7 Best Restaurants in Dennis, Cape Cod

A great stop after the beach, this casual seafood shack has a regular menu of Cape 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.

As the name suggests, seafood is the star here, from salmon to swordfish, scallops to sea bass, and all very recently caught in Atlantic waters. Two floors of seating in an antique home, plus an outdoor patio, make for an enchanted setting aglow with candlelight for a lovely dinner in the company of many satisfied diners.

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.

The recipe of the swoon-worthy hot fudge served at Ice Cream Smuggler is one of the best-kept secrets on Cape Cod. Their hot fudge sundae was featured on the Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate," and it is legendary in these parts, but you won't go wrong with a cone filled with, say, Raspberry Truffle, Salty Oreo, Apple Pie, or Peanut Butter Cookie Dough. 

This fine-dining hot spot boasts exquisite views of Nantucket Sound, and the food is equally sublime—some consider it the best on the Cape. Seafood is the featured attraction, with a Pan-Asian tilt, especially on the appetizer side; think tempura, sashimi, and ramen.

Briny bivalves pour in from the restaurant's own oyster farm in the bay, though oysters (and clams) from other towns are well represented and can be had a variety of ways—raw on the half shell is the best way to enjoy these super-fresh delicacies. It's a fun place all around, with great food and a boisterous atmosphere, and oysters are half-price daily until 6:30 pm. They offer lunch in season (until Veteran's Day) on Sat. and Sun.

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.