COAST — Restaurant in Westerly

If you were to ask me to name my most surprisingly excellent meal in this past year of many memorable meals, I'd easily say COAST. I suspected COAST was going to be good, but I was not expecting it would be among the top 5 dégustations I had in 2017.

COAST is a new fine dining restaurant located inside the iconic Ocean House seaside resort in Rhode Island's southernmost community -- the "old money" summer colony of Watch Hill. Like the community around it, COAST is restrained in its projection of opulence, preferring a quiet and sensible splendor to a louder, self-indulgent ambience. So too would I describe the reticent grace of my waitress, Stephanie, my dependable guide through an unforgettable evening of eating and drinking.

As for the food, my 6-course fall prix fixe menu at COAST featured many great dishes, but the clear highlight was the magnificent Atlantic Monkfish, which was covered with shaved Alba white truffles. Aside from the perfectly-cooked monkfish sauteéd in shallot butter, I consumed a plethora of powerful flavors and contrasting textures off my plate, including crispy pancetta, rich creamy beans, tart red beet sauce, and musky truffles, all perfectly balanced but diverse such that each successive forkful competed with the previous one for the best thing I tasted that day.

I also had two "raw" plates that were equally outstanding. I was delighted by the cleanness and clarity of flavor from the oyster liquor in the East Beach Blonde Oyster, and I was similarly pleased with the Nantucket Bay Scallop ceviche, featuring supple slices of local scallop in a tart golden pool that transformed into a tantalizing "leche de tigre" as I ate it.

My experience at the Chef's counter allowed me a kitchen-side seat to observe the culinary magicians at COAST work their craft. Since it was not very busy on the Sunday night I attended COAST, I was able to engage with Kyle in the kitchen, a friendly cook who indulged me with excellent explanations as to what was going on, where ingredients were sourced from, local dining scene gossip, and all topics epicurean in general. I loved the enthusiasm that Kyle had for his work -- for example, his excitement about the rutabega purée used with the lamb dish (and for good reason -- it was dank!) and the process they use to make the ceviche. I had the opportunity to witness the level of care and detail that goes into creating these high-end dishes close-up, from Kyle tilting his pan almost vertically and rapidly butter-basting my monkfish in what he defined for me to be "angry butter" to Chef Backman herself finishing the dish by delicately and precisely placing shaved Italian truffles on it.

As someone who has dined at 6 of the 40 Forbes "5 Star" restaurants in the U.S. this year, I can say affirmatively that COAST absolutely belongs on that exclusive list of the country's best fine dining enterprises. I look forward to visiting COAST as the seasons turn so I can more fully experience this kitchen's ever-changing menu.

NOTE: Please be warned that Uber and Lyft rideshares are not widely operated in the Watch Hill area. I ended up getting a very costly cab back to Providence, which COAST's maître d' helped me with. You'll want to pre-arrange transportation out of Watch Hill -- and you definitely don't want to try to drive if you order the...

This is a price fixed 4 course meal. I cannot believe this was rated highly. Big waste of money. They use the back porch of the Bistro, which is dated. It feels like eating on your back porch. The dress code is collared shirts for men, jackets preferred and women cocktail attire. There are 10 tables. My husband and sons were in collared shirts and jackets. Not none other man was in a jacket. Collared shirts ranged from polo, to vineyard vines. A woman was in a collared shirt and khaki pants, several in jersey type dresses. Now the menu. I had the vegetarian and the rest had the meat.Every portion we were given was about a 2 inch circle and the meat was about 2 ounces. The vegetarian started with an heirloom tartare. It was tiny round of minced tomatoes and no flavor. The mushroom scallops were about 5 tiny mushrooms the size of my pinky nail in a broth. No flavor. King oyster mushroom was medium size cap. Last course was some vegetables with black truffle. Nothing special. If you wanted the cheese plate it was $25 extra. The meat and fish menu started with an oyster with roe, a clam with an herb sauce and muscle with basil aioli. Was ok. The bluefin tuna sashimi they felt was the only course they really liked. The dover sole was maybe a 1/2 inch piece that tasted like butter. The 4th course was lamb tenderloin or wagu loin for an extra $65! The lamb tenderloin was about 2 ounces. The wagu was about 2 ounces! There was absolutely no flavor and nothing special about any of the courses. They should be embarrassed over the tiny portions. We have had many price fixed meals and the portions we received for 4 courses are the size we had with an 8 course meal. The desert was either a pot de cream or pistachio soufflé. The soufflé was actually good. The pot du creme was very rich and ok. The waiter said he would add black truffle to the "3rd course" and we were not aware that cost $35 a piece. The meal with 1/2 bottle wine, bottled water and one drink cost $1210! For an unforgettable meal. Absolutely throwing money in the toilet. We ended up getting pizza...

Overpriced and dissapointed is the title of this review. To be honest the food was not good. I have no issue dropping 700 dollars on a dinner, but please provide some substance. Although I have eaten dinner here and again, I was not impressed. This review is for the Christmas dinner.

Food. Nothing blew me away here. It was just meh. I dont want meh if I am spending money here. Blow me away with meals that taste amazing. Everything was bland. Even the dessert was not good. Just some rolled log of foam.

Service. Everyone was kind and accommodating. However, I was surprised that the table was not cleaned after every dish. Standard practice for a restaurant of this caliber.

Ambience. Being that this was a Christmas dinner, I felt like it was just another day here. The dining room was not decorated to make it feel like Christmas. Just some Christmas music and a wreath, dont cut it. The entrance of the hotel goes all out, therefore, so should the restaurant. Even the lighting was not up to par.

Overall, I was not impressed with the Christmas dinner at Coast. The experience was very disappointing. For what I paid (22% service charge, tip, etc) versus the dinner. It was not worth it. Maybe the Chef put in a lot of time for this menu, but the ball was dropped. Relais & Châteaux standards have...