Rooftop at Pelham House Resort a USA TODAY’s best restaurant: Video
Take a look inside Rooftop at Pelham House Resort in Dennis Port, Mass., named one of USA TODAYs best restaurants for 2025.
Inspired by March Madness, brackets are on for Cape Cod’s waterfront restaurants.
The advantage in Cape Cod being a peninsula is that there are many opportunities for waterfront dining.
Waterfront dining is the most common request from visitors looking to get the most idyllic Cape Cod views with their breakfast, lunch or dinner.
On the Lower or Outer Cape, waterfront dining is the norm. With Provincetown’s main thoroughfare, Commercial Street, running parallel to the shore, most restaurants have a built-in vista. Beach seating at The Tavern in Provincetown is literally sitting at picnic tables with your feet in the sand.
The Upper Cape has its own gems, including the popular wedding venue, Flying Bridge, with its own marina and views of Falmouth Harbor, and visit-by-boat or by car at The Chart Room in Cataumet.
We are asking you to choose your favorites from our round of 16. Voting in the first round will go through Wednesday, March 26 at midnight. People can vote once a day.
Pearl Restaurant & Bar vs. The CanteenPearl Restaurant & Bar, 250 Commercial St., Wellfleet, 508-349-2999, wellfleetpearl.com
It’s not summer until you have had New England Shrimp and Grits on the Pearl’s deck overlooking Wellfleet Harbor. The website says the seasonal restaurant will reopen May 8.
The Canteen, 225 Commercial St., Provincetown, 508-487-3800, thecanteenptown.com
Open year round, with Taco Tuesdays and Fried Chicken Fridays, The Canteen is committed to new ventures like themed cuisine weeks in the off-season. But when summer comes, there is often a line to eat at picnic tables with your feet in the sand. Try the best-selling frozen rosé.
Brax Landing Restaurant vs. Lobster Trap Restaurant & Fish MarketBrax Landing Restaurant, 705 Route 28, Harwich Port, 508-432-5515, braxrestaurant.com
Brax Landing Restaurant, overlooking Saquatucket Harbor, is open daily year round, featuring classic seafood dishes including a seafood platter served either broiled or fried. The busy bar has a drum grinding ice into a frozen slush for a steady supply of margaritas and other frozen drinks.
Lobster Trap Restaurant & Fish Market, 290 Shore Road, Bourne, 508-759-7600, lobstertrap.net
You don’t need an ocean to give a restaurant a beautiful waterfront view, as is shown by the Lobster Trap’s gorgeous perch on the Back River in Bourne. Known for its fresh fish, oysters and specialty cocktails, Lobster Trap’s website lists recipes so you can bring out the best in anything you buy at the market.
Flying Bridge Restaurant vs. The Ocean HouseFlying Bridge Restaurant, 220 Scranton Ave, Falmouth, 508-548-2700, flyingbridgerestaurant.com
You don’t have to be getting married to enjoy this popular wedding venue, with boats bobbing close enough to reach out and touch (although you probably shouldn’t!) Arrive by boat or by car. Try the onion rings that pizza king Dave Portnoy called “the best on the planet.”
The Ocean House, 425 Old Wharf Road, Dennis Port, 508-394-0700, oceanhouserestaurant.com
The seasonal Ocean House reopens April 9, but don’t tarry getting a reservation as those oceanfront window seats tend to go quickly with some people booking July vacations in April. The menu is Asian-influenced seafood, with a few dishes for landlubbers.
Fanizzi’s Restaurant By The Sea vs. Tree House BrewingFanizzi’s Restaurant By The Sea, 539 Commercial St., Provincetown, 508-487-1964, fanizzisrestaurant.com
Open year round, serving lunch and dinner daily, Fanizzi’s offers a $20.99 Early Bird Special each day from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. that includes one of six entrees, soup or salad, and soda or coffee. There is also a children’s menu, but the Sunday brunch buffet was discontinued in February. Enjoy a panoramic ocean view in the dining room dominated by windows.
Tree House Brewing ― Cape Cod, 98 Town Neck Road, Sandwich, 413-523-2367, treehousebrew.com
The menu is limited ― pizza year round and lobster rolls in the summer — but the view is stunning at Tree House Brewing, overlooking Cape Cod Bay. You can also order beer to go. Check out the website before visiting.
The Chart Room vs. Pepe’s WharfThe Chart Room, in Kingman Yacht Center, 1 Shipyard Lane, Cataumet, 508-563-5350, chartroomcataumet.com
The Chart Room first opened in 1966 on board a converted turn-of-the-century New Jersey Central Railroad barge to feed people coming to Cataumet Marina, according to the history on its website. The dinner menu is extensive with more than 50 wines and a score of cocktails, including one with non-alcoholic tequila. Lunch menu is just what you would want on a boat, including clam cakes and cheese and crackers with house-made cheese.
Pepe’s Wharf, 371 Commercial St, Provincetown, 508-487-8717, pepeswharf.com
Cold gazpacho and warm breezes make Pepe’s Wharf the perfect spot for a long summer’s lunch, but you will have to wait until May when this seasonal restaurant overlooking MacMillan Pier reopens for 2025. Check out the Mushroom and Manchego Flatbread.
Fishermen’s View vs. ShipwreckedFishermen’s View, 20 Freezer Road, Sandwich, 508-591-0088, fishermensview.com
Fishermen’s View has a horseshoe-shaped upper and lower deck that allows diners to drink in a 270-degree view of the Cape Cod Canal and Sandwich Marina. As expected, the menu is seafood heavy, with an entire page of sushi and sashimi selections. Described as a sea-to-table restaurant, Fishermen’s View is open year round and changes its menu seasonally.
Shipwrecked, 263 Grand Ave., Falmouth, 508-540-9600, shipwreckedfalmouth.com
When Alex Khan put Shipwrecked into the spot where British Beer Company had been for two decades, he switched from a cozy pub to an airy restaurant designed to bring in the beach. Part of doing that was installing a counter that runs the length of the building where patrons can pull up a stool and enjoy the views overlooking Grand Avenue and the oceans beyond it.
Sesuit Harbor Cafe vs. The MarshsideSesuit Harbor Cafe, 357 Sesuit Neck Road, Dennis, 508-385-6134, sesuit-harbor-cafe.com
Known for its cold and hot lobster rolls, as well as lobster boiled dinners, Sesuit Harbor Cafe overlooks Northside Marina and Cape Cod Bay. Cafe food is also served on the sightseeing boat offering lunch and dinner cruises.
The Marshside, 28 Bridge St., East Dennis, 508-385-4010, themarshside.com
The waterfront views from The Marshside are contoured by ribbons of green in a marshy landscape that exudes tranquility. A haven for birds and other creatures that depend on the richly biodiverse marsh, The Marshside offers a perfect perch for lunch or an early dinner.
Mac’s on the Pier, 265 Commercial St, Wellfleet, 508-349-9611, macsseafood.com
Mac’s Seafood now has five markets and the same number of restaurants, known for gluten-free fried fish fresh off the boat. Mac’s on the Pier, celebrating its 30th year, was Mac Hay’s first enterprise, an authentic clam shack on Wellfleet Pier with a panoramic view because the “dining room” has no walls. Settle in at one of a half-dozen picnic tables for fried fish or a salmon or swordfish sandwich.
Mattakeese Wharf Waterfront Seafood Restaurant, 273 Millway, Barnstable, 508-362-4511, mattakeese.com
A summer staple since 1968, Mattakeese Wharf Restaurant (opening for 2025 in May) has been a family-style place where teens get first jobs working hard while making a lifetime of memories. Located on the water, off Route 6A in Barnstable Village, it is one of Cape Cod’s oldest restaurants, serving baked and fried seafood, as well as hamburgers, sandwiches, salads and house-made potato chips.
Gwenn Friss is the editor of CapeWeek and covers entertainment, restaurants and the arts. Contact her at gfriss@capecodonline.com. Join the Cape Cod Times free Facebook group, Good Stuff at Cape Cod Restaurants, to share tips and participate in food polls.
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