Reviews for Van Rensselaer’s Restaurant and Raw Bar in South Wellfleet, MA

First time coming here. Came at 745pm and got seated in 15 minutes. Very friendly and attentive staff. Got half dozen Wellfleet... oysters (wished we did the dozen!), very fresh, garlic bread, cup of chowder (had a lot of onions, couldn't really taste theclams), prime rib and small size grilled scallops. Read more

Simple seafood place with a great name... initially service was slow but food made up for it! Would definitely go again.

Terrific seafood dishes with a variety of preparations. Friendly/ excellent service. Linguine seafood pasta and seafood specials... were great. Read more

How is it possible that each dish that came out was better than the first perfect one? From Wellfleet littlenecks, to broiled... cauliflower, and cheese bread, to Panko cod on top of whipped potatoes with steamed broccoli, all the way to creme brulee, thedishes were perfectly prepared and pleasing to the eye. Companions had Wellfleet oysters, Tofu Provencal and a bacon burger withfries and we're all very pleased. Menu is diverse and has several options for vegetarians. Website described menu. Full alcoholmenu with specialty drinks. Service was impeccable and non-intrusive. Staff wore masks. Patrons are expected to wear themunless seated. Plenty of outdoor uncovered and covered seating. Tables on the covered deck are well spaced out. Adequate andunobtrusive lighting. Reasonable noise levels; we didn't feel like everybody could ovethear us, and we weren't distinguishingthe conversations of others. You can hear low background music and diners; but it doesn't interfere with your experience. Indoordining room and bar seating is available. Credit accepted and an easy template for standard tip amounts is an easy option atcheckout. Owner, outside and greeting patrons, as they checked in, recognized and remembered a party member from an earliervisit, and called out a greeting using a nickname, creating a welcoming atmosphere. Adequate parking. Reservations (highlyrecommended) are available online through a very user friendly interface. We arrived at exactly our reserved time and wereescorted right to our table. Staff thanked us and escorted/navigated us right to the door, as we were exiting a different wayfrom as we came in, asking how our experience was as I asked about the expanded outdoor seating areas out back. Recommended asa "Nice Place" (as opposed to a "Cheap Eats" or "Grab and Go"). Nobody is crumbing the table; but plates were seamlessly removedas the next dish came. There is somebody in charge of keeping an eye on the water glass levels. An overall Read more

We had my birthday dinner here last night and it was a wonderful experience. We had the scallops, tuna steak and lobster cakes... and we polished our plates off. Everything was delicious, and the scallops especially were delicate and well presented with thespecial preparation. Our drinks were pretty good too, they had lovely cocktails and a good wine selection. I mentioned to ourserver Claire that we were celebrating my birthday. As a surprise, she brought out our dessert with a candle and all the serverssang happy birthday, which was adorable. Thank you so much for the lovely service and experience. We will definitely be backhere on our next trip to the Cape. Read more

The food was great! Lobster was wonderful. Pasta w seafood was also very good. The specialty drinks were strong. The one thing... you need to know is check your check. Mistakes are being made. There was diners who complained about added item on bill. Then itwas corrected. So, I didn't say anything to my wife, but she found that we had items added to our. Then, it was reversed afterthe items were added to it. The bill was increased and billed. Then, it was corrected and there was other items added to it.Then, my wife caught it and we called over the owner. He didn't know this was happening. So, be careful. Check bill and chargeeven after saying okay to it! Food was excellent. What ashame to have to check bill three times. First ever for us! Read more

We ended up stopping here for breakfast and it was the best breakfast we've had on the cape. Ended up going back for dinner and... it was also amazing. Very impressed with the food and drinks. Every waiter and waitress was very attentive to the guests. Wewill definitely be back next year. I highly reccomend trying this place out. Read more

We had a splendid time at this restaurant and definitely made some wonderful memories here. The food was very good and well... described by our waitress. Our waitress was wonderful on multiple levels and so personable. I had fun with my dessert (pictured)and enjoyed everything start to finish. It's a fancier atmosphere, so coming in right off the beach is probably not ideal.However, there was definitely a range of dress present. Great experience right on Route 6 by Marconi Beach. I definitelyrecommend it. Read more