Wellfleet is killing the outdoor dining game! We ventured back, blinders up heading for yet another stop at the Bookstore Restaurant, when we let them down and noticed the deck above this restaurant on a beautiful day overlooking the harbor. We couldn’t ignore our curiosity and decided to dine at Pearl.
Literally just down the street from the Bookstore sits Pearl, right on the curve of Commercial Street at the dock. They have a beautiful deck where you can overlook Duck Creek, which is fed from Wellfleet Harbor. Boasting “an ample selection of beer, wine, and cocktails” and fresh seafood with a view, Pearl also keeps to the historical Cape exterior with a modern twist to it.
When we went, we were still under outdoor dining only orders, but it worked out as it was a gorgeous day begging us to sit outside! What made it better was our service, our waiter was running up and down those stairs delivering food and drinks and working his butt off! In these crazy times it is nice to see hardworking citizens, gaining valuable life experience along the way. Our drinks came quick and our food not long after ordering either.
Amid the restrictions of COVID, Pearl still offers a nice menu of fresh, local classics. We started off with calamari, which had banana peppers, marinara, and lemon pepper aioli. This calamari was nice and crispy, not too heavy on the coating, and cooked beautifully. The aioli was tangy and a little sweet, offering a nice addition and balance to the bite.
One entree we devoured was the South Up North Burger, boasting a mighty 8 ounce beef patty, their house pimento cheese, root beer caramelized onions, and the classic additions of BL&T. The burger was uber juicy with all of the elements melding together nicely for a great bite every time. With that we enjoyed their house chips which were crispy and crunchedy!
The fish tacos were also superb, fresh and lightly fried cod with pico de gallo, baja fish taco sauce, and coleslaw. Again the seafood was heavenly fried, the baja sauce was sharp and added a nice pungent flavor. The bed of coleslaw added a good crunch element, maybe a little mayo heavy, but nice nonetheless. Their french fries were also irresistible, nice and crispy yet fluffy. And if you can’t tell from the pictures all of the portions were generous, as well!
While we may not have embarked on the journey to go to Pearl initially, it ended up being the exact meal we needed. So let’s toast to summer with a cool Hog Island Summer Ale and scrumptious fish tacos to new adventures and the future.
The Critiquing Carnivore 