Parkside Rotisserie & Bar — Restaurant in Providence

Working in downtown Providence, I've eaten here many times for lunch and liked it a lot, thinking I would bring my wife for our anniversary prior to a show we had booked.

We had made a 7:15 reservation for a Saturday night before the show. We arrived 5 minutes late as we didn't know it was a Waterfire festival night and several streets were blocked and we needed to park further away. The hostess politely informed us that it wasn't a problem and it would just be a few more minutes to clear our table because it was so busy; and indeed it was - it was difficult to stand in the area due to so many people - and there were even three tables squished in by the door that had patrons getting bumped by those standing.

Enter either the FOH manager or Maître D' - he announces "xxxx, party of 5!" - to a party standing in the area. They wave, and he says, "alright, let's go!", and walks into the dining area. The party looks at each other (as did we), obviously thinking, "wow, that's odd.."

Forward to 7:45, the three squashed tables empty and are re-set and the same gentleman comes by and points to the table near the door and says, "here's your table!". Having been standing by the cold door for 30 minutes watching the previous patrons get bumped into, I asked if there was anything else. He replied, "well, it's obviously busy - if you want to wait 15 minutes I'll seat you anywhere". Having used up all the time buffer we gave ourselves at this point I replied, "I can't wait anoth--", where he cut me off saying, "No, of course you can't wait." I replied, "well, 30 minutes ago when our reservation was for, I would have been happy to wait." It's obvious he figured we were just more annoying customers that want everything their way and their time is just too precious.

At that point we probably should have left. But we were hungry, figured we could eat quickly, and I had enjoyed lunches so much previously, we stayed and ordered the Lemon Garlic Chicken and Duck a l'Orange from our very pleasant server. But the kitchen was obviously being rushed as nothing was properly finished: on both dishes, the seasoning/flavor was good, but the layer of fat under the duck skin hadn't even rendered, leaving the skin blubbery and difficult to cut through. The chicken skin was soft and rubbery too. If you're going to pull items off the rotisserie before their skin is crisped up, you should at least take a moment to finish them with a salamander or with a hot pan sear. The fingerling potatoes were not cooked fully and were mealy and slightly crunchy, again - it felt the items were rushed out so they could turn busy tables more quickly. Thankfully we didn't get bumped by anyone as it was getting less busy at that point, but it was certainly unpleasant to be by a door that kept opening with cold air rushing in.

I thought about giving two stars because of all the times I had a great lunch there - but decided I'm reviewing this specific experience, and honestly, if your dinner service can't handle a rush properly and at least equal your lunch service, then you don't deserve it.

We got our check from our server, paid, and made it to our show with 3 minutes to spare - glad we didn't just "wait another 15 minutes..."

And to whomever that gentleman was seating people - I worked in the service industry for 8 years -- if you can't be pleasant to customers when the pressure is on, then maybe it's not for you.

We'll look to have a redo on our anniversary dinner somewhere else that's good soon. I can't say if I'll be back anytime for lunch either. There's plenty of other places I go in Providence that's consistently good for all...

We came from out of state and made an outdoor dining reservation for dinner here. It rained so we were forced to eat indoors. We got there early at 5pm so it was not very crowded at all, so we felt safe. We let them know it was our first indoor dining experience so we were a little uncomfortable, but the signs on the door said they were taking covid safety precautions and all their employees were wearing masks. Throughout the evening this proved to be untrue. The cooks in the open kitchen were behind the counter constantly without their masks pulled up. One guy didn’t even have a mask on. The waitresses congregated around the open cooking area, talking to each other with their masks down. Thankfully for us, our waitress was the only one who kept her mask on the whole time. However, her personality left a lot to be desired. She was rather rude and sarcastic and during these crazy times, her sarcasm was neither warranted nor appreciated. She was rather quick, rarely asked questions and when she did, she didn’t stick around long enough to hear our answer. It took her three times coming to the table for us to finally get an appetizer order in before she ran away again. There was an older gentleman who was walking around past tables, in and out of the main kitchen and never wearing a mask. The dumplings were excellent but my partner's pork chop first came out very pink in the middle (which was after the waitress asked how she wanted her pork cooked. Who asks how you want your pork done? COOKED, THAT’S HOW!). She made her cut into it while she stood over us to see how it was cooked. When she sent it back it was a double pork chop, when it returned it was two single pork chops that they had separated and then char broiled. I had the short rib which was very good and falling off the bone, however the carrots were extremely undercooked. By the time we left at 730pm the place was packed and every table full. It didn’t look very socially distanced. If you are just venturing out, needing to eat indoors due to the cooler temps, and want to feel safe, I would pass on...

I loved Parkside but they no longer accept my foreign ID card because it’s not a “valid form of ID” which frankly feels very xenophobic and hostile! They have been very nice to me the last 8 or so months I’ve been going and made me feel at home. I would take my friends and family here, great food and drinks! The thing is they started doubling down on the ID policy. I’m nearly 22 so I look very young and clearly should be IDed, but I’m from Indonesia so I don’t have a valid USA ID and they are no longer accepting my Indonesian ID card! Your ID will not be accepted here if it is not from the USA!!! Any value I felt as a regular before has completely evaporated and I’m left heartbroken because I can no longer go to my favorite neighborhood bar.

I went to the bartender who has served me before for help and she greeted me with a great big smile. As soon as I mentioned the ID issue again which she has seen go down she completely turned around and said she couldn’t help me. I said “but you know me!” She said “no I don’t.” I was in tears because suddenly this very homey place felt very hostile and exclusive.

On top of that when my friend got a drink for me the bartender asked her if I would be drinking any of it and she said no. When my friend tried to order another drink she was refused when the bartender said “no, I see what you girls are doing over there” We got oysters and filet mignon and were refused a dessert drink after all the times I’ve been there!

Anyway to international college students sorry, Parkside is no...