Why Catch of the Day Caught My Attention

When our German guests returned from dinner and declared they had experienced “spectacular seafood” at Catch of the Day, I decided Sven and I could put off no longer a trip to the Route 6 restaurant located close by the Marconi Beach traffic light and already open daily. I noted the clam-basket lampshades and kid-friendly atmosphere as we settled in at our table. Surprise, surprise! Bob from Sweet Liberty B&B sat nearby with several friends. A couple minutes later Peter Hall walked in with his wife Marike. Before even glancing at the menu, I had understood Catch of the Day must be doing something right.

“It’s early enough to get our Early Bird Specials,” announced our waitress with a genuine smile.

Actually, the time was five minutes to six. We hastened to accept Raimi’s generous offer.

“It’s a great little place,” I overhead one of Bob’s guests say.

In summer, it’s possible to eat lunch or dinner on the terrace where a raw bar was recently constructed. No sooner had we ordered than the dishes appeared. Sven had the mussels, I chose salmon. I asked Raimi about the buckets of shellfish, which were featured last year at extraordinarily low rates.

“We couldn’t keep that going,” she said with real regret. “Shellfish prices went up. But we have some great new desserts.”

The waitress promptly brought over a slice of cheesecake and some sort of yummy but rich chocolate mousse layer cake and showed them off with such pride that it felt as if she must have helped write the recipes.

Manager Jason Kew stopped by the table to say hello. I asked him about the swordfish sandwich and fish tacos, which several guests raved about last year.

“We sauté them,” he specified. “They’re the most popular. Fresh corn sauce.

I was perusing the menu again. Wellfleet Fisherman’s Stew cost $21. A Cape Cod clambake, priced daily, also attracted my attention.

As Sven says, when you go to a foreign country, check out where the locals eat. Catch of the Day sure scores on that criterion. Affordable cuisine, pleasant atmosphere, cheerful staff. This is a place I will continue to recommend to guests.