A Big-Menu Night Out at Mews Tavern

Smoked wings and a cold local beer make a fine starting point at Mews Tavern, but stopping there would miss the point. This is a large-hearted, high-energy tavern where a table might be working through Brussels sprouts, tacos, a pizza, a burger and a round of cocktails all at once.

The room has the comfortable bustle people want from a neighborhood tavern: booths, bar seats, counter seating and a dining area that can handle families, friend groups, casual lunch plans and the late-afternoon shift into drinks. Conversation and laughter are part of the background, especially when the place is busy.

It is an easy restaurant for mixed appetites. One person can order familiar comfort food, another can head toward seafood or a salad, and someone else can settle in with a vegetarian dish or Mexican-inspired plate. Nobody has to negotiate too hard before the meal begins.

The wings deserve some time in the spotlight. Mews Tavern is known for smoked and breaded wings, a combination that gives them more character than the standard bar basket.

House-made sauces provide the useful fork in the road. Mews Hot brings the heat, while chipotle honey barbecue has a sweeter, smokier direction with spice still in the picture. The latter is a good choice for diners who like a sauce that does more than simply burn.

Wings also work well as the opening move in a group meal. They can arrive alongside drinks and buy the table a little time to study a menu that sprawls in several appealing directions.

Burgers, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, salads, soups, local meats, vegetarian choices and seafood all have a place here. That breadth can sound unwieldy on paper, but it makes practical sense in a tavern where teenagers, parents, coworkers and bar regulars may be sharing the same table.

The Rhody Burger has been paired with notably crisp onion rings, which is exactly the sort of side dish that can disappear around the table before the entrees have fully landed. There is also a make-your-own burger route, including an Angus beef option, for diners who prefer to take charge of the details.

For a more deli-counter style of comfort, the Reuben has appeared with a generous pile of corned beef, toppings and properly visible melted cheese. Pulled pork sandwiches, fried chicken sandwiches, French onion soup and Texas chili keep that hearty side of the menu well supplied.

Pizza fits naturally into the tavern rhythm, particularly when the table is lingering over beers. Tuscan chicken pizza is among the more specific offerings that have been featured, while curly fries make an easy companion for a simpler pizza-and-a-pint order.

The menu also leaves room for dishes that pull the meal in another direction. Beef brisket tacos, mahi mahi street tacos and mahi mahi burritos offer alternatives to the burger-and-wings lane. A chicken Caesar salad can keep things lighter, while Mews Mac is there for anyone who has no intention of pretending to eat light.

Brussels sprouts are one of the starters with a following, and they make sense as a counterweight to the more indulgent parts of the menu. A shared vegetable dish may not sound glamorous, but a good Brussels-sprouts appetizer has a way of earning repeat orders.

Chicken dip is another starter worth considering when the table wants something warm and communal before the main plates arrive. The appetizer selection gives a meal more than one pace: a few things to pass around first, then the serious work of deciding between tacos, burgers, pizza or brisket.

Dessert has at least one reliably old-school tavern answer: a dark chocolate brownie warmed in-house. It is the sort of finish that pairs nicely with coffee, a final drink or a few extra minutes in the booth.

Beer is not an afterthought here. The tavern offers a substantial selection of local and craft choices, including beers from Rhode Island-area breweries, in draft and bottled formats. It gives beer drinkers more to do than point at the usual familiar label.

Among the names that have shown up on the beer side are Radiant Pig Juicy Fruit, CMBC and Pivotal Ruby Wavelength. UFO blueberry beer has also been a lighter, fruit-forward option for someone who wants beer without a heavy profile.

Cocktails have their own playful streak. An elderflower martini brings a more polished note to the list, while Resting Banana Face announces its banana theme right in the name. A tavern can take its drinks seriously without taking itself too seriously; that seems to be the idea.

Beyond the main dining spaces, the bar area has a deliberately goofy visual hook: a dollar-store-themed decorating concept filled with the sort of objects that make people look twice. It is especially likely to amuse teenagers, though adults with a weakness for oddball décor will do just fine.

That offbeat corner helps keep the tavern from feeling like a generic large restaurant with a long menu. The booths offer one mood, the bar another, and the themed space gives a group something to talk about before the food even arrives.

Mews Tavern has also hosted trivia, adding another social use for a room already built around gathering. On busier happy-hour periods, the energy rises; weekday midday can offer a quieter window for lunch and a less hurried look at the menu.

Seating is flexible enough to suit the reason for the visit. Booths make sense for a family meal or a group ordering several starters, while bar and counter seats work well for a more casual stop centered on drinks and wings.

Outdoor dining adds a separate little flourish. Outdoor drink service has included a repurposed old food truck positioned near the entrance, an unexpected touch that suits the tavern's playful personality.

There is a free parking lot, though the ease of finding a space can vary with the time and crowd level. Once inside, the better question is usually not what to order, but how many different directions the table can reasonably go before somebody insists on the brownie.