Visited RI/MA area for week and this was best clam chowder. Full of chopped not chewy clams, al dente potatoes and excellent base. Not a heavy cream like the rest. Lobster roll was huge portion and differently seasoned with thyme and dill mayonnaise base. Maybe a little too heavy on the herbs. Jaden our waitress was extremely helpful, polite and conversational. Beautiful views of the water, even during a nor easter storm. read more

Came by jet ski and docked at the town pier. Wanted upstairs but they said it was not open yet. Kinda crazy cause it was after 12 on the fourth weekend. Got two bar seats. Very warm. No frozen drinks served at the bar. Bartender did not know what a stuffie was. Not working at all this day. read more

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Had a really great lunch here while visiting Bristol! My husband is from Rhode Island and we were visiting from San Francisco, he said Thames is a must, and it was. The calamari was fresh and so delicious. The fish n chips were HUGE and so delicious, tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. Great fries, well seasoned, and the fish was very fresh and a huge portion for the price (literally double from sf) Shannon, our server was awesome and super friendly. We were surprised it was her first day! I'm suprised with all the negative reviews, they must be with previous server(s) or management. The views and ambiance were great, service was attentive, and the food was excellent and affordable. Worth a visit! read more

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill - American Near Me - Bristol, Rhode Island

Visited recently and sad to say our review has changed. The prices have significantly increased yet the food has gotten slightly worse. Our server was very friendly and the view is always lovely. However, we won't be back. Good - Orange salmon was very good. Fish & Chips were good. Chicken nachos were VERY cheesy. Bad - Ribs were overcooked and very greasy. Calamari was fine, nothing special. Blood orange marg (tasted like apple juice?). Long Island iced tea. Total was over $300 for 5 entrees, an appetizer, two cocktails and a beer. read more

I was in the neighborhood for the State Street Fall Festival and we gravitated towards the live music playing at Thames Waterside. Stopped in during peak lunch time- our waitress was friendly. The nachos and the margherita pizza were delicious. Fries were mid, lighting outside with the yellow awning was different. Would come back again! read more

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We went in just for a drink and loved it. We grabbed a drink at the bar and then sat on the Adirondack chairs by the water. Beautiful day. Vibes couldn't have been better. Definitely be back. read more

RI Food Fight- Lord of the Wings 2025: I was already a fan of Thames as I love the location, view and vibe here. (Feel free to read my previous reviews.) It was a cold, snowy January night and Thames just gives off a warm vibe. This was our first time at the bar. We went with an Asian Sweet Chili wing. Cooked to perfection. The sauce was not too sweet but just right. The bartender, not very chatty but nice. Since we were out winging, I couldn't stuff any dessert in, but it didn't mean I couldn't take any home! They had a great selection and since another location let me down on pecan pie, I went with a pecan bar. I had it later that night. It was just that. Think of something from a bakery. It was not as flavorful as pecan pie (it was there but not overwhelming.) I liked that everything was crumbled on top and had a soft flaky crust. Nice alternative to pie. It was a great 5th stop on our adult wing day. We will be back Thames! read more

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill - Sweet garlic teriyaki - American Near Me - Bristol, Rhode Island

Looking for a warm, elevated vibe in Bristol? Thames Waterside in the wintertime has it. While gorgeous in the summertime, off season has it feeling intimate. A fireplace crackles in the corner while regulars perch at the bar chatting about the weekends adventures. Our bartender was the perfect blend of helpful while giving us the space to enjoy our food and chat. We ordered garlic teriyaki wings and they were outstanding. Huge is an understatement as these were quite meaty. Like I cannot emphasize enough how much meat were on these wings. They were well fried, crispy without overdoing it. Just the pure snap of chicken skin, sans breading. The sauce evenly coated and balanced in flavor, not overly salty as some teriyaki sauces can be. I enjoyed a pomegranate spritzer with them and it was perfectly wintery and refreshing. As a Bristolian, this place is always on my list of recommendations. I hope you'll try it and experience it for yourself! I came here because of the RI Food Fights event: Lord of the Wings read more

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Ambiance is great except for loud group next to us which restaurant can't help. We were seated on patio as requested. Took 25 minutes to take our order. We were there for more than 20 min without water. Food came out after being there an hour. "Lobster roll" is misleading and way overpriced. It was cold lobster salad loaded with celery. That was not in the description. Overall service was poor to nonexistent. Other patrons appeared to have the waitstaff's attention but we were consistently ignored. Drinks not refilled voluntarily but only after asking twice. I am not a complainer but if I wanted overpriced food I would have gone elsewhere in Bristol. This was a special family occasion ruined. I've been to Thames other times and it was not like this. read more

The food was so delicious I would definitely recommend going! The view was perfectly picturesque and service was excellent!

This used to be one of the favorite places to go. Quite honestly, the regulars kept this place afloat by sticking by them during Covid. WHY have they been thru so many managers in the past year????! The drinks are one of the most expensive in town. Not only have they lost good managers but they have fired or "cancelled" most the best bartenders they had. Outside of the summer, (also locals), this is not the hot spot !! They have strong armed the public with the view & location. Same out of owners the Beach House and The Wave. They are only in town for the $$$$. Personality goes a long way in the lean winter months! This is not NYC or Newport. Do better!! read more

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill - American Near Me - Bristol, Rhode Island

Great location, bad service. My group seated ourselves after the hostess ignored us for five minutes. After we seated ourselves she came to our table and told us that we needed a reservation and that she needed us to move elsewhere. When she sat us at the next table she said she'd bring a drink menu but she never brought it to us. I ordered a beer that appeared on the menu to be on tap. When it arrived, it was in a can and my glass was dirty. My friend ordered a margarita, which came without a salted rim. We decided we didn't even want to order food after that. If you go here--you're paying for the view. Don't expect anything more. read more

Thames Waterside has the best location in Bristol. They use to have the best music but they stopped it this year. The food is good , Kristine and Meagan are the BEST servers. it's sad without the music. Will just go for Kristine and Meagan in the future. read more

great food...service....entertainment was great. Now for the bad news. Tito's and tonic 17 dollars each...are you fing kidding me!! Chardonnay 15 dollars a glass....what a joke. Go here...eat...be well served drink WATER.... fyi mooring Newport RI THE MOORING PAINKILLER$14.00 pusser's rum, tropical juices, coconut & nutmeg read more

As a local Bristolian I was a regular here for years. They've fired all the longtime waitstaff and bartenders that brought the locals in year round. Now whether it is in the downstairs restaurant or the rooftop bar the locals are gone. All that that you will find here are college kids, their parents, and people who are having weddings next door. The restaurant itself is in shambles. Never any work or repairs are done. The drink prices are outrageous. On par with Newport or Block Island if not more. Visitors take note, if locals won't support the restaurant that's all you need to know. read more

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill - From rooftop - American Near Me - Bristol, Rhode Island

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My 4 stars are for the view. Really, the view is a 5 star. We've never been here. We've never walked Bristol, RI before, either. But I wanted so very much to sit by the water on a beautiful Saturday and enjoy the view and the company. We arrived without reservations and were told it would be about a 40 min wait for an outdoor table. No worries, we'd walk around. So we left to walk and move the car as well (some parking opened up AT the restaurant). A couple min after leaving, we get a text that we're on the waitlist. then TWO minutes later after that, we get the text our table is ready. We were already walking up the road. So we turned around and went back. Great - table was ready in a snap vs 40 min. No menus were given to us. We were seated with an amazing view. I was SOOOOOOOO happy! Sunny, beautiful view, so very happy. The drinks here are outrageously expensive. $40 for two Pina Coladas. We got nachos which were tasty but lacking the pickled jalapenos that they advertise and very skimpy on the pico despite asking for extra. That's all we got. Their menu is expensive. Very pricey. You're paying for the ambiance, I am sure. The location is five stars, as mentioned. There is an upstairs deck and some folks tried to walk up there to take in the view and they were scorned for it. But when we were leaving, the upper deck was open. Go figure. It was oddly NOT packed here on a GORGEOUS Saturday afternoon. This is the EXACT type of place I would imagine being packed on such a summer day. So I don't know - maybe it's the day, maybe it's the prices, maybe the food, I have no clue. But it wasn't busy and I'm thinking it could be pricing that kept it rather empty that day. read more

We were able to get a table without a reservation, we enjoyed the blackened mahi-mahi sandwich and the wedge salad! We enjoyed watching the boats and loved being down on the water read more

I'm not sure why this place had such low reviews. The outside eating area was amazing on a top 10 day. Their outside eating area has a sunshade over your head which is great and there were a few seats that were not under that cover and the view of the water was amazing. The were plenty of staff and they were quick and efficient. Our waitress came to our table with waters for us before even introducing herself. I saw all patrons getting offered water without being asked. I saw plates of food coming out and they all looked great which gave me a hard time on what to order so I went with pastrami reuben which was hugh and amazing! Instead of a side of fries I got a side salad. LOOK at the size of my side salad. I only ate 1/2 my sandwich and took the rest home. They also had an area above where we were sitting that you could only order drinks. I'm sure they had a stunning view up there as well. We tried to make reservations thru Open Table but they required a credit card and we didn't want to do that. I highly recommend that you do make a reservation because moments later after we checked in people were being told there would be an hour wait because of those who made reservations! read more

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill - Fish sandwich - American Near Me - Bristol, Rhode Island

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The setting is right on the water at the boat launch in Bristol Harbor Our party of seven sat outside under the awning. It was a perfect day. Although we had reservations for 6 we asked for one more seat to be added to the table because the kids 86 yo grandmother decided to join us. It seemed like they were thrown a curve ball and there was much confusion and wasted time before we were seated. The server was very poor. Inattentive, appeared inexperienced and just didn't have a flow. He menu was very disappointing. Our appetizers were very sub par with limited portions. We had the calamari, mussels and hummus platter. We all ordered sandwiches. Everyone was please with the portions, taste and presentation. Each sandwich, lobster and steak filled the buns. A couple of us had hamburgers and they were good. I will return mostly because of the ambiance and knowing what to expect from the menu. Most likely we will skip the apps. The server issue is a hit or miss. Sometimes they have what it takes and sometimes they don't. read more

I am giving 3 stars out of generosity from past experiences. I am honestly so sad. This was our go to water front dining restaurant. Went this past Sunday right around dinner time. First off the place was dead, which it never is. My wife and I are not big spenders. I don't have a photographic memory, but they brought the menu and I couldn't believe the prices. We each shrugged our shoulders and got the chicken parm. I got a White Russian. The chicken was delicious but thin. There was hardly any pasta. $108. Absolutely insane. We are so sad that we won't be returning. Whatever is going on I hope they figure it out. read more

Great location, great service, great food, and just an overall great vibe. Not sure why this place gets so many negative reviews but I would definitely come back here. It's nothing fancy but you shouldn't leave here hungry or thirsty. They had a great drink selection along with great portions on their food. I had the fish and chips, it was massive! read more

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill - Fish & Chips - American Near Me - Bristol, Rhode Island

Sad to leave a negative review but this place has changed. We have dined here for several years, before and after Covid, but our June 2024 dining experience was not up to par. Highlight of the meal was the lobster dip. The scallop wrapped in bacon was nothing like the last two times we had it here. Seemed to be frozen reheated vs freshly made. Clam chowder was watery and we left most of it unseaten- again last few times it was fabulous. Other mediocre items were seafood casserole, fish sandwich and buffalo tenders. Margarita was 99% ice and not worth the price. Seems like they are cutting corners to make a better profit. Service was good and of course the views are amazing. Hoping quality returns to previous experience. read more

Went here for dinner and expected it to be lousy. I had a steak sandwich and an old fashioned. I thought the food was cooked nicely and the bartender was really attentive. Bar smelled very fishy being by the kitchen... that's the only downside. Been here a few times for music on the deck and it's been decent. read more

Bathrooms were disgusting! needs major clean up. Food was OK! The young lady that served us was the only Great part of the experience.

Great location, beautiful views. However the food sucks. Lunch choices were few but again quality and taste was lacking. Go for a drink and the view but skip the food. read more

Great place, amazing location, weird experience last night...ordered a bottle of wine, waitress brought it down from upstairs (the first bottle of wine we ordered wasn't chilled, so she went the extra effort) but when she put it on the table, it was opened already and noticeably some was missing, most of the neck was missing! We questioned her, she said she opened it upstairs...we were stunned and never had gotten an opened bottle before, I mentioned it looked like some was missing, she said no, that she opened it upstairs and brought it down, and made us feel like we were crazy, and that was the way they do it, and walked away to check on our food. We just stared at it dumbfounded, and decided to say something when she came back. My husband told her we've never had a bottle not opened in front of us, but apparently a $45 screw top Chardonnay doesn't count. I told her there's a reason, she said she knows, like argued with us and then bailed, didn't come back, we quickly got a new waitress. We asked about our waitress, she said she was almost done her shift and she was taking over, we didn't mention the wine issue, but left feeling unsettled. We probably should have talked to management, maybe the waitress borrowed some wine, maybe it was already opened and she didn't think we would notice (big LOL there), maybe they need to train the wait staff about proper wine procedures to paying customers. I wish I remembered her name, she definitely needs a lesson, my bad for walking away without it. read more

Hmm... Alright soooo I see why this place has as many negative reviews as it does but my recent experience here wasn't all that bad! Ambiance -There's outdoor seating and a bar.... kind of dark on the inside but really more of an outdoor dining sort of place. Go for the patio area if you can. Food -Ordered the seared tuna that came with rice and edamame...not bad! Fish was definitely fresh but dish could've used something to tie all the elements together. Clam chowder tasted more like a potato and bacon cheddar chowder with some clams thrown in. Service -Pretty slow/ unorganised....not sure what our waitress was doing but she seemed pretty distracted although there weren't many people dining at all lol Don't think I'd come back for the food but maybe for a drink outside :) read more

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill - Seared tuna with rice and edamame.... needed something to bring it all together. Not bad though!! Special of the day. - American Near Me - Bristol, Rhode Island

If you are just looking to get a drink and have a waterfront view this is your place. The upstairs deck bar is a great place to go for a drink & listen to a live music Saturday & Sunday afternoon. We went there for actually that reason about a month ago and had a vice nice time. My wife and I came back about two weeks later with her mother to have lunch and the food was truly disappointing. Clam Chowder was just ok. Not very creamy. We also started off with Buffalo Chicken Tenders and they were nothing to rave about. Bacon wrapped Scallops was the best thing we had. Might get them again if we go for a drink. My wife had a Chicken Wrap and it wasn't very good. I had Chicken Ceaser Salad and it simply wasn't tasty. Overall very disappointing since the location is awesome. Our waitress was very nice. Overall; 5 stars just for a drink with an ocean view. 2 stars from if you are going for lunch or dinner. read more

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill - a view of the river - American Near Me - Bristol, Rhode Island

You have plenty of places to go in Bristol so avoid this one! The only good thing about this restaurant is the location. The service personnel are rude and unfriendly. After a wedding on Saturday, May 31 that ended at 10:00 PM, we had about 50 guests show up for an after party. Note...we called in the morning to give them heads up so it was not a surprise. It was a cold, windy, damp night and Bristol was empty on the weekend after Memorial Day. There were 3 people in the bar when we entered. You would have thought they would have welcomed us with open arms! The bouncer was a jerk and the bartenders were not friendly. It was as if they were mad that we brought in all these paying customers...how dare us! Again, the place was absolutely dead before we arrived. I sent a note telling them of our bad experience on their "contact us" page on their website...no response. I guess when management does not care why should the employees. read more

The service on the roof was awful tonight. To be fair, it was very busy night so I stood at the bar for 15 minutes waiting to be served. (Not ideal but could be worse) The woman bartender came over and asked my order, so I attempted to order drinks for me and my friends. However, with the biggest attitude, she said "no I need to see all of your ID's" so I gathers all of the ID's and tried to hand them to her but she walked away with an attitude and proceeded to blatantly ignore us for another 10 minutes, take a bunch of other patrons orders and looked in our direction several times. Absolutely ridiculous, three other parties experience the same lack of service and left the establishment. I understand it's busy and stressful, but I have never been so disrespected in my life. I have raved about Thames for years... unfortunately I won't be raving about them anymore. During PRIDE MONTH TOO?? #homophobic read more

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill - American Near Me - Bristol, Rhode Island

Service, food quality and location were great! I usually follow yelp reviews and this time went w/ a gut feeling and was pleasantly surprised with the overall experience. read more

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill - a swan in the water - American Near Me - Bristol, Rhode Island

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Ok I am a little torn because I have had two totally different experiences at this place. The first time I would have e give. It a zero. TLTW This time was fantastic. Party of six, by the water great wait staff and everyone loved their food. So I went with the average. You gotta make your own opinion. Sorry if I was no help read more

Disappointing Seating Experience Overshadows Food and Service Our dining experience at this restaurant was unfortunately a mixed bag. On the positive side, the food was satisfactory, and our waitress was helpful and attentive throughout the evening. She certainly added to what could have been a pleasant dining experience. However, the hostess's actions left a disappointing taste in our mouths. We were informed that due to our lack of a reservation, all seats by the water were booked for the evening, and we were instead seated inside, uncomfortably close to the restroom. Given our time constraints, we accepted this arrangement, albeit with disappointment. What was even more disheartening was to see that more than half of the coveted waterside tables remained empty throughout our stay from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. This gave us the impression that we were being discriminated against, as we observed that we were the only Asian customers in the restaurant at the time. While we cannot definitively confirm any discriminatory intent, the hostess's actions raised some serious concerns for us. It's unclear why she would mislead us about the seating availability, but this experience left us feeling unwelcome. Based on this experience, I'm hesitant to recommend this restaurant, especially if you are a person of color. The overall treatment we received did not match the hospitality we expected. In the end, it's not just about the food or the views - it's about being treated with respect and honesty. And on this front, our experience fell woefully short. I give the restaurant the opportunity to respond and improve their services in the future. Please remember with today's social media and our systematic legal process against racism, there is no place to hide when you are racist. The business profitability is temporary, eventually your racism business will pay huge for this type of wrong doing. The date of the incident is June 23, 2023. This should give you enough information to find out who was the hostess. read more

The food quality has gone down recently. I gave 4 stars the last time, but going down to 3 this time. I love this place in the summer when I can sit outside deck and enjoy the drinks. There is no other place that is better to watch the harbor and see the sunset. Here is my updated take on this place: Service - generally prompt and good quality. It can get a bit slow when its really busy on a Friday evenings, or Roger Williams University graduation. Decore - not much has changed since when it was Geoff's. I like the nautical theme interior. You can't beat the outdoor seating areas overlooking the harbor. Food - I think this is where things get a bit worrisome. In have had excellent food here before, but once in a while a while, I get not so good experience. Tonight was one of those no so good experience. My fish tacos was tasteless and the fish was overcooked. The slaws had bitter taste and was under seasoned. There was no salsa to accompany the tacos, either. I asked for a side of fries. It was tasty, but came out cold. Overall, it turned out to be an overpriced, under rated fish tacos. I would still come back for my beer and the proven favorites like clam cakes and fries calamaris. read more

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill - Waterfront view is absolutely gorgeous. - American Near Me - Bristol, Rhode Island

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Sat 5/4/24 If you want drinks then please go here. If you want to eat go elsewhere! The food - we had Cohaugs ( all bread and burnt), Calamari ( Rubbery and all Peppers), Chowder (Watery but tasty), lobster roll (small), Fish & Chips (greasy), Haddock (soggy), Sweet Potato Fries (stale and hard), Salad (brown at cut ends and too large for human consumption). No manager to speak to, so to whom does one complain to? not the waiters who did their part. Sooooo much wrong we decide pay and run and never return. Paid $325 including 20% tip for what? Also, the plastic curtained patio deck was hot and humid - no air circulation, no fans, plastic weather curtains zipped up even though Outside temp was pleasant at 63. read more

The waitress was the best part of our experience. We wanted to go here based upon the menus here and the reviews of the amazing lobster rolls. Guess what - those aren't on the menu. Practically none of the food pictured on yelp was on the menu. We ordered the calamari- not worth $18 and was soaking in grease. Another table had the fish and chips. Although the portion was huge and it smelled delicious, I have zero doubts it was also swimming in grease. read more

View was amazing. Waitress was great and very friendly. Sad to say that's where it ended. Ordered a pina colada that tasted nothing like a pina colada. Ordered the wings that came out overly well done and maybe were cooked in advance because they looked dry and inside had a yellow tint to it. Waitress even said maybe they were par cooked. Ordered the shrimp tacos and got really sick later that night, so wouldn't be surprised if they were bad. Pretzel bites were good! Also $16 for a shot of fireball is just wrong. Will skip this place and go to McDonalds. At least it was fresh. read more

the view was amazing but food was meh overall. my party ordered the shrimp primavera and it was pretty tasteless. I ordered the cajun salmon which was the best thing at the table. service was great but the server prompted us to choose a 20 or 25% tip and then got an attitude at our cash tip... definitely will not be returning. their google reviews vs their yelp reviews say a lot. always look at yelp! read more

Went here for a date a few weeks ago. Made reservations on the "OpenTable" app. Got seats out on the patio for a beautiful Saturday night. Ordered calamari as an appetizer and it came out great. Plenty of peppers and the calamari pieces were crisp and not greasy. I ended up getting the steak tips with broccoli and mashed potatoes. My date got the stuffed cod and she said it was excellent. By the time we finished it was getting dark so we got ice cream at grays and then walked on the dock and enjoyed our ice cream. I wish I would've gotten a picture of the dining area on the deck but it was so packed. Our waitress was amazing! Pretty sure her name was Courtney? I think we actually went to high school now that i think about it lol. Anyways a great time was had by all! So in essence this place has great views, awesome food, amazing service and ice cold booze! read more

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill - Deck area outside restaurant - American Near Me - Bristol, Rhode Island

Had a bad experience with this place! Food was just ok!! Too bad great spot but not greatly managed! Hoping someday it will be! The issue was with $$ They double charged my card and when I went back they gave me the run around that they refunded me but they never die was there 5 times about the issue last one being with the manager needless to say they double dipped me and never went back again! Check your cards on this place! read more