Lorraine’s Restaurant

I have been a big fan of Lorraine’s for more years than I can remember. It has always been my go-​to spot while staying in Provincetown, sometimes dinner every night of my stay. Yes, it was that good. And yes, my little doggy paws used the past tense.
As usual for any trip to Provincetown, I went there for dinner on my first night. It’s always been a tradition of mine. I feel starting out on the right dining paw so to speak sets the tone for the rest of the trip. I should have known something was wrong when I saw that they had moved to a new location. Don’t get me wrong the new space is okay, it’s just not Lorraine’s. It’s very small. They lost at least 50% of their table space, and the décor has been updated, meaning sort of trendy and sleek. Again, nothing like the old Lorraine’s with that warm, cozy, I’m back in Provincetown feeling.
The service was as always, warm and friendly. Lorraine herself even welcomed us back. But there was something missing that night — the old recipes — or at least the old chef. I don’t know what the problem was, but the food was plain bad. The chile relleno was so spicy hot you could barely eat it, and the green sauce (I’m assuming tomatillo) was flavorless and watery. The salsa was also not as I remembered it, lacking any flavor resembling Mexican food. The tostada was not a tostada but a salad that had crumbled tortilla chips on it.
I was, to say the least, heartbroken at how far the food had fallen. I only wish when they had moved, they had remembered to grab the recipe book. It’s not the old Lorraine’s, and it’s certainly not a Lorraine’s I’ll go back to.
Shatasdogbowl…

Great food at low prices, a rarity on Commercial Street in Provincetown. Quaint seating indoors and outdoors.

Ok Mexican in P-​Town. Sangria too sweet (stick to beer, wine or margaritas), food a bit lacking in flavor. Service good and vibe is energetic. Outdoor seating is a nice feature, along w/​heat lamps for the colder weather. Is a nice change of pace from all the seafood/​fried food restos, even if the food could be better.

Food was fine here. Not spectacular not bad. They were out of lobster and crab, which cut out the first entrée that I had planned to order.
The reason for the poor review was the woman working there (Lorraine, perhaps?). She talked down to her staff like she owned the place and wore a chef’s coat so I’m assuming that was her.
We arrived around 5:45 ish, maybe 6. 4 adults and a 15 month old. After being told that there was room, but we had to leave by X-​time for other reservations (which I get) we set up the baby in his chair and (Lorraine) grabbed my arm and hissed in my ear (I say hissed because that’s exactly what it was) «if he cries take him outside!!». Between the grabbing my arm and hissing that, the delivery was, to put mildly, quite aggressive and really uncomfortable. After we sat down I had to tell my friend and her husband about what she had said and how she had said it, regarding their son, and it was uncomfortable.
The food was again, okay. The service okay. The baby was great. And after out entrees had started, when he started to squirm, I let his mom and dad have some time off with my husband to enjoy the rest of their time (because I was over it). No other guests were distressed from our existence with a baby at the table next to them.
Long and the short of it, I get that you don’t want a baby crying in a small restaurant with other guests. But a) we would obviously be courteous to other guests if he cried b) there were MUCH more tactful and respectful ways of asking that of us rather than her approach, and c) the way that she snapped at her staff person when we arrived and hurriedly told us that we needed to leave by x-​time just made the experience, well, a 1 star experience.
As someone who spends much of her summer in Provincetown, I can assure you that there are better restaurants with exceptional management and staff right down the street.

I ate at Lorraine’s on Sunday Oct 25^th, 2015. It was my first time at her very intimate new location near all the Art Galleries.
Lorraine asked if we want inside or outside, we choose outdoors and she immediately put on the outside gas heaters .
She went over the specials in great detail and it was my Best Meal all week in P town .
I Loved the soup and as a main got the Huge tuna tacos and I sampled my friends perfectly cooked duck entrée (fantastic all round) Brilliant night out and thanks to our friend from Palm
Springs, CA for suggesting we try Lorraine’s, I hope you love it also.
I’ll be back every time I visit, Thanks a million Lorraine.

I have been coming to Ptown for 14 years and had the best meal I have ever had. I had the Firecracker Pasta with shrimp. It was nicely spiced with just a bit of heat. My wife had the Carnitas and loved every bite. The homemade guacamole was amazing. We will definately go back.

Didn’t eat there but had afternoon sangria which was very good and served by very friendly staff who didn’t try to force us into buying food when all we wanted was sangria. Will go again the next time we are in town.

We started off with margaritas, which were quite good. The Chile Relenos consisted of a mild chile submerged in a green murky flavorless glop. Nearly an hour later hour mains arrived — a soggy chimichanga stuffed with fatty chicken and cod tacos. It was very evident the meals were kept under a heat lamp WAY too long. After our plates were removed, it took another 20 minutes to get our check. The Lorraine’s of the late 90s was the place to go. This version is the perfect example of when the time has come to hang up your hat.

Have been lucky to go my last three times early; around 6:30. Service has always been pleasant if not polished. Food has always been terrific. My most recent entrée choices were the salmon tacos and the Paella. The tacos were ample salmon filet cuts not crushed fish bits, The paella was a non saffron version that featured lemon lime accented broth. Clams, mussels, salmon and other fish bits mingled with a variety of squash made for a fabulous experience.
Go early. mmmmmmmmm

Had the lobster ravioli and lobster sliders. Good was great and the portion sizes were more than we could eat. Great food and atmosphere.

The worst dinner out I’ve had in years.
The service was terrible and the food was atrocious. The server spilled an entire glass of sangria all over my wife and was unapologetic. He didn’t bother to wipe it up so she had to sit crooked in her seat because her leather shoes kept getting wet from the puddle of red wine that pored off of her onto the floor. He could be seen hanging out talking with other staff the whole time while our water glasses remained empty throughout the meal and never came by to check on us to find out that we were unhappy with both his service and our meal.
I ordered a favorite dish of mine, Paella. What is supposed to be a hearty rice dish packed with seafood turned out to be a $ 24 bowl of liquid with no rice whatsoever and barely any solid food in it. I’ve eaten many a paella and this was the first time I was left hungry after. In fact, I was still so famished that I quickly scarfed down my wife’s enchilada which she hadn’t bothered to eat because it was also disappointing.
This was our first time in Provincetown and overall we were left with a bad taste in our mouth. My suggestion is eat anywhere but here.

The name of this restaurant has nothing to do with the Five Star Rating I’m giving it! Stopped in for lunch while on vacation… great location in town; décor was charming and the lobster taco was amazingly flavorful, generous and nicely plated. Friends had falafel; unique spices; hummus was also unique as was the coleslaw… light and flavorful. Guacamole was the best we have ever tasted; fresh. Chicken burrito was delicious! Service was excellent. Ice tea was served in charming ball jars. Highly recommend Lorraine’s! Oh, prices are reasonable for the portions and freshness! On second thought, give them 6 STARS!

Have to agree with some of the other reviews… we’ve been following her around for years, from the small hole in the wall next to Marine Specialties to the former Galleranis… she has lost her way in this venture… so disappointing and sad.

I’ve been following Lorraine for years… every location. What happened?! Ate at her new location this week. Small but intimate. However, the intimacy of the location was the highlight. The service was awful. Atrocious. Our waiter could’ve been a stranger from commercial street. He took our order 4 times and still it came out all wrong. As for the food… not good. We had the risotto which was basically a bowl of water, the falafel and hummus which was barely edible and a tofu taco (when we ordered he told us he never heard of it even though it was on the menu). The taco was ok. Everything else was abysmal. In fact, the parties on both side also had major issues with their meals. Giving it 2 stars because i don’t have the heart to give Lorraine any less. Someone intervene here and help her out.

Waited a very long time for somebody to take our order. I ordered «chicken tacos» and the waitress told me the price on the menu was only for a single taco, and I assumed they were more authentic tacos (smaller, like you get in Mexico) so I ordered 2. Unfortunately she didn’t tell me that they were indeed large tacos after all so I essentially received 2 entrees. Waitress wasn’t particularly friendly and after bringing us our drinks, didn’t come back to offer water refills or subsequent drink orders for over 30 minutes, which is how long we waited for our food. Our appetizer came out at the same time as the food. Food was incredibly bland and seemed to have zero salt or seasoning of any kind. The chicken in the tacos was cut too thin for the apparently long time it spent on the grill, because it was hard and dry as a bone.

Poor service and just ok food. Checkout BigDaddy’s Burrito for better service, better food, and cheaper.

Oh my, what is it that they say about having expectations?
Oh, right don’t have them!
We wanted to try the «new» Lorraine’s restaurant on the special Cinco de Mayo holiday and
what a huge disappointment …
starting with something simple chips and salsa
Bland and uninteresting
not too special at all
Or authentic
followed by margaritas we ordered with top shelf special tequila didn’t even feel like a «kick» of a margarita
onward to our main courses and
not one of the four of us were satisfied with our choices
Sad
the plates were hot the food was not
Even black beans
again bland
for dessert one of us had read that their coconut cream pie was supposed to be out of this world
it was not
it was a lot of Whip cream and some very dry shredded and browned coconut on top of it
store-​bought salty piecrust
as if this wasn’t bad enough
the service was absolutely horrible
we watched around us is people said
are you my waiter
could I get a drink
excuse me could I have some help over here
I mean come on
yet servers are running around
flying around like crazy
even the chef came out to talk to the people in the restaurant
Nice but
kinda weird when so much was at stake
On the way home we all agreed that we wouldn’t be going back to Lorraine’s
too bad
with their new digs
it could’ve been really special

Small friendly, out of the way colorful restaurant on Commercial street. Daily specials, friendly staff, good service, delicious food.
Generous plates, tasty margaritas.
Chips and salsa on the house. Fresh salsa, freshly made chips.
Guac was good too.
we got the steak fajitas on specials and the fish tacos.
All fish dishes are made with the catch of the day. it tastes fresh!
Patio must be nice when the weather gets nicer.

I’ve followed Lorraine to and from all her locations, from when the food was tops and sought after… to the decline, a few years ago, to less than great. Finally made it to the latest spot to try their «taco Tuesday.»
I guess she’s going for an easier, pared down version. The inside room seats 20, with more tables on the deck outside.
The flavors are here, but some of the execution was sub par…
–the red sangria was tasty, but I needed two glasses as the first was mostly ice (and I like to drink!)
–Pecosos, a large shrimp in fresh jalapenos rolled in cornmeal, corn flour & aromatic spices and served with cilantro lime ajo and spicy salad. Spicy goodness. The best item we tried.
–Since it was taco Tuesday… I asked about portion size and was told one per plate and I could easily eat two. So I tried the beef fajitas taco and the family recipe carnitas taco. Both came on corn tortillas made soggy by a salad on top and then the meat. The flavors were good, but both meats were dried out. Couldn’t pick the darn thing up as it would fall apart into a mess. Was more like a soggy tostada, IMO.
And guess what – one was more than enough for my meal. In fact, our waitress, when asked by the three [big muscled] guys at the next table, if they needed to order more than one per person, she said one is enough and then she gave me a weird look. (I’m not that weird, and I’m a lot smaller than those beefy guys!)
–hubby’s steak burrito with mole sauce was tasty, but here the meat was very rare inside. No side of beans or rice.
They offer a small table by the indoor entrance with five different salsas (salsa bar, ha!) you can sample with a small basket of chips for $ 5.50. We passed.
Two star meal, one star service (so sorry! especially in a town that desperately needs ethnic food).

Monday evening 9.8.14
We showed up for an early dinner on a Monday night our first night in town. We had no reservation and that was not a problem. The wait staff greeted us and kind of said «pick your seat» and I headed towards the banquette on the left for two and was told «No not there we need to keep that open for a four top». It is true that the two tables could be pushed together if four diners came in but why tell me to pick my seat then? It was really nice out that night so I wanted to sit outside. Picked a 4 top on the right and sat down. Chairs were uncomfortable and too high for the low table they were paired with. I had to ask to move to the 4 top high top inside. Ironically all these tables were 4 tops yet not the one I wanted originally. Five minutes after our arrival a 2 person group walked in without a reservation and got the table I originally selected. Very strange.
Quesadilla was not as good as I remember. Sangria is definitely not as good as I remember. I noticed a waitress in the back pouring sangrias from a carlo rossi bottle. I do not have an issue with that because I have had really good sangrias made from carlo rossi. However, this wine did not feel doctored at all. No brandy or muddled sugar and fruit taste. I could not finish my wine and anyone who knows me knows I don’t waste wine. We ordered a second round of drinks from the red wine menu and those were fine. Shrimp Enchiladas and Carnita were delicious and exactly as remembered.
I am giving 3 stars not 2 simply due to the quality of the dinner entrees. Appetizer and wine were meh and service was flighty. I am conflicted while writing this review because I have so many good memories of this restaurant over the years. I have never experienced service like this at her prior locations and this location does not have the warmth and coziness of the past two.

IWe went for a late lunch on a Friday afternoon and waited at least twenty minutes to even be seated (when there were open tables), waited another twenty for the waitress to take our drink and food orders, and another forty or so minutes to get our food, only after asking about it to find the waitress had forgotten it on the counter.
I ordered a cheeseburger and my boyfriend ordered a tofu and vegetable burrito. Both our meals were warm but not hot. The cheeseburger was slightly undercooked, greasy, and pretty flavorless. The burrito was mediocre and also lacked flavor. Definitely not worth waiting over an hour for.

Loved it for lunch. Shrimp pecoso as good as ever, yummy carnitas burrito, great shrimp taco. Really friendly genuine service. Just a great place. So glad she’s back.
Oh and BTW Kahlua flan for dessert. WOW it is good.
There is nothing bland about this food. Ask for hot sauce if you want it hot.