Of course some restaurants are well known to everyone, like the Lobster Pot in Provincetown or Captain Parker’s Pub in West Yarmouth. But for this review, we’ve tried to focus on a handful of restaurants that might be well-known to those who live close by, but which probably fly under the radar for those outside their immediate area. With that said, if there is a restaurant on this list that you are not familiar with, we encourage you to give it a try, even if it means making a 30 to 40-minute drive. In our opinion, they are worth it. 

Abroad (Orleans)
This cozy restaurant, nestled next to Hog Island Beer Co. in Orleans, is unassuming when you pass it on the road, but step inside and you’re instantly transported to another world. The decor, drawn from all corners of the world—hence, the name—provides a visual feast for the eyes that perfectly complements the cuisine, which is drawn from around the world as well. The tapas-sized dishes include Mexican tacos, Chinese fried rice, Jamaican jerk chicken, Algerian fish cakes, and so much more. It’s all delicious, and you’re encouraged to order one or two dishes at a time, allowing you to roam, unhurried, from one world cuisine to the next.

Website: https://abroadcapecod.my.canva.site/copy-of-abroad

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Bleu (Mashpee)
If a trip to Paris isn’t in your immediate future, the next best thing is a dinner at Bleu in Mashpee Commons. The decor of this lovely, upscale French restaurant will evoke nostalgia for those who’ve been to Paris and provide a taste of what it’s like for those who haven’t. The food will do the same. Their entrees and appetizers—among them the braised pork and duck confit pâté with toast and grain mustard, roasted mallard duck breast with raspberry honey glaze, escargots de Bourgogne farcis—will remind you why the French are considered culinary masters. It’s all so délicieux. And while the white linen tablecloths provide an air of elegance, the handsome bar adds a nice casual vibe. In addition to being a great destination for dinner, it is also a great place to go on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Just sit and imagine you’re enjoying un verre de vin in a café on le Boulevard Saint-Germain on la Rive Gauche.

Website: ​​https://www.bleurestaurant.com

Buca’s Tuscan Roadhouse (Harwich)
If you are looking for a fine-dining experience, Buca’s Tuscan Roadhouse, located on Route 28 in Harwich, is a great place to go. It’s a bit expensive, but it’s a beautiful restaurant boasting an intimate European flair that makes it perfect for a romantic dinner or just an elegant night out. For the most elegant experience, you definitely want to eat in the main dining room, which is both luxurious and cozy, thanks in large part to the stone fireplace in the center of the room. For a more casual experience, you can dine in the small bar area. Same food and same impeccable service, just a different ambiance.

Website: https://www.bucastuscanroadhouse.com/

Ciro & Sal’s (Provincetown
To walk through the doors at Ciro & Sal’s is to be transported back in time, as its hewn beams, low ceilings, wood-burning fireplaces, and rustic decor give it the feel of a colonial Boston tavern circa 1775; one could easily imagine George Washington stepping through the door. The fact that it’s tucked down a narrow alleyway off Commercial Street in Provincetown adds to its allure, making it feel like a true hidden gem. As for its menu, the restaurant offers traditional Italian dishes featuring locally caught seafood, handmade pasta, and homemade sauces as well as craft cocktails and an extensive wine and beer menu. In the summer, an outdoor seating area provides a light, bright alternative to the cozy, dark interior spaces of this charming establishment.

Website: https://www.ciroandsals.com/

Jack’s Restaurant (Falmouth)
Located a few blocks away from Falmouth’s main drag, Jack’s is housed in what looks like a small Cape-style house, blending almost seamlessly into the landscape of residential homes that surround it. If it weren’t for the lighted sign that sits out front, you’d easily drive right by it in the evening twilight. It hardly looks big enough to house a restaurant, so it comes as a bit of a surprise when you step inside and find a huge rectangular bar surrounded by low- and high-top tables and enough space in one corner to accommodate a full band. There’s only a small area for dancing, but it’s enough space for a handful of dancers. You’ll find live music here four to five nights of the week. In addition to the bar, there is a dining area on the other side of a half wall that’s large enough to accommodate 40 or more diners. Somehow Jack’s manages to feel like both a quality restaurant and cozy tavern. While you can go there to enjoy a great dining experience, thanks to a menu that features a variety of  tempting variety of Italian dishes, it’s also a nice place to go to just hang out at the bar and enjoy some fantastic craft cocktails and/or a pizza that some will swear is the best on the Cape.

Website:   https://www.jacksrestaurantfalmouth.com/ 

Estia (Mashpee)
If you are looking for an upscale dining experience and some fantastic Greek food, you are going to want to try Estia in Mashpee Commons. The quality of the food is superb, and the refined service and modern, elegant decor – which includes a dazzling bar area and a cozy-looking coal-fired oven –   almost made it feel like a fine-dining experience. Casual elegance is probably a better descriptive phrase, but either way, an evening dinner at Estia feels like a special event. The menu is extensive, and everything on it sounds delicious. Plus they offer a nice selection of craft cocktails. We tried something they called the “Blackberry Thyme Smash,” which was basically a unique twist on an Old Fashioned, and we could tell this was an expertly made drink. We only wish we had followed it up with a drink they called the “Baklava Old Fashioned,” which incorporated honey raki, cinnamon brown sugar and black walnut bitters into the recipe. We bet that would have been amazing! As for the food, it is all spectacular. Richly textured flavors and, if you get the lamb shank, you’ll enjoy its fall-off-the-bone tenderness. We have enjoyed a couple other great Greek restaurants here on the Cape, but for us, Estia goes right to the top of the list. 

Website:
https://www.estiacapecod.com/

Four Seasons Trattoria (South Yarmouth)
We love to discover hidden gems—that is, amazing restaurants that we’ve never heard of before or that can be easily overlooked, even if you’ve driven by them multiple times. For us, Four Seasons Trattoria on Route 28 in South Yarmouth is the epitome of a hidden gem. We probably drove by it dozens of times without giving it a second look until some friends took us there, assuring us that it is one of their favorite Italian restaurants on the Cape. That’s high praise, given the number of great Italian restaurants located here. But to our delight, it was. Housed in a former Friendly’s next to the Ryan Family Amusement center, Four Seasons Trattoria almost looks more like a pizza place than a fine Italian restaurant. But once you step inside, that preconceived notion is quickly dispelled. The decor is simple but tasteful, and the small interior houses about a dozen tables and a quaint bar with an eye-catching white marble counter. But what makes the place really special is the service and the food. We were instantly made to feel welcome, and the service throughout the meal was friendly, prompt, and imbued with a certain European flair. During our visit, our meal started with wine and a small basket of crusty bread accompanied by seasoned olive oil that was first rate. We followed that with a caprese appetizer that featured two thick slices of juicy tomato, two equally thick slices of mozzarella, and delicately flavored red peppers. For entrees, our table ordered two different pasta dishes that were covered in the thickest, tastiest bolognese sauce we’ve ever had; grilled salmon, which was meaty and moist and served with a mild yet tasty mustard sauce; and a generous serving of lasagna, half of which we brought home to enjoy as leftovers. The dessert menu looked amazing, but since we were too full to order any, we followed our server’s suggestion and had shots of limoncello—which turned out to be the perfect ending to the meal and evoked for at least one of us the nostalgic memory of a long-ago trip to the Amalfi Coast. Salute!

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/4SeasonsTrattoria

Gerardi’s Cafe (South Yarmouth)
To say that Gerardi’s Cafe, located on Route 28 in South Yarmouth, is housed in an unassuming building is an understatement. From the road, this one-story brick building looks more like a dentist’s office than a restaurant. But step inside and you’re immediately transported to a traditional trattoria in Italy that is handsomely decorated with pretty chandeliers, antique-looking wooden booths and tables, a cute bar, thoughtfully curated artwork and photos, and a large, central, working fireplace. In addition to providing an attractive atmosphere in which to dine, Gerardi’s boasts a fairly extensive wine selection and serves delicious, Sicilian-inspired cuisine in generous portions and at reasonable prices. Chef Diego, who grew up working in his parents’ restaurant and spent time in Italy mastering Sicilian recipes in his ancestral town of Marsala, clearly has created a very special place here on the Cape, one that you’ll want to add to your “must visit” list if you haven’t already.

Website: https://www.gerardiscafe.com/ 

Royal II Restaurant & Grill (Yarmouth Port)
Royal II is a Mediterranean-style restaurant located on Rte. 6A in Yarmouth Port that offers classic Greek and Italian cuisine along with a smattering of American dishes. There is enough variety on the menu to satisfy almost any palate, and if everything is as good as the dishes we ultimately chose, we can assure you you’ll be in for a treat when you go regardless of what you order. Our meal started with a complimentary slice of cheese pizza, which arrived at our table moments after we sat down. It was absolutely delicious. It had a delicate thin crust with just the right amount of oil and crispness and a sauce that was flavorful but not too salty. Just perfect. It definitely tempted us to order a pizza for our meal, but instead, we opted to try the restaurant’s traditional Greek dishes. After considering a variety of options – the moussaka, the pastitsio, and the spanakopita – we opted for a lamb gyro and grilled lamb and feta burger. The gyro consisted of an enormous grilled pita overflowing with tender, nicely seasoned slices of ground lamb, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, kalamata olives, and tzatziki. Definitely the best gyro we’ve ever had. The lamb burger was equally good. Seasoned and grilled to perfection, the burger was served between thin, pita-like rounds of grilled bread and topped with spinach, tomato-stewed onions, kalamata olives, and feta. In addition to the entrees, we also enjoyed two fantastic cocktails – an Alexander the Greek, which consisted of Metaxa brandy with chocolate liqueur and cream, and a Grapefruit Breeze, which featured ruby red grapefruit vodka with a splash each of grapefruit and cranberry juice. They arrived at the table looking every bit as good as they tasted. While we hadn’t left ourselves any room for dessert, we were pleasantly surprised again when we were given a complimentary mini-serving of warm rice pudding sprinkled with cinnamon as well as shots of pistachio liqueur. Both were exquisite. What an incredible and unexpected treat.

Website: https://royalpizzagrill.com/ 

The Pheasant (Dennis)
Located in a charmingly rustic 18th-century former ship chandlery and carriage house on Route 6A in Dennis, this gem operated for 40 years as The Red Pheasant before it was reopened in 2018 by current owners Adam and Erica Dunn. With executive chef Andrew Reilly at the helm, The Pheasant—named Best Restaurant on Cape Cod by Boston Magazine in 2023—offers diners a farm-to-table menu featuring memorable dishes made from scratch with fresh ingredients that primarily come from local sources. As for the building (which is still red), when the Dunns took over the restaurant they made some updates but kept the warmth and charm of the original interior, which includes a rustic fireplace and a small bar that can accommodate up to 12 people. During our visit, we began our meal with a farm crudité of pickled and raw vegetables served with white bean and tahini dip and olive oil; crusty sourdough bread with koji-seaweed butter sprinkled with flaky sea salt; and oysters from Crowes Pasture (Dennis) accompanied by a charred fennel mignonette.For dinner, we had the beef short ribs and the mushroom cavatelli. Bursting with a rich meaty flavor, the juicy and tender beef short ribs were artfully plated with grilled peaches, turnips, and a smear of pistachio gremolata, a rustic yet surprisingly light sauce with hints of lemon and parsley. The mushroom cavatelli featured homemade cavatelli pasta topped with a generous serving of mushrooms grown by Uli’s Mushrooms (Truro). In addition to Uli’s and Crowe’s Pasture, The Pheasant partners with a host of additional farmers and sources up and down the Cape for seasonal local ingredients including cheeses, shellfish, scallops, oysters, eggs, pork, poultry, fish, beef, vegetables, produce, ice cream, chocolate, and coffee. The Dunns also tend their own vegetable and herb gardens planted next to the building. Thanks to its fresh ingredients and inventive recipes, a meal at The Pheasant is a treat for the taste buds. (Note: The restaurant is currently closed for renovations but will reopen in the spring. We can’t wait to see the changes they’ve made.)

Website: https://www.pheasantcapecod.com/ 

–Stephen Porter

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