Matunuck Oyster Bar [Charlestown, Rhode Island]

How you know when you’ve hit the jackpot – when you randomly stop at the first half-decent roadside restaurant you come to, and while waiting for your food flick through the guidebook and realise it’s one of the region’s top choices for seafood.

That’s exactly what happened to us when we found ourselves hungry on our way from Connecticut to Cape Cod.We looked at the map, and pinpointed Charlestown in Rhode Island as somewhere that looked like it could have pretty good seafood – it was coastal, the menu was affordable, and it was actually open, a rarity at this time of year.

As we arrived at the Matunuck Oyster bar we were slightly nervous, the building was beautiful, spread over two floors and had a great big terrace overlooking the water – would a family in shorts and flip-flops with a three-year old be welcome here? We were absolutely fine.

Greeted with a pleasing aroma of fresh seafood wafting from the tables, we were met by a friendly waiter who gave us a kids’ menu with colouring crayons (a standard in American restaurants to our happy surprise) and took us to a table upstairs overlooking the bay.

Again, I cannot stress how relaxed the atmosphere was in the restaurant, despite it clearly being one of the most upmarket places in the area.

To kick off our meal we ordered the steamed clams, that were absolutely gigantic compared to the ones we’re used to eating in Portugal. Very tasty, but the enormous size made them very chewy and Rob didn’t really appreciate that aspect. For our mains I enjoyed a delicious and generous lobster salad, with leaves and micro-leaves picked straight from the restaurant’s garden, Rob had the lobster roll and C had a pretty tasty piece of fish with hand-cut chips (his favourite dish right now).

The meal was slightly pricier than what we were used to in the south, but totally justifiable in my opinion as all the fantastic local produce was beautifully cooked, and the ambiance couldn’t have been better.

I suggest coming here for a special occasion or if you feel like spoiling yourself. I promise that you will not be disappointed!

Linking up with the always fantastic Honest Mum, for Tasty Tuesdays.