The Summit neighborhood on Providence's East Side is generally considered to cover the area west of Hope Street to the Moshassuck River and north of Cyprus Street to the Pawtucket city line. The neighborhood gains its name from Summit Street, which runs along the ridge that separates the Moshassuck to the west from the Seekonk River--the uppermost reach of Narragansett Bay--to the east. 

The commercial district surrounding the intersection of Hope Street and Rochambeau Avenue serves as the neighborhood's nexus, offering a range of shops and, particularly, a broad selection of restaurants and bars. A second, smaller commercial district located at the northernmost end of Hope Street offers yet more restaurants adjacent to Lippitt Park, filling the triangle where Hope Street meets Blackstone Boulevard and the linear park contained between its two one-way sections.

West of the Ivy/Summit ridge, the geography drops steeply to North Main Street and the North Burial Ground just above the Moshassuck. North Main Street is primarily a commercial corridor with businesses with a primary emphasis on chain stores and restaurants, trade and industrial suppliers and professional services.

Boundary Disputes and Alternate Names

While Summit Street only runs north of Rochambeau Avenue at the neighborhood's midsection, Ivy Street runs along the ridge south of Rochambeau, terminating at Cyprus. Thus, some refer to the neighborhood as Summit/Ivy. However, some could argue with some justification that the area south of Rochambeau should be included in the Mount Hope neighborhood because Camp Street, Mount Hope's defining thoroughfare, runs parallel to Ivy and terminates at Rochambeau.   The most common alternate name for the Summit neighborhood is "Off Hope", drawn from the 1978 comic describing life in Providence by Mad Peck Studios. Its classic closing couplet says, "Rich folks live on Power Street, but most of us live off Hope."

Landmark Buildings and Institutions

While primarily a residential neighborhood, Summit hosts a small number of landmarks and institutions:

• Miriam Hospital - generally regarded as a premier medical facility
• North Main Street Armory - an active RI National Guard facility (not to be confused with the Cranston Street Armory)
• North Burial Ground - the original cemetery in Providence and a frequent setting in the works of H. P. Lovecraft
• Mount Hope Community Baptist Church - historically African-American house of worship

Food and Drink

For such a small neighborhood, Summit offers an immense number choices for food and drink.

Hope and Rochambeau

• Lucky Kitchen - Cantonese-style Chinese cuisine, mostly take out
• Ivy Tavern - Pub fare with an active bar
• Pizzicco - Italian fine dining, Wine Spectator-listed, secret tiny bar
• Apsara Palace - Southeast Asian cuisine, highly-rated, BYOB (not to be confused with Apsara)
• Gourmet House - Southeast Asian cuisine, neighborhood favorite, BYOB
• Kitchen Bar - Upscale pub fare with an active bar
• Wings over Providence - Casual eat in or take out, late hours
• Not Just Snacks - Indian fare, related to the adjacent grocery, Not Just Spices
• Seven Stars Bakery - Cafe with in-house baked goods, the original location (not to be confused with Seven Stars Broadway location)
• Blue Cottage - Upscale breakfast and lunch
• Hope Street Pizza - Casual family dining with an active but semi-detached bar, sidewalk tables
• Blaze - Upscale fusion cuisine with a small bar, hot-spot for African-American and LGBT communities

Lippitt Park

• Chez Pascal - French cuisine fine dining, a long-standing institution in Providence
• The Wurst Kitchen - Co-located recent extension of Chez Pascal; sausages made in-house and bar, walk-up window with limited hours
• Cook & Brown Public House - Upscale dining with bar
• India (Hope Street) - Indian cuisine with active bar, patio dining in good weather
• Three Sisters - Cafe, sandwiches and hand-mixed ice cream, sidewalk tables
• Ranzan - Sushi and Japanese cuisine, very small sushi bar, well-regarded

See also Pawtucket's Oak Hill neighborhood restaurant's, which cluster with Lippitt Park's restaurants (LJ's, Rasoi, Garden Grille).

North Main Street

• The Parlour - Live music venue, bar, pub fare
• Asian Palace - Pan-Asian cuisine, active bar
• Sandwich Hut - Highly-regarded sandwich shop, eat-in or take-out, long lines at the lunch hour
• City Line Pizza - Pizza, pub fare, dive bar