NEWPORT — Citing an increasingly competitive restaurant landscape and what he described as “the limits of the lobster roll,” a Thames Street restaurant announced this week that it will soon become the first in the nation to serve seagull meat.
Jeff’s on Thames, an upscale waterfront restaurant owned by Jeff Higgin Walsh, has been quietly testing seagull recipes for more than a year and plans to debut them in the coming weeks. Walsh said the decision followed years of competing with nearby restaurants offering nearly identical seafood menus.
“At a certain point, differentiation matters,” Walsh said. “Everyone’s local. Everyone’s sustainable. Everyone has oysters. This was the one thing no one else was doing.”
Walsh said the idea also reflects his upbringing. He described growing up in what he called the “slums of Narragansett,” where families regularly ate seagull out of necessity, though it was rarely acknowledged publicly.
“No one talked about it,” Walsh said. “You didn’t bring it up at school. You didn’t tell friends. You just ate it and went to bed thankful for a full belly.”
After operating Jeff’s on Thames for nearly a decade, Walsh said he felt it was time to let go of the lingering shame of being a “gull gobbler.”
“I’ve done well enough now to stop pretending,” he said. “This fed people. I think it deserves daylight.”
The forthcoming menu will feature three dishes: confit-style Gull Wings; a Harbor Gull Burger made with house-ground meat; and a slow-braised Gull Ragù served over pappardelle. Walsh said he expects some customers to come in specifically to “hate-eat” a bird that has a contentious relationship with Newporters.
Walsh also plans to open a seasonal takeout window this summer called Gull To Go, offering simplified versions of the wings and burger, along with seagull fritters as a takeout-exclusive item.
“The food I grew up with wasn’t white tablecloth,” Walsh said. “This gives people a way in.”
When asked about sourcing, Walsh declined to name a specific supplier, saying only that the meat was “free range.”
“I’m not hiding it anymore,” he added. “If people are ready, I’m ready.”