Dining Review: The Kitchen at the Shack in Narragansett

Ahi tuna tartare. Photography by Angel Tucker

With your eyes on the water ahead, it’s easy to miss the Surf Shack Bed & Breakfast, which operates out of an unassuming, turquoise-tinted house in Narragansett mere steps from the town beach. There are six rooms for rent, all of which assert a Margaritaville-vibe that defies the frenzy that pervades the shoreline in summer months. Guests are not about showing off but, rather, simply showing up to catch the sun when it hits or the waves when they rise. 

Grilled half chicken. Photography by Angel Tucker

Pretense is almost entirely absent from the space, which is one of the reasons locals flock to its sixty-seater restaurant, even in the off-season. The dining room — which goes by the Kitchen at the Shack — is equally laid-back, surrounded by aqua shiplap walls and weathered wooden frames that border images of the beach at its most pristine. Heavily lacquered surfboards occasionally serve as tables for people of all ages, sipping cocktails as they rest on stools and ponder the approaching weather. 

But the center of the restaurant actually sits at its back corner: a twenty-person round bar that’s full of people in flip-flops and T-shirts, who know each other by name and are ceremoniously heralded by the bartenders as they walk in. Revelry here belongs to those who place themselves far beneath Mother Nature and who have come for the night to recap what foibles have taken place on her watch. 

But there is one other form of poetic discourse at work in this tiki-style world, and that belongs to executive chef Momo Camara who, despite the easygoing mantra of Surf Shack, is intent on turning this corner of New England into a fully fleshed exploration of Polynesian and Asian culture. Camara himself hails from Côte d’Ivoire and though his culinary career — which was formalized at Johnson & Wales — has represented an array of geographic influences, the culinary concept had life before he arrived. 

Char-grilled octopus. Photography by Angel Tucker

Christina and Lindsay Holmes, owners of the bed and breakfast, honeymooned on the French Polynesian islands and hoped to capture the spirit of this rich cultural amalgam at Surf Shack. What Camara has managed to do with this idea though is noteworthy. His menu merges the South Pacific with French inspiration and Far Eastern elements as well. Moreover, he does so in a way that fully convinces diners that disparate cultures do more than coexist; they make a marriage that’s exponentially more than its singular parts. It’s possible that an American audience might read the whole experience as vaguely Hawaiian, but there are reminders in every dish that this small, beach-bound building is an homage to the world. 

Broiled miso cod. Photography by Angel Tucker

If you’re of the belief that “fusion” food is a contrived approach, study Camara’s dinner rolls, drolly referred to as beach buns ($12). They’re as soft as possible and painted with roasted garlic butter, togarashi and truffle honey. Here, as with much of the menu, dishes sound complicated, even overwrought, but eat with unadulterated clarity. There’s also a version of bao buns ($16) stuffed with pork belly and kimchi, though this iteration is fried, offering a snack that’s as compelling in texture — chewy, crisp and dense — as it is in flavor.  

Ask any chef and they’ll likely tell you that food is the great communicator: It often conveys and manifests in more visceral ways than language. That perspective is fundamental here. Camara’s dissertation is executed with opposing ingredients — dashi, preserved lemon, gochujang, Parmesan — but inevitably ends up in harmony. 

Some dishes certainly speak a single language. A perfectly roasted chicken breast with truffles and parsnip puree ($30) is entirely French. It’s a progenitor of sorts as everything else takes off from there, acknowledging the impact of French technique but refusing a myopically focused menu. In an age when people are spooning chili crisp out of jars, the Kitchen at the Shack makes a full-throated case against mass production of anything. 

Executive chef Momo Camara. Photography by Angel Tucker

Pork dumplings ($22) are a cornerstone of the menu, topped with “chili garlic sauce,” a descriptor that is markedly understated. The combination is rich and earthy, walking the finest line between heat that enhances and heat that burns. Even the miso black cod ($32), which looks pristine on the plate, is an amalgam of savory (soy), hot (cucumber kimchi), bright (lemongrass salsa verde) and sweet, as the side of coconut rice manages to make a meal out of a single dish. 

The bar, however, operates in its own orbit. While much of that crowd isn’t eating large plates, they still buy into the island ambiance. Cocktails and mocktails are stylized in grandiose form — some in snifters with hot peppers floating on top, others in oversized goblets with sprigs of fresh mint adorning the lips. As for food, options tend to lean toward utensil-free eating — notably small piles of lamb riblets, baked and fried with housemade barbecue sauce and Thai basil.

Watermelon cuke spritz. Photography by Angel Tucker

There are American dishes for those who can only digest summer through their own proclivities — burgers ($21), mac and cheese ($14) and french fries all hold their own among classic iterations. Desserts lean that way as well, with a chocolate torte with torched marshmallows ($12). Island fruits do, however, turn up regularly to reassert the coastal perspective. 

But Camara has such formidable range that choosing the familiar road is a lost opportunity to travel. Even better is that he has created a remarkably joyful dining room. 

There are plenty of serious chefs in the world, many of them determined to prove themselves in an increasingly hierarchical and media-driven field. That’s not who’s at the helm here, as Camara’s goal is entirely about elevating the edible gifts of the entire globe. 

On most nights, he’s walking around delivering food to tables with an open smile, making conversation. But even from the kitchen, his infectious exuberance is evident. While food of this caliber is surprising in such understated surroundings, it becomes clear that the surf ethos might be just the right match for this restaurant. When the primary goal is to become one with the rapture of the natural world, you start to understand why this particular strain of American culture is ripe for the seriously good food that ended up on its doorstep. 

Crispy island steamed buns. Photography by Angel Tucker

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THE KITCHEN AT THE SHACK

Warm eggplant dip. Photography by Angel Tucker

83 Narragansett Ave., Narragansett, 642-5900, surfshacknarragansett.com

Open for dinner seven days a week. 

Wheelchair accessible. Street parking. 

CUISINE: French Polynesian with a very broad reach. 

CAPACITY: Sixty indoors and an outdoor patio  that seats twenty-seven.

VIBE: Kelly Slater meets Alain Ducasse.

PRICES: Shared plates: $12-$22; larger plates: $18-$42; dessert: $10-$12.

KAREN’S PICKS: Dumplings, bao buns and miso cod are easy picks, but the menu is worth meandering through.