Restaurant Reviews Rhode Island – Castle Hill Inn

You’re probably wondering why the featured image for this Restaurant Reviews Rhode Island is one of a fireplace from a bubble bath vantage point. Well, I can explain.

The day after Ernie’s birthday and 2 days before Valentines Day, Ernie and I had reservations to stay overnight at the Castle Hill Inn in Newport, (a nineteenth-century Victorian mansion off Ocean Drive, overlooking the Atlantic). Even though it was the one day it didn’t snow this winter, it was a 90 minute drive so we decided to leave work a little early.  We arrived at the Inn around half past 6 and here we begin our Restaurant Reviews Rhode Island – Castle Hill Inn.  After a brief check in, we were escorted up the stairs to our room. The young man, whose name I forget, unlocked the door to the room with a real old-fashioned key, not a card, and he briefly pointed out the room’s features.  We were anxious for dinner and headed back downstairs to dine. More about the room later.

Castle Hill Baked Oysters

We were seated in the main dinning room at a perimeter table with an ocean view.  Our server, Carl, welcomed us with a warm, friendly greeting and promptly removed the white napkins from the table.  He had clearly noticed we were were both wearing black pants and placed black napkins on our laps.

I was delightfully surprised to see such an extensive wine list and after studying the four pages of Cabernet Sauvignon, I selected the moderately priced 2010 Louis Martini from Napa Valley.  Ernie ordered a dirty martini with Grey Goose and a bazillion olives; it came with 5.

Baked Oysters Florentine
We started with the Baked Oysters appetizer which was nicely presented with a dozen oysters surrounding a center of seaweed greens. Each oyster was blanketed with garlicky spinach and Gruyere cheese, topped with a sprinkling of buttery bread crumbs and a hint of bacon.  A bit too salty and barely luke warm, the appetizer was just slightly short of excellent.

Duck Confit Ravioli with lobster and pineapple

Duck Confit Ravioli
The Duck Confit Ravioli was the first course of our three-course Prix Fixe.  While the feature of the dish was the handmade pasta filled with tender and richly flavored duck, it was colorfully embellished with lumps of lobster, droplets of concentrated grapefruit, and pieces of grapefruit and grilled pineapple.  Carl set the bowls before us and proceeded to pour the broth over the top.  The duck had a savory taste and the pineapple and grapefruit were a sweet twist.  This dish had a fabulous presentation and some great flavor but the lobster and pasta were both rather firm, suggesting one was slightly undercooked and the other somewhat overcooked.

Smoked Cannelloni
Ernie’s main course was the braised rabbit cannelloni with sweet potato and Brussels sprouts, finished with Tallegio cheese and pomegranate mustard.

Braised Rabbit Cannelloni

Slow Roasted Angus Ribeye

This hearty dish blended sweet and savory elements, and left Ernie wondering if he had enough room dessert.

Slow Roasted Angus Ribeye
I ordered the ribeye, medium rare as Carl suggested, with whole roasted cauliflower, glazed spinach and baby carrots in beef au jus.  The steak was cooked to perfection and each tasty bite melted in my mouth.  The spinach and cauliflower were nice accompaniments to the robust serving of beef but the baby carrots were so small, I think they were just included for color.

Angel Cake with Citrus Mousse

Chocolate Mousse Covered Pretzel

Dessert
The dessert menu offered a variety of unique choices for our third and final course.  I opted for the Angel Cake which was light and airy with citrus mousse and pieces of blood orange.   Ernie ordered a cappuccino and the Chocolate Mousse Covered Pretzel with peanut brittle ice cream and nougat.

Back to the Room
After dessert, Carl cleared our table, sealed the remaining 1/2 bottle of wine with the cork and handed me a fresh wine glass to bring back to the room.  We headed up to the Mrs. Agassiz Room on the second floor.  (I assume that Mrs. Agassiz was the wife of Alexander Agassiz, the Harvard University marine biologist and naturalist that built the place.)

Mrs Agassiz Room at Castle Hill Inn

The Perfect Vantage Point

The room features a super comfortable king size bed with feather pillows, cotton robes, handmade chocolates, bottled water with glasses by the bed and a gas fireplace.  Just as amazing is the large bathroom that has an enormous “two-person” tub, a marble standup shower, luxurious over-sized towels, organic soaps and lotions, and a second fireplace.  Knowing about the amazing tub in advance, I had made sure to pack my bubbles.  As soon as we got back to the room, I poured myself a glass of wine, turned on the bath water and added the bubbles. And there you have it, my story’s featured image. Though not the end of my story.

All overnight visits to the Castle Hill Inn include a full gourmet breakfast and OMG it is AMAZING!  I won’t go into all the details here, just a few. This was a pleasant surprise.  As soon as we were seated in the main dining room, the server brought us a refreshing strawberry, banana smoothie.  Coffee was served in individual French presses, again OMG.  I ordered the vegetable omelet with homemade sausage and 9 grain toast and Ernie had the lobster hash (I guess you can make hash from anything, who knew) with poached eggs.  While we waited for our meals, the server offered us a morsel from a lovely basket of assorted pastries.  We both selected the sweet potato coffee cake which was so heavenly and moist that I can’t stop thinking about it still.  Ernie really seemed to enjoy his lobster hash, he practically licked his plate clean.  My omelet was very good, I particularly enjoyed the spicy homemade sausage.

Immediately following breakfast, we checked out and headed back home…all the while thinking about when we might get back to the Castle Hill Inn.

Another fabulous experience delivered by the Newport Restaurant Group.