The Dorrance

The food was great, the atmosphere was nice, and when live jazz started playing it all fit together for a great time and overall experiance.

We visited the Dorrance on Saturday of Valentine’s Day weekend. Prior to our visit, we were advised that the Valentine’s Prix Fixe menu would be available Thursday through Saturday, but upon arrival were advised that this was not the case. Adapt and overcome, though - rather than a glorious 4 course meal with drinks, we enjoyed a glorious 3 course meal with drinks, and had a beautiful time. Looking forward to returning, as the cocktail list is phenomenal.

Fantastic all around. Our waiter was super friendly and knowledgable even gave us some free champagne to help celebrate our anniversary!!

Awesome drink list and great food. Get the Haddock!

The staff here is outstanding! They were very attentive to our needs and making sure we were happy with our food! We will definitely be going back!!

Excellent variety of food. The short ribs were lean and delicious, service was excellent. This is a must try if you haven’t already.

I got a gift card to The Dorrance for Christmas, so I made reservations here before a show at PPAC. The restaurant was beautiful and the service was great. Fancy, but not enough to make you uncomfortable. I thought the music playing in the background was a little strange and didn't really go with the atmosphere, but whatever. My only problem was that I'm not really a fancy-food kind of girl. I like burgers, mashed potatoes, pub food, etc. There was nothing on the menu that really interested me. I got the braised beef which was just ok to me. I did not like the sides that came with it. My husband on the other hand loved it and thought everything was fabulous. I miss restaurants with normal food. I'm not into the foodie revolution. So overall, a good experience but I probably won't be back just based on the menu. NOTE: If you are planning to go here before a show as well, give yourself a good 2 hours for dinner.

Lovely dining room, noisy when private events are taking place. Good value for restaurant week. Would recommend, would return

Food was excellent but it was very noisy

Celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary with a wonderful meal.

Service was great, bartender, food amazing! Love this place!

Perfection!

The Dorrance is a beautiful restaurant with upscale historic charm. Even on a Wednesday night the bar was full, which kept the noise level comfortable . The cocktail menu is unique and delicious. For dinner, the chef was very helpful making replacements for my dietary restrictions. The food was delicious, just expensive. A great place for a special occasion.

The cocktail list is out of this world. I went for restaurant week and the food was OK. Nothing earth shattering. The ambiance is one-of-a-kind, really fancy enjoyable vibe.

Wonderful waiter (Adam) who made the meal so special. Amazing food and great atmosphere. Perfect for a date, and I will definitely be returning when I'm in Providence again.

Service was very slow, food tasted very good bit was quite expensive.

We had an excellent time! Food, Service, everything was just beautiful and delicious!!!!

Outstanding as always!

Don't waste your money on this place. The building and interior are beautiful, but the food has gone steadily downhill since the start. It was very good when it first opened. It now has mostly bar traffic, and I can understand why. The food is really unimpressive. My daughter and I ordered the pasta special, agnolotti stuffed with truffle and potato. There was not a truffle within a mile of this dish. It was essentially pasta stuffed with mashed potatoes. When we drew this to their attention, they agreed and did not charge us for those dishes, which was decent of them. But really, there are so any better places to eat in Providence that it's not worth going here. We would not again except maybe to have a cocktail at the bar. Our server was very kind and attentive but not knowledgeable about the food or the wine.

Our waiter was amazing. He had great recommendations and fun sense of humor. He was calm and efficient when someone in our party accidentally spilled their red wine all over the table. The food was some of the best I’ve had. Perfect for a date night or fun night after seeing the show. Cool atmosphere and beautiful building!

Beautiful, charming space, good food but somewhat limited menu. The overly casual waiter spoiled our experience. A place such as the Dorrance requires more professional staff. “No problem” is not a suitable response to any request made by a customer.

We went for dinner before a performance at PPAC and loved it! The perfect setting to begin our evening.

Food was very good. Entrees took quite a while to come. Service was generally very good but we noticed a lot of others were getting small complimentary desserts but we did not.

The setting is elegant without being overwhelming, since the building is an historic bank building with high ceilings, chandeliers, and marble. The servers were very attentive. The cocktail, oysters and main course all were very good, well presented and of appropriate quantity. We both had beef, which is an occasional food for us, and the short ribs and prime rib were delicious. The meat was served with seasonal fall vegetables.
We opted out on dessert but had espresso.

Our anniversary dinner at the Dorrance was, as usual a spectacular night. The food was cooked perfectly and full of deliciousness. And the drinks were of course on point!

I guess I should have read the menu prior to going but we went to the Dorrance for our anniversary. It is such a beautiful building that I made some assumptions about what type of menu it would be. The only two beef options on the menu were shortribs or a hamburger. There was only one fish option, halibut and then chicken. I guess I was hoping the menu would match the venue. It was just an odd menu more suited to a bar than a very nice restaurant. So if you are looking for a celebration dinner with food you don't usually cook then this is not the restaurant, but if you want good sort of regular food then this would be a good choice.

The food quality was good, the portions size on the fish was a bit small but the shortribs was fine. The calamari was not fresh, so it was really chewy. Overall if we had just gone out to dinner this would have been fine but for a special occasion it would not be my first choice.

An elegant bar with great cocktails. The food was OK, but in the future, I'd keep it to cocktails there.

Great drinks and appetizers. Beautiful restaurant and good service.

Great service by Adam! Great food...

We enjoyed our ladies night out so much. The room is beautiful and grand, but the service is very personable and warm so it balances out perfectly. We opted to share plates which is a good decision for trying a few things. The foie gras and waygu steak were stand out, but we enjoyed a variety of cheeses and a pasta dish as well. We will definitely be back!

Low key and quiet at first but became very loud when the band started playing. It was the weekend before Halloween so everyone was dressed up.

Lovely experience! Amazing good!

I love The Dorrance. That said, there were a few hiccups this time. Ordered the brussel sprout small plate and they were incredibly undercooked. Then one of my guests ordered the eggplant entree and it was incredibly OVER cooked, to the point if being inedible. I’ve never had a bad meal and while last night was no exception it certainly wasn’t the best.

The service was extremely slow! There was a mix-up on our cheese board order, instead of the 4 cheeses we selected only 3 arrived on the table. To add insult to injury, the bill had 3 orders of 5 cheeses totaling $105 worth of cheese board! Luckily I noticed it before paying.

The manager did provide free deserts for everyone at the table after realizing how long we say waiting for our entrees. But, it then took 3 attempts to bring out a cup of hot coffee for my guest. The first 2 walked up from cold to lukewarm.

What was planned as an impressive culinary experience ended up an embarrassment.

Interesting menu with small plate options. Extensive drink list. Our waiter was new and the manager was very conscientious to make sure we were satisfied in every way. My first drink order did not come out to my liking and it was promptly whisked away and replaced with something I preferred. Very gracious service, the small plates were excellent.

Great overall; a genuine, authentic Providence feeling of downtown with interior architectural ambiance.

Birthday dinner. Usually great experience here. This time, menu new and significantly reduced. Food ok but not great and not worth cost.

It's great to see the venerable Greater Providence Deposit and Trust lobby morph into a see and be seen tableau for upscale dining. The only detraction is the noise level... It's not always easy to hear your companion, or group members at a table. It was great to see people dining late and enjoying all that Providence had to offer.

Nice to see foraged mushrooms on the menu, maitake. Wish it wasn’t used so sparingly

My mom and I dined at The Dorrance in celebration of her birthday, before attending a show at the PPAC. The menu is certainly upscale, with fresh and complicated ingredients-truly fine dining. Our server was extremely friendly and helpful in answering our questions about the menu. The cocktail menu included a variety of fun signature cocktails. Our meal was delicious! The ambiance is amazing! You walk through an actual bank vault to enter a lounge near the bathroom. Beautiful stained glass windows surround the room. The bar area was "hopping." I would love to go back!