After reading ALL the other reviews, I decided I'd take a chance on Amaral's and I looked forward to it. Bottom line is that I can understand both Amaral's lovers and haters.
I wanted to try the fish & chips cuz I love good fish and chips. Ditto clam chowder (New England white chowder) and . . . sometimes . . . I just have to succumb to clam cakes. So . . . I ordered a cup of chowder, the "small" size fish & chips, and took a dozen clam cakes "to go," eating a couple in the restaurant before I left. Here's my report on all 3 of the most commonly reviewed items here:
1. N.E. Clam Chowder: I agree wholeheartedly with the positive reviews. DELICIOUS. Has the same taste as the best chowders I've had (I'll be 68 this month and was born in RI, so I've run the gamut.) I'd compare the taste to what you get at The Black Pearl in Newport. However, it didn't have QUITE as many clams and the broth was thinner. But the however to my However is that I found its thinner broth to be a PLUS. Some of the so-called "best" clam chowders put SO much cream and thickener in their chowders that they're almost a pudding, and the fat content screams its presence on your tongue. Amaral's has been CORRECTLY described as "light" in other reviews, and that sorta gives you the right idea. LOADED with flavor, and it's the same flavor I've tasted in the really best chowder versions of some of the best restaurants in RI. I'll have to go back and try it again before I can say for sure that it's my favorite. I've considered the chowder at The Black Pearl and at Clark's Cookhouse (both in Newport) my faves, the paradigms or icons for great chowder, for decades. Right now, I can say that Amaral's gives them a run for the money, at half the price. It just might force me to revise my personal 1st place, but I'd need to refresh the memory of my taste buds on my faves from Newport, and then try Amaral's again with that memory fresher on my tongue.
2. Fish & Chips: I give them a rousing "OK." Not bad, not great. I re-read the reviews after my meal there, and all I can say is those who praise the fish & chips to the sky have probably spent most of their lives underground. There are PLENTY of places with just as good, and PLENTY MORE with better. Anyone who thinks their fish & chips are worth writing home about should try them at Jack's Family Restaurant just a couple blocks away on Child St. I've been there only once too -- also recently -- and it is a DEFINITE priority of mine to return there again. I will return to Amaral's, MAYBE, if/when I happen to be nearby and feel in the mood for a good bowl of chowder. Or . . . maybe to get a quart of chowder to take home. Yes the fish is fresh. Yes it's tender because it is not overcooked. Lots of places crisp up the batter to crunchy at the expense of over-cooking the fish, and I think the raves for Amaral's fish are from people who have probably not come across too many examples of those who cook it the way Amaral's does. But if you find others who cook it that way, your perspective on Amaral's will have to be revised.
Also, I don't understand the "large portions" claims, unless it comes from people whose only comparison is a McDonalds fish sandwich. I got the "small" size order for $7.50 which had two small pieces of fish, but I saw the large size ($9.50) in front of others in the place, and it had 3 pieces. Yeah, you get 3 pieces in a order. But they are NOT large pieces. The SINGLE piece of fish you usually get at the Gregg's on No Main St in Providence (near the Pawtucket line) EASILY has double the amount of fish I got, which means AT LEAST as much as 4 pieces Amaral's-size. And you get LOTS of extras. A much MUCH better deal.
I also prefer the fish & chips at 2 other places aside from Gregg's:
A) At "Uncle Tony's" on Newport Ave -- not sure if it's in Rumford or E. Prov (near the border between the two).
B) Jack's Family Restaurant, a few blocks from Amaral's in Warren, on Child St.
All three places easily surpass Amaral's in value and taste.
3. CLAM CAKES
There's insufficient space to tell you about bones in my fish at Amaral's, sizable bones, as well as all about their terrible clam cakes, half of 'em with zero clam, the other half with microscopic traces of clam having the consistency of rocks. And . . . there were 11 tiny clam cakes in my dozen, roughly golf ball size, plus one whose diameter was less than a US quarter's. I'd though it was an extra glob of clam cake batter 'til I counted them and realized it had been considered one of my dozen. They even stint on the clam JUICE -- these are just balls of fried dough with a drop of clam juice and a 50/50 chance of a piece of inedible clam half the size of your front tooth. Amongst the worst I've EVER had.
PS
Tartar sauce = mayo + sweet pickle relish except at Amaral's where it equals mayo, period. read more