Chart Room, Cataumet, MA

The Chart Room’s patio is the ideal spot to relax after a fine day on the water.

A boating fan favorite for almost 60 years, this Buzzards Bay mainstay is a heavenly spot for a hearty meal or sunset cocktail.

It all began with a barge. When Kingman Marina (now Kingman Yacht Center) expanded its operations on Cape Cod’s Red Brook Harbor in the late 1960s, it placed three scuttled barges along the shoreline to extend the property. One served as a machine shop, but as the marina’s popularity grew, customers began requesting some type of on-site sustenance.

“So, the owners set up a big steamer pot at the end of the barge and began offering lobsters, clams, hot dogs—small stuff. That was the beginning of the Chart Room,” explained Dave Jarvis, who, along with business partner Tom Gordon, own what is one of the most popular and venerable dock-and-dine restaurants on Cape Cod.

Your server will need both hands to carry the baked stuffed lobster.

Now in its 58th season, the Chart Room bustles with customers who come for the good food, lively bar scene and spectacular sunsets. Jarvis, whose father bought the restaurant in 1972 and whose mother used to sing there, has maintained its cozy, nautical ambience and a focus on fresh, high-quality food. “We use only fresh lobster meat in every dish, including the baked, stuffed lobster,” he says, referring to one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes.

Another favorite is the broiled swordfish, which is caught locally through much of the summer. “We probably go through 150 pounds of swordfish a day,” Jarvis says. “All of it is hand-cut right here in the kitchen. Our chefs spend a lot of time prepping for the dinner rush.”

Other crowd-pleasers include the clams casino, clam chowder, steamer clams and the lobster salad sandwich on Portuguese bread.

The Chart Room also has a large bar staffed by three bartenders, who have their hands full most nights. “We’re pretty well known for our mud slides,” says Jarvis. “Our blender is running flat-out from Friday afternoon through Sunday!” Customers can enjoy those mud slides and other drinks in the bar, whose dark beams resemble the interior of a wooden ship, or on the large patio overlooking the Kingman docks.

Boaters who wish to visit the Chart Room can contact Kingman Yacht Center. Dockage is sometimes available along the face dock, but if not the marina can put you on a mooring and get you to shore via the launch.

The Chart Room opens the last week in June through Labor Day and open weekends Spring and Fall. Dinner reservations are a must, especially on summer weekends. Of course, you stand a better chance of getting a last-minute table on a weekday—or during the fall.