The Crow’s Nest
Overlooking the water in Warwick, Rhode Island, there’s a restaurant where the ocean jumps from the view to your plate.
The Crow’s Nest combines coastal-inspired dishes with traditional Italian for a deliciously diverse menu. Situated right on the marina, the interior is clean, airy and pays homage to the sea.
The Crow’s Nest has been a staple in Warwick for decades. Esther DeQuattro, who also runs Il Massimo in Providence and Dedham, took over in 2022, and she says the key to their success is fresh food, staying authentic to its roots, and a staff that’s more like family.
“I kept the menu almost identical to what they had… The Italian recipes are ours… but everything else we honored. Maybe slight modifications, but we kept all of the New England and Rhode Island favorites.“
“The same prep cooks that were prepping and making dishes 30 years ago are still here. A lot of their children and nephews are cooks… so it's like a real family.”
“It is like being on vacation. I say when I come here. It's across from the water. It's casual. We're in jeans and polos and it's just a very casual, fun little escape in the middle of Rhode Island.”
The appetizers at Crow’s Nest offer the best of Rhode Island favorites.
Like the calamari. If you’re in Rhode Island, you gotta get it, especially when it’s pan fried until crispy, with the slightly spicy banana peppers and roasted cherry tomatoes. The result is so delicious, you don’t even need a dipping sauce, but they’ll give it to you if you ask.
Or, you can go for the clam cakes, that are fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and perfect for dipping into their clam chowder.
And here, you have not one, but two options for the chowder. Classic New England style that’s creamy with tons of fresh clams throughout, or tomato and vegetable--based Manhattan style red clam chowder.
“We have a recipe that we've tweaked and perfected and over the years, and it's just a favorite. It's full of clams. It's very flavorful and it's consistent.”
The Raw Bar is also a consistent favorite, and you can get a platter to try the fresh-shucked oysters, littlenecks and shrimp cocktail.
New England meets Italy in The Crow’s Nest’s entree selections.
The Seafood Pescatore combines seafood favorites with perfectly cooked pasta.
“People love pasta with seafood. It's a San Marzano tomato broth, so it's like a light red sauce. You know, broth with shrimp, scallops, little necks and calamari.”
“It's this, like, briny red sauce, garlic, with the pasta, it's just a bread dipping situation.”
Also on the menu is the veal parmesan that’s lightly breaded and fried before being topped with marinara, melty mozzarella and plated over a bed of pasta.
If you want a real taste of the Atlantic, get the fried seafood platter. Piled high with whole belly clams, scallops, shrimp, and cod fried until golden brown and crispy on the outside with that fresh, perfectly cooked fish on the inside.
“it's… one of my favorites because you get a little bit of everything.”
“So the shrimp, the clams, I mean, all of it is a treat, but together. To have a little sampler is just… pretty amazing.”
If lobster is what you’re craving, The Crow’s Nest has it any way you like it.
For handhelds, you can get fresh-shucked lobster meat two ways, a classic roll or a club.
“So we have the traditional roll, which is a, you know, buttered roll with the lobster salad which is...”
“A heaping amount of lobster salad in the roll. It is a favorite. It's a staple. Everybody loves it.
“And of course we have the club where we add the bacon and it's a triple decker and the lettuce and the tomato and the bacon.”
“It's this buttery rich. The lobster is sweet, and, you know, it's this amazing combination of flavors.”
“It's delicious.”
For a more traditional take, the boiled lobster is served with only the necessities: lots of melted butter.
But to take it up a notch, get the Baked Stuffed Lobster. It’s one and half pounds, filled with a buttery shrimp and crab seafood stuffing and paired with plenty of melted herb butter to pour over.
“When anyone sees it go out, everyone orders it.”
“Decadent. Like, it's really rich and just… delicious.”
“It's a showstopper.”
For dessert, The Crow’s Nest top seller is the homemade Key Lime Pie that you can order by the slice, or get a whole pie to go.
“It's this giant pie that we make and we make it daily, so we do run out sometimes, but it has the graham cracker crust.”
“It's this tart, limey, lovely combination of flavors. The crust and the cream on top… it's just a nice way to end.”
“It was our family recipe. We were really excited to introduce it, and it's been very popular.”
“What I love about The Crow's Nest is that it's really for everyone…
It really appeals to everybody, you know. It's comfort New England seafood… it's what we love. And even though we have different backgrounds and you might be Italian or Irish or whatever your background, we're all Rhode Island New Englanders and everybody loves it.”
