Moby Dick's Restaurant — Restaurant in Wellfleet

Moby Dicks has been an icon, a landmark, everyone notices on the drive into Cape Cod. It’s a quaint beachy kind of place. The quintessential Cape Cod restaurant. I haven’t been there in years even though I have visited PTown annually for about 50 years. So this year I decided to eat at Moby Dicks. Big mistake.

I ordered a bowl of Lobster Bisque and the Fried Shrimp Platter with fries and coleslaw. The food arrived in 5 minutes even though they advertise their food is made to order. It was barely warm. I decided to get to the shrimp first while there was some heat in it. The shrimp was good, nothing special, not particularly flavorful especially considering it was deep fried. I was glad it did not have that heavy batter the dish sometimes has but at the same time it was not seasoned; no flavor. Of course the soup was cold by the time I got to that and the fries had cooled off too.

I found the soup tastes sour. I couldn’t believe it! I salted, stirred, but I couldn’t convince myself it wasn’t sour tasting. I hoped there wasn’t a dead lobster in their tank. I called the manager over explained the entire meal arrived barely warm so the soup went cold. He immediately replaced or re-heated the soup. Nice and hot! but still sour. I just didn’t eat it, finished the coleslaw and forgot about the fries all together.

When the waitress came to clear she asked, they usually do, how was everything. I really thought something could be wrong to make the soup sour and that can be dangerous so I answered honestly instead of saying the usual - it was fine. She apologized and said they wish they had know sooner. To that i answered I had told the manager who replaced the soup with a hot bowl but it still tasted sour to me. I said maybe it’s a different recipe but I had just had lobster bisque the night before in town at the Lobster Pot so I knew the taste.

She returned and offered a Key Lime Pie for desert. I thanked her but declined because-I don’t like Key Lime pie. She asked if I’d like something else. Again I thanked her and declined. I had kind of lost my appetite by then.

To their great credit, as I was in my car leaving the host appeared at my window. He apologized again and said they would like to give me a $25 gift card!!! I heartily thanked him.

I returned the next day for lunch. What to order? What to order?! Not the soup! I chose Fish and Chips. A Cape Cod signature dish-deep fried Cod fish. Surely that would be good.

I explained my food had been cold the night before so I was given a $25 gift card. After I gave my order the cashier couldn’t figure out how to adjust my charge with the gift card. Eventually help arrived from the back and they got me checked out. I had asked they make sure my order was hot. I asked they serve the fries separate from the fish so the hot fried fish wouldn’t make the fries steamed and soggy-I hate that.

A huge basket of fries arrived.They were separate and hot. Two modest size pieces of Cod arrived coated in a rubbery, bland, cool but not thick batter. No seasoning and it couldn’t have been straight out of the deep fryer.

The coleslaw was the same as the night before, all the shredded cabbage components were there mixed in a light amount of mayonnaise. It was fresh, crunchy and bland.

The Sprite was good! I...

Moby Dick's might be one of the Best Gems of Well Fleet. You walk in and place your order and pay at the front desk. The menu options are extensive. There is a wide variety of choices and it's not just seafood....but come for the seafood. Definitely worth the price for top notch seafood. There are handwritten specials on the chalkboard as well, a greeter opens the door and gives you a menu so you can look it over while in line. Expect a line..but it moves quickly. You have an option to sit upstairs at picnic style tables or downstairs where it is a little more personal. The food came quickly after being seated. Wonderful and attentive staff who constantly made sure I was taken care of. The owner makes it a point to stop by every table and personally greet you and see how he can make your eating experience exceptional. I had a cup of the lobster bisque. You could taste the freshness of the soup. I feel it could have more chunks of lobster, mine had one tiny piece of lobster but it was good regardless because every bite you could still taste the lobster and the cream was not too overpowering. Next came the main course. I had fish and chips. At first, I was expecting a bigger piece of fish, but this was a perfect portion. The owner mentioned that it was just caught that very morning. I've had fish and chips before but this was the best piece of fried fish I've had in a long time. A Flaky, white, melt in your mouth, fresh piece of fish. You could see a rainbow in the flesh of the skin. It wasn't too over seasoned nor was it under seasoned. It had a perfect coating of batter that did not take away from tasting the freshness of the fish. My only suggestion would be to ask for an additional plate so the oil from the fish does not soak everything else on your plate. Even the shoestring French fries were fried to perfection. Not soggy and limp but fried crisp and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. What was interesting to me was that some people brought their own wine to drink at their table, but most tables had bottles on their tables and everyone seemed to be enjoying their visit. The entire staff is very welcoming and friendly. I will DEFINITELY eat here again on my next visit to the Cape, and will try their famous sice 1999 Keylime pie. You should stop by as well. This is one spot you don't want to leave the area without trying. Believe me, you will be SO glad you did! Great for families! Not formal at all. Come as you are and leave full...

Updated! May 30th 2018

I have a Summer house in the Cape and I dine a lot at local places. Moby Dick's has become one of my least favorite place to go to because the level of service is getting worst.

Two weeks ago I went there to order a take away. After ordered the food I was told it be less than half hour and was asked to wait at the bench outside as usual. After half hour went by and my name was not called, I waited for 5 more minutes, and noticed that four people who came after me have gotten their food already, so I went in to ask. A woman who seems like a manager immediately came to me and said "Mam you have to go out side and wait until your name is called", I asked her I saw four people after me got their food and I was told it would be less than half hour and now forty five minutes, I just want to check if my food is still being made and how much longer it would be. This time she yielded at me, "I can't promise when, you need to go wait outside". She did not even ask my name to look up my order, and I don't need to be yielded at for being a customer.

This place has been my favorite for many years, but recently is a let down. There are many many other places that are better in services and quality of food.

Update May 5th 2018.

I came back on the invitation over the respond of the owner; Todd. The real reason I was willing to give it another try was the the owner responded to every reviews, good or bad. He would have not don't that if he wasn't care about how his customer think of the restaurant. I met him in person, and I can tell that he is doing this business because he loves it. He would do everything he can to make sure that his customers are happy. I upgraded the review from 2 stars to 4 stars and hopefully I will give it a 5 stars soon.

Update May 30th 2018

Back for the second time this year. Absolutely falling in love with this place again. Nice and pleasant service staffs. Foods are exceptionally good! Cape Cod salad is my new favorite item on the menu, crunchy greens and...