We’re in Watch Hill for the second time. Last year it was early August, which was wonderful, but more crowded. It’s now mid-September and while summer is fading, it’s still an incredible little seaside village.
Since I first mentioned that I’ve been visiting Watch Hill, several people have told me “that’s my favorite place on earth.”
High praise indeed, but if you were Taylor Swift and able to pretty much choose anywhere on earth to live, you might pick this spot – which is exactly what she did.
Dining in Watch Hill
There are limited dining options here in Watch Hill. There’s the tres haute Ocean House Hotel, a couple of sandwich shops, and 100 year old Olympia Tea Room.
We’ve dined in Bistro at The Ocean House a few times and it’s absolutely splendid, but the prices are a tad “sporty” ($32 for a lunch salad).
Our Dockmaster John said he considers The Olympia to be equal or better, so that’s where we went for dinner Friday.
Although the dining room was packed when we arrived around 6:45, we were seated immediately in a nice booth.
The service was prompt and my friend’s Cosmo looked delicious…
The restaurant’s Bread Service sets my expectations for the entire dining experience. It’s free (well sort of), and easy to slough off.
When a restaurant puts out warm fresh bread with a couple of dipping options, I know my meal will be prepared with care…
The Food
Peter couldn’t pass on oysters, so we started with a dozen local pump tastys…
We also tried the calamari appetizer…
fried Rhode Island style or
sauteed without breading in a spicy marinara sauce was
The Squid was perfectly cooked and tender. The red sauce was kind of like cioppino.
Mrs. Horne and Peter both order the Clam Pasta dish…
in garlic white wine sauce
And I order Sausage and Veggies…
sweet local Italian sausage with roasted potatoes,
broccolini & shaved parmesan
The sausage was locally made especially for The Olympia and it was incredible. I would not call it sweet, but rather in between sweet and hot. It definitely had a little bite.
The best part was at the end when we realized all the “liquid gold” lying in the bottom of our dishes.
We flagged our server, had her bring more bread, and mopped it all up as the sun set over Fisher Island.
Based on our dinner at The Olympia Tea Room, we’ll plan on 3 days in Watch Hill next time…
Categories: Seaside Eateries