Cara — Restaurant in Newport

We have eaten at Cara multiple times and have stayed at the hotel as well many times. We have referred people to both Cara and the hotel. We booked a graduation diner for our son for this May. When asked if there were any food preferences my husband answered with “we have NO food allergies however since you asked my wife would prefer no crab or shrimp as it is high in iodine and gives her a headache”. The chef then refused to honor our reservation. When the hostess called back we assured Paula there was no allergy it was only a preference and we gave an example that it was only a preference like “raw onions make people have headaches sometimes as does chocolate” and that it was nothing more than that. She proceeded to call the chef and tell him that we did not want onions. We never said we did not want onions it was an example! To his reply “we cook with alot of onions so one more reason not to honor the reservation”. We are not picky eaters and are very easy to please and have never had a single complaint only rave reviews and compliments each time we’ve dined at Cara under the cooking of chef Jacob! Anyway they clearly are not grateful for return clients as they would not honor our reservation. Highly recommend that you do not fall for the “trick question” if you are asked if you have any food preferences! After assuring them of ZERO allergies and telling them this was a favorite dining experience for us and we were excited to celebrate our sons graduation there. They still denied us. Paula is a very poor communicator of preferences so do not communicate anything with her about your preferences when she asks… this will get you canceled! She clearly prompts the client to give her your preferences and then relays back to the chef concerns that absolutely do not exist. Again I have NO allergies and was very clear I was able to eat most everything that swims in the sea that could possibly be served that evening…and if anything was presented that I did not prefer I would simply eat around it. No issues whatsoever from us.. yet Paula turned an absolute no issue into a huge issue with chef Jacob and he in turn canceled our families graduation dinner...

We celebrated our 5th anniversary here in December and were engaged here when it was the spiced pear years ago. We enjoyed our meal then and had hoped for the same experience. Let me just start that the food was very nice. We opted for the three course. The fixed menu gives you three courses with eight choices. Two apps, four 'main', two dessert. The food itself was top end. It was finished with the intention of giving a beautiful presentation. That being said the portion size for the main courses isn't even enough to constitute an appetizer. I had two main courses and felt like I was just getting started( I'm 160lbs no where a big eater). I estimated about 2oz of protein. The reason I could only give 2 stars is what this costs. $100/person plus mandatory gratuity. I always tip well but prefer the option of tipping based on the quality of service. Taking that option out just makes waitstaff lazy. During covid and a restaurant that only did 2 tables that night it's hard to mess up but I would never go to a busy place with a preset tipping system. Expect to pay ~$300 for a couples night out. We went back to our hotel, relaxed for 1/2 hour then went down to the restaurant, split a platter of oysters and had two main courses for just under $100. It's so sad they opted to go to an overpriced, pretentious experience. Dinner should have left a memory, not a hefty price and...

If I could give zero I would because I wasn’t allowed to dine here. I had just finished the Cliff Walk during a muggy evening and wanted a bite to eat and some drinks on the patio with my sister. I asked the server if we could grab a seat to which he said reservations are required and go see the hostess inside. As I started walking inside to see the hostess as I was asked to do, the door inside was blocked as a woman stood right in front. I said oh hello I was asked to go inside to see the hostess to which she said that was her. I asked if we were allowed to eat outside and she said the reservations were all full while there were quite a few empty tables. She did not offer to take my name nor grant me a reservation. What she proceeded to do was look my sister up and down like we were trash and so I left. What she was doing was saying my attire wasn’t appropriate. If this was the case she could have politely say we have a dress code and sneakers aren’t allowed. She didn’t. She proceeded to say what she needed to without a single word but a nasty look. She should realize my $100 bills I would have spent to eat there are worth the same as the man and woman dressed just a slightly bit nicer. This was on Aug 12, 2023. The hostess should be fired and the owner should know he lost a customer who has been here multiple times. We made our way to Tickets and were...