For those considering The Wicked Oyster for dinner, I highly caution you to consider otherwise…read more
My husband and I (age 40) visited The Wicked Oyster Provisions shop the day before our dining experience and had a wonderful time. The woman working in the shop was hosting a wine tasting, and we left with some delicious provisions as a result. Because of our great experience, we booked a dinner reservation for the restaurant the next evening.
Upon arriving for our reservation, we were promptly seated at a 4-top table in the front room. It was a cloudy day, but even so the room was quite dark. One guest dining was using a phone flashlight in an attempt to read the menu at 6pm. A tea light candle would have done worlds for not only the lighting, but the overall ambiance. While the interior paint color was lovely, the 90's hotel art and Home Depot lighting left a lot to be desired.
We ordered the fingerling potatoes, Wellfleet oysters, scallops, and lobster cavatelli. The fingerling potatoes (our snack) came out at the same time as our appetizer (the oysters). We were disappointed that the potatoes were quite dry and overcooked atop what tasted equivalent to a jarred romesco sauce. We quickly ran out of sauce in an attempt to resuscitate the potatoes. The oysters were fine, but not notably different than the Wellfleet oysters we purchase from Whole Foods at home, in Colorado.
My husband ordered the scallops, which were served in a seasonal corn sauce with zucchini and peaches. The scallop portion was generous, but the sauce left a lot to be desired. He described it as more of an unseasoned creamed corn than a sauce and there wasn't a pine nut (as advertised) in sight. My pasta was equally disappointing. At this price point, I expected a fresh rolled pasta, which was not the case. The pasta was quite flavorless and the "sauce" was runny and unseasoned. It was also served with a fork, which was quite comical for both my husband and the two tables around us with his watery the sauce was. I might also note that I received a quarter-sized chunk of parm on top, rather than a grated garnish. Thinking it was a chunk of lobster, I bit into it and was quite surprised.
The service was attentive, but felt a lot more casual than we expected. We were surprised to see what many of the service staff were dressed in athleisure attire. At this price point, I would expect otherwise. We were glad that our water glasses stayed full, but wish that had been with the sparkling water we ordered, rather than the still water poured. Our sparkling water bottle remained largely full as a result.
Overall, we are unable to recommend this restaurant. This is only our third year traveling to the Cape, but would far recommend restaurants like The Pheasant, Baliene, or Chatham Fish Pier over this experience. We left thankful that this wasn't our last night in town and had one more chance to enjoy a nice dinner on the Cape.