Once the liveliest spot on the block, reliably packed with a mixed crowd, food and libations flowing and live music always on tap, Fifth Element’s absence has left a gloomy void on Broadway. But you’d better watch out, food fam! Chomp is coming to town, and I went to Warren to check it out for you. The verdict is in. We’re gonna love it.
Bringing this location back to life is a tall order, and Chomp Operations Director Niki Holden said the Chomp team, under the direction of co-owners Sam Glynn, who opened the original location in Warren 11 years ago (it has since moved to the larger space I visited), and executive chef Tanner Larkin, understands the assignment. “We know we have big shoes to fill, and we plan to (do so) respectfully and to the best of our ability,” Holden told Newport Buzz. “We love the north Broadway vibe, and we’re excited to be part of the scene.”
Integrating into the Newport community, giving back and catering to locals are all part of the mission, as is the welcome return of live music. “Our focus is on the hospitality we’re known for, joie de vivre, great food, a quality bar scene and entertainment,” she said.
For those familiar with the Newport space, the right-hand side of the restaurant will retain the bar, with a loungey component and room to dance and mingle. Chomp will also have limited access (a few days per year) to the adjacent parking lot.
At the Warren location, the décor of the vertical space bordering the harbor is clean, simple, with high ceilings, the room essentially encased in wood. Around four dozen beers, ciders, seltzers, sours, Belgians, and more are listed in a big electronic sign above the bar. Below it, a simple shelf above cabinetry holds plants, clusters of wine bottles, and bins of citrus—not a liquor bottle to be seen. They’re there, though, and for a place that’s just beyond fast casual in concept, the cocktails here are made with fresh herbs and juices, with fun, seasonal options added, like the frozen pumpkin painkiller that was available in early November.
It was boisterous and busy on a Saturday afternoon, and after a super friendly greeting by the host, we managed to snag the last two available bar seats adjacent to the packed dining room. The menu’s straightforward offerings mirror the surroundings. There are four starters plus wings, two salads, seven mostly fried chicken-based sandwiches, a Pub Fish Basket, and the stars of the show: seven varieties of smash burgers.
True, the combinations included ingredients like mushroom duxelles, truffle chips, and white truffle aioli; Gouda and Haloumi cheeses, lemon butter slaw, and Harissa aioli; and brisket hash with cheddar, Korean BBQ sauce, and crispy fried onions. But I was skeptical. Call me jaded, but how good could what seemed like just another attempt at elevated, on-trend pub-style fare be? In the case of Chomp: there’s nothing basic about it. This food was exceptional.
We ordered wings, dry, with both house BBQ and Buffalo sauces on the side. They arrived with a golden, sublime crispy burnish, seasoned just enough for depth of flavor without excess salt, tender and juicy on the inside without a hint of the vague sliminess that is often the bane of the category. The BBQ sauce was a bit sweet for my taste, the Buffalo fairly standard, but these wings were a marvel. You heard me.
We struggled to skip the ribeye melt with shaved ribeye, provolone, rosemary melted onion, and peppercorn sauce on sourdough bread, but since the place is clearly about burgers, we went with the signature Smash Classic with American cheese, pickles, chopped white onion, and Chomp sauce, and that Brisket Hash burger.
The classic’s crispy onions, crunchy pickles, and creamy, tangy sauce topped the deeply browned, perfectly salted, crisped exterior of the patty, which gave way to the kind of run-down-your-chin juiciness you expect from quality meat, flawlessly seared. The spicy, melt-in-your-mouth hash is a melee of bits of potato, nibs of cheddar, and shredded brisket, all piled atop a patty cooked to similar perfection and drizzled with sweet-sticky-spicy Korean sauce and frizzled fried onions. No. Words.
We got OK fries with the hash burger and a shockingly fresh, crisp side salad dotted with the crunchiest croutons on earth and dressed with a sweet, tart dressing with the classic—a fresh counterpoint to the hearty beef. Chomp doesn’t serve dessert. Its goal is to fill you up on their main event and maintain a consistent customer “flow,” all fine as long as patrons don’t feel they’re being rushed out. We were golden at the bar, and Holden said the Newport location, in addition to its family-friendly, food-focused experience, will also offer a bar-centric, entertainment-driven option for those looking to hang out.
The staff in Warren was cheerful, efficient, and overall, shortcomings at Chomp were few. Food is served on cafeteria-style metal trays. Fair enough in keeping with the straightforward concept, but the little plastic ramekins for the sauces are too tiny even for dunking a drumette—a little Mickie D’s for a place whose food is this good—and though it was solid, there’s something very food truck about a salad that arrives in a cardboard boat when your cocktail is so beautiful. Here’s hoping for an upgrade that stays on theme, but none of that should stop you from diving in to Chomp, which Holden said will open its doors for an initiation by fire on Parade Day, 2025.
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