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Boston Globe

New and coming soon: 13 new restaurants and bars in R.I. to try this summer

Sometime this spring, Maggie McConnell and Josh Finger, two Per Se alums who fell in love while cooking in Claudine's menu will evolve daily, and focus on hyper-local ingredients. They'll work closely with a network of farms, and dry age their own fish and meat in-house for menu items that may include a sashimi of dry-aged bluefin tuna. While there won't be any 'standard' items on the menu that will remain, each course will begin with a daily oyster dish. Advertisement Claudine, 225 Weybosset St., Providence, . Quonnie Rock oyster with dry-aged beef tartare, oyster trim emulsion, capers, slow cooked egg yolk puree at Claudine, an upcoming restaurant in downtown Providence, R.I. Courtesy of Claudine Little Clam Executive chef Antonio Wormley (left) with consulting chef Jake Rojas inside of Little Clam. Little Clam The restaurant space inside the Wayfinder Hotel, which was Advertisement Antonio Wormley, a Philadelphia native who graduated from nearby Johnson & Wales University in 2012, will serve as Little Clam's executive chef. After Wormley graduated, he worked as the chef de cuisine at shuttered Vanity and then as executive chef at Milk Money, where he was serving catfish with roasted corn, collard greens, and hot sauce he made in-house. After leaving New England in 2018, he ultimately returned in 2023 to help chef Dovetail & Co., the Wayfinder's owner and development company, brought in Jake Rojas, who previously ran the Little Clam, 151 Admiral Kalbfus Road, Newport, R.I. . A platter of shellfish from Little Clam, a new restaurant inside the Wayfinder Hotel in Newport, R.I. Little Clam Virginica Pizza There may be a new pizza shop opening on Block Island this year. Sadie Flateman, the owner of oyster company Great Salt Pond Oyster Co. on the island, is working on opening Virginica Pizza. She plans on serving Neapolitan-style pizza with local produce and shellfish from the island. A sample menu says they'll offer Block Island clam pizza, three kinds of oysters, littleneck clams, and soft serve ice cream. 'While Crassostrea virginica is the scientific name for the Atlantic oyster, Virginica Pizza brings together oyster service and pizza,' wrote Flateman, the oyster fisher, in a letter to town officials about the pizza shop. Advertisement The building is not yet winterized, but Flateman said she wants to stay open for as long a season as possible to serve Block Island natives. Virginica Pizza , 125 Corn Neck Road, New Shoreham, R.I. Club Frills Cocktail wiz Jesse Hedberg and chef Robert Andreozzi, the two owners of Pizza Marvin, are soon opening Club Frills, a bar that will focus heavily on unique cocktails, like a Jell-O shot in the form of a deviled egg. Nikhil Naiker, who is 'Rob and I have been wanting to open a space together for the last three years,' said Naiker. 'This will help me really see and experience a full opening of a restaurant and bar.' They'll plan to experiment with plays on classic bar food, like a signature burger, a tuna melt with raw tuna, and a mozzarella stick-onion ring concoction. 'It's all a little ridiculous,' said Andreozzi. Old bartending techniques, such as Co-owners of the bar Club Frills, Robert Andreozzi (right) and Jesse Hedberg (left)) in the space prior to construction. Lane Turner/Globe Staff Debbie's Ed Davis has Advertisement 'I'm good with just making hot dogs,' said Davis. 'All of the moves I've made are lateral. Only difference is how you put food on a plate.' Order one of the dog specials — like the 'Raab' (broccoli rabe, red pepper relish, provolone, and yellow mustard). Or a grinder, like the 'high brow' (mortadella, pistachio tapenade, marinated tomatoes, salsa verde) or the chicken cheesecake with onions, banana peppers, cooper sharp, provolone, mayonnaise, and some hots. Their vegetable sides, such as the asparagus salad, source ingredients from local farms and producers. Debbie's, 100 Washington St., Providence, R.I. Stay updated by checking the restaurant's . Ed Davis, one of Providence's most well-known chefs, is the owner of Debbie's. Alexa Gagosz The Franklin David Fierabend of the Groundswell Design Group is opening his second restaurant this week: The Franklin. A highly anticipated restaurant opening for at least a year, The Franklin will be a sophisticated French brasserie. Fierabend is no stranger to the food and beverage space. In 2020, he opened Advertisement The Franklin, 195 Franklin St., Bristol, R.I., The Franklin in Bristol, R.I. HANDOUT Audette The space that once held Chantarelle/Bouchard Restaurant on Thames Street, has been re-envisioned as Audette by the same team behind Mission, the burger joint in Middletown, and Newport's TSK, a steakhouse, and Utility, a kitchen goods store for the party host and home chef. Audette, however, focuses on French cuisine. While many other restaurants shy away from fine dining, the creators of Audette have embraced white tablecloths, tableside lamps, and caviar presentations. The new group — run by Anna Burnley, Tyler Burnley, Chad Hoffer, and Carmen Ratoi — took over Chanterelle in 2024 from the Bouchard family, who ran the establishment for three decades. If you go, expect a menu of escargot; quail; seared foie gras with rhubarb vanilla purée; quenelles with turnip, halibut, and lobster. For dessert, absolutely order the Grand Marnier soufflé with creme anglaise. Audette, 505 Thames St., Newport, R.I., . d.n/a café The Dean Hotel has undergone a rebrand and become The Dorrance was an iconic restaurant in downtown Providence a few blocks from City Hall since 2010. It was a breeding ground for kitchen and bar talent, and was known as one of the best restaurants in the state. When the pandemic hit, the restaurant Advertisement It's unclear what Lester plans to do in the hotel's restaurant space. For now, he's running ' d.n/a café, 122 Fountain St., Providence, R.I.. 1639 Located inside the 1639, 1 Goat Island Road, Newport, R.I., . The deck at 1639, the restaurant inside the Newport Harbor Island Resort in Newport, R.I. 1639 Bar Lazio Opened in March 2025, Bar Lazio is a new Italian bar in the heart of Knightsville, known as Cranston's 'Little Italy.' This is owners Vincenzo Mazza and Christopher Maselli's first restaurant, and they are specializing in classic Italian desserts, aperitivo, espresso drinks, antipasto boards featuring imported meats and cheeses, and seasonal accompaniments. Bar Lazio pays homage to the Lazio region of Italy, which is where Mazza and Maselli say many families in their neighborhood can trace their roots back to. They pour wines from Lazio, Itri Olives on their boards that are imported from Itri (which is part of Lazio), and pasta dishes that include Bar Lazio, 1669 Cranston St., Cranston, R.I., . Pan-seared artichokes with garlic and fresh herbs at Bar Lazio, a restaurant in Cranston, R.I. HANDOUT Circe Prime The Chapel Grille, a popular restaurant in Cranston located in an old church building, Circe Prime, 3000 Chapel View Blvd., Cranston, R.I., . The Cathedral Bar inside of Circe Prime in Cranston, R.I. Gina Mastrostefano Remy's Loose Earlier this year, Remy's Loose opened inside The Chanler, the historic and Remy's Loose's beverages celebrate garden-inspired cocktails accented with seasonal ingredients, and both Old and New World wine producers. Paying homage to The Chanler's tradition around family, the restaurant is named after the hotel's proprietress Lani Shufelt's niece — who is Cara's sister. Remy's Loose, 117 Memorial Blvd., Newport, R.I., . The octopus at Remy's Loose. Jason Varney Yellow Door Taqueria Yellow Door Taqueria, 191 Dorrance St., Providence, R.I., . Garnishes are prepared for beverages at the Yellow Door Taqueria in the South End of Boston. Erin Clark/Globe Staff Know of another great restaurant or bar opening in Rhode Island? Email Alexa Gagosz can be reached at