Café Edwige

By John S. Kelemen

Table for Three will once again deviate from its west to east Provincetown progression to discuss a dinner at Café Edwige (At night *) that took place on a recent Saturday evening. Table for Three became table for six with two weekend visitors from NYC, two from the old sod (New Jersey), and as an ex-Jerseyite I do mean sod, and two townies one of which was sober. The original perpetrating Michaels of Tfor3 were, of course, nowhere to be found.

Café Edwige has been at its 2nd floor location on central/east Commercial Street for more than a quarter of a century and has remained successful in pleasing the more discerning of the tourist crowd palates. Outdoor dining is available on the entry deck. The interior is nicely appointed but tables are crowded together so don’t expect a quiet intimate restaurant experience at Edwige. Indeed, the main dining room was filled with tables of small to large groups all of which seemed to thrive in a party-like loud atmosphere. My favorite seating at Café Edwige has always been along the Commercial Street side that is a little quieter and offers a great people watching view of the street and the Patio restaurant across the way as well as a full view of the dining room crowd for those who like to both see and be seen.

Service was remarkably excellent given how busy the tables were. Our server was adept at handling our one semi-inebriate who raved about his ginger martini. Café Edwige offers a good selection of special martinis. The wine drinkers were also well pleased with their choice and the server made sure the wine was properly chilled at the taster’s request. Cubes of a very good warm bread were brought to the table which started us off on an olive oil dipping frenzy. We shared a variety of appetizers and salads all which were very good. I ordered the mushroom/bay scallop soup which was outstanding. For entrees everyone stayed with a variety of seafood including a halibut special, cod, and red snapper. Portions were generous and the presentations all very appetizing. Red snapper, my favorite, was particularly well prepared. We ended the meal with several shared desserts all of which were fine but not given their proper due by the members of our very stuffed group.

In summation: service was excellent, atmosphere was very good, pricing was fair and very much in keeping with the level of dining, presentation was excellent, and the food ranged from very good to exceptional. Just an opinion, but Café Edwige at Night is off to a great seasonal start and rates four and a half monuments out of a possible five (IV ½).

Café Edwige
333 Commercial St.
508 487-2008

* Note: This is a review of the Café Edwige at Night only; the brunch menu is handled by a different entity.