Cape Cod Restaurants
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Cape Cod - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Cape Cod - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
The friendly, family-run Fairway specializes in Italian comfort food but also has a very popular breakfast. Attached to the Hole in One Bakery and Coffee Shop—a favorite among locals for exceptional hand-cut doughnuts and muffins—the Fairway puts a jar of crayons on every paper-covered table and sells its own brand of root beer.
As the name suggests, seafood is the star here, from salmon to red snapper, halibut to tuna, and all very recently caught in Atlantic waters. Two floors of seating in an antique home make for an eclectic setting aglow with candlelight in the company of many satisfied diners.
Owned by two commercial fishermen (who happen to be brothers), this casually upscale seafood spot (attached to a seafood market) offers indoor and outdoor waterside dining at Cape Cod Canal. The menu offers a nice break from the usual fried seafood baskets, so diners opt for fresh oysters, sushi, and steamed lobster and crab buckets.
Lining up for an ice cream cone or frappe at Four Seas, a former blacksmith shop near Craigville Beach, has been a rite of summer on the Cape since 1934; it made the ice cream for Caroline Kennedy's wedding (the flavor: fresh peach) and has won a bazillion 'best' awards. They also sell lobster salad rolls, hot dogs, and other sandwiches.
Open year-round, this friendly family-owned and operated restaurant serves up homey food for breakfast and lunch. Favorites from the extensive menu include traditional breakfast items like pancakes and eggs for breakfast, and fish-and-chips and a variety of sandwiches at lunch.
Fuel up for a beach day at this bustling family-owned breakfast and lunch spot, where options range from a kombucha and a cruller to a balsamic-drizzled veggie wrap and an iced chai latte. Guests order food at the downstairs level, confronted by an array of decadent baked goods (hand-cut donuts are a specialty), and take it to go or eat in the upstairs solarium or at a picnic table next to the parking lot.
Fried clams are crisp and fresh at this basic seafood joint right on Falmouth Harbor; the meaty lobster roll and the fish-and-chips platter are good choices, too. Place your order at the counter, and then take your tray to the picnic tables on the roof deck for the best views.
Fresh and ample portions of fried seafood take center stage at this casual joint, which is very popular with families. Place your order at the counter and sit inside or out: be sure to save room for ice cream.
Making small batch ice cream and pastries in-house daily, Katie's has a huge following for its delicious flavors, like the popular Cape Cod Mud, a concoction of coffee ice cream, chocolate, house-made fudge, roasted almonds, and chopped chocolate sandwich cookies. Try to figure out the secret recipe of the Cape Cod Sand ice cream, a hit since 2002, when it was developed by Katie’s younger brother Gene, but don't expect anyone to give it away. Cookies and other sweet treats are also available.
Tried-and-true tavern fare is the rule at Orleans's flagship local restaurant. The scene is usually fun and boisterous; dozens of homemade wooden signs heralding local businesses hang from the rafters above the red-checker tablecloths.
Located at Wellfleet Harbor, this ambitious little spot serves some of the freshest seafood around. Sit along the pier and soak up the great water views while you chow down on a vast variety of local fish dishes, plus globe-trotting fare like burritos (with their house-made Scotch bonnet pepper sauce), a Caribbean seafood bowl, and tuna poke made with fresh local fish. The adjacent ice-cream counter offers hard and soft-serve treats, plus sundaes, smoothies, and frappes.
This always-hopping downtown spot serves commendable dinner fare and draws big crowds for cocktails and appetizers. The bar is long and comfortable, and is a good spot to dine if there are no tables available.
A meal at this good-natured, rough-hewn fish shack with a hypernautical theme is an absolute Cape Cod tradition for some people. Bring your own libations, and if you need to kill time (the lines are sometimes daunting), stop inside Moby's Cargo, the bustling gift shop next door.
The food and the interior share a penchant for unusual, striking juxtapositions—a classical sculpture in front of an abstract canvas, for instance, or an artful plate of boneless chicken and scallops in Thai peanut sauce arrayed on a bed of lo mein noodles. The art collection on display here is significant, and includes many noted Provincetown artists; the late Napi Van Dereck and his wife Helen collected gems for many, many years.
This fine-dining hotspot boasts exquisite views of Nantucket Sound, and the food is equally sublime—some consider it the best on the Cape. Seafood plays a starring role, with a Pan-Asian tilt, especially on the appetizer side; think tempura, sashimi, and ramen.
Crowds line up for tasty treats at this beloved year-round bakery, in business since 1982, which serves up a lot more than pie, though that is not to be missed. Sticky buns and scones fly out of the kitchen at breakfast, while daily soup specials, wraps, and salads are popular at lunch.
For more than 50 years, this family-run seafood and ice cream shack has been serving hungry vacationers. It's a go-to joint for a quick post-beach dinner (or pre-beach lunch) with a menu that goes beyond the usual deep-fried items: Options include broiled seafood plates, hot and cold lobster rolls, and 15 different salads. Order dessert at the soft-serve ice-cream window.
This fun and funky establishment offers a range of craft beers and bar food in a convivial space. Relax with a Double Rainbow IPA or nonalcoholic kombucha on a comfy couch inside, or bring Fido and sit on the pet-friendly patio. Burgers, sandwiches, and shared plates like pretzels and mozzarella sticks are on the menu. Not only does this brewery offer great beers, it offers a side of activism with each pour: a percentage of each sale goes to a worthy cause.
With the Cape Playhouse right across the street, this upscale contemporary American restaurant is a favorite before- and after-show haunt. There's plenty of seafood on the eclectic menu, which includes seafood strudel with crab, shrimp, and scallops baked in a pastry crust and topped with Newburg sauce, but carnivores will delight in dishes like linguine Bolognese or the Mongolian pork chop with braised red cabbage. Lighter meals include a ginger shrimp salad and an Asian-style fish sandwich served with seaweed salad. Save room for their signature grape-nut custard.
Award-winning clam chowder and crave-worthy hot-buttered lobster rolls draw seafood lovers to this Cape Cod mainstay, wooing diners since 1936. If there's a long wait (and there will be) at this spot across the street from the beach, eat dessert first; there's an ice-cream shack adjoining the restaurant.
Please try a broader search, or expore these popular suggestions:
There are no results for {{ strDestName}} Restaurants in the searched map area with the above filters. Please try a different area on the map, or broaden your search with these popular suggestions: