Photo via Google, William MahyWhite Horse Tavern
- Hours
- Today: 5:00 – 9:00 PM
- Best time
- Book two to four weeks ahead for a weekend dinner — small rooms mean limited tables
- Getting there
- Newport's colonial-era Point neighborhood, a short walk from the harbor
Why it’s in the log
The building dates to 1673, making White Horse Tavern one of the oldest surviving tavern structures in the country and a regular fixture on lists of America's oldest operating tavern. The gambrel roof and low, hand-hewn beams are original to a house built when Newport was still a young colonial port, not a later recreation.
The food has moved well past tavern fare — it now runs as an upscale New England dining room, with a wine list and plating that don't match the low-ceilinged, centuries-old rooms around them. That contrast is most of the appeal: eating a modern tasting menu inside a 17th-century house.
The rooms are small and the tables limited, so it books out — worth reserving well ahead rather than showing up hoping for a table, especially for a weekend evening.
What people said recently
From Google reviews · see all 1,905 ↗
“From the very beginning I loved this tavern, the atmosphere and history here is unbeatable. Our waiter was so kind and sweet, also sharing everyone who has been to the tavern, as well as best things to order off the menu. The food was…”
“The food exceeded our expectations. The service was great. We ate in the bar area as we did not have reservations, and they were still able to fit us in. The swordfish was off the charts!!! The beef wellington was cooked perfectly. It is…”
“We had an unbelievable evening at the White Horse Tavern. I made reservations, and requested a semi-private table (if available). We were seated just up the stairs on the second story in the corner, and were basically all by ourselves. I…”
Mentioned alongside
White Horse Tavern
New York City, United StatesAn 1880 West Village bar that went from longshoremen to writers in the 1950s — Dylan Thomas, James Baldwin, Jane Jacobs, Norman Mailer.
Newport
The Gilded Age mansions get the tour buses; the harbor taverns nearby have been open since the colony was founded.
United Kingdom
A country that's been arguing about the weather for two thousand years and building around it anyway.