Cape Cod Restaurants: Finding a Christmas meal is still possible

While reservations for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals are scarce on Cape Cod, there were a few seats left at the end of last week at restaurant tables.

Here is a quick look at some of the places where we found availability:

Fishermen’s View Seafood Market & Restaurant

20 Freezer Road, Sandwich, 508-591-0088, fishermensview.com

Fishermen’s View at the Sandwich Marina, with panoramic vistas, will put on its annual Feast of the Seven Fishes from 4 to 9 p.m. Dec. 24. The Christmas Eve tradition of making seven fishes or seven preparations of one or two fishes, food historians say, came to the United States in the early 1800s with Italian immigrants.

This year’s feast menu: 1) littleneck clams with potato soup and warm arugula salad; 2) Jonah Crab grilled flatbread with grain mustard aioli; 3) lobster with house spaghetti, roasted garlic and San Marzano tomatoes; 4) swordfish; 5) sea scallops with Tuscan bean stew and mustard greens; 6) baked oyster with crispy cornmeal crust and tarragon aioli; 7) monkfish “porchetta” style with hazelnut puree and gremolata (herb relish).

The feast will be $65 per person plus tax and tip. An a la carte menu, with sandwiches, a burger and kids’ meals, will also be available.

Emma Boen, a Fishermen’s View hostess, said reservations are sold out but managers have set aside several tables, as well as the bar and lounge, so walk-in diners can partake of the feast.

If you don’t have time to wait on the day before Christmas, there will be a Christmas Eve market sale from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 24 with raw and prepared fish dishes. Details available at https://www.fishermensview.com/.

Chatham Bars Inn

297 Shore Road, 508-945-6871, chathambarsinn.com

The folks at Chatham Bars Inn will host two Christmas dinners: a grand buffet with seating from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for $178 per person ($65 for children 5 to 12) plus tax and gratuity, and, in Sacred Cod Tavern, a three-course prix fixe menu for $85.

The buffet will have more than 50 items, including entrees of Beef Wellington with Madeira sauce; roasted turkey with giblet gravy, sage stuffing and cranberry sauce; and cider and maple glazed ham with assorted mustards. There is an Asian station with sushi and sashimi; seafood on carved ice displays; clam chowder and winter vegetable minestrone soup; and a half-dozen dishes prepared at the buffet, including sauteed crab cakes with house-made hot sauce.

The 14 desserts will be holiday-themed with flavors including white and milk chocolate creme Chantilly, peppermint and cinnamon sugar.

There will be fewer selections on the Sacred Cod Tavern menu, but there is a lot of crossover. Tavern entrees include a choice of turkey with the trimmings; hearth-roasted haddock with wilted spinach, crispy fingerlings and lobster bisque; prime rib with whipped potatoes and brown butter green beans; or heirloom squash risotto.

See a full menu at https://www.chathambarsinn.com/.

Chatham Bars Inn, which is also planning a New Year's Eve celebration for guests and members of the public, is celebrating a recent big win: Calling it “the Cape’s grand dame resort” that has “perfected the good stuff,” Condé Nast Traveler last week named Chatham Bars Inn to its 2022 Gold List as one of 45 of the Best Hotels & Resorts in the World.

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Villagio Ristorante

631 Falmouth Road (Route 28), Cotuit, 508-428-0000, https://www.villaggiocapecod.com/

In Cotuit, Villagio Ristorante owner/chef Jay Bartolomei will be serving dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Christmas Eve and 2 to 10 p.m. Christmas Day.

Bartolomei had planned to open at 3 p.m. on Christmas but moved it to an hour earlier because, with 68 reservations encompassing 250 people, the first four hours of the day were fully booked. "There are reservations available, but after 6," he said last week.

Christmas Eve business looked to be brisk as well, with 42 reservations then for 171 people.

While staffers are expected to work their regular hours Christmas Eve, working on the holiday is voluntary. Bartolomei said he's not worried about staffing because he runs the kitchen, his girlfriend, Rose Mace, runs the dining room and his son, Anthony Bartolomei, works with him.

"We can each do the work of two or three people so we can run with a skeleton crew on the holiday," he said.

The chef said he is known for his scratch-made sauces, such as the Sambuca cream sauce on the Seafood Zingerella ($56.99) with lobster meat, shrimp and scallops sauteed with asparagus and artichoke hearts.

Bartolomei said prices for entrees range from the high $20s to the low $70s for prime steak, including elk from New Zealand and beef from Omaha. There are six kids' meals — pizza, chicken fingers, chicken parmigiana — for $19.99 each.

"Food in one year has gone up 26 percent so I had to adjust my prices. But people are not crying about that," he said.

The chef said he'll serve his regular menu on Christmas Eve, but "Christmas Day will be a lighter menu, maybe prime rib because it's quick and easy to cut and serve," Bartolomei said Thursday.

Pelham House Resort

14 Sea St., Dennis Port, 508-398-6076, https://www.pelhamhouseresort.com/

The resort's executive chef Daniel Coé said, based on comments from last year, that the Pelham House will serve its regular menu, with the addition of some holiday specials for Christmas Eve.

Coé and chef de cuisine Casey Jette created an appetizer of Chatham mussels with truffle gnocchi in black garlic sauce ($23) and an entree of kumquat and cherry Rohan duck breast on cauliflower puree with sweet and sour cherries and poached rutabaga ($38). From executive pastry chef PattiAnne Curtin comes an eggnog creme brule ($12) topped with brandied fruits.

Pelham House, which has stunning views of Nantucket Sound, was nearly full at the end of last week but taking reservations on a wait list. On Dec. 24, lunch will be served 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with Christmas Eve dinner from 4 to 7 p.m. The restaurant will be closed Christmas Day.

Route 28 Diner

928 Route 28, South Yarmouth, 508-398-2888, https://www.facebook.com/Rt-28-diner-172925992724334/

No reservations are required at the diner, where a Christmas special of orange cranberry roasted pork loin with stuffing and mashed potatoes ($15.99) will be served Christmas Day. The diner is open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily and has earned a 4.5 out of five stars rating based on 125 Yelp reviews.

Hearth 'n Kettle

at Cape Codder Resort & Spa, 1225 Iyannough Road (Route 132), Hyannis, 508-568-2935; and 1196 Main St. (Route 28), South Yarmouth, 508-394-2252; https://www.hearthnkettle.com/

Hearth 'n Kettle, which was open for Thanksgiving, will be closed for Christmas. But they do have an offer for people who want to enjoy the holiday at home without the cooking. For $21.99 per person, you can buy a complete, chef-made roasted turkey dinner that is packaged to reheat at home It comes with chicken barley soup, mashed potatoes and butternut squash. Add strawberry-topped cheesecake or pumpkin pie for $6.99.

Christmas orders must be placed by 3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21, and picked up by noon on Dec. 24. You may be able to convince the family that Santa brought the feast.

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Chinese anyone?

While it is not a traditional Christmas meal, Chinese and other Asian foods can be a relatively inexpensive way to feed a crowd of company. While most of these restaurants remain open for the holidays, they are extremely busy on Christmas and New Year's Eve, and recommend that you order hours before you want to pick up the food.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: To skip cooking at Christmas, look to the pros at Cape Cod restaurants