Water Street Kitchen

Six of us savored a fabulous holiday meal last night (Friday) at the Water Street Kitchen (56 Water Street, Woods Hole)--their "Feast of Seven Fishes" dinner. While some in our party had dined at The Fishmonger, the prior incarnation of this charming venue right at the bridge, none of us had dined at Water Street Kitchen before. We were all extremely impressed with the warmth and comfort of the restaurant itself, the attentiveness of the staff, and the high quality of the creative dishes presented by the chef for our dining pleasure.
Seated promptly at 5:30, we were greeted by Trisha, our main server for the evening. Trisha was energetic, knowledgeable about the dishes and wine, friendly, and totally unfrazzled by the dining room brimming with guests. She was a delight, as were the staff who assisted with the presention of the six dishes. Dinner was briefly explained, water brought, and the first round of drinks quickly presented. Quite a few drinks were ordered at different times last night and Trisha handled that with ease--even suggesting a lovely sparkling wine to accompany the final savory course for three in our party.
There were indeed seven fishes presented over five savory courses, each dish appetizingly explained by Trisha as they arrived. We started with tuna (1) and salmon (2) crudo with grilled pineaapple and yuzu salt (some in our group found the salt component of the dish overpowered the delicacy of the fresh fish, but everyone agreed that the pineapple and thai basil oil went extremely well with this opening). This was followed by lightly fried oysters (3) and fresh anchovies (4) over braised celery, rye croutons, and a light Caesar salad sauce for dipping presented in an oyster shell. Just enough to savor the slightly briny taste of the oyster which contrasted well with the rich, almost meatly flavor of the fresh anchovy. Next was a simply amazing soup--characterized as a "wedding" soup, the broth was flavored with fennel (but delicately) and prosciutto. The soup itself contained delicately poached rock shrimp (5), lacinato kale, and was topped with a generous helping of thin slivers of fried parsnip--adding a subtle element of sweetness to each bite. The soup was followed by a single u-10 scallop (6) encased in a freshly made ravioli, nestled in a parsley, garlic butter sauce containing roasted pine nuts, crisp shallots, and romanesco. Fantastic. Some in the group complained that there wasn't any bread to soak up the delicious sauce, a problem quickly solved by a consensus decision that we should all just delicately drink the sauce--which many did to obvious delight. The final savory course was a piece of cod (7) fried in tempura batter infused with squid ink accompanied bysliced fingerling potatoes, a tomato-olive conserva, all resting on top of a preserved lemon aioli for dipping. While the squid ink didn't really add anything beyong color to the tempura batter, the cod itself was fried perfectly--crisp of the outside, lusciously soft on the inside--and was totally without a trace of grease. The final course, which alas, did not contain any fish, was a light and fluffy ricotta donut filled with fig jam over a zabaione sauce infused with crispy rosemary. A surprisingly light and not overly-sweet end to a memorable meal.
The three nights of the "Feast of Seven Fishes" was sold out weeks ago and for reasons we well understand after last evening's gala of tastes. Water Street Kitchen will be hosting a party on NYE and then they will close for the season. We will certainly return when they reopen to sample more of their chef's creative fare. This is my inaugural effort to take and attempt to post a few photos with my review, please be kind in your appraisal. Thanks again to the chef, Trisha, and the staff at Water Street Kitchen for kicking off our holiday weekend is such grand and tasty style.

Just wow! Believe the hype people this is
Some of the best cuisine on cape cod..not pretentiousness,just well executed food with hyper local ingredients and creative takes on approachable favorites.Friendly,welcoming service from this young professional staff.cozy room with a mix of locals at the bar to a packed dining room on a rainy march evening. I can understand why. Highly recommended if you're on the Cape any time soon or in the future.

This restaurant should be getting more than 5 stars if possible.

The service is beyond good. Constantly did we have people to check up on us, asking how things were and refilling drinks. The food was AMAZING. Everything was fresh, flavorful and great serving size. The burger was BEYOND amazing.

The restaurant has beautiful views and a great balance between formal and casual. Would highly recommend this place as a MUST visit. You will not be disappointed.

Had some nice eats while visiting Cape Cod for a mini vacation. This place was amazing. Service is a 5, ambience is a 5, and food was a 5. This place was a casual place. We sat at a hightop in the bar area. The food was fancy and delicious. The dishes were plated creatively and all the flavors complimented each other. We loved the fancy curled grilled corn. If you're looking for some yummy creative food, fun drinks, and a casual place... This is the spot. We will definitely come back here when visiting Falmouth again. Enjoy! ~ Nini

This is a great option if you're in Woods Hole or Falmouth, MA. The service is amazing; the food is very good, the fish pate is remarkable (remember this when you have the pickles and the mustard that comes with the pate). This is a 4 1/2 star restaurant. Our only comment are the size of the entrees, a bit too big, if there downside by 1/3, they'd be perfect.

The ambiance is nice, nautic set up, with plenty of local regulars pouring in for dinner.

Food was five star. Not even a burger person and we will be back for another in the future. Juicy and the garlic aioli sauce was an amazing condiment.

The bread...how is such a simple recipe so good? Better than baguette bread in France. And radish butter? It was delicious! Got an extra.

The shishito peppers were a yummy app, but...it was so filling we could only eat 1/2 the burger. Can't wait for leftovers!

One of the best restaurants on the Cape and our favorite in the Falmouth & Woods Hole area. Seasonal menu that is regularly updated. Cocktails are well balanced and interesting. Excellent wine list. Perfectly cooked dishes with layers of flavors and textures that keep us coming back year after year. The view of the bay and boats passing through the drawbridge are wonderful.

Pictured is the tiki tommy, a new cocktail. The frozen grapes are smoked, so delicious! Also pictured are the crudo and cioppino (seafood stew). There was a neat squid ink bread served with the stew.

Reservations can be hard to get in the summer. Plan ahead!

Literally a top 5 place I've ever eaten at. I had oysters for an app- yummy. The sirloin steak meal was out of this world. And then .. the chocolate press pie dessert was delish. All drinks were awesome too. Service was top notch.

Highly recommend.

Consistently delicious food with excellent service with a view of the water. Hard to beat Water Street!

Menu used to rotate more frequently which was fun but everything we have tried has been on point.

It's so nice to find a place on the Cape that is this thoughtful about ingredients, has a wonderful cocktail menu and wine list, great service and delicious food! Sitting at the bar and dining is highly recommended as you always meet the most interesting people!