Black Cat Harbor Shack

While visiting Hyannis we decided to dine at the Black Cat which was highly recommended. We heard the grilled lobster dinner was great but there was no grilled lobster dinner on the menu so I ordered the grilled lobster appetizer with a side salad. I was happy with the lobster but it is grilled lobster, no recipe involved. My husband ordered a fried shrimp dinner which was great. An abundant portion of freshly breaded shrimp.

Went there with a group. I had special of the day sesame Salmon and bowl of clam chowder. Salmon was great with coat of sesame nice flavor to it. About 5 local beers on tap (cape cod red). It was good. Cost of beer, meal and soup was $ 40 per person.

Only reviewing the Clam Chowder which was excellent: creamy and full of clams, very flavorful.
A wee bit pricey ($ 6.95 for a cup).
Cape Code Red was $ 6 for a 16oz glass, which is a bit much as well.

At Black Cat, there is a choice of an outdoor seating shack, a raw bar in the back, and a full service restaurant right next door. Though the majority of the tables were taken by families, we went with the shack since we did manage to claim ourselves a table for our lunch.
After you place your order, be sure to stay by the window, or you might miss hearing them call you.
The Clam Chowder Bowl $ 7.95 though creamy, was too sweet. The Lobster Salad Roll $ 20.95 was averaged sized for a price on the higher side of average, yet I observed no tail meat in the roll. The Stuffed Quahog $ 6.95 tasted okay, but the clam meat was invisible to the eye.
My bathroom experience became the final deciding factor as to rolling down the rating of our visit. It was awful! The toilet paper roll fought me every inch, and the toilet water kept swirling so I couldn’t flush it or stop it.
They have some private parking, but it is very limited. Public street parking in the area is limited to 2 hours, however some paid parking is available ²⁴⁄₇ 365 days a year, with a 6 hour limit. Payment accepted by credit card or coins only.

Our waitress was amazing. No pen, paper for our order. She gave us a lot of suggestions. It was a really nice and relaxing meal. Given this is more a spot for tourist, but they did a great job to make us feel welcome.

We came here in beach attire (coverups) dying for lobster rolls but too casual to go next door to the actual restaurant. It was quite perfect — in and out. Plenty of seating outdoors on a sunday summer afternoon. It was around 2 so maybe we beat the lunch crowd. $ 20 for a roll is standard and you do get a lot of meat.
Flavor: 5 stars. Perfectly done with just the right amount of mayo — bravo!
Bread: 1 star. Tasted like the wonder bread you fed ducks with as a kid. VERY stale and not toasted or buttered
Side: 3 stars. Cape cod chips — but a tiny bag like airplane size.
The best part was the homemade ice cream RIGHT there — which I find is not always that easy to come across. We got chocolate peanut butter cup — Extremely rich and creamy. Very fresh! And the coffee which was more like Espresso! I would not recommend the coffee. But great quality ice cream overall!

Not as good as expected. Overpriced for quality of food. Would have loved to love this place because of location. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.

This is a great quick stop in Hyannis for a casual bite to eat with a great view. It’s basically a take out window with a pared down version of the restaurants menu. We had some steamers here and they were delicious. There is a porch with a few tables overlooking the harbor.

Everything they serve is covered in batter and they peel their potatoes, which makes for pathetic french fries.

If you are in Hyannis and looking for a quick and casual place to eat, this is the best place to grab a lobster roll and fried cod sandwich. The lobster roll had a good amount of fresh chunky lobster meat and the amount of mayo was not overwhelming. The portion was a decent size compared to other places where the sandwich is literally only 4 – 5 bites.
The fried cod sandwich contained a large piece of cod which had a nice crispy battered exterior. I can tell the fish was fresh.
This a casual spot where you order at the window and sit on the front deck. Prices are moderate.

Wow, for a self– service, outdoor sittings only «shack», this place sure doesn’t charge like one. Few leaves of lettuce, two slices of tomatoes, two slices of cucumber, BAM! That’s $ 8 bucks. Add some over cooked grilled chicken, another $ 5. Add some dry salmon, another $ 8 bucks. The chowder? Nothing special. 4 adults «light» lunch, you’re looking at a $ 85 bill. This place is only good for picking up a scoop of ice cream, that’s about it! Will not come back.

I would go there every day for lunch next time in Hyannis. Simple menu, cute outdoor porch, amazing spectacular other-​worldly chowder. Yummy milkshake to go with the burger. Would definitely recommend to anyone going to Hyannis.

Cute walk up window to order quick food out of (not fast food because this is high quality!). There’s covered and uncovered seating… which is great when the clouds roll in quickly! The only reason I stopped was because of the sign saying they had the best chowder on the cape three years straight… and didn’t compete the fourth year! The chowder is absolutely fantastic! Nicely seasoned with fresh herbs… thick but not too thick, creamy, buttery, and full of chunky potatoes, clams, and celery! Really glad I stopped!

Whenever I am in New England I always have lobster roll. I have had many but this place in Hyannis across from the harbor had one of the best. Just huge chunks of lobster some mayonnaise on a grilled open top hot dog bun. Simple and delicious. Tasted my son in law’s clam chowder chock full of clams in a tasty broth. The fish tacos were filled with large chunks of cod. The crab cake sandwich was just right.

If there was an option for 0 stars this place would get it. Plastic cutlery and paper plates, awful seafood dishes priced three times what they should be. The oysters were clearly frozen, not fresh, and the lobster bisque is terrible. The stuffed shrimp entrée at $ 22 came with four shrimp and a side of watery and flavorless potato salad.
To make things worse, I got double charged on my card for my meal with the second charge coming 2 hours after we left the restaurant.
Calling the manager the next day yielded this response: «That is your problem» and got hung up on. I was expecting at least an apology.
Worst place in all of Massachusetts. Staff under trained, food is mediocre at best and very over priced. Don’t waste your money or your time here.

Lobber roll is great when you add a little onion and salt! Clam chowder is great! Service is impeccable and music rocks!

We ate over here due the deep wait at the restaurant (literally right next door) and discovered a great little gem off a place with the same awesome food, low key, and a great local artist performing.
I suggest the Clam Chowdah, Bloody Mary’s, and fish tacos.

Live music, great food, and good friends… What more can you ask for?
Stopped here after spending the day exploring Cape Cod we end up stopping here for the raw bar. The food was great, we tried the oyster shooters, clams casino, clam chowder, and clam cake and they were all so delicious.
The shack is on the side of the Black Cat restaurant and was actually really nice, enjoyed sitting outside on a beautiful summer day. There was also live music was was great.
Definitely someplace worth checking out!

Parking? None. They said we can park in paid parking across the street, but we probably wouldn’t find any.
Our other party got handicapped parking so we parked half a mike away and walked.
Appetizers are not huge, unlike another reviewer states. Chicken skewer is not a meal. $ 11 for two skinny nibbles of chicken and white rice. No thanks. And it took unusually long to receive my order.
Not worth the visit.

This is a very nice clam shack next door to it’s sister restarant –The Black Cat. On the menu are a) 13 appetizers (all types of munchies-​from rings to fries to shrimp, chicken, scallops, and crabcakes), b) 15 sandwiches from dogs and burgers to wraps and grilled items, including a lobster roll for $ 19.95, c) a ton of fried seafood offered as a side or a roll or plate (whole or strip clams, shrimp, scallops, oysters, calamari, fish & chips), plus soups, salads and full entrees.
We picked up a lunch to take on the ferry to Nantucket — a cup of chowder (voted the best on the Cape), a shrimp cocktail, a turkey wrap, and a tuna salad roll. The food was very good– I really liked the chowder, it was a little thicker than the other versions I’ve had, almost like a purée with small potato pieces and a good supply of clams. It was terrific. My shrimp cocktail was also stellar– five very good plump and juicy shrimps cooked perfectly. The sandwiches were all good. Our lunch for three ran $ 41.00 — pretty decent for Hyannis.