The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar

Sure, you might find sweaty tourists on Thames Street, but The Mooring’s cool open-air patio is the place to escape all that. There are fans humming quietly above you, the energy is lively and upbeat but not rowdy, and all you can see is water and the boats in the harbor and Conanicut Island in the distance.

Order the local classic Bag of Donuts lobster-shrimp fritters to start. The scallops, fish and chips, and roast chicken with chimichurri are excellent, and they also do a very well-executed, warm-buttered lobster roll. Plus, your spicy mezcal cocktail will seem as though it was specifically crafted to balance the briny sweetness of local oysters.