The Rooftop at Pelham House Resort in Dennis Port made USA TODAY’s list of best restaurants in the country.
USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year 2024 list, released last month, features 44 restaurants from fine-dining establishments to roadside burger shacks.
“We have a beautiful property and we have a beautiful restaurant that takes advantage of it. We are very grateful to be recognized by USA Today,” said John McCarthy, a managing partner at The Rooftop where floor-to-ceiling windows overlook Nantucket Sound.
USA TODAY Network food journalists from across the country pooled their expertise to select the list, which includes the places they know, love and recommend.
Large windows open to the sea with ceiling heaters keeping diners warm in November 2024, at The Rooftop at Pelham House Resort in Dennis Port.
The Rooftop was chosen for its creative presentation of local seafood and produce, accented by executive chef Daniel Cote’s worldly flavor profiles, such as the Egyptian spice dukkah on the autumn salad. Since it opened in 2018, The Rooftop has offered a cutting-edge seasonal menu in a restaurant that is uniquely able to offer open-air dining in nearly all of the New England seasons. It is like eating on the deck of a cruise ship.
How many have you been to? Check out USA TODAY’s 2025 Restaurants of the Year.
Whether you stop in for a cheeseburger or explore large plates of duck, lamb, Chilean sea bass or spiced cauliflower, you should leave room for a seasonal dessert cocktail, such as the Autumn Old Fashioned with Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon, banana liqueur, maple cinnamon simple syrup and chocolate bitters.
The succulent Crab Cakes with Asian Pear Slaw is a signature dish at The Rooftop at Pelham House Resort, one of USA TODAY’s Restaurants of the Year.
The Rooftop is also known for its entertainment, hosting the region’s first vinyl lounge for DJs to spin records, and once turning its downstairs restaurant and event space into a roller skating rink because Cape Cod no longer has one.
Executive chef Dan Cote and chef Princess Llavor at The Rooftop at Pelham House Resort in Dennis port with dishes Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, Local Day Boat Scallops (left) and Pistachio Lamb Noisette (right), photographed Nov. 7, 2024.
Here’s the full list and more about The Rooftop at Pelham House Resort.
Gwenn Friss is the editor of CapeWeek and covers entertainment, restaurants and the arts. Contact her at gfriss@capecodonline.com. Follow her or X, formerly Twitter: @dailyrecipeCCT
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Popular Dennis Port dining spot makes USA TODAY best restaurant list
