14 Best Restaurants in Cape Cod, Massachusetts

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

This cozy, festive tavern, a favorite for more than 50 years, is a great place for a romantic meal or dinner with the kids. At lunchtime, the menu offers burgers and sandwiches, as well as more-substantial fare. It's always packed, and there's not a ton of seating, so reserve on weekends.

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.

Located at Wellfleet Harbor, this rustic but 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.

A meal at this friendly, rough-hewn fish shack with an over-the-top nautical theme is a 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.

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.

Since 1971, 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 more than a dozen different salads. Order dessert at the soft-serve ice cream window. 

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.