The Top Five Lobster Rolls in the Falmouth Area

When you visit Cape Cod, you’ll want to sample the lobster rolls. After all, the Cape has perhaps the most delicious lobster rolls on the planet, and you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you don’t have at least one.

Restaurants up and down Cape Cod have unique takes on the lobster roll, which is sometimes called a lobster salad. Some places incorporate celery, others use onion, but the three ingredients that everyone agrees on are fresh lobster meat, a little bit of mayo, and bread or a bun.

We’ll save the discussion on the Cape’s best lobster roll for another day, so now for, let’s look at where you can find the tastiest versions of this local delicacy in Falmouth and its immediate surrounding area.

1. Raw Bar at Popponesset Marketplace

The reason why we’re focusing on Falmouth along with its neighboring towns and villages is that we didn’t want to leave Raw Bar at Popponesset Marketplace off the list because of a technicality. You see, Raw Bar is in Mashpee, but sits comfortably at the top of nearly any lobster roll ranking.

Popponesset Marketplace is a strip mall with a distinctly old-Cape feel to it. The architecture is colonial in appearance and showing up here is like almost walking through a time warp.

The crown jewel of the market is Raw Bar, which boasts massive, award-winning lobster rolls that make the restaurant a must-visit destination. The rolls here are simple, lobster, mayo, and a bun, as Raw Bar doesn’t believe in using fillers. Keep in mind that Raw Bar closes for the winter and re-opens in the middle of April every year.

2. Chart Room

OK, so there’s another reason why this list includes Falmouth’s surrounding area: the Chart Room is in the village of Cataumet, which is part of Bourne. Now that we have that out of the way, the Chart Room rests comfortably on a converted barge overlooking Red Brook Harbor, inside the Kingman Yacht Center. It’s a great location because it features outstanding sunsets over the water, and the venue is also celebrated for its piano bar and other nightly entertainment during the summer.

Of course, the reason we’re here is to discuss their lobster roll, which comes in a couple of different forms. First, there’s the lobster salad, which is a generous lobster roll served on either Portuguese bread or stuffed inside a tomato. The meat is lightly seasoned, and the recipe uses celery. There’s also a more traditional lobster roll available here, which is smaller and served in a hot dog bun.

The Chart Room closes after Columbus Day weekend in October and opens again near the beginning of May, so remember that when booking your Cape Cod vacation rental.

3. The Silver Lounge

Finally, we have a lobster roll that you can get inside Falmouth’s city limits at the Silver Lounge and Restaurant, an eatery that has been in business since 1938. This diner is open year round, as well, so no matter when your travels take you to the Cape, you can stop by for a tasty meal.

The lobster roll at this venue comes with five ounces of tail and claw meat that is tossed in celery and mayo. One taste and you’ll quickly see why locals visit this place enough to keep it open in the winter.

4. Lobster Trap

Well, we’re back outside of Falmouth again, as the Lobster Trap Restaurant is actually in Bourne, near the area where Buzzards Bay meets the Cape Cod Canal. The Lobster Trap first opened in 1969 as a fish market but has since expanded to include a restaurant and fish distribution company, as well.

Both the market and restaurant are open year round, so you won’t have to visit Cape Cod in the summer if you want to try their lobster roll which, by the way, is enormous. You’ll have to see it for yourself to appreciate how much lobster they pack into the sandwich.

The roll is also a little different because it includes lettuce and is served on brioche, giving it a slightly different texture than other versions you’ll find throughout the Cape. Bring your appetite and make a night of it at the Lobster Trap.

5. Quarterdeck

Located on Main Street in the heart of downtown Falmouth, the Quarterdeck has been an institution in the area since 1967. The building’s decor is part of its charm, as it features a nautical theme, complete with wood salvaged from MacDougall’s Boatyard, some of which dates back to the latter part of the 17th century.

The Quarterdeck is a year-round establishment that is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Its downtown location means you can easily have a bite before wandering Main Street and Palmer Avenue or hitting up one of the town’s many events.

Now for the info: there are two lobster roll options at the Quarterdeck, depending on your hunger level. The smaller lobster salad sandwich is served on a brioche roll and seasoned with mayo, celery, and lemon. The larger version comes on Portuguese bread. Both are outstanding.

Lobster Rolls Everywhere

As you can see, if a restaurant serves seafood, there’s a good chance you’ll find a lobster roll on their menu because everyone knows that Cape Cod is the place to go for these creations. When searching for an exceptional one, make sure that the restaurant uses simple ingredients and fresh lobster, and bread that hasn’t been sitting around for days.

Also, have a look at how many other people in the restaurant are enjoying a lobster roll while you’re there because if it looks like a popular menu item, there’s a good chance that you’ve found one of the best lobster rolls on the Cape.

Snooping on other diners’ plates also allows you to see the size of the rolls to determine if you can take one down on your own.

In the end, you can’t go wrong if you choose one of the five restaurants on this list.