Angelo's Restaurant — Restaurant in Providence

Angelo's is a legendary spot in a legendary spot. Federal Hill has been a mecca for great Italian food for over 100 years, and Angelo's is part of that legacy. A "workingman's" restaurant, "without frills serving simple, delicious food made from simple recipes."

As part of Yelp's Federal Hill Tour promotion, I was very excited to visit Angelo's for one of the original "without frills" offerings of meatballs and fries. Such a fun combination. I am a 100% fan of "red sauce Italian", so this was my number one choice.

The restaurant is fun and retro. Comfortable, casual and the staff is very professional and well trained. Great service. In the main dining room there is a train that runs around in the ceiling. If you put a coin in the machine on the wall it does some laps. That adds to the uniqueness and fun atmosphere.

The meatballs are legitimately spectacular (as far as meatballs go). I get meatballs everywhere I go, and I've been all over the country and these are easily in the top five that I've had anywhere, maybe top three. They are exactly what you think they would taste like if you had a grandmother from Italy who was using her grandma's recipes. They are the perfect size, tender, flavorful and completely fantastic. If that's what you're looking for, they really can't be beat.

The fries were pretty pedestrian. Very average, even if you were dipping them into the gravy from the meatballs to try and give them some taste. They were soft, tasteless, and mediocre. The meatballs are definitely the star. The fries didn't add anything to the experience. But if you're going to an Italian restaurant on Federal Hill for fries, I'm kind of questioning your food intelligence.

Because the meatballs were so good I had to go with my other standby, chicken parm and ravioli. The chicken parm was literally perfect. Perfectly breaded, pounded thin, smothered in their delicious gravy and topped with great quality cheese. Each element added to their experience and you could taste all of them. The chicken is tender, not over breaded, and absolutely spectacular. It's as good as any chicken parm I have had anywhere. And it's something that I eat everywhere... You can't miss here.

Like the fries, the ravioli was pretty much a sidecar to the main event. They were okay, a little overcooked, but well stuffed with tasty cheese. It's kind of like being Steve and Edie next to Frank Sinatra on that plate though.

There's a reason that Angelo's has been around for a hundred years, it's great food, legitimately great, it's a great atmosphere, you'll get top-notch, friendly service from professional people, and you'll have fun. Have fun. I'll be back very soon with my daughter who will absolutely love the place.

If you have somehow missed this local legend over the last 100 years, I could not recommend it more. Try it and see how...

While considering where to bring our friend who had never been to Rhode Island before, my friends and I agreed that Angelo's would be the ideal place. Our objective was to provide a family-style dining environment where we could demonstrate how authentic Italian food is prepared. As we ate at the bar, we had the luxury of driving the bartender/server/photographer, Zach, crazy. Of course this was all in good fun. As for my only disappointment, I did not take any photos of the food which was the second highlight of our evening in addition to the company we shared. First we tried the Eggplant Pom Ricciolo and Cacio Corn, both of which were delicious and well proportioned. My friend and I ordered the Chicken Milanese, which was accompanied by an absolutely delicious dressing and freshest chicken. Obviously, our friend from Virginia was seeking an authentic Italian meal, so she chose spaghetti and meatballs along with another member of our party. They both raved about their dishes and expressed their gratitude to the chef. All of us, especially our out-of-towner, were extremely pleased with the atmosphere, service, and food at Angelo's. Angelo’s has stood the test of time and is a...

I originally wanted to go to the Wise Guys, but they don't open till 3pm so I went next door. After all this is Federal Hill and any place here should be able to make a ham and salami grinder. Or so I thought. Upon walking inside the place looks and feels like one might expect. A nice lady in the front took my take out order and a few minutes later the sandwich was ready and out I went. When I got back in my car and opened the box it all went down hill or off a cliff I should say. First I noticed the tomatoes that I did not order followed by banana peppers that were not part of the order and lack of pickles that I did order. Next came the bread, fluffy and bone dry exept a few spots that where soaked by balsamic vinegar once again not part of the order. Lastly there was practically no meat on this sandwich. I saw a single slice of ham and a single slice of salami on the half of sandwich that was in my hand. So I went back and said that this was a badly made sandwich and the nice lady gave me a refund and that is my reasoning for a two star review. Unfortunately the pictures of the sandwich came out much better than the...