Dining Review: Flora in Newport

The arroz del senyoret with bomba saffron rice, lobster, scallops, shrimp and calamari. Photography by Angel Tucker

Nearly every building in Newport holds some historical promise: wide-planked wooden floors with a 200-year-old pedigree, windowsills that have seen early government, hallowed halls that have marked the passage of illustrious residents. But not every edifice is up to the challenge of scrutiny — things fall into disrepair — and, occasionally, the old guard is challenged by new blood. 

Burned Basque cheesecake with blueberry compote. Photography by Angel Tucker

Gardiner House, a new hotel disguised as a chronicle of the past, is certainly up to the task. Its twenty-one rooms sit on top of Lee’s Wharf, privy to the setting sun and the rarified air that hangs over the docked yachts and water views. But what charms most is the inside of the building, awash in gauzy pinks and greens and fully committed to the aesthetics of privilege. 

There is a genetic component to this particular strain of luxury: Howard Cushing, one of Gardiner’s owners, is tied to Newport through his family’s summer home, the Ledges, where his great-grandfather, Howard Gardiner Cushing, produced the paintings that made him famous. The foyer sets the tone for Gardiner House by reimagining his original mural reproduced on wallpaper. 

This is a spot intrinsically tied to art, whether it’s on the walls, in the draped ceiling fabric, or crafted from silk and hanging off lithe visitors in the first floor Studio Bar. That room, coated in verdant green paint, is a classic lounge taken up to Vanderbilt level. Settees and sofas sit underneath a Hudson River School-era oil painting, and the glossy wood bar churns out cocktails and bar food to both dusk and late-night drinkers. 

The interior of Flora. Photography by Angel Tucker

If this room tips toward masculine, however, the dining room at Flora vibrates with a softer energy. Upstairs and with an enviable view, Flora sits under an upholstered ceiling of striped fabric, swagged with tassels. It’s a deeply subdued circus tent, in which all things extravagant are celebrated. The restaurant holds fewer than a hundred people, but the seats are perpetually full of characters straight out of a Fitzgerald novel. 

Steak tartare. Photography by Angel Tucker

It’s a mixture of aspirational and established diners but all with the same penchant for finer things. That’s a trait shared by chef Miguel Somoza, who came to Newport from Spain, with professional stints at Buckingham Palace and Richard Branson’s kitchen in between. His philosophy centers on elevated simplicity which, at Flora, means a variety of raw fish dishes, handmade pasta and a healthy dose of steak. 

Appearances mean everything here and — like the art collection which is inspired as much by Monet as it is by Miró and Basquiat — plates are as much for the eye as the palate. Nothing manifests Somoza’s perspective better than a tuna carpaccio and a tuna tartare, both reliant on a single ingredient interpreted in wildly different ways. The carpaccio ($26) is traditional: shavings of Pecorino along with capers and dollops of ’nduja aioli read like a restrained afternoon in Calabria. Tartare ($20), on the other hand, is served as a giant quenelle on a crispy wonton. Mixed with Sriracha, scallions and wasabi, it’s a ramped-up version of sushi that’s as pristine as its progenitor. Even the very French beef tartare ($22), with cornichons and egg yolk, is further proof that classic dishes need only be done right, and not redone. 

Scallop tiradito with roasted corn and wakame. Photography by Angel Tucker

The ultimate example? Flora’s caviar service which, at $160 for two servings, is as much showmanship as it is culinary reward. The tin of Black River caviar is surrounded by a fawning crowd of accompaniments — egg yolk, egg white, onion, capers, chopped pickles, creme fraiche, freshly fried potato chips and delicate toast. You’d have to go through three more tins to polish off the garnishes, but the spectacle, as Gatsby would say, is often enough to suffice. 

Entrees are just slightly less decorous. Scallops with sweet potatoes and fresh corn ($40) are the most delicate offering, other than the $94 Dover sole. (Nobody said the Gilded Age was affordable.) But the more intriguing dishes are almost rustic. Housemade fusilli with Parmesan cream sauce is a far more refined alfredo with shrimp, peas and a hefty dose of truffle if you choose ($34). Perhaps the most curious dish is a pounded beef tenderloin ($48). Why would someone pound a filet into a cutlet? It’s a bit like eating a buttered popcorn jelly bean: a strange confluence of familiar taste and unexpected texture that manages to work. Why? Because it’s all the best kind of char but barely needs chewing. A side of piped whipped potatoes in a copper gratin dish and some heat from shishito peppers is just enough to conjure a modernized Downton Abbey. 

It’s that evocation that propels both the hotel and Flora. The lush decor is essential, not only to the identity of the space but the experience of being in that space. A seat in this house remains in high and persistent demand and, at the restaurant, the kitchen seems to work with machine-like precision to accommodate those gathering in the entryway. Dessert swiftly follows entrees, with enough staff to whisk away and plate down in one fell swoop. 

Tuna carpaccio is bedecked with dollops of ’nduja aioli, capers and Pecorino. Photography by Angel Tucker

The only downside to the efficiency is that everyone wants to linger in this exalted environment, but the servers are fervently working toward the next seating. Dessert will extend the evening, though the menu is less extravagant than Somoza’s savory dishes. Sticky toffee pudding ($16) is the most redolent sweet, a full-throated love letter to the U.K., rife with molasses and spice. A bright lemon tart ($16) and a Basque cheesecake ($16) are also worth ordering but know that slices are small. (Somoza may embrace decadence but he does not tolerate exaggerated American portioning.)

This is why Studio Bar exists, though — it’s a segue between the end of dinner and the end of the night. Diners languidly descend the dramatic staircase to settle in again at the bar, where regulars can retrieve Macallan from their personal lockers. Flora, after all, is hosting a party and, eventually, each guest will have to leave. The downstairs lounge, with its endless libations and short list of snacks, feels just enough like home to spend an hour recounting the two hours you spent sharing a chef with Queen Elizabeth and the power of perception that comes with it.

_______________________

Flora at Gardiner House

24 Lee’s Wharf, Newport, 436-0400, gardinerhouse.com

The Painted Lady cocktail. Photography by Angel Tucker

Open for dinner Tues.–Sun. Reservations recommended. Wheelchair accessible. Valet parking. 

CUISINE: Well-traveled American. 

CAPACITY: 110, including the bar and indoor/outdoor spaces. 

VIBE: Dinner at the Kennedy compound, with a hefty bill. 

PRICES: Appetizers: $18-$160; sandwiches and entrees: $30-$94; dessert: $12-$20. 

KAREN’S PICKS: Seafood and cocktails.