Cap’t Cass

We visited Cap’t Crass Saturday. Anyone who thinks this place is great must be drinking the rock harbor kool-​ade. The witch lady that handles take-​out orders is just offensive. The take-​out menu has no prices-​how pretentious. And the clam chowder at $ 8.50 a bowl is disgraceful – hot oily water with canned clam bits-​my husband and I could not get past the first spoonful.

Simple Cape Cod seafood. Capt Cass has been open since 1958 and I’ll guess that not much has changed over the years. It feels the same as when we first ate there about 15 years ago. Plastic forks, paper plates and paper cups set the tone. The fried seafood is consistently delicious.

Two words: Lobster roll. Come here and order this.
It’s not a light meal, to put it mildly. You will want a nap afterwards. But the lobster tastes fresh and delicious, leagues beyond the lobster rolls at the two other popular places I tried in the area.
This place is old school cool. One cautionary note: Order a fried clam roll, and you’ll be faced with a truly overwhelming quantity of fried clams. Finish the order at your own risk, or better yet, split it with a friend.

We’ve been vacationing on the Cape for a very long time and this is the only place where we will eat fried clams and fried scallops. They are AMAZING. I don’t know how the cook does it but they’re never greasy. Unless you haven”t eaten for two or three days, get the clam or scallop roll because the platters are too big for a normal human being.
We also recommend the she-​crab stew.
Prices here are about ¹⁄₃ less than what you’d pay elsewhere, and the BYOB policy makes for an even more economical lunch or dinner.
We love that the place is a throwback to the 1950s and that they don’t have air conditioning, a phone or accept credit cards. To us, Cap’t Cass is perfect as is. We hope they never change.

Fantastic fish and chips, a CC must. Only open limited hours so have a plan. Lob roll is good too, not too mayonnaisey.

Great place to grab some fried seafood after a long morning at Rock Harbor or even Skaket beach. Their clam chowder is a little lighter than I’m used to; not quite so creamy. The outside is very unassuming and have the classic Cape décor.

I enjoy coming back bc this is such a quintessential historic venue where much history has been created & maintained. It’s right off the docks where the boats come in and the menu is simple.
Get the lobsta roll, soup and try a platter. The food is consistent & it’s simple. Hue she crab soup has lots of spice & things going on that help flavor it.
The seating is right so pls don’t come w large groups hollering for a table together. U come in, order ur food, & enjoy the grub.
This is classic cape code clam shack fair. They don’t pretend to be anything else.

Bad food and bad service.
The clam chowder and crab stew were both borderline inedible, and the fish and chips were tasteless. They boasted a homemade clam chowder that we were excited to try, but it completely fell flat. The soup was oily and honestly tasted like bathwater. The crab stew wasn’t much better — it had no taste and was hard to eat because you had to chew through the spices floating on top which somehow did nothing for the flavor.
Coleslaw tasted like mayonnaise on cabbage and the chicken salad was a weird shredded chicken mush.
The service was also slow. We went during the busy hours so we expected a wait, but not to have to wait to get any service at all. It seemed as if our waitress was also a chef, because she disappeared into the back for 10 minutes at a time.
The only redeeming factor was the nice sea-​side atmosphere and sunset… which we missed because the service was so incredibly slow.
I don’t really know how they’re still in business. Maybe we should have just order the lobster — its pretty hard to screw up that.

We had great service, which is why this is 2 stars and not 1. But…
The prices here are crazy for truly mediocre fried food. $ 25 chicken lobster?! $ 15 fish sandwich, which was supposed to be cod and was actually SCUP, trust me, I’m sure is was.
What are all the great reviews about? Definition of a tourist trap dressed up like a local joint.

Great little place to get really good seafood at a reasonable price. Service was excellent, my two year old loved the staff and food. We will definitely be going back.

Its rare to have a dining experience that feels right out of a movie. Dinner at Cap’t Cass felt that way to me. Being from Southern California and going to New England for the first time, I really wanted this kind of Cape Cod meal. The food was really good, way too much for one person. But to be honest, it was the atmosphere and cool location that made it special.
The owners of The Ship’s Knees Inn recommended this place to us as. He put it in the «clam shack» category. But its more like a tiny 50’s greasy spoon-​looking place, with a counter and several tables. Our waitress was great, she would be played by Amber Tamblyn in the movie version of this night. I think her mom was the only other person working there, the cook.
It was cold outside looking at the harbor, but in here everyone was enjoying this little slice of Cape Cod living. They don’t sell beer or wine, so it seemed most tables brought their own. The waitress was very forthcoming with cups, but we were very prepared with our own to go with our wine.
I was told they don’t even have a phone number. I love that.

Wow, what a find! I was tempted to keep this secret for myself.
Loved the place, loved the food and both came with authentic New England dry sass from the waitress.

I’m so sad the original «Cap’t» died, however his son now runs Cass. This is the BEST and ONLY place on the cape to go for fried fish (oh…and the lobster rolls are good too!). The menu describes the fish and chips as «the best you will ever have» and I’m beginning to think that’s true. The cod fillets are lightly fried and melt in your mouth. The french fries are also above par (I’m a french fry connessier) and your choice of lemonade (homemade and delicious), iced tea, or iced coffee comes free with most meals. Warning: The space is small, but they will do their best to seat large groups. Also BYOB (but they are very friendly about it and will offer plastic cups if you forget) and no airconditioning. The Cap’t is also closed on Mondays I believe and only takes cash or check.

Our group of 11 stopped in after a long bike ride from our house in Wellfleet to this fantastic seafood dreamland. The lobster rolls contained no filler at all. Just pure, fresh lobster with a dash of mayo served on a toasted warm buttery roll. All were satisfied with their food as the crab salad and fried scallops did not disappoint.
This family run business is very representative of the true spirit of Cape Cod. Our servers where the granddaughters of Cap’t Cass himself and provided us a priceless experience. They were engaging and seemed to genuinely pride themselves in the operation they now run in their recently deceased grandfather’s name. An all around wonderful experience.

Love. Like eating in a 1960s area restaurant. Low tech, great fried food off the beaten path. YUM.

Went to cap’n Cass with a locals recommendation. Best clams and sea food platter on the cape. Great friendly service as well.

I really wanted to live this place. My friend who’s a Cape regular RAVED about Cap’t Cass, and while I love hole-​in-​the-​walls, the food here was just OK. I loved the quaint ambiance and low-​key vibe of the place, but my love affair really stopped there. Their homemade clam chowder was horrible to me, not b/​c it was brothy, but b/​c it really tasted like a bowl of hot water with clams thrown in. Maybe they pride themselves on the amount of seafood in the chowder instead of cream and filler, but to me it was just bland, underseasoned and quite tasteless.
My fish and chips entrée was decent but nothing to write home about, fried cod, fries and coleslaw: again it was fine but really I wasn’t that blown away. Admittedly, neither my friend nor I ordered the lobster roll because at that point we had eaten about 6 already during our trip, so I think we OD’d on lobster rolls by that time, and it’s allegedly their hallmark dish so I’d give old Cap’t Cass another chance next time I’m there.

A true classic of the mid-​cape. Their lobster roll is perfect and the homemade clam chowder is terrific. Nice people and cool spot. As a bonus you can wander the docks and watch the haul from the days fishing. Bring your cash (no ccs) and beer/​wine.

I came here on a vegan diet during the 4^th of July weekend and fell in love with the place and its people. Because of its authentic and just throughout cute charm I had to make an exception from the rule, besides… there is not a single vegan thing on the menu. (If you dont just want to it fries :))
For food alone though, no offense, the place is ok. I had the fish and chips and didnt taste much besides the tartar sauce and fried batter. Not much Cod taste left after all :(My boyfriend had the lobster roll and really liked it.
But really… I think its a shame that the general cuisine on the Cape (not just Capt Cass is deep fried fish! Come on people! Let me taste what I am eating! You might conclude that the taste buds of the wanna be British tourists on Cape Cod are a lot less sophisticated than their owners want them to be!
Again … the place is totally worth a visit and the people have deserved the 5 stars!

Cap’t Cass in Rock Harbor, Orleans is so sweet. We come here every year to watch the sunset and also to eat the fresh seafood. The fish and chips are amazing, served with tartar sauce. I always get the clam chowder, this alone is worth the visit. My sister had the scallops, they are like little pieces of heaven.
This place is family owned by Cap’t Cass himself. He lives upstairs and his daughters and granddaughters run it for him only in the Summer and Fall months. It’s like a little old house, you would miss it if you didn’t look for it, nothing has changed much since the 1950s when he and his wife opened the place.
We like sitting at the bar, it’s low and the kids and join us. You can bring your own wine and beer.