Aspire

There's many an upscale restaurant that wants to impress us with elegant décor, soft linens, well-chosen tableware, and then somehow the chef or sous-chef or waitstaff lose track, and the food or the service disappoint. That doesn't happen at ASPIRE. The graceful design throughout the dining room extends to such ordinary objects as salt and pepper shakers. The styling of the food starts with a cranberry/port wine reduction in a pool of olive oil for the bread and ends with the tableside preparation of bananas Foster. It's also evident in the special touches: white anchovies on the Caesar salad; toasted pumpkin seeds atop the pumpkin/squash soup; thyme, shallots, and cream in the sauce surrounding the steamed mussels. Enhancing dishes in such ways sustains the aspiring mood of the restaurant. They've set their mark high at Aspire, and so far, they've met it. | 311 Westminster Street, Providence | 401.521.3333 | aspirerestaurant.com