Providence 9/26-29

Trinity Brew pub and Union Station Brewery are both great!

 

These threads have just about everything you need to know, but search the forum for Providence and you'll find more.
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/providence-ri-beer-spots.66336/
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/bars-pubs-in-providence.30943/

 

Big fan of The Avery for a neighborhood bar and The Dorrance for a more upscale place. Dorrance has a great cocktail program and usually has a few solid taps.

 

Ha, welcome to Providence!!!

 

since those are a little old I'd like to add Rogue Island on there as well, I put their name out a lot not only because I know the guys but because their beer selection is one of the highest quality local lists downtown. If you wanna drive a bit either Doherty's is really good as well.

 

Julians food is sub-par and overpriced, but they get some great beers on tap. Don't judge off their website though because it's rarely up to date.
Nicks "often" has Willette Rye and Pappy Vin Winkle available which is awesome.
Faust has some solid sausages and German Food with a nice selection of German beers available. You can even get a Litre of beer if you want.
If you're in town on a friday, head up to Pawtucket (10ish minutes from downtown) to go to the German American Social Club for a killer german beer selection with some good homemade food too.

Many other good places as well! Cheers!

 

I've been hugely disappointed with Trinity lately. The beers are subpar at best and I tried quite a few last time I was there b/c the table was all sharing what they had. The only decent and consistent beer is the IPA but you can just buy 6 packs of that if you really want to but there are tons of better IPAs around. Food is ok too. I remember this place being way better than it has been lately. Union Station is just a branch of a John Harvard's. It's similar to a Rock Bottom where there are beers to appeal to the masses brewed there but nothing special.

Definitely hit up Bob & Timmy's Grilled Pizza if you want amazing Grilled pizza (beer list is small - best bet is a 'Gansett lager usually... ha-ha). We always get the Spinach, Mushroom, Feta - prepare to be blown away! ha-ha. Going to the P-Bruins games I choose B&T's over Trinity and Trinity is right next door to the arena if that tells you anything.

 

I think he meant our esteemed BA @Providence. He has made some great recommendations.

If you are looking for any bottle shops, Nikki's new store is excellent, relatively easy to find, lots of parking. Bottles (the store name) is pretty decent as well, but a bit tricky to find (GPS takes a very strange route), and can be pricey.

I've not heard anything good about Trinity of late...

 

Can't speak to Trinity - haven't been there recently - but I was at Union Station this summer and I thought it sucked. The food was mediocre and I didn't like the pale ale and couldn't finish whatever blonde/golden I ordered afterwards.

 

Survey Says... Avoid Trinity & Union Station! ha-ha. Trinity's RIS was horrific this past winter. One of, if not, the worst RIS I've had.

 

And if you're staying downtown, grab dinner and drinks Thee Red Fez.

 

I you can venture minutes north to Pawtucket. Doherty's has great pub food and always has a tip top tap list!

 

^^^This. Better than Trinity or Union Station as an option (though I think they are merely "meh" rather than terrible).

 

This is exactly what I was going to post. Great pub food and a hugely extensive tap list. It's my favorite place in RI, easily.

Before or after, you can swing by Nikki's Liquors which is located a few miles down the road.

Perfect!

 

Definitely make sure you hit Nikki's. High Spirits is good too, but you're not likely to find anything Nikki's doesn't have. Doherty's is probably my favorite place in the state to grab a bite and a couple real nice beers. The decor in the Warwick one is better and they have more taps, but I prefer the original Pawtucket location (east ave) for the food menu.

Track 84 is another option for craft beer in Warwick, and their beer list is usually up to date on their website.

 

Thanks man.

OP, where are you staying in providence and will you have a car?

In the meantime, some quick hits:

Some things to check out:
Best beer bar in Providence proper is The Scurvy Dog

The Avery is a nice spot and E & O is a nice spot too. They are two blocks from another. Around the corner is Julian's. They are a restaurant first, bar second, but they have a really nice tap list.

Small spot that gets overlooked is the Ivy on Hope St. A couple of decent taps and solid bar food.

Harry's Burgers and Beer has a small and solid tap list with awesome sliders.

Nick's is great for brunch, never went for dinner. Be warned, the tables are on top of each other. Louis Fuller's is around the corner. Awesome food that they could charge more for and a half dozen great taps (walking distance to both the Scurvy Doug). Side note, if you are looking for amazing dinner go to New Rivers (best food in the city if you ask me), Chez Pascal is right up there as well. Neither are killing it with beer, but both will have decent bottle/can selections. Again, it's about the food there.

If you've got the time drive to Track 84 in Warwick (15 minute drive). Best beer bar in the state.

Doherty's East Ave. is the place to go if you're into the whole "we've got more taps than you could possibly imagine, a bunch of appetizers that are pre-frozen and an Irish band" thing.

For bottle shops, go to Nikki's and High Spirits, which are like a half mile away from one another.

Some things to skip:
Trinity sucks. Beer and food are below par.

Union Station sucks too.

Wickenden St. Pub is rubbish. Could be cool, but it's not.

Avoid Federal Hill at all costs (Unless you get pizza at Caserta's or desert at Pastiche or smelts at the Old Canteen). Those three things are the only good thing about Fed. Hill. The rest is a waste-land of stereotypical Italian-American nonsense and absolutely no craft beer better than Sam Seasonal.

 

To add to places to avoid, Thayer Street used to be very cool in that urban chic sort eclectic sort of way but it is pretty much sanitized, boring, and not hip (in the old sense of the word). and parking is a major pain in the ass.

Figured @Providence would hook you up!