up a good portion of the space, so there aren’t even that many tables or places to sit.
On a nice day you can sit/​eat outside at tables on the sidewalk.
I’ve eaten here once and the food was good. I’ve had drinks at the bar a few times before or after a show. But I still would only think of eating/​drinking here if I was already planning to go to AS220 for an event. I generally wouldn’t make a trip downtown and try to find parking just to eat at AS220.

My friend and her bf took me to this place for dinner after they met me @ the bus I got off of.
First off– there aren’t any regular bus boys that come and wipe off the tables, and our table was a little dirty.
I had the spicy seitan sausage sandwich– which did not please me at all. The sausage was bland, cold and under cooked, the cheese was gross and oily, and the bread it was on was burnt and tough. I couldn’t even cut it in half with a knife.
Cos my meal lacked any kind of goodness, my friend offered me half of her dish– which consisted of marinated tofu, veggies and rice. Now that was really delicious.
I’d probably return, should I visit Providence again. But I just won’t order the spicy seitan sandwich.

The stellar reviews are well-​deserved, and then some. Terrific, very tasty food at ridiculously low prices. Very casual, serve-​yourself atmosphere. (You order and pickup at the counter.)
The prices were so low that the six of us ordered one of every appetizer on the menu (except 1), which came in enormous portions, and so created a tasting of appetizers, plus five entrees, for well under $ 100, plus drinks. (Drive down from Boston — even paying for gas it’ll be cheaper than most comparable restaurants up north.)
And then there’s an art gallery and performance space right there, etc. Trendy crowd, with lots of students and others dressed in black about. A fun, delicious night out.

OK,
I get that this place is a source of cultural pride in Providence. I think it’s really cool to have this great melting pot of art and liquor and food all in one location.
That being said, this place gets points for trying but still misses on the execution. It’s great to have such a cool space, but let’s be honest, if the food isn’t right, the restaurant won’t succeed in the long term.
Sadly, the food here is inconsistent at best. The two times I’ve been here haven’t really bowled me over. I did order a side of chickpeas and those were outstanding.
Overall, I’m giving this place a big shoulder shrug of ambivalence for the food but an enthusiastic high five for the effort.

Second only to the far-​pricier Garden Grille for vegan food in Providence, as good as the best anywhere — with hearty portions at $ 10 a pop. The drinks at the bar are excellent as well.
Add the friendly bartenders, ambiance of performance-​space music, excellent people-​watching, and conversations with regulars, and this place really does live up to the hype.

I love AS220 and give it 4 stars on vibe/​atmosphere alone.
The artwork on the wall makes me feel like part of an artist collective despite my lack of talent, skill, or artistic sensibility. And the underground country rock fiddle group playing at a table in the corner was just so crazy eclectic and cool. Right on friends, right on!
I think it’s pretty fun having the community-​style seating too, where you have long benches and large tables w/​open seats. Strangers sitting together, a homeless man shouting wildly at the guy behind the counter, an open kitchen where you see all the action go down… now that’s good times.
I will say that the food is pretty good and cheap, but not every dish is a home star runner. The sweet potato fritters were AMAZING. The fish I had… maybe not the best. Now… if the fish had been fried in the sweet potato fritter stuff… MAN that would have been explosive. A Moneyball home run.
I definitely plan on visiting AS220 often. Love it.

I was in Providence for a wedding, and AS220 was highly recommended as a great place to get tasty vegan food.
It’s really hard to find a place with vegan offerings, even harder to find a place with a huge variety of vegan offerings and even harder than that to find a place with super delicious vegan offerings — AS220 delivers on all points!
The restaurant counter is on one side, the bar on the other. Seating is at both bars, between the bars around the rest of the space and outside. There is an art gallery attached to the restaurant. Apparently they also have artist studio space, as well.
The people that worked there were all very friendly. The two chefs were open to chatting about their food and the restaurant. All ingredients are locally grown, so the menu changes as the seasons change.
I can’t say enough about the amazing food. My boyfriend and I were in Providence for two days and we ate there twice, once for dinner and once for lunch.
It is important to note that AS220 is not an all-​vegan place — there are plenty of choices for carnivores, too!
Some places that cater to the artist/​vegan/​bar scene can be very stuck-​up and unwelcoming, and AS220 was not like that at all. There should be more places like this in the world! I will absolutely visit again next time I’m in Providence.

This is a great venue downtown that hosts everything from live music to Geek Dinners while remaining a great little gallery with quirky local art. The staff next door at the bar and food counter are very friendly, and they’ve got a great selection of draught beers and bottles with an emphasis on local brews. Very cool.
My heart broke when Taqueria Pacifica laft a few years ago, but Food at AS220 has filled the void to some extent with their vegan-​friendly soul food. You heard that right.
The gallery space itself is cool — a little grungy, not too huge, but very manageable with a collection that changes frequently to showcase different artists from Providence.
Personally, I love the Geek Dinners. Once a month, nerds from all corners of the city drag themselves away from their computer screens to take in a presentation from an up-​and-​coming PVD tech company, share ideas, socialize, network and drink beers. AS220 is the perfect scene for this mingling.
My one complaint? Parking is a complete bitch. Other than that, it’s like a clubhouse for PVD. Sweet!

The cocktails here are awesome. They’ve got all kinds of house-​made vodkas. Big fan of the lemon-​ginger with gingerale, and the apple-​cinnamon, which literally tastes like you’re drinking an apple pie. Delicious and dangerous.
I like the vibe here, and while it can sometimes be too loud to have a conversation if there’s music going on next door… I still heart it cause the bartenders make some mean drinks.
My only real complaint is that they should serve food much later than they do.

This is a cool hippie bar without hippie prices — $ 6.50 for a vodka seltzer. OK crowd. lots of Converse and wool hats.

Wonderful venue-​has so much to offer.
Make sure you grab one of their monthly calendars or check it out online. They have different types of music shows-​all original music– rhode island songwriters shows and cd releases– geek dinners– movies and a cheap fun warm bar. Generally a young 20s crowd

The Best Sangria I have ever had
’nuff said

From day one celebrating what You do. A community treasure in so many ways. New food menu and unbelievable original art of all kinds. Politicians and poets gather for beers and food. Musicians of all sorts art on every surface.
Providences geek elite come to meet once a month in creative meat space. Stop in and see what all the fuss is about.