33 Best Restaurants in Cape Cod, Massachusetts

At this all-you-can-eat churrascaria, waiters continually circulate through the dining room offering more than a dozen grilled meats—beef, pork, chicken, sausage, and the beloved Brazilian chicken hearts—on large, swordlike skewers. The massive buffet is laden with soups, salads, and side dishes, including plantains, rice, and beans; vegetarians could happily eat from the buffet, but the smell of grilling meat does permeate the restaurant.

This romantic roadhouse near the Chatham border, adorned with tiny white lights, wine bottles, and warm-hue walls, might just transport you to Italy—and if it doesn't, the fantastic food certainly will. There are always excellent specials added to the menu; in the fall and winter, look for value-priced entrées, and in summer, their hot dog cart (in the parking lot) serves the best wieners on the Cape.

This casual spot specializes in classics like grilled cheese sandwiches, hand-cut fries, and local seafood in a lively spot. Order at the counter, then grab a seat inside or at one of the several outdoor seating options; there's also a large beer menu with New England offerings, a good selection of wines, and fun cocktails. Weekend brunch features dishes like sticky buns and egg tacos. Dinner is served on Friday and Saturday.

Set in a 19th-century sea captain's home, this chef-owned gem with distant sea views uses what's locally available as the inspiration for an ever-changing and creative menu. There are also generous wine, martini, and drink lists.

Yuji Watanabe, chef--owner of the Cape's best Japanese restaurant, makes early-morning journeys to Boston's fish markets to shop for the freshest local catch, and the resulting selection of sushi and sashimi is vast and artful. The serene and simple Japanese garden out back has a traditional koi pond.

Northern Italian and Mediterranean cooking distinguish this upscale, popular place. Make sure to come hungry—portions of classic favorites here are huge. Live music adds to the festive vibe on Sunday afternoons year-round. An excellent wine list pairs perfectly with the food.

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.

This perennial favorite with magnificent harbor views focuses on local seafood and organic meat and produce with a cross-cultural flair (there's also a lighter bistro menu for smaller appetites). The view of the bay from the bar is nearly perfect, and the gentle lighting makes this a romantic spot to have a drink. This is one of the relatively few restaurants open year-round in town. Check out the who's who of previous diners on its website, including Elizabeth Taylor and Billie Jean King.

More than 1,000 oysters are eaten here on an average summer weekend, a good deal of them procured almost daily from the restaurant's own oyster farm in Barnstable Harbor. There are close to two dozen raw and "dressed" oyster dishes, but there's also a nice range of non-oyster entrées, salads, and appetizers. Outdoor bistro tables offer good people-watching while guests slurp their oysters.

Inside the snazzy Crowne Pointe Inn, this intimate, casually handsome restaurant occupies the parlor and sunroom of a grand sea captain's mansion and serves finely crafted, healthful, modern American food with specials focused on local ingredients. There's a substantial wine list, with more than 125 selections to choose from, as well as a large martini menu.

With indoor and outdoor tables, a location on bustling Main Street, and a lively vibe (lots of families), this Mexican restaurant and bar—open for lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch—is a fun find. The tequila menu is extensive, and the food doesn't disappoint: Think tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, burritos, quesadillas, and nachos featuring handmade chips and all the classic toppings, plus achiote chicken and their own chorizo. Gotta have lobster or quahogs? They give a Mexi-spin to those as well. Langosta taquitos, anyone?

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.

It's notoriously difficult to snag a table here in the summertime, but worth the wait as their wood-fired flatbreads are positively toothsome, made with organic four, local sea salt, and tasty toppings like braised beef short rib, butternut squash, and linguica sourced from a Massachusetts farm. Pasta dishes are a good option, too, and salads are fresh and creative, not an afterthought. Eat here or wrap it up and head to nearby Craigville Beach. Can't wait? They operate a take-out shop, Crisp Too, across the street.

Fanciful cocktails, an intriguing menu, live music, and daily blackboard specials make this a popular Chatham spot. There's also a changing tapas menu for quick bites at the bar.

The friendly, family-run Fairway specializes in Italian comfort food but also has a very popular breakfast. Attached to the Hole in One Bakery—a favorite among locals for exceptional hand-cut doughnuts and muffins—the Fairway puts a jar of crayons on every paper-covered table and sells its own brand of root beer.

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.

Tried-and-true tavern fare—fish-and-chips and pastrami sandwiches are popular choices—is the rule at Orleans's flagship local restaurant. The scene is usually fun and boisterous; dozens of homemade wooden signs heralding local businesses hang from the rafters above the red-checker tablecloths.

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.

This always-hopping downtown spot serves commendable dinner fare and draws big crowds for cocktails and appetizers. The bar is long and comfortable, and is a good spot to dine if there are no tables available.

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.

The food and the interior share a penchant for unusual, striking juxtapositions—a classical sculpture in front of an abstract canvas, for instance, or an artful plate of boneless chicken and scallops in Thai peanut sauce arrayed on a bed of lo mein noodles. The art collection on display here is significant, and includes many noted Provincetown artists; the late Napi Van Dereck and his wife Helen collected gems for many, many years.

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.

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.