Mark P.
Yelp
Thanksgiving at Pelham House Resort. I have cooked and hosted Thanksgiving dinner every year since 1977 (save for six random years), including the last twelve straight on Cape; typically hosting for between ten and twenty people. This year, with the kids visiting in-laws, my wife and I decided not to host the rest of the family and go out to eat instead. After a fair amount of menu research we chose to dine at The Pelham House Resort (14 Sea St., Dennis Port). All I can and probably should say is "wow." Our experience at Pelham House was exquisite--in terms of the venue, the food quality/variety and the service. A completely memorable dining experience and for all the right reasons. We arrived an hour before our scheduled dinner reservation, went to the Rooftop, we were checked in and then escorted to a window table by a charming hostess named Claire. We ordered some wine, admired the view and then for the next hour enjoyed a lavish antipasto spread, the raw bar (including freshly shucked Dennis oysters, plump Gulf Shrimp, poached lobster tails, and a delicious claw and knuckle meat lobster salad) and made-to-order fresh tune sushi. We timed our reservation to be on the Rooftop while the sun was setting and the weather, which was crystal clear with a calm sea, did not disappoint. At 4:30 sharp, the sun now set, Claire returned to our table and escorted us downstairs for the main meal. Kristen was our server, so friendly, calm, and encouraging. She took a drink order and introduced us to the different parts of the buffet and invited us to partake. The buffet included multiple cold salads and breads, various hot dishes, including monkfish and short ribs, and the carving station. The carving station had two items--a whole, herb crusted sirloin of beef which was so delicious and tender enough to cut with a fork and whole roasted native turkeys, maybe 12-15 lbs each. We both sampled the sirloin of beef and I did dark turkey meat and my wife did white turkey meat. So flavorful, moist and tender. A well balanced and quite luscious giblet gravy was at the carving station along with a clove-forward cranberry sauce (which went beautifully with the turkey as well as the sirloin of beef) and a chicken sausage and herb dressing. We sampled widely and made two delicately plated trips to the various buffet tables. Then there was the lavish dessert table. The nice thing about the desserts is that they were portioned in small sizes (two to four bites each) so you could sample a few things without overdoing it. We enjoyed the coffee and chicory caramel (which resembled a flan), a free-form maple and brown sugar cheese cake with a toasted oat crumble, and an apple crumb tart. Fabulous and none of these items were overly sweet. There were nine different desserts in all, and we were able to sample only a third. Please don't judge us for a lack of dining fortitude. I think we acquitted ourselves quite well on the Rooftop with oysters, lobster, and tuna sushi. lol Kristen brought us tea to conclude the meal and then we relaxed for a bit on the outside patio in front of the fire pits, listening to the subtle sound of the water and watching the moon. We'll be back to the Pelham House Resort very soon to sample their regular menu, which looks exceedingly tasty. They are open TH-Sun now through April. Kudos to the Pelham House for their amazing organization, the cleanliness of the dining areas, the constant refurbishing of the buffet tables, both upstairs and downstairs, and for the amicability of the staff.