43 Best Restaurants in Cape Cod, Massachusetts

At this all-you-can-eat churrascaria, waiters continually circulate through the dining room offering more than a dozen grilled meats—beef, pork, chicken, sausage, and the beloved Brazilian chicken hearts on large, swordlike skewers. The massive buffet is laden with soups, salads, and side dishes, including plantains, rice, and beans (vegetarians could happily eat from the buffet).

This romantic roadhouse near the Chatham border, adorned with tiny white lights, wine bottles, and warm-hue walls, might just transport you to Italy—and if it doesn't, the fantastic food certainly will. There are always excellent specials added to the menu; in the fall and winter, look for value-priced entrées, and in summer, their hot dog cart (in the parking lot) serves the best wieners on the Cape.

With an open kitchen that turns out some excellent and artful dishes, especially seafood, this tiny place keeps its tables full and its guests happy (reservations strongly recommended). Fine service by a friendly and knowledgeable staff adds greatly to the overall atmosphere.

This chef-owned gem with distant sea views uses what's locally available as the inspiration for an ever-changing and creative menu that's complemented by a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere. There are also generous wine, martini, and drink lists.

Yuji Watanabe, chef-owner of the Cape's best Japanese restaurant, makes early-morning journeys to Boston's fish markets to shop for the freshest local catch, and the resulting selection of sushi and sashimi is vast and artful. The serene and simple Japanese garden out back has a traditional koi pond.

Northern Italian and Mediterranean cooking distinguish this upscale, popular place. Make sure to come hungry—portions of classic favorites here are huge. Live music adds to the festive vibe on Sunday afternoons year-round. An excellent wine list pairs perfectly with the food.

More than 1,000 oysters are eaten here on an average summer weekend, a good deal of them procured near daily from the restaurant's own oyster farm in nearby Barnstable. You'll always find close to two dozen raw and "dressed" oyster dishes; there's also a nice range of nonoyster entrées, salads, and appetizers.

Once a clam shack, this bistro has found new life and won legions of fans in this seaside town selling just-baked breads and succulent pastries—by early morning (even in off-season) the line snakes into the parking lot. There's outdoor and indoor seating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; the latter is a three-course prix-fixe meal ($95) that changes with the seasons, featuring locally sourced produce that highlights the finer flavors of this French kitchen. Sunday brunch is also popular.

This casual spot specializes in classics like grilled cheese sandwiches, hand-cut fries, and local seafood in a lively spot. Order at the counter, then grab a seat inside or at one of the several outdoor seating options; there's also a large beer menu with New England offerings, a good selection of wines, and fun cocktails. Weekend brunch features dishes like sticky buns and egg tacos.

Provincetown's Lobster Pot, a mainstay for more than 40 years, is fit to do battle with all the lobster shanties anywhere (and everywhere) else on the Cape; although it's often jammed with tourists, the crowds reflect the generally high quality, and the water views can't be beat. The hardworking kitchen turns out classic New England cooking: lobsters, generous and filling seafood platters, and some of the best chowder around.

This perennial favorite with magnificent harbor views focuses on local seafood and organic meat and produce with a cross-cultural flair (there's also a lighter bistro menu for smaller appetites). The view of the bay from the bar is nearly perfect, and the gentle lighting makes this a romantic spot to have a drink. This is one of the relatively few restaurants open year-round in town. Check out the who's who of previous diners on its website, including Elizabeth Taylor and Billie Jean King.

Inside the snazzy Crowne Pointe Inn, this intimate, casually handsome restaurant occupies the parlor and sunroom of a grand sea captain's mansion and serves finely crafted, healthful, modern American food with daily specials focused on local ingredients. There's a substantial wine list, with more than a 125 selections to choose from, as well as a large martini menu.

You can't miss this hot spot on the side of Route 6: look for the riot of colorful flowers lining the road and the patient folks waiting in long lines for fried seafood and other fixings. Unusual for a clam shack like this is the full bar, offering beer, wine, mixed drinks, and the house specialty: margaritas. You can also play a round of minigolf.

This specialty food shop sells cheeses, breads, soups, great sandwiches, including lobster rolls, and picnic fixings, along with coffees and teas. 

Gorgeously presented, impeccably fresh seafood is standard here: lunch and dinner selections range from just-off-the-boat scallops to tuna, local oysters, and octopus. It can be noisy and it's always crowded in summer, but it's worth the wait.

A great stop after the beach, this modest joint has a regular menu of seafood classics like fried clams and fish-and-chips supplemented by specials posted on the board and a counter where you order and take a number written on a french-fries box. There's seating inside as well as outside on a shady brick patio.

Owner/baker Antoine Vera has brought the French and Belgian boulangerie experience to Hyannis with this charming cafe, located just steps from the Village Green. Order fair-trade coffee, tea, and a wonderful pastry—or perhaps a prosciutto and cheese sandwich—and enjoy conversation with a friend at one of the indoor or outdoor bistro tables. Before you leave, pick up a tin of Belgian cookies or a jar of French mustard to bring home, along with a few extra melt-in-your-mouth macarons.

It's notoriously difficult to snag a table here in the summertime, but it's worth the wait as their wood-fired flatbreads are positively toothsome, made with organic four, local sea salt, and tasty toppings like braised beef short rib, butternut squash, and linguica sourced from a Massachusetts farm. Pasta dishes are a good option, too, and salads are fresh and creative, not an afterthought. Eat here or wrap it up and head to nearby Craigville Beach. Can't wait? They operate a take-out shop, Crisp Too, across the street.

Fanciful cocktails, an intriguing menu, live music, and daily blackboard specials make this a popular Chatham spot. There's also a changing tapas menu for quick bites at the bar.

Settle in for a proper afternoon tea, with tiered trays of finger sandwiches and diminutive desserts, at this English-style tea room set in a 1920s vintage carriage house overlooking Shawme Pond. A full tea service is offered all day, along with an à la carte lunch service and Sunday brunch (think lobster eggs Benedict and duck confit hash) and desserts are baked in-house. 

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.

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. 

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.