Up River Café
Up River Café
37 Main Street
Westerly, RI
My wife and I are fans of Up River Café. The restaurant is built over part of the river in downtown Westerly, Rhode Island. There is a patio that overlooks the river, for al fresco dining. We always enjoy the patio, although there are a few mosquitoes after sunset. The two of us spend about $130 for a dinner with a glass of wine and a desert. Dinner has always been good and the river ambiance makes for a nice evening.
Most recently, I had a swordfish dish with polenta and a red pepper coulis, topped with fennel. Other restraints (such as Legal Seafoods) will serve instant “polenta” partially disguised, but at Up River the polenta was made properly, preserving the milled corn taste to contrast with and slightly sweeten the fish. The sauce and vegetable topping were perfect. My wife had striped bass with artichoke hearts, purple fingerling potatoes and red pepper coulis. The swordfish dinner was more interesting and flavorful than the striped bass.
My wife liked the prickly pear sangria, although the portion was quite small, since the wine glass was mostly full of ice.