Which wine restaurant here is the most formal?

Cara in Cliff Walk is a contemporary European fine-dining restaurant with Forbes 5-Star, AAA 5 Diamond, La Liste, and Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence awards. The wine program is exceptional and sommelier-led, and the formats are tasting menu and prix fixe. Tasting menus change daily and use peak-season New England ingredients, with ocean views over Cliff Walk.

Which restaurants on this list are on the waterfront?

The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar is in waterfront, and 22 Bowen's is in Bowen's Wharf. The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar serves New England seafood a la carte from a mahogany-planked patio over Newport Harbor, with an exceptional wine program and an extensive list. 22 Bowen's serves classic prime steaks and New England seafood a la carte, with harbor views and an exceptional wine program.

Which restaurant on this list is the historic pick?

White Horse Tavern in Historic Downtown Newport is the historic pick. It has operated since 1673 as a colonial tavern, with contemporary New England cooking served a la carte. The wine program is exceptional, the list is extensive, and it holds Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence recognition.

← Newport

Best Restaurants for Wine Lovers in Newport

Three restaurants on this list hold Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence awards: Cara in Cliff Walk, Aurelia at Castle Hill in Ocean Drive, and White Horse Tavern in Historic Downtown Newport. Cara and Aurelia at Castle Hill are sommelier-led and offer tasting menu and prix fixe formats. Aurelia at Castle Hill serves a six-course menu overlooking Narragansett Bay and holds a Relais Chateaux Award. Cara uses New England ingredients, with ocean views over Cliff Walk. White Horse Tavern, a colonial tavern since 1673, serves contemporary New England cooking a la carte.

The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar in waterfront and 22 Bowen's in Bowen's Wharf serve a la carte with exceptional programs and extensive lists. The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar has a mahogany-planked patio over Newport Harbor. 22 Bowen's serves classic prime steaks and New England seafood, with the working harbor visible from the dining room.

How this list is chosen: Restaurants holding a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award or rated as having an exceptional wine program, listed alphabetically. Updated October 8, 2026.

22 Bowen's
Exceptional wine program
Sitting directly on Bowens Wharf in Newport, Rhode Island, 22 Bowen's occupies among the more directly waterfront dining positions in the city. The restaurant draws on New England's coastal supply chains, with the working harbor visible from the dining room serving as both backdrop and context for what arrives on the plate. Among Newport's wharf-side options, it holds a consistent place in the conversation about serious seafood dining.
Aurelia at Castle Hill
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence · Exceptional wine program
Aurelia at Castle Hill reopened in time for Memorial Day 2026 after fire restoration, with reservations available and Quentin Diez as chef de cuisine.
Cara
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence · Exceptional wine program
Cara at The Chanler at Cliff Walk holds AAA 5 Diamond status and a La Liste score of 86 points (2025), placing it among the more formally recognized fine-dining rooms in Rhode Island. Dinner runs Wednesday through Sunday in two blind tasting formats: five courses at 5 p.m. or eight courses at 8 p.m. Reservations are required; business casual dress code applies.
The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar
Exceptional wine program
Positioned on Sayers Wharf with direct sight lines over Newport Harbor, The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar occupies one of Rhode Island's most-recognized waterfront dining addresses. The format is seafood-forward, the setting is harbour-facing, and the location places it within walking distance of Bannister's Wharf and the broader Thames Street corridor. For Newport's busy summer season, planning ahead is advisable.
White Horse Tavern
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence · Exceptional wine program
America's oldest continuously operating tavern, the White Horse Tavern has anchored Newport's Marlborough Street since 1673. The colonial building and its history place it in a category few American restaurants can claim, where the room itself is as much the point as what arrives at the table. For visitors tracing Newport's colonial past, it belongs on the itinerary alongside the waterfront and the Breakers.

Planning restaurants for wine lovers in Newport

Which wine restaurant here is the most formal?: Cara in Cliff Walk is a contemporary European fine-dining restaurant with Forbes 5-Star, AAA 5 Diamond, La Liste, and Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence awards. The wine program is exceptional and sommelier-led, and the formats are tasting menu and prix fixe. Tasting menus change daily and use peak-season New England ingredients, with ocean views over Cliff Walk.
Which restaurants on this list are on the waterfront?: The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar is in waterfront, and 22 Bowen's is in Bowen's Wharf. The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar serves New England seafood a la carte from a mahogany-planked patio over Newport Harbor, with an exceptional wine program and an extensive list. 22 Bowen's serves classic prime steaks and New England seafood a la carte, with harbor views and an exceptional wine program.
Which restaurant on this list is the historic pick?: White Horse Tavern in Historic Downtown Newport is the historic pick. It has operated since 1673 as a colonial tavern, with contemporary New England cooking served a la carte. The wine program is exceptional, the list is extensive, and it holds Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence recognition.