Aurelia at Castle Hill, the signature restaurant at Castle Hill Inn, will reopen May 22 with a new chef de cuisine and a fresh Forbes Five-Star designation, the Inn announced Thursday.
Reservations are available starting today on OpenTable, with dinner service offered nightly from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Reservations are required and available two weeks in advance.
The reopening marks the return of the ground floor lobby and kitchen of the Agassiz Mansion following a fire that broke out in the third-floor attic on the evening of Feb. 5. The Newport Fire Department, joined by crews from Middletown, Jamestown, Portsmouth, the Navy Base and neighboring communities, brought the blaze under control while safely evacuating all guests and employees.
Castle Hill reopened to registered overnight guests on March 5 before announcing in April that dining reservations would return in May.
Quentin Diez, who joined Castle Hill last October, has been named chef de cuisine. Born in Alsace, France, Diez brings more than a decade of experience in Michelin-starred and Relais & Châteaux kitchens, including stints at three-Michelin-star Maison Lameloise and two-Michelin-star Restaurant Serge Vieira.
“Since joining us last October, Quentin has taken the time to truly get to know the Inn — from our local farmers and purveyors to the Aurelia team and, of course, our guests,” said Brian Young, managing director of Castle Hill Inn. “His cooking is thoughtful, playful, and refreshingly unpretentious.”
Diez said the coastal setting and local ingredients inspired his approach to the menu.
“From the moment I arrived at Castle Hill, I was moved by its coastal ambience and wealth of local ingredients available,” he said.
Menu highlights include local lobster with glazed green asparagus and nettle soup, a spring lamb dish featuring wild watercress foraged from Castle Hill’s forest, and stuffed white semolina with squid.
Aurelia offers a six-course prix fixe menu focused on contemporary New England cuisine. The restaurant’s Forbes Five-Star award for 2026 recognizes the highest tier of hospitality excellence from Forbes Travel Guide.
Castle Hill Inn is a Relais & Châteaux property and holds a Two Key distinction from the Michelin Guide. The Inn is operated by Newport Restaurant Group, a 100% employee-owned company.
For more information or to make a reservation, visit aurelianewport.com.
