Captain Parker's Cape Cod Reastaurant Reviews

Come early, eat great at Captain Parker’s

By Laurie Higgins, Contributing Writer

If you’re willing to eat dinner early, some of the best deals around are early bird specials, as our clan discovered one busy night recently when we all met at Captain Parker’s Pub in West Yarmouth. From 3:30 until 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, Captain Parker’s offers a whole page of early bird specials that include a choice of soup or salad, an entree with starch and vegetable, dessert and coffee for just $9.99.

While it is more than possible to stick to the budget of $20 with the regular menu, even the kids thought this was a deal not to be missed. Choices include such entrees as half a roast chicken, roast loin of pork, baked stuffed sole, and English cut prime rib.

The meal started with a choice of chicken noodle soup or a salad. No substitutions are allowed, so we chose the dinner salad, and since we were still under our budget we all began with a cup of Captain Parker’s famous chowder ($4.99). It’s easy to see why this chowder wins so many awards, because it is simply awesome. It’s thick and creamy, flavored with fresh thyme and black pepper with plenty of tender clam bits.

With green leafy lettuce, tomatoes, cukes, shredded carrots and red onion, the salad was ordinary but fresh.

From the early bird menu we tried clam strips, chicken Marsala and chicken stir fry. The clam strips were sweet and tender. They came with crisp wedge-style french fries and tasty homemade coleslaw.

The chicken Marsala included two large pieces of pounded-out chicken breast on top of a mound of pasta with a sweet rich sauce. The dish usually comes with mushrooms but the young man dining with us requested to hold them. It was a huge dinner, but he managed to clean his plate.

My dinner choice was the chicken teriyaki, another portion so huge that I ate only half. It was a veggie bonanza with fresh mushrooms, zucchini, snow pea pods, red pepper, broccoli, baby carrots and bok choy, served over a mound of white rice with tender chunks of chicken. The sauce was incredibly flavorful, with bits of fresh ginger, but I prefer a lighter amount of sauce than most people, so I would ask for it on the side next time.

The hubby ordered Yankee pot roast (also $9.99) from the regular specials page and was pleased with the generous slices of fork-tender pot roast and savory gravy. Accompanied by creamy mashed potatoes and baby carrots, it was another generous-sized meal.

Our free dessert was Grapenut custard. It was a looser, less eggy version than we’re used to, but it had a very nice flavor spiced with aromatic nutmeg.

The River Room dining room, with views of Parkers River, is pleasant, with natural wood walls offset by windows and skylights to keep it bright and cheerful. It was a comfortable setting for what turned out to be a lovely meal.

November 13, 2008

From the Cape Cod Times

Last updated: February 10, 2010