Restaurant in Cape Cod, United States
Cape Cod's most structured tasting menu, book early.
Cuvée is the most formally ambitious tasting-menu restaurant on Cape Cod, operating inside the Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star Chatham Inn. Wine Director Rafael Perez runs a Wine Spectator-recognised list with 32 pours by the glass across 1,140 bottles. Book 30 days out for a standard table; the private chef's table for two requires 90 days. Cocktail attire required.
The chef's table at Cuvée books out 90 days in advance, and for good reason: this is the most formally ambitious fine dining room on Cape Cod. Forbes Travel Guide awarded the Chatham Inn four stars, and Cuvée is the reason. If you are planning a special occasion dinner on the Cape and want serious tasting-menu cooking with a wine list to match, book here. If you want something more casual or are visiting off-peak, check availability at STARS at Chatham Bars Inn before committing.
The dining room is sand-toned walls, white ceilings, and Frette linens on every table — restrained and deliberate. Villeroy & Boch china and Schott Zwiesel crystal sit on each setting before a course arrives. Request a table near the fireplace: it anchors the room visually and makes the space feel less formal than the dress code suggests. The 18-room inn wrapping around the restaurant gives the whole experience an intimacy that a standalone restaurant rarely achieves. For explorers willing to commit to the full evening, the chef's table for two sits at bar height inside the kitchen — a 10- to 12-course private format that has no equivalent elsewhere in Chatham.
Chef Isaac Olivo runs a menu that changes with the season and leans into New England coastal sourcing. Inspector highlights from the current format include tuna and hamachi with yuzu basil and Calvisius caviar, New England lobster with gnocchi, and Berkshire pork belly with chanterelles and local clams. Desserts have included coconut cake with pink guava and honey cream alongside Guanaja chocolate mousse with espresso fudge. The standard format is a four- or seven-course tasting menu. Pricing sits at the $$$ tier for cuisine (roughly $66 or more for a typical two-course equivalent), which is appropriate for the format and the setting. For coastal fine dining in New England at a comparable price point, Seasons at the Ocean House in Westerly and Aurelia at Castle Hill in Newport are the closest regional peers worth comparing.
Wine Director Rafael Perez oversees a Wine Spectator award-winning list built around California, Italy, and France , the three strongest areas of the cellar. The list runs to more than 150 bottles with 32 available by the glass, which is unusually generous for a tasting-menu room of this size. Total inventory sits at 1,140 bottles. Pricing is listed at the $$ tier, meaning the list spans a range rather than skewing entirely toward trophy bottles, which makes it practical for four or seven courses. Corkage is $50 if you bring your own. For a restaurant where the editorial angle is wine-driven discovery, the by-the-glass depth matters: 32 pours means the sommelier can match each course without locking you into a full bottle. If you are the kind of guest who wants a different pour with every course, Cuvée's format rewards that approach better than most Cape Cod alternatives. Explore the Cape Cod wineries guide if you want to extend the wine focus before or after your visit.
Standard reservations open 30 days in advance; the chef's table opens at 90 days. Both are hard to get on short notice, so treat either as a planning priority rather than a walk-in possibility. The restaurant runs Tuesday through Saturday from mid-October through May. From June through early October, Sunday evenings are also available. That seasonal calendar means if you are visiting the Cape in July or August, you have more dates to work with, but competition for tables is also higher. For summer weekends, book at the 30-day mark the moment the window opens. Walk-ins are not practically viable at this level. Dress code is cocktail attire; jackets are preferred for men. If you want to stay overnight, the inn's premier king rooms and suites include balconies and wood-burning fireplaces, which makes the Cuvée dinner the logical anchor for a two-night trip rather than a standalone evening. See the full Cape Cod hotels guide for accommodation context across the region.
Cuvée earns its four-star rating for guests who want structured tasting-menu cooking, a deep by-the-glass wine program, and a room that feels occasion-worthy without being stiff. It is the right call for a milestone dinner, a romantic weekend stay, or a serious food-and-wine traveler who wants the Cape's leading formal option. It is the wrong call if you want flexibility, a la carte ordering, or a relaxed night without a dress code. For a lower-commitment alternative on the Cape, The Pheasant is worth a look. For the full picture of what the Cape offers at dinner, see our full Cape Cod restaurants guide.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuvée at Chatham Inn | American Coastal | Hard | |
| Le Bernardin | French, Seafood | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Atomix | Modern Korean, Korean | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Lazy Bear | Progressive American, Contemporary | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Alinea | Progressive American, Creative | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Atelier Crenn | Modern French, Contemporary | $$$$ | Unknown |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Cuvée is the only Forbes Four-Star tasting-menu restaurant on Cape Cod, so there is no direct local equivalent at this format or price point. If you want a comparable structured fine dining experience in the broader New England region, you are looking at Boston or Providence rather than staying on the Cape. For something less formal on the Cape itself, coastal seafood spots in Wellfleet and Provincetown offer fresh local catches without the $66+ per-person commitment or dress code.
The venue data lists a bar as an amenity, so bar seating exists. However, reservations are required at Cuvée, and the kitchen runs tasting-menu formats — four or seven courses — so this is not a drop-in drinks-and-small-plates situation. Contact the inn directly at +1 508 945 9232 to confirm whether bar seats can be reserved separately from the main dining room.
The menu changes with the season, so there is no fixed dish to lock in. Inspector highlights have included tuna and hamachi with yuzu basil and Calvisius caviar, New England lobster with gnocchi, and Berkshire pork belly with chanterelles and local clams. If the chef's table for two is available when you book, the 10- to 12-course menu prepared in front of you is the format that gets the most attention — reserve it at the 90-day window, not 30.
Cocktail attire is required, and jackets are preferred for men. This is not a smart-casual room — Frette linens, Villeroy & Boch china, and Schott Zwiesel crystal set the tone. Arriving underdressed will feel out of place and the inn's dress code is explicit, so plan accordingly before you drive out to Chatham.
Yes, and it is specifically designed for it. The Forbes Four-Star rating, tasting-menu format, cocktail attire, and chef's table option all point toward milestone dining rather than casual nights out. For anniversaries or birthdays, the chef's table for two — a private bar-height table with a 10- to 12-course menu — is the booking to go for, but it fills at the 90-day window, so plan well ahead. Staying overnight at the 18-room inn, particularly in a suite with a wood-burning fireplace, sharpens the occasion further.
Gluten-free and vegetarian options are listed as amenities, so the kitchen accommodates both. Tasting-menu restaurants at this price point ($66+ per person, $$$ cuisine pricing) generally adapt courses when notified in advance, so flag any restrictions at the time of reservation. Call +1 508 945 9232 or email chathaminn@relaischateaux.com to confirm how far in advance they need the information.
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