Local 121

The attire described for this restaurant was casual, but I felt under-​dressed in the dining room. We ordered the charcuterie, which was pretty good. Also ordered burgers, rare, which we were told they couldn’t do. However, when the burgers came out, they were raw, and we had to send them back. Once they came back they were great. Ordered two drinks, which took 15 minutes to come to the table, and one of them had a small hair, which I didn’t even bother to tell our server about. I can’t say it was a miserable experience, and I love the focus on local food, but I won’t be running back any time soon. The price alone was a bit too steep.

Extraordinary! Long overdue review. Was there in March. Had the best brunch ever! Everything was scrumptious. Service was top notch. I don’t know about their other menus but the brunch was sublime

A group of us ate here on the recommendation of locals while in town for a wedding. It was hugely disappointing. The kitchen seemed clueless on how to cook and above all how to respect ingredients. The waitress insisted that the house «brunch burger» could not be cooked less than well done, and it came as promised — a piece of flavorless dead meat. The Oaxacadilla was a mound of flavorless cheese that overwhelmed all other ingredients. The Chilaquiles were similarly sad. The «House Herb-​Cured Salmon» came on a badly burnt bagel. Our friend asked for a replacement bagel, which was also kind of burnt but not so much as to be inedible. The French toast was pretty good.

Great hostess, waiter and bar area for dinner. There is a more upscale area and then there is a pub like area that’s more casual. Great food! Scallop ceviche… get outta here. Cod with lobster risotto and a curry sauce, delicate and decadent. Dessert basil icecream and rhubarb pudding, nice.

Yet another amazing brunch at Local 121! The coffee, the Bloody Mary’s, the food, all INCREDIBLE. I’m a sucker for brunch and haven’t found anyplace that’s better at it than this. I love that the menu changes with what’s in season and locally available, I love that they use New Harvest coffee, they can do no wrong in my eyes. My only complaint is that brunch isn’t available everyday! Highly recommended!

We’ve made a few visits to Local 121 over the past years, particularly to its ‘tap room,’ a lovely, oak-​paneled bar with stained-​glass windows and and old-​world ambience, but we hadn’t actually been to dinner there in a while. When we were seated, we made a remark about having sought out some ‘quiet ambience,’ which the maitre’d took as a sign we were out-​of-​towners, which — despite the name — it seemed many of the guests were.
The first thing that struck us was the sound of the piano player from the adjoining room. His steady plunking began with some brusque jazz standards, hammered out with a bit more volume and less nuance than might be desired, but pleasant enough. We ordered wine and beer and pondered the menu, eventually deciding on a few small plates as appetizers. One, advertised as ‘Navajo Fry Bread,’ was like a toothy little pizza, with some vegetables and what one person though was salmon — and another, chicken — pressed into its surface, with a sort of savory drizzle. There was also a strange offering of scallops with fermented green strawberries and sundry other greens; this arrived as four small puddles on an enormous plate, each containing some cut-​up strips of scallops, with strawberries that looked like little green stones. The scallops were flavorful, but the accompaniments rather strong and strange for so subtle a seafood. The last small plate was a sort of salad, consisting of a few leaves of greens on a plate.
We were a little dissatisfied by these, but decided to wait and see how the entrées treated us. One, a heap of black lentils surmounted with «carrot noodles» — in fact not noodles but little spirals of actual cooked carrot — was disappointing and disappointingly small (a feeling emphasized by its arrival on an enormous oversized plate, which was smeared about with some sort of orange drizzle). Another a baked cod, was advertised as being served with roasted potatoes and a curried lobster bisque (which I had expected to be in a small bowl). Instead, the cod was plated above a tiny pool of said bisque, in which no lobster was to be found; the few crispy things on the periphery turned out not to be potatoes but croutons. The potatoes were lost in the bisque, and no wonder, as they had been minced to the size of a few broken fingernails, identifiable only as potatoes at a brief first chew. Our other companion had a double cheeseburger with fries, both of which were truly outstanding, though a bit steep at $ 17.
We soldiered on, crossing from these culinary heights to the proffered provisional recompense of dessert. One dish, said to be a flourless chocolate cake with strawberry sorbet, was in fact a strip of fruit leather with three blobs of said sorbet and two tiny slivers of chocolate atop; another, described as a white chocolate mousse with mint pea topping; in the place of a mousse was a sort of shortcake, and the mint pea topping tasted more like a mint-​flavored vegetable purée.
The service was obsequious but very slow, considering the restaurant was not very full. The piano music, during the course of the evening, shifted from jazz to pop, with weirdly over-​vigorous renditions of Bill Joel, Elton John’s «Bennie and the Jets,» and Don McLean’s «Vincent.» It should have been relaxing, light-​fingered, and smooth, but instead felt like a day on an exercise bike. I’m not sure whether the choices were those of the venue or of the pianist, but something cooler and slower would have felt better.
All in all, not one of our favorite evenings out, and pricey at that. We admire Local 121’s commitment to local foods — they were one of the first restaurants in Providence to have this — but the menu seemed over-​thought and under-​executed.

Nice atmosphere on the bar side. Stopped in for a drink and app. Had the scallops that were unique and delicious!

Went for brunch and it was amazing! The food was wonderful and the service was great. Everyone was very friendly and the décor is very nice.

This place nailed it. Great bar, good service, and incredibly creative food. Visiting from out of state, traveling solo, sat at the bar. Had «The Dreyfus» (so good, x2), a scallop dish that had the perfect balance of flavor and textures, and a deconstructed smores ice cream dessert. I few other dishes looked so intriguing I’m going to try to go back before I fly out. Friendly staff, just an all around good night out.

This place is by far the worst establishment I’ve ever stepped foot in. When ordering my friends and I some cocktails the bartender had no clue what a Stoli Around the world was. I explained the recipe to her and she actually mocked me after making them wrong. When I asked for new drinks very politely I might add, this braided freak of a bartender began to come over the bar yelling and arguing with my friend and I that she had made them correctly. If that wasn’t enough of an insult she said «oh well I already ran your card so you’re paying for them, go somewhere else if you don’t like the drinks» I was flawed that bar staff is allowed to treat patrons this way and furthermore when I asked to speak to the manager I was told that the manager is never there.

Having sat in for a dinner event, I had to reevaluate my previous review. First of all, the service was really excellent, as our staff catered to all of our requests and was kind and very pleasant to chat with throughout the dining experience. The food, however, was not up to the task.
In short, everything was just so damn salty, including the butter. We shared the fried dough, scallops, delmonico steak, rabbit, and the carrot noodles. The scallops were delicious, served over a beet-​infused white sauce, although there were only 3 scallops for $ 15. The fried dough… was sooooo salty, omg, I had to chug two glasses of water after eating just one corner of the bread and I couldn’t go back to it any more. The carrot noodles over the lentils was decent and unique, but also very salty. The rabbit was ok, but also salty (sensing a pattern) and served over a plate of noodles that is more uncooked than al dente. Finally, while the delmonico steak was excellent, especially when it was served on the rarer side, however, the $ 68+ price tag made it a little less palatable.
Overall, I had a good time with the family, but with the heavy sodium intake and the wallet diuresis, I probably won’t return for dinner in the near future.

I have been here twice and both visits have blown me out of the water! I am very conscious about where my food comes from and because of this I hardly ever am able to enjoy a night out. Here, I can pick anything I want off the menu since it is all local and humanely raised. HUGE plus! Both times we’ve been offered samples from the kitchen, staff has been knowledgable, friendly and happy to answer any and all questions.
Valet parking is a nice touch :)

The atmosphere is warm and inviting and has an amazing history. An original location for speak easy. Food is delicious! Locally sourced. Cheese plate with wine! Yum! Clam chowder, beer battered pollock were perfect. And desserts were just the right size bursting with flavor. So good! Located near all of the theaters. Perfect place.

The following is going to sound really weird. But I was impressed with the noise level at Local 121. I’ve been to many lounges, and the common theme is: the louder the music, the better. That certainly isn’t the case. It’s frustrating when I have to basically scream at the bartender just so they can hear my order, and the same can be said when trying to talk to someone.
My second visit to Local 121 was with two friends. We loved the reggae music and thought it was a nice change from the standard techno playlist. Even when dancing close to the DJ, it wasn’t that loud and more than bearable to be near. I love the fact this establishment is that happy-​medium in terms of noise.
It also makes for a good 2^nd or 3^rd date. There’s a small restaurant in the back with comfortable seating and a classy atmosphere. The downside is that it’s dark both in the restaurant and especially the lounge portion which is in the front. Not much seating available in the front either, so anticipate standing most of the night. It’s definitely worth a visit despite those minor factors.

I had an absolutely lovely brunch here on Saturday! Cheesy grits are my favorite and Local 121 has them all figured out. If only they allowed me to add shrimp — that might have taken this to a 5 star rating.
I enjoyed the breakfast sandwich with egg, gouda, and BBQ pork belly scrapple. It was my first scrapple experience and I’m not sure if it was a good place to start — it might be all downhill from here…
Service was excellent, from the welcome to signing the check. It was very nice of them to let my 2 companions and me enjoy the space of a giant banquette.

Great place to go before or after a PC basketball game if you actually want to get a seat. Their calamari is crisp with an array of peppers etc.
I used to go to Trinity and stand shoulder to shoulder but this is just one street over and they even have Trinity IPA on tap!

Came here on a Saturday night to listen to some music and dance a little. The vibes were nice and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The «bouncer» and other staff are very friendly. Pauly Danger is a good DJ. He played reggae in the beginning, but slowly tapered into hip hop and old school music which I could have done without (come on, the thong song and it’s getting hot in here? o_​O). Then again, he was playing for the crowd.
It was not very diverse in there, could count the # of minorities I saw on one hand. But I’m sure some of y’all will like that ;-)
A lot of people were friendly and wanted to dance with us, so it didn’t bother me.
Overall, I had a good time and got my little dance workout in.
I would return.

We came here for dinner for a bachelor party and we first started out in the bar area, which is very modern and has a very unique look to it. We then moved in to the dining room area and everyone one is packed so close to each other. I had the burger which they aced, definitely better than any of the other selections I saw on the menu or tasted from my friends. This may be a great place to go to for others or if you’re trying to impress while on a date but for a casual dining experience this isn’t the place for me personally.
I will however commend the wait staff, they were all so friendly and willing to take special orders, extremely apologetic when they made errors and constantly came back to check on us.
I think that if they made a menu change to try and be less upscale I think this place would be a hit, focus more on the burger and American dining fare rather than attempting the current menu. I’d love to see this place as sandwich comfort food restaurant with specialty steak and cheese wraps, etc… That would be cool!

Every time I’m in Providence everyone says a visit to Local 121 is an absolute must. On the last night of my work trip there recently I decided to take the plunge. But as I was dining solo, I preferred a more casual setting than the classy white tablecloths that I spied in the elegant dining area. The perfect solution was to grab a stool at the bar, sip a nice beverage, and enjoy the full regular menu in a much more laid back way.
I got the lobster risotto and I wish I could remember every single ingredient that was in it (the menu is adjusted seasonally and I no longer see it on their website). What I do remember: huge, juicy pieces of lobster. Some sort of heavenly foam. The presence of uni. A little sprinkling of chives. And of course a perfectly cooked risotto. It was a wonderful dish and one of the best meals I’ve had in PVD!

First time at Local 121 and It. Was. Amazing!
The inside of the building has high ceilings and dark wood. The bar stools are covered in white leather and have to be two feet across! The dining room has lovely lighting and mirrors on the walls. It feels so elegant and not at all stuffy. Our bench seat was covered in a soft light brown velvety material and the single seats are surprisingly ‘comfy’.
We arrived a bit early for our 8:15 reservation and were seated right away by a very sweet hostess. Our waiter arrived with a decantor of lemon infused water which was left on the table and refilled upon request. We each ordered a drink from their very imaginative menu and we all enjoyed our choices.
After thoroughly reading over the menu we placed our order and next thing we know the waiter appears with amuse bouche the kitchen sent out to us. Beautifully presented and so many layers of flavor and texture. Amused indeed. Thanks Local 121! We are delighted!
We started with the tomato salad; a total knock out. A variety of fresh tomatoes and micro greens artfully arranged. The tomatoes were so fresh and tasted like summer. I love, love simple food that is so good it doesn’t need a lot added to make it wonderful and for me this salad is just that.
We also sampled the tempura battered calamari which is a great way to make calamari in my humble opinion. Why have I never had this before?!
Our entrees were the steak with potato and peeled, grilled asparagus, Statler chicken with haricot vert and au gratin potato and gnocchi with a side of kale which was more than large enough for us all. The kale was cold, which was unexpected, and had a lovely, cirtusy marinade. Refreshing and healthy. Everyone throughly enjoyed their meal and we ate every bite. Of course we had coffee and desserts too!
I honestly do not know how we ate that much food but we did and not one of us felt stuffed because the food is in no way greasy or heavy. Everything is well seasoned and beautifully presented. A feast for the eyes and the mouth.

Really delicious food prepared with ingredients only from local producers. Taste it