Cinder Restaurant — Restaurant in Westerly

I’ve lived in the area my whole life and remember this place being built a few years ago, and had heard mixed things so I never felt compelled to try it. Was driving past with my windows down and the smoked meat scent prompted me to order some take out while enjoying a latte down the street. Ordered online at 6:30 on a beautiful Monday night peak summer season, so I did wait until 7:15 to have my meal (one order of tacos, one extra side meat, one dessert, one beverage) in hand. I didn’t mind waiting the extra fifteen minutes; I sipped my drink and sat outside to overlook the sun starting to set over the river and the warm and friendly staff sought me out in the crowd once my meal was ready. I got the smoked chicken taco special ($18) on naan, a side of brisket (two 4x1.5x0.5” slices, $10), the pineapple-ginger iced tea ($6), and the olive oil cake with strawberry marmalade ($10). The tacos already had a healthy portion of protein, but I popped those slices of brisket on top and adjusted my grip to enjoy them together. Very very good: tender and flavorful meats, interesting sauce, unique flavors that all melted together perfectly. The olive oil cake was wonderful as well: not too sweet, and large enough to share with another person. The iced tea with pineapple-ginger juice was very unique and refreshing and paired nicely with my foods. I will be back! I understand how some reviewers may think the prices are a little high — I paid 60 for a single person after tax and tip — but while the portions are not massive, they are filled with cool ingredients prepared in a way difficult to replicate without specialty equipment at a high investment cost. And you get to enjoy your meal with a sunset facing waterfront view, so I think it’s worthwhile! Wishing...

I'll start by saying that our recent experience at this restaurant does not reflect poorly on the waitstaff and hostess. After reading numerous glowing reviews, we decided to dine here following a long day at the shore on July 3rd during peak dinner hours. We were warmly greeted by a friendly young hostess who informed us that the wait for a patio table would be approximately 40 minutes. Opting to sit indoors, she promptly seated us in the middle of the cozy dining area.

As we settled in and perused the menu, I couldn't help but notice the chaotic atmosphere pervading the restaurant. It felt disorganized and hectic, and the strain on the staff was palpable. Having been in similar situations before, I recognized this was different. Despite waiting patiently, not a single server or hostess approached our table to greet us or take our order. After about 10 minutes, we regrettably decided to leave.

In my view, a restaurant's chaos should be managed effectively, indicating a lack of leadership. I observed what seemed to be a manager giving instructions to the staff, yet even she appeared overwhelmed. A restaurant manager must orchestrate and command the dining experience. A suggestion would be to temporarily slow down service, perhaps for 15 minutes, to allow the staff to catch up. This would prevent them from rushing between tasks like setting tables, bussing, and seating guests without proper attention.

Unfortunately, this experience has led us to the decision that we will not...

My wife and I grabbed some takeout from here for the first time and we're quite let down. We got smoked chicken (tacos), banh mi (tacos), pork belly fried rice, and home fries. The banh mi tacos were great, pricey for the small portions (along with the fact that we got the gluten free corn tortillas so without the naan it was probably less) but overall delicious tacos. The smoked chicken was fine but wasn't worth the price as again the portion was quite small. The real let down came when we had gotten to the pork belly fried rice. The pork belly on top of the dish was amazingly cooked, tasty, but leaving both of us disappointed in the fact there was so little of it. The fried rice beneath was terrible. We couldn't tell if it was under cooked or just old, but either way it was just above room temperature, we didn't take but a few bites from it in total. It didn't taste like fried rice and for a portion titled as "large plate" we were disappointed in the single person serving that we received. The home fries were fine. It's a neat place that I'm sure in summer is a fun stop off for dinner by the water, but if the takeout experience is anything like dining in, it's not worth the price to portions and for the price most of the food will be only fine or...