A Beautiful Evening at Castle Hill Inn

The one meal I was really looking forward to was our dinner at the Castle Hill Inn. I made the online reservation a week earlier. It’s located on scenic Ocean Drive, about a 10-minute ride from town.

Castle Hill House

Dinner at Castle Hill Inn

Castle Hill Inn Walkway

Lovely

The plan was to go a bit earlier to enjoy The Lawn. They have lawn chairs scattered around the back lawn. It’s the perfect setting to enjoy a drink and watch the boats pass by. It was too windy for that though. We headed right in where we were seated in one of the main dining rooms off to the side. We were the first ones seated in that room.

The Lawn

The Lawn

The dining room is located inside a beautiful mansion overlooking the Narragansett Bay. Apparently it was the former home of marine biologist and oceanographer, Alexander Agassiz, who is considered the father of modern oceanography.

Dining Room

Dining Room

They offer a prix fixe menu consisting of 3-4 courses. You can get the wine paring as well. I went with the 4-course option which included an extra appetizer. I had to try as much as possible! I decided to do the wine pairing as well.

Castle Hill Dinner

Excited

We were offered two types of bread to start. A whole grain bread and a sourdough bread, both locally baked.

img_5094_18064091034_o

Bread

Bread

Had to try both

The bread was served with a lightly salted butter and an olive oil butter with coconut oil. We ended up asking for more bread for that delicious olive oil butter.

Butter and Olive Oil Butter

Two Kinds of Butter

The first wine of my wine pairing was served right before the amuse bouche. It was a white Rioja from Spain. It was an awesome way to start the meal.

White Rioja

2011 Placet

First Glass

Spanish White

I honestly do not remember the description of the amuse bouche. It had soft creamy savory component topped with pickled red onion, pine nuts, and potato crisps.

Amuse Bouche

Amuse Bouche

The first appetizer arrived. Pan Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras with pickled green strawberries, caramelized peanut brioche, and rhubarb. Yum!

Fois Gras

Foie Gras

My appetizer was the Braised Octopus Terrine with uni, toasted potato bread, lardo, and Fresno chiles. It was very good and the chiles added a bit of a spicy kick to the dish.

Terrine

Octopus Terrine

Octopus Terrine

Fresno Chiles

My second appetizer was the Pan Seared Georges Bank Scallops with cauliflower, romesco sauce, and green almonds. The scallops were cooked perfectly.

Scallops 1

Pan Seared Scallops

Scallops 2

Georges Bank Scallops

Another white wine was served for my next course.

White Wine

White Wine

Our entrees soon followed. The first dish was the Slow Cooked Angus Ribeye with bone marrow bread pudding, roasted onion, fiddleheads, and “oeufs brouillés” – a fancy way of saying scrambled eggs.

Ribeye

Angus Ribeye

The ribeye was cooked a perfect medium rare and the bone marrow bread pudding was very moist.

Bone Marrow Bread Pudding

Bone Marrow Bread Pudding

I tried the Fresh Blackfish (Tautog) with sundried tomato, couscous, and Japanese eggplant for me. It was the special catch of the day and you don’t see fresh blackfish too often.

Special Catch of the Day

Blackfish

The fish was firm and it had a nice mild flavor.

Blackfish

The fish was served with a Chalk Hill Chardonnay. So Good!

Chardonnay

More Wine

It was at this point that the sun began to set and we still hadn’t gone out on the lawn yet. We ordered our desserts and quickly went outside for a couple photo opportunities.

Sunset 1

Back to The Lawn

Sunset 2

Sunset

When we came back inside our desserts were ready. We tried the carrot cake. It was a modern twist on a classic. It was made with walnut mousse, carrot caramel, and carrot-orange sorbet. He like it, but wished it was just a big slice of good ol’ carrot cake. The carrot-orange sorbet was delicious.

Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake

I had to get the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Soufflé with vanilla bourbon anglaise. Mmmm it was delicious!

Cookie Dough Souffle

Chocolate Cookie Dough Souffle

The souffle was warm and soft. It was incredible with the vanilla bourbon anglaise poured over. An anglaise is a light pouring custard made of sugar, egg yolks, hot milk, and vanilla that’s used as a dessert cream or sauce. Amazing!

Souffle

Vanilla Sauce

Vanilla Bourbon Anglaise

We concluded the meal with some chocolates and I enjoyed a small glass of sweet port wine. A perfect way to end a delicious meal.

Chocolates

Petit Four

Port Wine

Port Wine

I highly recommend having a meal at the Castle Hill Inn. The food was great and the service was fantastic. The setting was beautiful with panoramic views of the bay. The inn also offer rooms for overnight stays, as well as private beach cottages along their private beach. Maybe someday!


Castle Hill Inn
590 Ocean Ave
Newport, RI 02840
(888) 466-1355
Website

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