The Resy Guide to Outdoor Dining on Cape Cod and the Islands

When it comes to outdoor dining setups, you might describe Fin’s as minimalist: The Dennis seafood restaurant has simply moved tables and chairs from the dining room to the front lawn. And that works perfectly. While seated in the grass, you might enjoy local oysters with a Champagne vinaigrette, confit Spanish octopus in a grilled shishito pepper emulsion, or charcoal-roasted spiced Atlantic halibut.

The Edgartown hangout has moved the party outdoors, bolstering its existing sidewalk seating with a new parklet filled with high-top tables. Secure yours with a reservation, and enjoy Main Street people-watching as flash-fried local cheese curds, hickory-grilled whole fish and harissa-marinated chicken sandwiches on focaccia arrive.

The fish market-turned upscale seafood restaurant has set up a new patio in its front yard with tent-covered two-tops and umbrella-shaded picnic tables. Call ahead to put your name on the waiting list before sitting down to lobster bisque, salmon rillettes or house-made stuffed clams. More info here.

Walk-ins only.

The seasonally-focused Woods Hole restaurant has a narrow stip of sidewalk seating available for outdoor dining. Set between the restaurant’s grey-shingled exterior and a miniature garden of potted plants, it makes for a lovely setting to dine on smoked bluefish pâté with house beer mustard; beef carpaccio bowls; and a lobster hot pot with littleneck clams, fried sweet corn and lemongrass-herb broth.

Alchemy’s sidewalk patio — white picket fence and all — is one of the more attractive outdoor dining situations in a town chock-full of them. Adding to the appeal is a menu that embraces surf and turf in a tony way: consider the slow-roasted halibut with crab and corn risotto, or an eight-ounce filet mignon with red wine jus and garlic whipped potatoes.

The entirely outdoor café and restaurant isn’t open for dinner yet, but in the meantime you can enjoy breakfast and lunch at its open-air backyard dining room. Morning brings shakshuka with grilled sourdough, avocado toast with pickled radishes, and bacon-egg-and-cheeses on potato rolls; return in the afternoon for house-blended burgers and smoked bluefish with shallot jam and dill. Best of all, the bar is open for your mid-afternoon needs and wants. More info here.

Walk-ins only.

Cru’s dockside patio is a see-and-be-seen institution, and this summer will be no exception. Indulge in a lavish raw bar that includes options like the Grand Cru Plateau (that’s 24 oysters, a dozen clams and six shrimp, plus blue crab and lobster cocktail) or keep it simple with a basket of fried Ipswich clams and a warm, buttered Nantucket lobster roll. And while it’s hard not to order seafood when you’re this close to the Atlantic, a 12 oz New York strip steak with roasted shallot jus and frites sounds amply tempting.

No, the white tent on Atria’s lawn isn’t part of a socially-distanced Vineyard wedding — it’s how the Edgartown favorite does outdoor dining. What hasn’t changed are signature dishes, including wok-fired local lobster in lemon beurre blanc, homemade fettuccini with duck confit, and prosciutto-wrapped cod with summer corn succotash and tomato-lobster relish. (As always, you can add five ounces of butter-poached lobster to any dish you desire.) On the drinking side, consider a glass from the globe-trotting wine menu, with its Basque whites and Austrian blaufrankisch, or a What Happens at Night, made with Japanese whisky, plum sake, and orange bitters.

For reservations, call (508) 627-5850.

The covered patio at Trevi — which faces the town fountain, natch — evokes a properly European setting for a Cape Cod meal. The menu skews towards small plates like crushed potatoes in pepperoncini aioli, or a duck confit “taco” served in a chickpea pancake with fig jam, plus larger plates like Tuscan brick chicken or braised short ribs with herbed cheese risotto. On the wine front, scan the 30-bottle list carefully and you’ll discover a killer deal or two.

Siena channels its namesake city through both its menu and a fan-shaped patio that extends onto the sidewalk, turning this corner of Mashpee into a piazza. And of course the menu, with its blend of Tuscan inspiration and Cape Cod seafood: Think P.E.I. mussels in a lemon-garlic white wine sauce; cod filet with toasted focaccia crumbs; and cioppino stewed with scallops, littleneck clams, mussels, salmon and cod. Also on hand are a selection of brick-oven pizzas with Roman-style crusts, including sausage with ricotta and mozzarella pie, and a “Danny’s Special” white pie that features bacon, gorgonzola, caramelized onions, candied walnuts and mozzarella.

Set between a white picket fence and the walls of the restaurant itself, Dune’s covered patio has the feeling of a private courtyard. It’s a fine vantage for enjoying the restaurant’s seafood-focused fare including local oysters with rhubarb vinaigrette, jumbo sea scallops with parsnip puree, and pan-roasted Atlantic halibut with Thai coconut-lemongrass broth.

The Nantucket Tap Room — formerly Nantucket Prime — boasts an open-air patio in the middle of the historic downtown. Lunch fare is casual, featuring hand-dipped corn dogs with Dijonnaise, hot or cold lobster rolls, and the “Big M-ACK” burger made with two smashed beef patties, American cheese, lettuce, pickles and house special sauce. Dinner offers equally hearty choices like an New York strip steak with black-garlic béarnaise, or grilled local swordfish with corn bread pudding and lemon-herb sauce.

Straight Wharf, which has set out tables in front of No. 6 Harbor Square, enough to form an impromptu patio, is serving a two-course prix fixe for the summer. The first course features choices like duck liver mousse with grilled sourdough, hand-rolled cavatelli with Jonah crabmeat, or local oysters with celery and lemon granita; while the second asks you to decide between Moroccan-spiced eggplant parm, local dayboat scallops with smoked mushrooms, wood-grilled swordfish steak and the like.

The Italian gem has shifted to outdoor-only — setting up umbrella-topped picnic tables and stringing lights outside of its Greek Revival manse. The menu continues to serve red-sauce favorites like Bologna-style lasagna and house-made spaghetti pomodoro, alongside balsamic-marinated steak with black garlic cream and charred onions, and heritage pork osso bucco with lemon-prosciutto farrotto. The bar continues to serve a mean barrel-aged Negroni, plus inventive choices like Bitter Rivals (rye, cacao-infused Fernet, pomegranate juice) and Mommy’s Time Out (Pinot Noir, chai-infused sherry, Dubonnet, cinnamon and prosecco).

Ventuno’s sister restaurant within the Greydon House hotel has taken its Venetian-inspired small plates outside with a small number of outdoor tables. The shareable cicchetti selection includes whipped salt cold and crispy polenta, and “Hot Chicken Milanese” with Moroccan pancakes; while more substantial fare consists of house-made canestri pasta with shrimp, white wine, asparagus and mushrooms, or grilled local fish in scallop dashi with crispy togarashi shallots. Pair it with one of the bottles from their fashionable wine list, or something from their barreled cocktail line-up, which includes a Paper Plane and a Boulevardier.

The West Coast-meets-Nantucket stylings of Millie’s are very much available via the picnic tables spread across its patio, which can be secured with a reservation. Once you’ve done so, make the choice between blackened mahi mahi tacos with pineapple mango salsa and lime sour cream; a fried shrimp po’boy with Cajun remoulade; or a lobster meat quesadilla with slow-roasted tomato and Monterey jack cheese. 

Oak Bluffs’ most romantic restaurant is no less charming outdoors: you can chalk that up to the patio’s garden setting and candlelight illumination. Of equal importance is a locally focused menu that features house-made gnocchi with Spanish octopus, smoked beets with Parmesan grits, and sirloin with king trumpet mushrooms and cherry jus. 

The Greek Revival captain’s house that hosts Strangers & Saints features a front-yard patio enclosed by high hedges and illuminated by strung lights. Within this pocket of serenity, you’ll find Mediterranean-influenced fare like pappardelle with shredded duck confit and spring peas, fennel sausage and wild mushrooms in black truffle bechamel, and orange-glaze halibut sliders with celery remoulade. The drinks side of the menu features a barrel-aged Manhattan and house-bottled cocktails including the aptly named Delicious, prepared with Meyer lemon, vodka, orange and lavender.

You might say that Jimmy’s Hideaway is in plain sight these days, as the nominally underground seafood restaurant is open for patio seating. Secure your spot with a reservation to enjoy dishes that may include scallop picatta over a potato pancake or salmon Wellington with dill beurre blanc.

The expansive backyard patio at Spindler’s provides ample room for noshing on small bites like chocolate chipotle popcorn and cast-iron meatballs before you tuck into into herb-marinated steak frites with roasted jalapeno chimichurri, or grilled shrimp and scallops with fried rice cakes. Parch your thirst with a range of classic cocktails including an Aviation or a French 75, or wade into tiki territory with a well-made Mai Tai.

The seafood market and farm-to-table restaurant has two outdoor dining situations for your pleasure, both of them best accessed by reservation: an open-air patio by the water, or an elevated deck shaded by the restaurant’s roof. Either provides an equal opportunity to partake in lobster fra diavolo, whole-belly fried clams, or a “lobster bake” pizza topped by corn cream, new potatoes, linguica and butter-poached lobster.