Newport, Rhode Island as always been on my bucket list of places to go but had never gotten around to it. Finally we chose to take a few days and visit Newport for my wife's birthday. What a town. I fell in love with Newport as soon as we crossed the Newport Bridge and saw the Goat Island Lighthouse. It was instantly heart warming in ways that I simply cannot describe.
Located in the Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard in beautiful Newport, Rhode Island, you can find Belle's located after a short walk from the street and close to the water. Upon walking up to Belle's Cafe, you can see the eye catching outdoor dining set up of the Cafe right along the edges of the shipyard close to the water. You can enjoy breath taking views of the water and ships that take up residence within functioning shipyard. My children were in awe the entire time.
Once you enter the Cafe itself, you can choose to either have the host add your name to the wait list for an indoor table or jump on the take out line and dine outside. We arrived around 1pm, an hour before the Cafe's 2pm close time and the Cafe was thriving with business. We decided to order through the take out line in an effort to not have to wait thirty minutes for a table, my children were starving.
Straight away, we realized that Belle's was most likely suffering the staffing issues that the rest of the country seems to be facing. The staff was overwhelmed and obviously having a hard to keep up with the guest flow. Please understand, I am not holding this against Belle's. I have suffered and still suffer the very same dilemma now in my professional life. I give them credit because it is more than due. As busy as they were, I never witnessed any of the staff allow this to slow them down or use it as an excuse. Sure there was some frustration, but they seemed to have pushed through and felt pride after the rush had ended with their closing later on. It took about 15 minutes to place my order after standing on line which was still better than waiting for the table. We decided to dine outside and take in the comfortable sea air.
I had heard about the lobster rolls that Belle's Cafe served. From what I could tell, they had the most reasonable price point in my opinion in Newport. Priced at $36 for twin lobster rolls, you couldn't beat it.
PHOTO TAKEN BY JOHN BOCCELLARI
When ordering the lobster roll, you are given a choice of two ways of ordering it which as you know is common. You can either order it coated in an aioli (Belle's uses a citrus aioli) or in butter which is my personal preference (See the photo above for the butter coated lobster roll). The lobster itself was fresh and the meat was cooked perfect. The bun complimented the lobster just right. You can choose to order your lobster rolls with either potato salad or a bag of chips. Personally I would have preferred a side of crispy fries, but the crunch of the potato chips added the crisp factor that I was looking for.
All in all I enjoyed my experience with my family at Belle's Cafe. It was the first taste of Newport that my family and I had and it was more delicious then expected. Thank you Belle's Cafe for giving us the warm welcome that we desired and providing us with and amazing first experience by setting the bar high. I give Belle's lobster roll an 8.7 out of 10. Simply amazing.
Belle's Cafe is Located
1 Washington St, Newport, RI 02840
Hours of Operation
Sunday 8AM–2PM
Monday 8AM–2PM
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 8AM–2PM
Thursday 8AM–2PM
Friday 8AM–2PM
Saturday8AM–2PM
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