Ciro & Sal's

By John S. Kelemen

Now that we are well into the so-called ‘shoulder season’ I’d like to take the opportunity to follow up on a couple dinners during the summer outside of the Tfor3 schedule. During the visit of my nephew Drew (first time in Provincetown) we went to Ciro & Sal’s for an early 5:30 PM meal to accommodate my duties at a nearby gallery which began at 7. Drew is an excellent cook and the owner of Woodland Bakery in Chatham, New Jersey, so I knew he would not be easily impressed even by one of our landmarks.

Ciro & Sal’s on a Tuesday evening after carnival week was very quiet indeed. It wasn’t until we were leaving that the tables began filling up. Ciro & Sal’s has a celebrated history that makes for interesting reading on line or at the library. My first visit was in 1982. By then it was already an ongoing enterprise for over thirty years. I remember that meal as definitely living up to the legend. Subsequent meals over the following decades were less remarkable and I recall complaints over service and price topping the list of peeves. The current owners took over in 2002 and are worthy historical heirs of the restaurant’s place in the culinary and art history of Provincetown. There is plenty of information available for anyone interested in either topic.

Entrance was from the garden courtyard and we were promptly shown to our seats in one of the nooks in the old rustic brick cellar. The ambiance of this area is cozy with low ceilings and a plethora of old chianti bottles. This atmosphere seems little changed over the years with the more elegant dining rooms known for art display on the wall, picture windows, and high ceilings to be found upstairs. 

We started with the Caesar Salad which had a great anchovy dressing and also tried the special seafood ‘meatballs’ which we found to be unique and very good. Both of us selected veal entrees. Drew ordered the Vitello Scaloppine al Marsala while I tried the special Vitello Philomena. The entrees were both outstanding with the veal marsala eliciting bravos from Drew. By the time we finished our entrees there was no doubt in my mind that Ciro & Sal’s remains Provincetown’s one true source of authentic Italian cuisine.

As usual, dinner was followed by coffee and desserts. We tried the Chocolate Fondant Cake (a chocolate torte) and Cuore Di Panni (cream cheese sweetended with whipped cream and vanilla topped with strawberries). The desserts were fantastic. From starters to veal dishes to desserts the meal was of a class I have not found elsewhere on the cape. Ciro and Sal’s definitely comes closest to date in achieving a five for five Ptown monuments. JSK and nephew Drew award Ciro & Sal’s a big four and three quarter monuments. I’ll just keep where the quarter point was lost to myself. (.IV 3/4).

Ciro & Sal’s
4 Kiley Court
508 487-6444