A Review of Cape Cod Restaurants

 

Hi Everyone!  How is your summer going?  If it is like mine, it is very busy and going by very quickly!  I returned from a vacation at our cottage on Cape Cod last Sunday night.  We had been there for about a week and a half. It has been crazy every since with all sorts of business and family distractions.  All good, but this is why my blogging has taken a hit this summer.  But, while I have the chance, I want to share with you some of my dining experiences while I was on vacation.  As you will soon see, my family and I did our share of dining out.  Just in case you might be taking a trip to the Cape on your own, maybe you'd like some restaurant information and I am here to oblige :).

Since I did not take photos of the restaurants in question and I am supremely afraid of copyright infringements I am going to show some of my own Cape Cod photos and give you the links to the various restaurants I will be critiquing.

The first night my husband and I arrived on the Cape we chose to go to Oliver's and Planck's Tavern in Yarmouthport, Massachusetts.  I have found a new appreciation for the tavern in recent years.  Last summer we were still nervous about the virus and chose almost exclusively to dine outside.  Oliver's has a fun and cozy outdoor bar area that is festive and even features a boat for décor.  In years past I came to this restaurant only to take my mom out for lunch.  I considered it more for the older set.  Since we have been going there for dinner recently, I have loved the atmosphere of a local hangout and the food, especially the Honey Almond-Encrusted Haddock, is delicious.  The décor in the bar part of the restaurant (which seems to be the only part open during the evening) is somewhat coastal with lots of pictures and items to look at while you dine.  There are all sorts of food choices on the menu but, if you are in the mood for comfort food, this is a good spot.  Everything coming out of the kitchen looked yummy.

The next night we were going to meet some old friends for dinner and they chose The Orleans Inn restaurant in Orleans, Massachusetts to eat.  When they first suggested it, I told them it was closed because we had tried to eat there last summer.  They soon corrected me and through my friends I learned the Inn had been closed all last year, I assume because of the pandemic, but finally had reopened this summer.

Again, in years past, we had only gone to the Inn for lunch.  It has an awesome canopy-covered back deck that looks over a saltwater body of water.  We would go there when our children were down and the weather wasn't conducive to going to the beach.  Instead we would go to eat lunch as a group and take in the view.  I was so happy to hear The Inn had reopened.  The only problem was that they are no longer serving lunch.  They only offer dinner now.  Most of the dinner items are seafood so, if you do not like seafood you may find the menu limited.  The atmosphere is still great and all of us enjoyed our meals immensely.  I had a cod casserole I think.  I would definitely go back, especially with friends.  It was a leisurely meal with no one rushing us.  One thing you should know, you cannot make reservations and there are only a few tables being offered right now so it might take a while to be seated.  I think we waited 30-40 minutes but we arrived around 5:30.  This summer we definitely got to the restaurants earlier than we normally would because we had heard of 

 staff shortages.  That proved to be correct but, we really did not seem to wait too long.  It could be because, as I said, for the most part we arrived early.

 Another place that has been a new find for us this year is Baxter's Boathouse.  The fact that it is a new find for me is somewhat ridiculous because I grew up on Cape Cod and Baxter's is an old standby for residents and tourists alike.  In fact, the first date I had with my husband was at Baxter's.  The restaurant is directly on Hyannis Harbor and right next to the Steamship Authority fast boat to Nantucket.  How we missed this gem for so long is beyond me!  The décor is nautical rustic and the bar kind of looks like the inside of a sailboat.  There are windows all around the shanty-style restaurant and you feel as though you are sitting on the harbor.  Boats back into the slips and the boat owners are served by the waitstaff and eat on their boats.  It is tons of fun to watch!!  The food is good.  I wouldn't say it is the best on Cape Cod and the prices are fairly high for what you get...BUT the experience you get by eating there is well worth the slightly higher prices.  You are paying for the location and the moment.  It's a happening place and just what the doctor ordered if you want casual, seaside fun.

One of our very favorite Italian places is Columbo's Cafe in Hyannis.  Columbo's stays open year round and we often go there even in the winter if we happen to be down visiting my mom.  To me, who is not Italian, it feels very authentic but who am I to say?  During the summer there is an outside covered bar and patio with outside seating.  The inside of the restaurant features small, intimate dining and I believe there is seating at the bar, as well.  I fell in love with the place because their meatballs taste just the way I remember my mother's tasting.  I don't know if that goes against the authentic comment I made earlier since Mom is not Italian but they are wicked good anyway.  (I had to add some Cape Cod colloquialisms 😀.)  I guess I will let you be the judge.  I almost exclusively order the manicotti and meatballs.  My husband orders the turkey Bolognese with pappardelle pasta and the Tuscan wedge salad is very yummy, as well. The menu also offers many nice choices other than Italian cuisine such as salmon and meat items, I believe, too.

 Columbo's used to have a singer on the weekends to entertain their guests.  I am not sure that is the case anymore but, the restaurant still has a busy, yet cozy atmosphere and is well worth a try.

 When our two daughters came down for a short visit with their five children we headed over to Scally's on Route 28 in West Yarmouth.  We had not been to this restaurant before since it had just changed from Red Faced Jack's to Scally's over the winter.  It was very loud inside which was good since we had lots of children with us.  The waitstaff was very friendly and quite attentive.  The food was good, probably not my favorite of the week, but good nonetheless.  I am not sure I would go back again unless I had children with me.  I felt it was more for the bar crowd and for larger parties which is all good but, I do think I would save it for when I had many people to feed and needed large seating areas.

  Since my daughter, Amanda, didn't want to cook, something I seconded by the way, the second night the girls were visiting we headed over to Sea Dog Brew Pub in South Yarmouth.  Our daughter, Brittany, was heading home and it was on her way.  I have been to Sea Dogs many times for lunch and once or twice for dinner.  The food is excellent and the portions are quite generous but, the kitchen service is very, very slow.  When you have little ones and someone who is trying to get on the road, this can be frustrating.  Of course, I forgot about this problem until we were already seated.  As I said the food is great and very tasty but, if you are on a schedule or you don't like waiting three times longer that you usually would for your food, I wouldn't suggest going here.  I think lunch time might be slightly better for service and might not be as frustrating.  Also, if you are going to chill out and want to have beverages, you may not notice a thing :).

After all that dining out, Tom and I decided to get take-out pizza one night at  Mike's Roast Beef instead.  Our son, Sam, had stayed at our place the week before (had terrible, terrible weather...I felt so badly for his family and him) and he told us to try the pizza at Mike's in West Yarmouth.  He knows we like Greek pizza and have had a hard time finding pizza on Cape Cod that we like.  The pizza was very good and I would get it again but, it wasn't quite like what we get at home.  Hahaha!  However, the food at Mike's is yummy and we often get take-out from there.  They are, however, closed on Sundays when we usually like to order pizza which is kind of a problem for us but I am glad they can stay home with their families. 

Restaurant hours is something to mention at this point in my post.  If you do go to the Cape and want to go out for dinner make sure you check the restaurant's website or even better call the restaurant to see if they are open.  Some are closed on Sunday and Monday.  Some are closed Tuesday or Wednesday.  You never know.  The lack of help has made it so all the restaurants have had to lessen their offerings of dining times.  So, make sure you check before heading out.

The Marshside has been for years one of our favorite spots.  It is on the Northside of Dennis just off of Route 6A.  The building was rebuilt many years ago to be a beautiful space with a covered front terrace and large windows inside that overlook the marsh.  We didn't go to the Marshside much last year because it was so hard to get in.  We had a lovely time this past week and it was absolutely delicious but, they do have a new chef and there were some changes that for a multi-repeat diner were somewhat hard to take.  It used to be standard that you would get a basket filled with homemade breads, muffins and breadsticks that were out of this world.  Now you have to ask for it, I assume because so many people are not eating carbs. That is understandable.  However, now you receive two rolls, one regular and one cranberry/nut one.  Both were great to share but I'm just saying.  The other thing that was different was there were not as many items on the menu and one of my favorites was gone.

However, the atmosphere was just as good, maybe better.  The waitstaff was nice and the food was as great as ever.  No complaints there. We will be returning over and over again.

Brax Landing is in Harwich and is to me like an old Cape Cod restaurant.  It hasn't changed much in all the years we have been going there.  They did add a beautiful outdoor patio that overlooks the harbor.  In fact, many of the indoor seating areas overlook that harbor, as well. Therefore, it is a great spot if you want to eat on the water.  You can check the menu but I believe they offer all sorts of entrees.   We usually go for the seafood.  My husband loves the oven-roasted salmon and I got the broiled seafood plate.  It was way more that I could eat but it was excellent.

Brax Landing feels a little bit like home because I can remember going there when I was a young adult with my parents and it still feels the same to me.  The patrons remind me of Cape Cod people and for some reason that makes me feel good.

At some point in our week we took my elderly Mom to Mattakeese Wharf for lunch.  We had some elderly problems with the visit which tainted it a bit but, the meal and atmosphere were outstanding. The building is set directly on the water in Barnstable Harbor and consists of many enclosed "porches" with windows that are usually open to allow the breeze to waft through the restaurant.  We went on Sunday and the Bloody Mary's flying by were loaded with olives and shrimp.  I am not a Bloody Mary person but, they looked sizable.  I only had a tuna sandwich on this visit but it was very good.  My husband absolutely loved the cucumber salad that came with my sandwich. We have gone to dinner there on many occasions and I know I have said this often here before but, the food is delicious.  I would say Mattakeese Wharf offers some of  the best meals on the Cape.

We ended our week on a rainy day.  It was the first totally rainy/cloudy day we had had on our whole vacation.  It was Sunday and we needed to clean up the cottage and pack everything up before we headed to see my mom at her assisted living facility on our way home to Groton.  For some reason I felt like eggs for lunch so we headed to The Pancake Man to get some.  The Pancake Man has been there for decades and is a staple in the South Yarmouth area.  It is right down the street from our house.  It does not, however, offer frills and thrills.  You wait in a line outside the place and are only allowed in one party at a time.  Once in, the hostess points to a table and tells you to sit.  A very sweet waitress came to take our beverage order and then quickly took our lunch order.  The order was out in a manner of minutes!  I ordered a cheese omelet.  American cheese was the only cheese I could choose.  My husband got blueberry pancakes.  Both of our meals were great and just what we wanted.  It wasn't fancy but, it did the trick and they made sure we were out of there in no time flat.  Hahaha! 

Although, we were worried how we were going to do with our restaurant experience during our vacation I have to say, all-in-all, it was delightful.  We never got angry and no one got angry at us.  The food was as good, if not better that we expected and it was the most restful vacation I have had in many years....probably because I never had to cook.  HeeHee!

Enjoy Your Weekend!!

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