You owe it to yourself to enjoy a meal at The Marshside, located on Bridge Street in East Dennis, just north of 6a. We've been going to this wonderful, family-friendly institution for over 20 years and it has never failed to provide good food at good prices in a friendly atmosphere. But last year the old schoolhouse that housed the Marshside was torn down and in its place we discovered a knock-your-socks-off replacement featuring handsome architecture, greater size and gorgeous views of the adjacent marsh and Sesuit Harbor in the distance from virtually every seat, thanks to tiered seating and sweeping windowscapes. The place looks so terrific we expected it to have gotten pretentious and priced accordingly. Boy, were we surprised. The familiar menu, the friendly staff and the affordable pricing were virtually as before. I have no idea how they did it, but they deserve kudos for updating a great restaurant without losing the charm and appeal of the original. Don't take my word for it, visit before you go at www.themarshside.com.

Another vote for Land Ho in Orleans - fun, busy, good food.
Many times we have made a lunch stop for lobster rolls at the Chatham Bars Beach Grill, but they are getting a bit pricey...
Certainly not gourmet, but if you are looking for an ultra casual Cape Cod place for lobster or fried clams (onion rings too!), try Arnolds in Eastham. You can eat-in or take oout, and there is always a line.

Luvda, Fodor's does not allow advertising. It is run for people to be able to get advice from other travelers that is not affected by a desire for financial gain.

You absolutely have to try the Lobster Rolls at The Raw Bar on Hyannis Harbor (Ocean St.) right next to the Ferry. They are absolutely huge and could be easily shared. Not inexpensive at around $20.00, they are totally worth it. Very little mayo and tons of sweet lob-stah meat. You'll love it.
Marty.UndergroundCapeCod.com

Inaho, Japanese restaurant in Yarmouthport, best we've found by far. Serene, pleasant, interesting ambiance (no loud music, or I walk out). Food (tofu teriyaki, rib eye teriyaki) excellent. Service was friendly, professional (pesty waitstaff annoy me). Don't miss it.

I found the clam shack places I tried to be good but pretty interchangeable, all at about comparable level: Captain Frosty's (Dennis), Mojo's (Provincetown), Kream 'N Kone (Dennis), Cobie's (Brewster), Cap'n Cass (Orleans), Baxter's (Hyannis), and Sir Cricket's (Orleans). Baxter's struck me as the most expensive, likely owing to its water view and close proximity to the ferries.

Enjoyed the somewhat pricier sit-down seafood places, and can recommend all I tried, some more upscale than others: Lobster Claw (Orleans), Naked Oyster (Hyannis), Impudent Oyster (Chatham), Lobster Pot (Provincetown), Brewster Inn and Chowder House (Brewster), and Fishmonger Cafe (Woods Hole). That held true for places with less to no seafood emphasis such as Chillingworth (Brewster, expensive fine dining, at least the dessert I got to sample), Columbo's Cafe (Hyannis, an Italian spot), Winslow's Tavern (Wellfleet, fine dining masquerading as a tavern), and Frappo66 (Provincetown, fine dining masquerading as a cafeteria). Red Pheasant (fine dining, Dennis), 28 Atlantic (fine dining, Chatham), Red Inn (fine dining, Provincetown), and Lorraine's (Mexican, Provincetown) are supposed to be excellent, but haven't tried them.

I generally did not care for the pub grub style places I tried. Easily the best was Chatham Squire (Chatham), with Captain Kidd (Woods Hole) and The Lighthouse (Wellfleet) further down the list and both The Yardarm and Land Ho! (both Orleans) the absolute bottom of the barrel for food. One notable exception is the lobster roll at The Raw Bar in Mashpee -- huge and delicious.

The two ice cream places I tried that I liked best were Sundae School (Orleans, also in other spots) and Ice Cream Smuggler (Dennis). Two spots in Sandwich, Twin Acres and Ice Cream Sandwich, were also good, as is Four Seas in Centerville. Many clam shacks offer generic soft-serve ice cream as well.

Good breakfast spots include Cafe Edwige (Provincetown), Original Gourmet Brunch (Hyannis), and Hole in One (Orleans), the last especially for donuts -- and another clam shack spot, Sesuit Harbor Cafe, does a solid basic diner type breakfast with outdoor picnic table seating. Good Starbuck's-style coffee and baked goods places include Hot Chocolate Sparrow (Orleans), Coffee Obsession (Falmouth and Woods Hole), La Petite France (Hyannis), Pie in the Sky (Woods Hole), and Pies a la Mode (Falmouth). There are also standard diner style spots, such as Betsy's Diner (Falmouth) and Marshland Restaurant (Sandwich). There's pizza here too, with the best I tried being Spritus Pizza (Provincetown, gourmet version) and Steve's Pizza (Falmouth, standard division). For tea, there's the Dunbar Tea Shop (Sandwich) and Molly's Tea Room (Falmouth).

Both Roo Bar (upscale pub food) and Persy's Place (breakfast) have branches in Plymouth, and I liked both very much. If their Cape Cod outposts are as good, they'll be worth a visit as well.

This is a very old post but I guess there's nothing wrong with an update. My parents reported that Red Pheasant seemed a litte "tired" this summer so we went to Blue Moon instead and had an excellent meal. Dad said they tried a Northern Italian place mid-Cape on 28, Nina something or something Nina, that they like a lot. It's tiny, though.