WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK


Menus on the Cape tend to cater for nostalgic New Englanders, comprising clam chowder, oysters, fried clams, lobster rolls and “scrod” (cod). There are now six microbreweries on the Cape, including the Naukabout Beer Company (naukabout.com), which has an atmospheric tap room (bar) in Mashpee. Here is my pick of the scores of Cape restaurants I’ve tried recently.


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FROM TOP: The tap room at the Naukabout Beer Company; Chatham Filling Station; lobster roll


LOWER CAPE When you’re driving the length of the Cape, these two new diners are worth seeking out. Chatham Filling Station (chathamfillingstation.com) on Route 28 has a retro Americana look, but a modern take on Southern cooking; try the grits (like polenta), the linguica (a Portuguese-style


sausage) or a popover (Yorkshire pudding). Sunbird Kitchen (birdinthesun.com) on Route 6A in Orleans is one of the few hipster-style canteens on the Cape, with a menu that wouldn’t be out of place in Brooklyn: banh mi rolls, excellent kimchi and fish tacos.


PROVINCETOWN For the best array of bars and tourist restaurants on the Cape, head to Provincetown. If you want a fast and


inexpensive bite to eat, The Canteen (thecanteenptown. com) is styled like a pop-up with its outdoor bench seating, but is now a fixture for its excellent breakfast dishes such as shakshuka, lunches of lobster rolls and evening cuisines ranging from Mexican to Japanese. For light meals and drinks, Strangers & Saints (strangersandsaints.com) has Mediterranean-inspired dishes and is a great vantage point for Commercial Street. Nearby Spindler’s (spindlersptown.com) offers a tasty New England menu.


MARTHA’S VINEYARD Garde East (gardeeast.com) in Vineyard Haven has it all: a great harbour view, slick service and modern dishes, such as raw scallop with dried squid ink and olive oil caviar.


EXPLORING THE CAPE Cape Cod’s high season is between Memorial Day (the last Monday in May) and the end of July. Provincetown is bold and busy, but there are a score of other towns, all with very different characters, to explore along the length of the Cape. On a map the Cape looks like a raised arm, and the “elbow” is called the Lower Cape; this is where the smart money builds homes in Chatham, Brewster and Harwich. The Lower Cape is also very popular with Boston and New England families renting local homes by the week, having barbecues and toasting s’mores in their backyards. It’s perfect for family holidays, with beaches, summer activities and affordable public golf courses, including Dennis Pines (dennisgolf.com) and Cranberry Valley (cranberryvalley. golf). Most of the Cape’s railways closed down long ago, but the quiet


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tracks have been converted into some of the best cycle trails you will find anywhere, with smooth surfaces running through the beautiful landscapes, past cranberry bogs and the occasional café and bike hire spot. The many beaches and walking


trails are sensational. Among my favourites are Nauset Beach for its ten miles of unspoilt sand and dunes; Seymour Pond and Long Pond for their swimming; Sandy Neck and Wing’s Island for beach walks; and the many cycle trails around Race Point. To get a flavour of how it was before


the visitor centres and car parks were built, Henry David Thoreau’s book Cape Cod describes the wild roses, huckleberries, beach plums, songbirds and people he met during his many visits in the 1850s. Nowadays, the closer you get to Boston the more you feel the influence of that city, with day-trippers and heavier traffic. Take a


tip: when driving stick to Route 6A, which is slower and snakes through picturesque, historic towns such as Sandwich, Dennis and Brewster.


ROOTED IN HISTORY Local names around Cape Cod are a mix of Native American, colonial British and the occasional misnomer or mystery. Atlantic cod (known locally as “scrod”) was a huge part of the early economy of Massachusetts, hence Cape Cod. But the largest island off Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, has neither a Martha nor a vineyard, though it did have a lot of wild vines when it was described by Europeans in the 1600s; some think the name derives from this. These days it’s a big summer destination for vacationing New Englanders. The best way to get there is by the Steamship Authority ferry as a foot passenger, then use the frequent local buses that crisscross the island.


bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om


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