Tini's is the latest concept from George Germon and Johanne Kileen, owners of Al Forno in Providence, and one of the driving forces behind the city's incredibly successful food revolution.
Quick review: space a bit cramped, the starters were quite good (ask for the french fries' sauces on the side), service friendly but sloppy, and the electronic menu we found discomfiting and tiresome after the first ten minutes.
Long-winded review: Wedged between Gracie's at one corner and Bravo bistro on the other Tini's is tiny to be sure. Arranged like a sushi bar, you sit in a horseshoe around the central aisle which is both the bar and serving area. Nice, short but sweet wine list with several offerings by the glass. Reasonable prices. Reminiscent of Parisian bistros where the only menu is on a chalkboard on a wall or freestanding, Tini's menu is on an electronic chalkboard, a TV mounted high up on one wall.
In fact, this rather awkward menu is just one of several uncomfortable things we experienced there last evening. Certainly it is a cool idea -- but if you are sitting on one side of the bar you have to turn and crane your neck upwards in order to see the menu -- and even from our vantage point on the other side we soon discovered that if you wanted to read something specific on the menu you had to sit and wait for it to scroll around again (and again and again). We thought just having a printed menu to supplement the TV concept would have made our lives a bit simpler.
Anyway, we arrived early -- probably a little before six -- and easily found two stools at the bar. (There are narrow seating pads located beneath the two large front windows.)
We ordered two drinks, "The Vespa," but without the gin, so it was the Nino Franco "Faive" prosecco and campari. The bartender ran out of campari after barely pouring one drink but went ahead and poured the prosecco anyway, saying she would "add the campari in later" -- which she did by splashing in just a bit of the aperitivo when the new bottle arrived. That was sloppy enough and so was the fact they charged us for the gin but when we brought it to their attention there was a flurry of confusion over how to resolve this. We just waived it and said to forget it.
We eventually ordered two apps: Susie got the gruyere fondue and I got the french fries. The food was delicious, although if you are uncertain how you feel about mayo and hot sauce on your french fries then by all means ask for the sauces on the side.
Overall, we give it a thumbs up but with one or two qualifications. The folks behind the bar were nice kids but the service was slipshod, and while the TV concept is cool give us a printed menu too.
Tini's
200 Washington Street
providence
401.383.3400
2 comments:
We had excellent service here tonight, but for a tapas restaurant, the prices were outrageous. We had 2 glasses of wine and 3 tiny apps (fine, since we knew it was called tini and like the tapas concept) but it was seriously overpriced. The tiny plates easily cost as much as (or more than) a regular sized appetizer anywhere else. I would have spent as much at Gracie's on apps and wine and enjoyed it much more.
Still, very cool inside and fine for drinks.
TELEPHONE NUMBER is 401-383-2400. The listed phone number in this review is unfortunately wrong.
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