Spain of Narragansett — Restaurant in Narragansett

I have to say that it's baffling to me that so many people give this restaurant a four or five star review. It's not even in the ballpark. As a number of others have mentioned, this is a restaurant that seems to be resting on laurels of long ago.

We have been coming to Narragansett over the past 7 years or so, and have heard many times that we need to eat at Spain, but hadn't until this trip. As background, we are a family that eats out often (probably too much) and are just as happy at a good burger joint or clam-shack as we are at fine dining establishments. We looked forward to our dinner, but to say we were underwhelmed would be putting it mildly.

Let's start with the decor. You would think that being a stone's throw from the Atlantic ocean that there would be some sort of coastal vibe. Not even a little. There seemed to be nothing in the design that had anything to do with Spain, or the ocean that is 100 yards away. Instead, they seem to have opted for a 1980's vibe, complete with tables and chairs taken off the set of Roseanne. I'm not sure what was tackier, the mix and max rattan chairs, the stained carpeting, or the cascading water running down the front wall of the restaurant that would be more at home in a Las Vegas hotel room with a mirror on the ceiling. But my thought was, if the interior is this dated, and they still have these good reviews, the food must be out of this world. Well...

Our server was informative, though certainly not overflowing with personality, and she shared with us the specials and was prompt enough throughout our dinner. We started with drinks, and although our ten-year-old loved his lemonade, my wife's cosmopolitan had essentially no alcohol in it, and my cocktail tasted like an Arizona iced tea out of a can, again with not a hint of alcohol. Oh, well, onto the appetizer. We went with fried zucchini flowers, which sounded great, as we have had them before and loved them. These were so heavily battered and fried that the zucchini flower was non-existent, not to mention that they were oddly tasteless as well. Not a stellar beginning, and our hope was waning.

My son ordered the linguini with clams, and really liked it. We both tried it as well, and it was tasty. But, that is also a pretty tough one to mess up. I ordered a dish called chicken of Spain, and it was a breast of chicken that was stuffed with ham, cheese, and some lobster. There was maybe one or two pieces, and as other reviewers have written it tasted rubbery and not fresh. My wife ordered a special that was shrimp, scallops, and lobster in a red vodka sauce. I'm not sure how that dish could be made to taste bland, but it did. When I took a bite, it honestly reminded me of eating spaghetti-o's as a kid. And while I loved them, I don't expect that flavor profile in a $40 dish.

We both commented that we couldn't remember the last time we were at what was considered a "good" restaurant and we both reached for the salt shaker numerous times. Neither of us fully finished our meals, and as we left we were both taken aback a bit and how this place seems to be lauded and how it couldn't even rise to the level of being average. Neither of us are picky eaters, and we fully enjoy our dining out the vast majority of the time, but this was simply not good.

After reading some of the other negative reviews, it made more sense. I think that's why the restaurant sends out an email the day after your visit that directs you to an external site where you can leave your review, that way they can weed out the less than...

Updating our review for last nights visit.

We had 6:45 reservations and were seated upstairs in the training section. I say training as the staff, while friendly and attentive, we’re all very young, very w, and still learning the menu. Evidently the legacy staff get first dibs on the first floor dining room as we recognized some of the servers while waiting for our seat.

Worked out fine. Our server was able to get answers to a couple questions we had and was pleasant. The meal took a bit long to be prepared which is understandable, but the preparation of both mine and my wife’s shellfish meals (two different versions of a paella one wo rice) was subpar. Similar to an experience we recently had elsewhere, the seafood was way over cooked which ruins the delicate flavors of the scallops and shrimp as well as the texture (rubbery, eraserlike and loss of flavor). Not typical of the Spain that really specializes in this particular dish.

The other thing we noticed was in was not busy as in years past. The outdoor seating usually bustling with people was closed and quite a few empty tables. I’m accustomed to this place being jammed with an entryway full of people waiting for a seat and difficulty finding a parking spot.

Hopefully these past couple experiences here and elsewhere are an anomaly, early season pains so to speak.

It’s been a while since we have visited but last night marked our sixth or seventh time here at the Spain. We started with the mussels and calamari appetizers which was plenty for the 4 of us. The mussels were large and plump and the calamari was what I consider proper RI style prepared. Both were perfect.

For dinners, we had veal Jerez, two stuffed veal chop specials and a rack of ribs. All were very good. The Jerez is similar to veal saltambuca in flavor and both the cops and racks were perfectly cooked and melted in your mouth. If I had to find fault it would be the chops were under seasoned a bit and would really pop if they had.something like a rich lobster sauce or similar. I suppose my taste buds may have been off but everything else seemed correct.

We wrapped up with a couple flans and two types of cheesecake for dessert with expressos and a nutty Irishman coffee drink. Desserts were excellent but whoever made the expressos didn’t know what they were doing. Much too strong, not enough liquid for a double and very little froth creme. Not the end of the world.

Final note on the service. It was impeccable. Tables were cleared quickly after each course and the waiter regularly stopped by throughout the meal...

Spain of Narragansett, this restaurant has definite positives and definite negative as well. The parking lot a large however it is dirt and stone so perhaps best not to wear heels. There are only 2 handicapped parking spots which were full this proved problematic traveling with two handicapped people. There is a flight of stairs to the entry door then, two large flights of stairs to where we were seated. This again proved to be problematic with to handicapped people in our party. Our party was approximately 20 people, the tables were placed together quite close to the wall. Upstairs area is large with Windows around. The lighting was poor, I realize ambience but it made it harder. Any weight staff was nice but I don't think they're accustomed to large parties. We headwaiter on the other hand did not impress me at all. We had several problems which I approached him about and he seemed totally nonplussed including a fried dragonfly in my nephew's chicken tenders, which we then waited over 20 minutes for a replacement meal. The food was kind of all over the place. I was told that the 1)fried calamari was the best that many of the guests had ever eaten. 2)The chorizo was not a true chorizo however I was told it was very good as well. 3)I was told the chowder was excellent, it was a white chowder with large portions of clam. 4)The beef wellington (really tiny portions & meal size) we're about the size of ping-pong balls, and covered in an ultra sweet balsamic glaze which really detracted from the beef wellington flavor. 5)The pasta alla vodka with scallops and lobster was delicious however the portion could have said to people. 6) The rack of lamb was a huge portion, it had a wine sauce with Dijon mustard and artichokes I was told it was cooked well. 7} Paella looked delicious however I did not like some spice that they were using and the rice was a little strange. 8)The chicken nuggets came with a friend dragonfly which my nephew did not appreciate. Another large problem was that we had to ask for everything, the headwaiter should have been orchestrating the entire meal. We asked for water, we asked for drink refills, we asked for bread and we ask for...