20 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.

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.

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.

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.

Settle in for a proper afternoon tea, with tiered trays of finger sandwiches and diminutive desserts, at this English-style tea room set in a 1920s vintage carriage house overlooking Shawme Pond. A full tea service is offered all day, along with an à la carte lunch service and Sunday brunch (think lobster eggs Benedict and duck confit hash) and desserts are baked in-house. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.