The Ultimate Guide to Cape Cod Restaurants For Summer 2022

Sandwiched in … Sandwich, Fisherman’s View is situated just where the Cape properly begins, but is worth a stop. Its expansive patio offers waterfront views as advertised, but the true catch is a constantly changing menu of simple and fresh seafood preparations like baskets of fried whole belly clams, buttered and broiled haddock or lobster-and-Jonah-crab combos available by the bucket.

Some restaurants are happy to have a waterfront location and leave it at that. But Water Street Kitchen in Woods Hole goes beyond its advantageous views to provide often-changing menus based around seasonal ingredients and house preparations. While it’s not always easy to pinpoint exactly what the menu will include, past iterations have stood out with grilled oysters in a strawberry-black pepper mignonette, pork belly with jalapeno corn bread croutons or sea scallops with fusilli pasta and parsley butter.

For all the talk of white tablecloth-dining’s decline, it’s alive and well at the Glass Onion in Falmouth. The stately appearance of its dining room is matched by the tightly focused menu, which features lobster strudel in butter sauce, pecan-crusted swordfish with parsley cream, and seared duck breast in cherry port jus.

Siena seeks to transport diners from Mashpee to Tuscany — a feat accomplished by virtue of its courtyard patio, and a menu that provides rustic specialties like thick-cut tomato bruschetta, short rib ravioli or pappardelle Bolognese. Also of note are its brick-oven pizzas, which come with a crispy Roman-style crust and toppings that range from crumbled Italian sausage and hot cherry peppers to basil pesto and roasted red peppers.

Fin is ensconced in a historic two-story house and is commandeered by a chef who cut his teeth working under Michelin-starred chefs at home and abroad. All that experience translates into a menu populated by yellowfin tuna tartare with Hawaiian wild seaweed, scallop-stuffed tempura squash blossoms with fermented jalapeño mayo or whole fried snapper with Thai coconut rice and prawn sauce.

Because we cannot survive on fish and chips alone, Ten Yen gives Cape Cod’s seafood bounty the sushi treatment it deserves, with a wide selection of house maki, nigiri and handrolls. Not content to stop at raw fish, the Orleans restaurant also dishes hoisin-braised chicken bao and ramen bowls with thick-cut noodles.

What was once a blacksmith shop now hosts Blackfish, which sits on a rural road outside of Truro proper. Its rustic environs are matched by a menu of hearty, simply prepared fare like pan-seared scallops with parmesan fondue, housemade gnocchi with maitake mushrooms or tuna Bolognese over freshly made pappardelle noodles.

Spindler’s is still Spindler’s—complete with a walled garden patio and a second-floor deck—but for the 2022 season they’ve fully transitioned to the “Sabores De Mexico” menu that was once a Wednesday-only special. So, this summer, expect octopus ceviche, slow-roasted lamb barbacoa and open-face blue corn chicken enchiladas throughout the week.

Strangers & Saints casts a wide net over Mediterranean cuisine, pulling in dishes like Moroccan carrots with roasted garlic labneh, chili-dusted cod with sumac yogurt and tahini dressing, or housemade ricotta cavatelli with andouille sausage. It’s also positioned itself as one of the town’s premier cocktail destinations, as evidenced by house originals like Smoke on the Bay (mezcal, smoked cinnamon, lemon, Aperol) and Bradford’s Revenge (fennel and fig-infused rye, almond, sherry, amaro).

Tin Pan Alley’s myriad charms include harborside views, a lively piano bar and a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef. The menu itself jumps seamlessly from New England seafood classics like lightly battered fish and chips with house tartar sauce to more international fare including cast iron-seared saganaki or Korean barbecue wings, and the very Provincetown addition of a Portuguese kale soup with linguica.