Club Frills Merges a Nostalgic Atmosphere with Creative Food and Cocktails

Club Frills co-owners Jesse Hedberg and Robert Andreozzi. Photos by Maurisa Arieta.

At Club Frills, food and cocktails are served with its namesake – colorful, frilly toothpicks often used to garnish drinks and club sandwiches. The new bar and restaurant that just opened this summer from the co-owners of Pizza Marvin, chef Robert Andreozzi and renowned bartender Jesse Hedberg, channels a nostalgic atmosphere but with complex cocktails and cheffed-up bar food.

The two hospitality veterans came up with their own ideas for interior design while working with Jung Hong and Emily Rye to execute the vision. Dark wood paneling – like the type found in my own parents’ basement – lines the walls, along with retro wooden railings that mimic the decor details on stairways from the 1970s and ‘80s. Floor-to-ceiling glass blocks surround the entrance set aglow by flashing lights, and faux fireplaces with hidden televisions are installed inside intimate seating nooks where groups of friends can gather and watch a game. The rustic laminate panels in the restroom feature etched illustrations of ducks, deer and nature scenes, similar to what you might find in a retro rod and gun club or Elks Lodge. They even tracked down an arcade claw machine just for fun – nicknamed the “Claw Daddy” – that dispenses fun prizes for adults and kids alike. Curated vintage art adorns the walls and a checkerboard chartreuse and green tile floor greets guests.

An array of cocktails at Club Frills.

The co-owners have created a friendly neighborhood spot in Fox Point that inspires a similar energy to some of the top bars in the United States, like New York’s Katana Kitten, Superbueno and Double Chicken, and Portland’s Room for Improvement. “Jesse’s story is really about creating a comfortable and familiar neighborhood space, something that is lively, fun and progressive,” Andreozzi says.

They’ve spent years doing research – a.k.a. being patrons — at some of the best bars in the world. “Jesse and I have gone to as many bars as we possibly could in America that have been on North America’s 50 Best Bars List,” Andreozzi adds. “We’re inspired by some of these amazing bars that exist in the world.”

To make it a reality, they hired a food and beverage dream team. Top bartenders include Horus Alvarez of Dolores and formerly of the Eddy; Kayleigh Speck, who was the manager that opened CRU, and also spent years at the East End; and Hank Murphy, who recently worked at Yacht Club in Denver, Colorado, which is one of those bars that made the 50 Best Bars List. Chris Annunziato of the Royal Bobcat and formerly of Courtland Club plays the party host. Nikhil Naiker joins the management team and leads kitchen operations as the chef manager, while also continuing Nimki at Courtland Club. Chris Rivera from Pizza Marvin was promoted to the director of operations for both Club Frills and Pizza Marvin.

Hedberg and Andreozzi are thrilled with the elite staff they have put together, and they plan to have Club Frills be a training ground for the next generation of bartenders and chefs. Andreozzi hired Nikhil Naiker for a role that’s more in restaurant management, rather than just cooking.

“I’ve been trying to work with Nikhil and open a restaurant for the last three years. We signed the deal we had been talking about in December and January, and then his name ended up on the James Beard nominations list,” Andreozzi says. “I give him so much credit for sticking to the plan.”

The cocktails are the highlight of the Club Frills. Guests can watch the complex steps it takes to prepare each drink at the bar, but there’s also a cocktail lab installed in the back with state-of-the-art equipment. The high-tech machinery lineup includes a squasher, which is a high pressure homogenizer for infusions, a rotovap, which is a rotary evaporator for infusing flavors, and a specialized machine called a Clinebell used for making twenty-five-pound blocks of ice that they will hand cut into individual cubes.

One of my favorite drinks is the purple snow-cone-like concoction called the Pere Ube, which is named after the punk band. Parfait Amour is infused with lavender oils in the Squasher, giving it its purple hue and flavors of bitter orange and vanilla. Then it’s combined with ube scented coconut milk, pandan infused rum and absinthe and served in a huge glass with heaping crushed ice. The Shiso Miso is a frothy green dessert cocktail, including flavors of miso, chocolate and shiso. And the Greenie is reminiscent of a green Jolly Rancher. If savory is more your style, they have some filthy dirty martinis or the Teeny Weenie Martini, a homage to New York System (it is actually tiny).

Bar snacks are familiar with a twist. “The food is inspired by dive bar and tavern tropes, but made in a creative way,” Andreozzi says. He describes one hit item, a mozzarella stick meets an onion ring, which they coined the oozie doozie. There’s also a tuna club sandwich made with raw tuna, a signature Dirty Martini burger, beef tartare tacos, and Naiker’s signature chicken nuggets. A favorite is the seafood caviar corndog with trout roe that can be subbed with the real deal for $60 (Osetra). Don’t miss the Yawgoo Mountain Ice Cream Sundae for dessert complete with a DIY faceplant.

The Dirty Martini burger at Club Frills.

They are focusing on creating a neighborhood spot that also puts the spotlight on Providence. “If you look at the roster of people that came over here, they’ve worked in some of the best places here in Rhode Island,” Andreozzi says. “And I’m really excited to play a small part in a place that is opening up to the next generation. Jesse’s always said, this is going to be ‘a bartender’s bar,’ the bar that I wish existed when I was coming up, that can help teach people.”

Perhaps it will help Providence gain more praise and press from around the country for its food and beverage program. “I think Providence is an amazing place,” Andreozzi adds. “It’s not just about leveling up, but when Jesse and I travel around the country, we’re like, ‘I really wish that people looked at Providence more.’”

Editor’s note; This article was updated from an earlier version that was posted in May 2025. 

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