This summer, try the Shore Dinner at Falmouth’s Sea Crest Beach Hotel

There is nothing like a clambake.After a day of swimming and sunbathing or otherwise adventuring around Cape Cod, relaxing in the sand to enjoy some fresh, succulent seafood as the sun goes down is a special experience. When someone else is preparing the food, it’s even better.

This summer, on every Tuesday evening in July and August, the Sea Crest Beach Hotel in North Falmouth offers its own tasty take on the timeless clambake: the Old Silver Beach Shore Dinner. “The clambake is definitely the quintessential Cape Cod experience,” says Elizabeth Rowell, the Sea Crest’s regional marketing director. “Everyone associates clambakes with summertime on the Cape. It’s perfect for families and definitely something for everyone.”

The shore dinner includes one and one-half pounds of lobster, one-half pound of local steamers, one-half pound of mussels, chorizo sausages, corn on the cob, and baby potatoes. Hamburgers are also available, as are hot dogs, barbeque chicken, and salad. Sweets include watermelon slices and a variety of warm, freshly made cookies. Iced tea and lemonade help wash everything down.

Photos by: Dan Cutrona

Prepared in the kitchen and then served on the beach, the Sea Crest’s shore dinner costs $52 per person (including tax and gratuity), or $36 for everything but the seafood. For children, the shore dinner costs $52 with seafood, $23 without.

Photos by: Dan Cutrona

The meal is served on scenic Old Silver Beach and is open to hotel guests as well as visitors, but advanced reservations are required. Tables and chairs are set up for diners on the beach’s white sands, as are the buffet station and a full bar. When the sun sets, a fire pit is lit and s’mores are made available for toasting. “It’s a very informal, toes-in-the-sand dining experience,” Rothwell says.

In recent years, the shore dinner has drawn between 150 to 200 guests per meal, and Rothwell says the event has been gaining in popularity. She adds that diners who aren’t staying at the hotel can arrive early to spend some quality time on the beach. “I don’t think there’s anything else quite like what we’re doing in our section of the Cape,” Rothwell adds. The shore dinner is held, rain or shine. In the event of inclement weather, the food is served in the resort’s oceanfront dining room.

Photo by: Dan Cutrona

In addition to these meals, the Sea Crest also hosts clambake style dinners for weddings and rehearsal dinners. The resort also hosts many corporate groups, conferences, and other special events, and “the clambake is probably the most popular dinner buffet,” says Rothwell.

Another major Sea Crest attraction, Rothwell says, has nothing to do with food, and a lot to do with geography and the time of day. “The sunset at the Sea Crest,” she says. “is a huge thing. The sun sets right over Buzzards Bay, right in front of the hotel, which is right in front of the beach. In the summer, it is quite the event.”

Located at 350 Quaker Road in North Falmouth, the Sea Crest Beach Hotel features 263 guestrooms, suites, and cottages, a dining room overlooking the ocean, two pools, and a poolside bar. For more information, call 508-540-9400, or visit capecodlife.com/readersinfo.