The Cape Cod

The food was good. But the seafood didn’t seem very fresh. It tasted like it was frozen and then reheated. It was also on the bland side. I don’t think I’d return.

I like this place. The service is always warm and friendly, and the early-​bird specials give you good bang for your buck. Yes, the ambiance could use a little work, but tell me where else you can get a decent seafood dinner for two with soup or salad for under $ 40, including tax and tip?! It’s basically home-​cooked seafood for a good price and without the hassle of preparing it yourself. Even though most of the patrons are probably grandparents, I think the food outweighs the «scene». If you want a yummy meal without frills, this is the place.

The décor could use an update and the staff is overstretched. The food is bland and seems to be from the freezer. Prices are low and portions are accordingly small.
Not bad, but not particularly good either.

Our social group celebrates our birthdays here, so we go several times a year. They’re very accommodating and will set up a table for a large group. It’s like going to your local pub. If you’re a regular customer, you’re like family. The service staff is exceptional — always friendly and smiling. The food is always consistently good, and the sourdough bread is a winner.

The service here was a solid 4 stars, but the food… when we walked in it felt like a senior dining facility complete with early bird specials. The servings were skimpy, the food was bland and the warm sourdough brought out at the beginning of the meal could crack a tooth. I ordered seafood linguine that was served in a smaller sized bowl, didn’t have many noodles, had 2 shrimps, 1 small piece of fish, and maybe 2 clams??? Really? And it wasn’t cheap either, I paid $ 13.95 for that dish that had no flavor, barely any seafood and few noodles. My husband’s French onion soup looked, smelled and tasted like it came from a can. I really wanted to like this place since a good seafood restaurant doesn’t seem to exist here in the East bay without travelling up to Crockett. If you want to go trippin back in time to 1979 check this place out, otherwise you might want to pass.

Service slow, food overcooked. And, walking by the next morning, peeked in the window and saw dirty dishes on the tables complete with left over food, and checks still on the tables. One time event? Nope, saw the same thing another day. Little critters will be next. clearly the workers don’t care. Never going back.

I have been here 3 or 4 times during the past year. Service is always good, and food also is… except for the last visit. Maybe they changed a chef? We could tell they used fresh ingredients, including fish, but something was mission in the flavor.

Food and service are excellent. The waitress was very attentive. they have wonderful early bird specials (5−7pm) all for 10.95 and you get your choice in either soup or salad and potatoes or rice. I got the grilled salmon with dill sauce and my husband got the New York steak. mine was perfect and my husband steak was juicy. They bring warm bread to the table and gave us refills on it. I recommended it! good prices tasty food!

I give it 5 stars based on a great fish dinner for $ 9.95-$ 12. P. lus they give me constant refills of coffee.
I do not understand what these people giving them a bad review are talking about.
My family and I have been going to this place for at least 16 years.
Great family owned restaurant with service and food to boot. Use it because of the great value before they all go away. last place I know you can spend under $ 75 and get a great sit down fish dinner for two.
Cape Cod
1150 Solano Avenue, Albany, CA
(510) 528‑3308

As regulars here, we were very disappointed by our recent dinner. We ordered fish and specifically asked that it be undercooked, because the tendency is to do the opposite and that can spoil your whole dinner. To our surprise, it arrived seriously OVERCOOKED – dry and tough. Because we like the owners and were really hungry after a long wait, we ate it glumly, when we should have sent it back. We got our corkage removed from the bill, but that was scant recompense for two bad dinners.
We’re so discouraged, it will be a while before we’re willing to try again!

Me and the hubby LOVE this new found spot! For under 11.00 and if you arrive before 7pm, you can enjoy the Early Bird Special. We have gone twice and we have tried the following: Crab Cakes, Stuffed Filet of Sole, Green Baked Mussels and the Grilled Snapper, ALL a delight and LOVE their crunchy warm bread and service! Highly recommended!!! Our next try will be the NY Steak!

This is a very decent place and I have been here many times. Note that these other reviews are fairly old, and now I’m glad to say this place is great. The food is delicious, service is good, and it’s an awesome place for a good relaxing dinner with friends, family, or for dates. Overall this is a good 3 star restaurant.

Let’s say, 2.5. Service is decent, aims and hits a modest price point for their senior-​heavy crowd that is clearly price-​conscious.
Skip the chowder – innocuous but no depth of flavor. Fish’n’chips decent sized, competently done, again not exciting or exceptional.
Calamari steak with pilaf was quite good with a browned butter garlic sauce, but The Fat Lady/​Oakland has a much more generous serving, and my DH prefers their lemon-​butter-​wine sauce.
Yes, it’s cheaper than Bistro 1491 or Townhouse Grill, but it’s not anywhere near as good, either. Spend a little more, get a lot more… elsewhere.

First, I want to mention, as a Boston and Cape Cod native, the lack of «umph» to the food is authentic (sadly) to many Cape Cod places I’ve been!
Going to the Albany Theater for a date with my boo right before a trip to Cape Cod without my boo, this place got us because of the name.
The food was decent (I liked my grilled salmon with dill sauce, the potatoes were yummy too, I’d skip the Clam Chowder next time* and opt for the salad instead) and the bread was very good, and damn, a ½ carafe of Chardonnay for $ 10 + the funny experience as 30somethings getting an Early Bird Special makes this place memorable.
*Will I be back? Not likely, but that’s more out of the variety of places on Solano Ave that I want to try or return to (hello, Little Star is opening up across the street!!!) Why 3 stars? I would give it 2 but there was something about dining here that made it unique enough of an experience to warrant 3… And did I mention how much wine I got for $ 10?!

Ok, so it isn’t Aqua… but Aqua just closed. This place is worth checking out just for the kitschy mother-in-law’s tongue «room dividers» and the waitress who say «chardonnay, please» as she sets down your glass. A truly odd, but tasty and cheap, dining experience. We read some reviews given by «grown ups» and agree whole-​heartedly. Good, probably consistent, hotel-​like, European-​portioned, old-​style seafood.
Stop 2 on our odyssey up the culinary canal that is Solano Avenue, we were charmed and amused by this funny, old-​fogey establishment. It was actually a little romantic… but maybe that was just the good company. Value was really outstanding: $ 60 for split crab salad (not Tadich, but fresh and we certainly ate all of it); tasty, if slightly weird clam chowder; halibut special was not bad at all (and this is from someone who catches them in the Bay).
On to The Burger Depot, which we skipped in deference to our middle-​aged stomachs,

For the price of 9.95 for a plate of seafood, veggies, soup or salad, it’s a an bargain! The food isn’t best seafood you’ve tasted in your life, but for a price that low, it’s definitely worth checking the place out.
Also, The ambiance is nice and the waitresses are attentive.

One thing that is really nice about this restaurant is that there are few patrons under 30! You won’t have your dining experience interrupted by Lindsay Lohan ring tones followed by a speakerphone conversation, «Remember in Season 8 of Friends, the episode when Brad Pitt guest starred and it was discovered that Ross had made out with the high school librarian and then Phoebe?» Young whippersnappers may find it too difficult to use the salt and pepper shakers (try to stop texting for a moment).
The waitresses are professional, attentive and not in a bad mood because the more mature dinners leave tips that actually fold, not just some loose coins with flakes of ganja.
The prices are very reasonable and I can even afford to treat my friends to dinner through my $ 275K in dividend income. While there are the $ 10 specials until 7PM, the regular menu prices are great bargains. Last visit I had the Chilean Sea Bass with sun-​dried tomatoes… good!
OK, now here is the judgment call. The food is consistent, but some dishes will be better than others. There is a similarity between the fare here and that found in hotels. The dishes are more similar in size to those served in Europe. You will not leave here feeling stuffed, in the same way as if you ate a giant Blondie’s pizza with some under-​30 friends with wooden pegs in their earlobes.
So I give it 3 stars for food, plus one star for ambiance and waitresses who hug. However, please don’t grab the tuchus!

Remember in Season 8 of Friends, the episode when Brad Pitt guest starred and it was discovered that Ross had made out with the high school librarian and then Phoebe asked, «Did she lure you with an early bird dinner?» Well, the husband and I were not lured in by any particular person but rather by the Early Bird Dinner prices. They offered a variety of fish and steak, between 5 – 7 p.m. all for $ 10. We thought that we’d try it.
I rarely give 1 star but the food was terrible. I ordered the fish (I don’t even remember what kind of fish it was) that had shrimp and mushrooms with a cream sauce. My fish had to be doctored with salt and pepper b/​c it was that bland. The cream sauce was watery and the fish, rubbery. The husband ordered a NY strip where the meat was white! The rice pilaf that came with it was also bland and the vegetables were easily the frozen kind from the grocery store that you just steam or boil.
I forgot to mention that we were easily the youngest people there. Their clientele are seniors and it seemed that many of them were regulars. Perhaps, they assume that everyone who walks in the door will be older and has dietary restrictions on salt intake, etc. Needless to say, I would not recommend this place, even to my grandmother.

This little café is a throwback to the warm and wonderful days of hot food and kindly customer service.
It is decorated simply and dotted with seniors who must know a good thing when they find one.
I am 58 and was the youngest person eating here. Trout almondine and the Grilled Prawns and Scallops were very good, and Boston clam chowder flavorful and not heavy. Salad was very fresh.
Service is very quick even on a busy Friday night.
I like and recommend this restaurant and will return there regularly, as my mother found it to be a classy place and so enjoyable. True it is not a hoppin’ place for the younger crowd, and the music is Smooth Jazz played gently and on low volume, but it is a gem.

love this place! my boyfriends family and I go here all the time — can’t get enough of the calamari appetizer and the chocolate mousse is to DIE for. I’m not much of a seafood eater so I usually get the NY steak that’s always really really tasty. And the potatoes with grilled onions and tomatoes are excellent. The service is great too — waitresses are really, really friendly always ready to give out hugs! I love the Cape Cod
— — –
Time for an Update: 11/​10/​2007
So my opinion of the Cape cod hasn’t changed at all — I love it, I always will love it, I would marry it if I could. However, my Unilocal writing skills have improved considerably since my original review. I figured with all the mediocre reviews of the Cape Cod on here, I owed it to the owners to more thoroughly express my reasons for the 5 stars!
The owners are some of the nicest people you’ll ever come across — always smiling and genuine hard workers. My boyfriends family has been coming here for about 20 years. And any restaurant that keeps regulars around for 20 years is worth trying, in my opinion!
I currently wish I was drowning in a bowl of their clam chowder just so I could drink myself to safety. By the way, I don’t exaggerate at all (: I can’t believe people on here say its bland! The OUTRAGE! I can say that I respectfully disagree. Its home made — made from *scratch* — and is always served at the perfect temperature. Just grab a piece of that free bread, and dip dip dip away! So. Good.
The amazing-​ness of the steak and Cajun Chicken Linguini can not be measured. The steak is always my first choice since it comes with a side of those yummy potatoes (with onions and mini chopped tomatoes). I’m not much of a seafood eater so I tend to steer clear of the oceany plates. My brother loves the open faced crab sandwhich, and the boyfriend always gets Blackened sword fish. I wouldn’t be able to comment much on either dish but the look of satisfaction on their faces when they’re done is a sure sign of «good.»
The dessert is to die for. As I mentioned in my original review: Mousse, Mousse, Mousse!!! There are no words to describe it: you gotta try it yourself.
As for the service: its unparalleled. They treat everyone like family and it’s incredibly admirable that they manage to keep smiles on their faces with such a small staff. There is only ONE chef. ONE. There always has been one, there always will be one, and they only need one. So, if your meal takes a little longer than normal to reach your table, just remember… it’ll be well worth the wait (: