Black Cat Harbor Shack — Restaurant in Barnstable

First, let me clarify that we visited the Black Cat Harbor Shack on an evening when there was a Tornado Watch, so it was windy and there were more staff than customers.

We nonetheless wanted to eat outdoors and choose the Harbor Shack over the sister restaurant next door. We were charmed by the helpfulness of our server and the other staff, but also disappointed.

Given the informal, outdoor nature of the "Shack", we were not surprised by all of the utensils and food being of plastic. We were surprised, however, by the quality of the food. We ordered a mixed greens salad and a burger. For the salad, the tomatoes were green, there was a lackluster house dressing and the quantity was disappointing. It was truly just a couple of green tomato slices, a very modest amount of mixed greens and an unremarkable house salad. We ordered the same fare, sitting at a similar table outside at the Hog Island Beer Co. the subsequent night and the differences could not be more stark. Everything was better for the same price.

Our main reason for choosing Black Cat was that they had some local beer on tap. I asked if they had a wheat beer and the response was no (from multiple levels of staff), but they mentioned that the summer beer was a Hefeweizen. This is pitiful training. Hefeweizen is the German word for wheat beer. It is truly tragic that their training does not include informing their staff of what Hefeweizen means in English.

The side that accompanies the (apparently straight out of the freezer) burger was a bag of Cape Cod potato chips. We asked if we could swap that out for something more natural. Unfortunately, the upcharge for the side salad did not reflect any credit for not receiving chips. A minor issue, but in a customer-centered industry, unfortunate.

Thanks to our server's charm, we had a pleasant evening, but if you seek quality food and staff who understand their offerings, there are better options at a similar price point. For starters, consider Hog Island Beer, Co....

the wait to be seated for dinner was about 45 minutes for 2 people. we got there about 7pm on a Sunday but prior to labor day. once we were seated we waited for about 10 minutes before anyone came by to take our order for drinks, fortunately we were ready to order. i got the spicy tuna wontons and clam chowder. the utensils were plastic, plates were paper, and the soup bowl was cardboard. o don't know if they ran out of real silverware and dishes or what but this seemed too cheap. the wontons looked like they were thrown together although had a good flavor (not as spicy as i had hoped though). the clam chowder had a very good flavor but wasn't as good as i had hoped after hearing about it and the awards it has won. overall it was good food but not great and the service was just ok but what sticks out the most was the plastic utensils and...

The parking situation was a nightmare and half of my party went looking for a parking space about a block and a half away,(we had to pay) the other half of my party and I went to approach the host stand in the back seating area, we were asked to sit by the bar and asked to “want until the rest of your party comes, then you can get a table” I was very confused but obliged. Multiple wait staff constantly asked us for a drink order but informed them that we were asked to sit at the bar area and that I was just waiting until the rest of my party arrived after looking for a parking spot. We felt a little pushed aside. Other than that, the food was phenomenal, crab cakes, lobster and baked clams were perfect. Drinks came...