I first happened upon Marcelino’s whilst doing some online research (you call it living on my phone, I call it “blog research”) a while back, and when we opened those ginormous glass doors, I knew we’d made the right decision.

We were greeted and seated immediately (we didn’t make a reservation but it’s not a bad idea) by two welcoming young women.

We opted for banquette-ish seating near the front windows.

Secondly, gotta tell you that the interior of this softly lit lounge is soooo GORGEOUS! (I was a little worried our phone photos would turn out dim and blurry. Thankfully we managed to come away with a solid bunch that were indeed blog worthy.)

This bar is VERY big city and luxe (you almost expect SJP, Andy Cohen & John Benjamin Hickey, Nili Lotan or Jill Kargman to breeze in for some sips or small plates) but in a completely accessible way.

By that, I mean, go ahead and wear dark wash denim, just try to pair it back to a great blazer or topper.

And the drink menu is something else!

Lots of fruits, herbs, and the like in the mix. (A bit of a Goop.com vibe and I mean that in the BEST possible way.)

I was torn between their Strawberry (made with strawberry infused Ketel One, Mediterranean herbal wine, pink grapefruit, and wine) and Lavender/Galangal (with lavender infused Beefeater Gin, galangal, cucumber, basil, lemon, honey, soda) cocktails, finally deciding on the L/G which was pretty darn tasty.

They actually had some mocktails available as well and that’s what my husband drank.

Would LOVE to go back another night soon.

Also, you can valet at the Omni — for rates starting at (I believe) $9 for an hour and a half — which is pretty convenient.

Find Marcelino’s Boutique Bar at 1 West Exchange Street, Downtown Providence.

As always, if you motor over after reading THIS, please do let them know you were inspired by Patty J and PattyJ.com.