Cape Cod Restaurants

[rhiannonstone]

The website for the dinner train is http://www.capetrain.com.

[bbq4meanytime]

Having just returned from there over Memorial Day, I can tell you we had some really good whole belly clams and chowder at Sam's up in Sandwich @ the marina. I did talk with my relatives about good restaurants be we didn't get out much to eat (the other places we tried were pretty bad, in particular another "seafood restaurant" at the marina). Cooked up a lot of lobster and scallops at home instead

[bobmac]

Ocean House in Dennis.

[Janedujour]

Mac's Seafood on the Wharf in Wellfleet for the best "drive-in" seafood in the area. It's attached to their fish market where they also have a sushi bar!

It may sound hokey but I never leave miss eating at The Lobster Pot in Provincetown. The chowder, kale soup, lobster bisque are wonderful. My favorite entree is the blackened tuna sashimi. My son's favorite is the bread basket with extra pumpkin bread!

Have fun!

[iriee]

we went to the lobster pot last year and everything was horrible. hopefully they have improved. a real nice place is rosses grill,,great food and nice wine selection. for a bit more formal try 11 carver st.make sure you have the lobster pasta! have fun!

[annarborfoodie]

For a casual spot, Aye Carumba in downtown Harwich is really good - especially when you can get a table outside. It's very reasonably priced for the Cape.

We've enjoyed several dinners at the Chatham Cafe - I dream of their lobster ravioli.

[Swankalicious]

Roo Bar in downtown Falmouth is one of my favorite places on the Cape. It's a nice change of pace from the typical seafood shacks - they have gourmet pizzas and other innovative dishes. It's a chain (there's one in Hyannis and one in Chatham, I think), but the Falmouth one is easily the best.

[Pat Goldberg]

In Brewster, a small restaurant worth considering is the Brewster Fish House. Everything is prepared with love and care. BUT they do not take reservations and, unless you are there when the doors open, the wait can be horrendous. For this reason, we usually limit ourselves to lunch there, when the times are a bit better and it is somewhat less crowded.

[sara]

Hi

We're going to the Cape for one night on July 3. We're looking for a restaurant that is open relatively late (we won't arrive before 8:30 pm), and is no more than 20-30 minutes from Centerville. Seafood, good food, is preferable. Any recommendations?

Thanks!

[bbq4meanytime]

Sara, I'll ask my mom-in-law. We'll be back up there around the 3rd as well, thru the 12th. I'll make it point to try and find some more good places to eat.

[emannths]

The Bookstore Restaurant in Wellfleet has some good seafood, not to mention Wellfleet oysters. The baked scallops are fantastic. They have seats outside that overlook the bay--it's a nice place to have a lazy afternoon lunch or dinner while the sun sets.

A bonus that comes with eating in Wellfleet is that you can get an Emack & Bolio's ice cream cone after dinner. They have a store in Orleans, but they sell their ice cream through a few other places on the Cape as well, including the ice cream store in Wellfleet and Spiritus Pizza in Provincetown (the pizza there is pretty good too, but a little expensive). Their flavors change periodically, but my favorite is typically black raspberry chocolate chip. The chips they use taste like premium bittersweet chocolate, not the tasteless cardboard one typically finds.

[jauster]

My husband and I just hit a few places in Nantucket & the Cape. The best and brightest of our samplings was at the Black Cat Tavern in Hyannis by the ferry docks. This place is decked out in the interior with portraits of cats dressed up as historical figures such as Henry the Eighth and the Earl of Sandwich. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the harbor views, since the weather was unbeatable.

Here the clams were bursting with flavor, juices, slime, and everything else we were looking for in a fried clam. We ended up eating here twice both on our trip out and back. I was knocked out by their fish and chips. They gave me a thick hunk of cod that tasted fresh and was wrapped in a crispy well-done batter. I didn’t even need to pick up the salt shaker. The texture was firm and flaky, and there was hardly a hint of grease.

I think I am going to make the Black Cat a Cape tradition...

Jennie

[liamdc]

My girlfriend and I enjoyed a delicious seafood lunch at Baxter's on Hyannis harbor on the Fourth. A pound of native steamahs, 1/2 pint of fried scallops and side of fries, along with two lemonades, ran us about $28. The clams were juicy and of high-quality and the scallops were very tender and just lightly breaded.

Unless you eat in the Club, you order and wait for your food at the counter, then bring it to a table. Baxter's has a large outdoor seating area right along the docks out back and a good-sized parking lot for customers as well.

[bushey]

Liam,

Next time you're at Baxter's, try the fish and chips. Hands down the best we've had, anywhere.

[Mistinguett]

I'm sad to say that we had a very unpleasant experience at Lobster Pot on Commercial in P-town just yesterday. The clam chowder was curdled and slightly sour, the lobster bisque was bitter and left an awful aftertaste, the fisherman platter was merely ok and the sashimi tuna roll-up was pretty tasteless - save for the generous amount of wasabi.

We made up for it with some fudge and saltwater taffy from Cabot's but still, I was very disappointed.

[annarborfoodie]

We just returned from ten days on the Cape (we stayed in Chatham). We didn't eat out very much this year, but the meals we did have at restaurants were wonderful. We tried the Bookstore Restaurant in Wellfleet for the first time and ended up going back later in the week and bringing friends with us. The steamed littlenecks, raw oysters, and crab cakes were all big winners for us. You get a dozen littlenecks in a wonderful broth for $10.

We also tried the Keeper's restaurant in Osterville. It's tucked away in a boat yard, but worth looking for. The presentation and service were excellent, as was the food. We followed it with ice cream at Four Seasons in Centerville (about five minutes away) and had a perfect evening.

On our one cloudy day, we did a rail trail bike trip up to Kady's in Brewster for some good fried stuff. It's a great biking destination (that way you can justify the grease

On our way out of town, we stopped at the Chatham Squire for dinner and it was good as always. I love their chowder.

[Haapdog]

I want to throw in another plug for Moby Dicks in Wellfleet, not so much for the food, which is servicable, but as a great place for kids. We were there last Friday with our 3, all under 8, and they had a great time and loved the food (though it's pretty rare to find a kid in that age range that doesn't love fried anything). The resto had lots of books etc for the kids at the table and the area around the place is open enough to keep them occupied while we waited in line.

Clem and Ursies on the other hand was a great dissappointment. Small portions, too much breading and pricey. Oddly enough, they had no printed menus available....

[shacke]

I will be spending a week in Cape Cod in June. I have never been so any advice is appreciated.

The house we rented is in Wellfleet and is apparently close to Provincetown. We will have kids but also secured 2 nights out without kids for any potential fine or romantic dining.

If there are must try places (or must run away from), please let me know. I am particularly interested in places to go without the kids. I would love any good portuguese suggestions in particular.

I have a car and I am willing to travel for any can't miss experience.

thanks

Evan

[shacke]

One other question to pose is regarding markets, since I will be cooking quite a bit. Is there a good gourmet market or farmer's market like place to pick up high quality fish, meats and produce? I bet seafood markets are the best bet up there.

Thanks again.

Evan

[bobmac]

Adrian's in Truro (we haven't been in a while) and Vining's Bistro in Chatham.

[shacke]

Thanks for the tips on this and other links. I just got back from Wellfleet today and despite the red tide, the food was great. Of course, sadly, there was no local clam steamers or oysters to be had.

We went to Arnolds 3 times - I just love the concept of clam shack - ice cream joint combo. The mint chocolate chip was terrific with those little mint candies strewn amongst the chips. Had lots of lobster there (cheap by my standards!) along with onion rings and fried goodies.

For our nice meal alone, we tried to go to Ciro and Sals but they are closed Wednesday so we stumbled upon Chester which was excellent! A great find with terrific food and friendly service. Casual dress was a plus as we were in sweatshirts (it was coold!). Lots of by the glass selections which was a nice touch.

We ate at Marconi Beach restaurant for ribs (only so so) and also at PJ's (not Finely JPS) which was no match for Arnolds.

We hit Moby Dick's with the kids using a tip on one of the links given above. It was good for the kids to be able to scream and run around.

We also got to Emack and Bolio (?sp) which was very good if not a bit pricey. I had the chocolate chocolate chip which was my 3rd ice cream scoop of that day alone - yikes!

We hit the lobster pot for a snack just because it got a lot of play on this board and has a lot of history. We had steamers and mussels only and the server was the best of the trip.

We also went to Mac's seafood a few times and it was a nice setting to enjoy lunch by the water.

Thanks for all the info here in this forum. I already have withdrawals for fried seafood and Arnold's mint chip ice cream. Boo hoo! I managed to get in a couple of lobster rolls too during the week but to me its not the same as cracking 'em open and doing the dirty work yerself. Granted, I didnt have net access to this thread so I am not sure I tried the best ones around.

Now to shut my own trap for a bit. Thank goodness I exercised daily up there! Nice part of the country for sure.

Evan

[Curlz]

I just knew someone had to have started a thread like this already! Great ideas here but since I'm going at the end of August, if any of you have updates (those other threads are at minimum a year old), please keep 'em coming!

We're spending two days in Provincetown (not that there's anything wrong with that...) first and the next five in Dennisport, so I'm looking for restaurants as well as great markets, esp in DPort, 'cause I understand that the grill comes with a view of the Sound!

[moosnsqrl]

Thanks for all previous info, posts, threads. We are heading to Ptown in mid-September when "the season" has wound-down a bit, so I would appreciate any updates (openings, closings, gone-downhill, chef changes) from those recently returned or locals. Also, we'll have a kitchen and will do some cooking...I know there's fish, seafood readily available and have read about a couple of farmer's markets...is there a good place to get good oils, condiments, spices and the like or should we stop on the mainland?

Not meaning to offend locals or imply that it's uncivilized...just been caught before with spectacular seafood & produce but couldn't find good eevo, herbs, etc to optimize the experience.

[bushey]

Cafe Edwige, in P'town not far from the Lobster Pot on Commercial Street, is really delicious. It's up a narrow stairway, but you can see if from the street, where there's a menu posted. I had delicious paella, shared with my daughter and there was more than enough. I'd been hearing about this place for years, and was sorry we hadn't gone sooner. Here's a link that includes other places in P'town as well.

In Orleans, the Nauset Beach Club serves excellent food and has an interesting wine list.

If you are fussy about particular spices, condiments, oils, you should probably bring them with you. The big Stop & Shop in Orleans has lots of stuff available but you may not find the particular brand of oil or mustard you love. I know that the Friendly Fisherman on rte 6 in Eastham sells a few great gourmet items along with their excellent selection of seafood, and you can find some nice goodies in Wellfleet as well, but if you're driving from home it's easier to save time and pack it up. As for spices, herbs and teas Atlantic Spice in North Truro, is supposed to be fantastic.

[Chris Amirault]

For oils, etc., go to Angel Foods at the far end of Commercial Street. Great macaroons and other baked goods, quality but limited meats, lots of other goodies.

Angel Foods 467 Commercial Street, Provincetown 508-487-6666