I had not been to Perella's for many years but had good memories of their seafood pasta, I believe it was called "Stan Rossi Seafood Spaghetti" you could get it in red or white sauce and it was rife with local seafood with that wonderful clam flavoring coming from fresh quahogs harvested from Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. My wife had eaten at Perella's earlier this year and enjoyed it. Warren Rhode Island could be called be called Quahog Town USA and local restaurants are famous for serving stuffed quahogs, chowder made with quahogs, clam cakes and little necks both raw and cooked in a variety of appetizers and main dishes. Perella's used to serve all of the above as well as fried smelts, portuguese chourico on pizza which was excellent and that wonderful chourico found it's way into other dishes making them all better. Perella's did all of the above great. They also had fantastic lasagna that was served in a portion the size of a brick and a menu that offered a variety of sandwiches, pizzas, local seafood and Italian Dishes.
Anyone who has watched an episode of Restaurant Impossible knows Robert Irvine is an arrogant narcissist, who's cooking skills aren't even marginal. The Restaurant Impossible episode is yet to air but I already know it will feature that pompous man, ordering the menu and spitting out the food calling it all "garbage". Perella's might have needed an infusion of cash and a makeover for the restaurant and to be fair the place does look very nice. Unfortunately the collateral damage inflicted with Irvine's new menu far outweighs the benefit of the makeover. The menu has been slaughtered and replaced with a menu and food that "might" and I will emphasize the might work in a location like a casino or airport with a semi captive and affluent audience but for a family restaurant in Warren RI this menu is an abysmal FAILURE.
We were a party of 6, very long time and good friends who always get together for a dinner this time of year. My wife and I driving over from Connecticut imagined a table filled with local favorites, stuffies, smelts, clam cakes and seafood pasta. One look at the very limited menu completely VOID of local fare and we were all very close to leaving but it was a Friday Night, already 6pm and we were there as much for the company of friends as to eat so we ordered.
Started out with calamari and the antipasto, nothing Earth shattering good or bad about it, OK. For entrees, 3 of us order the lasagna which at $17 a plate struck me as expensive but would have been ok if the food had been good. We were served portions smaller then the former Perella's lasagna but still adequate however this lasagna was absolutely awful. We started eating it and there was an overwhelming flavor of cinnamon and or nutmeg. I am not trying to be funny, this pasta actually tasted just like "Pumpkin Pie"! We each took a few bites of this bizarre dish to make sure we were not imagining this strange flavor. We weren't, the lasagna really did taste like pumpkin pie! All three of us sent the lasagna back, turned off with the food had zero desire to order anything else.
Winning dish was a fish and chips that at $14 for a single 6oz filet was pricey for the portion size but otherwise good.
Two of us ordered a baked fish dish, which was ok but at $27 a plate wildly expensive for a family restaurant in Warren RI.
We had a couple of beers each and 1 glass of wine, even with the 3 pumpkin pie lasagna's removed from the tab, the bill for 6 of us was over $200 before tip and $240+ out the door with tip.
We split the bill evenly between the three couples as friends do when they dine out with friends. My wife and I unfortunately both ordered the pumpkin pie lasagna. Our dinner consisted of a few bites of calamari, a few olives and slices of cold cuts, I had 3 draft beers and my wife 2 bottles of Mich Ultra. Not much of a dinner for $80.
Company was great and the atmosphere was nice enough and service adequate, unfortunately the food was over priced and inadequate and in the case of the lasagna inedible.
Perella's might have gotten a "makeover" courtesy of Restaurant Impossible but unless there are DRASTIC changes to the menu and food, the makeover will mean nothing because the days of this restaurant are numbered.
Sadly the word must already be out. We were the only patrons in the lounge on a Friday Night and there were a total of 6 other customers in the dining room from 6-9PM on a Friday Night during the Christmas Season.
Overall, extremely disappointing..... read more