Finely Jps - WELLFLEET

Good early bird special during off season pre fixe 3 course meal. Bared menu with atypical selection. Pastas fish and meat to satisfy all. Decor great as is service. Make reservations.

JP's is supposed to be one of the best upscale restaurants around the area when you want to try something besides fried seafood. We went on a saturday night in high summer season without a reservation and were immediately seated. (Plus) It took ten minutes before a waitress approached us. (minus) They brought us warm bread, which clearly was made from frozen foodservice dough and was undercooked and not good at all. I think all restaurants should serve warm bread, but it should be made in house if they consider themselves fine dining. (minus) My partner had wellfleet oysters that he loved, though really all they are doing is cracking them open, so not a lot of chef prep is required. (Still, it's a plus) The caesar salad croutons were made from the stale bread which as a result had no seasoning and tasted like stale bread cubes. The lettuce had some brown/black pieces included and very little dressing (bottled) was put on it, AND just the tiniest shreds of parmesan dressing. (large minus) My partner got the Wellfleet Paella and both the clams and mussels had grit in them. He said it was like trying to eat a bowl of sand. He added that eating at a good restaurant is like making a sacred bond with the chef that you can trust them to treat your meal as if it were something they would eat themselves and at worst, they will do you no harm. (very large minus) My dinner was fine. It was fish on linguine. The fish tasted excellent. The linguine though? Well, yawn. The menu seemed extremely limited with no creativity. I mean, it really didn't matter what you ordered, it all came with protein and a big slop of carbs, with no vegetables at all. During the meal, we had to chase the waitress down to get water (just once) and then never got any more water again. We also had to request they clear the plates from the appetizers after they brought the main dish since the table was small and it was impossible to eat otherwise. I'm not sure why they couldnt figure to do that themselves. All in all, totally unimpressed. Not a place I would ever return to. (most entrees are $18-$25)

We like this restaurant, The menu is interesting and varied. It is in a new and architecturally attractive building. The food is well prepared and tasty. Atmosphere is comfortable and unpretentious. Service is attentive and friendly.

The only reason I am even giving this one star (other than that I have to, is that the front-of-house staff is terrific...from the greeters and hosts to the bartenders and waitstaff. The food, however, is horrible. I have come to think of this place as the 'before ' in an episode of Kitchen Nightmares. The clam chowder is great if you like a bowl of watery cream. It 's great to see cataplana on the menu--it should and could be a regional highlight--but I can 't order it anymore because I feel sorry for the lobster that has to sacrifice its life to have the sh*t cooked out of it to the point at which it 's rubbery and inedible. But chicken marsala (which is kind of a no-brainer, no? was equally horrible.

Can you say bland and ordinary? My boyfriend and I went in for dinner last night around 6:00 to celebrate an anniversary and there was not a person in the restaurant. The two waiters were watching TV at the bar and the chef was hitting golf balls in the back of the restaurant. This should have been our sign that we should make a quick escape but we decided to persevere thinking that the empty restaurant might provide a quiet spot to celebrate. After perusing the menu the waitress informed us of the specials and left us for a moment to make a decision- the food was all very expensive- $18.00 for a hamburger (no cheese or bacon and appetizers averaging from $12-$15 left us feeling that at the very least the food should be exceptional. We were unfortunately disappointed. We ordered the filled ravioli as an appetizer to share. $12 got us six ravioli that were roughly the size of a half dollar in an unremarkable sauce. They were not terrible- but you could easily find anything as good from your local freezer section at Trader Joe 's. I ordered the Wellfleet Paella for $26.00 and my boyfriend got the special rib eye steak with a side of rice (they were out of potatoes so he could not get them as a side. WHAT RESTAURANT DOES NOT HAVE POTATOES AT THE BEGINNING OF A WEEKEND DINNER SERVICE? We received our entrees after what felt like an insanely long time for their being no one else in the restaurant- and quickly our anticipation turned to disappointment. The steak was greasy, gristly, and covered in a thick yellow flavorless sauce. The side of rice was dry and a greyish white. The paella was fair- the scallops were cooked well and the shrimp were nicely prepared- but the dish had no flavor- not a trace of the spicy, savory, delicious quality that makes paella a special treat. Also missing was the crunchy, pan crisped rice that is everyone 's favorite part of the dish- replaced instead with yellow, soggy, rice in a weak saffron broth that tasted more like a bullion cube than any sort of special seasoning. Our bill came to $80. Neither one of us were close to full or satisfied. My boyfriend remarked that he has, had better steaks at wedding receptions and I can think of better rice dishes from my high school cafeteria. In sum- the lack luster staffing, ordinary, bland food and outrageous prices were the perfect storm to assure we will not be back. What a shame. The decor was actually quite nice and they could have a real gem on their hands if they either 1 adjusted their prices to fit the quality of the food or 2 offered food that is actually worthy of a higher price. Perhaps some local items or regional specialties? We really wanted to like Finely J.P. 's- but we really didn 't.