MILL'S TAVERN,

How do you approach a new restaurant that's had as much fanfare as Mill's Tavern? You just plunge right in, bringing along visitors who are equally enthusiastic in their love of food. In this case, our daughter and son-in-law from Seattle were eager to check out this newcomer to the Providence restaurant scene. From the valet parking and refolded napkins to the San Pellegrino in an ice bucket, everything at Mill's Tavern is done with quiet panache. The pacing of the service, the comfortably elegant decor (by Kim Nathanson D'Oliveira), the imaginative menu (with ex-X0 chef Jules Ramos in charge) -- all are intended to make customers feel coddled. And we did. For entrees, we pondered 17 choices, from the oven, rotisserie, stove, and grill, and, without quite planning to do so, we ended up with one from each: rack of lamb ($24); suckling pig ($21); halibut ($21) and swordfish ($22). Our attentive waiter, Denis, suggested we order two sides for the table, so we got mashed potatoes ($5) and asparagus ($7).

Full review.