Cape May Seafood buffet

O

opieandy1

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 7, 2009
Wanted to confirm if can order a la carte off the menu for the Cape May buffet at Beach Club. My daughter is not a big seafood eater and hate to pay buffet price when she may only eat one or two items.
 
It is only a buffet. but there is lots of non seafood things.

Kae
 
I will say having stayed at the Beach Club this weekend even as a seafood eater I wouldn't eat there. Sorry I just don't think seafood even on a buffet should ever smell that strongly. Every single time you walked by the restaurant you could smell the strong odor of seafood.
 


opieandy1 said:
Wanted to confirm if can order a la carte off the menu for the Cape May buffet at Beach Club. My daughter is not a big seafood eater and hate to pay buffet price when she may only eat one or two items.
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You can NOT order a la carte at Cape May Café. It is an All You Care to Eat buffet and everyone is charged the full buffet price regardless of how much or how little you eat.

wilkeliza said:
I will say having stayed at the Beach Club this weekend even as a seafood eater I wouldn't eat there. Sorry I just don't think seafood even on a buffet should ever smell that strongly. Every single time you walked by the restaurant you could smell the strong odor of seafood.
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We own at BCV and stay there every year. I walk through the lobby yearly and I have never found a offensive fishy smell emanating from Cape May Café. I have read that others have as well. But I don't
We ate there a few trips ago. I only ate the shrimp and the other non fish items. It was ok but I am in no hurry to return.
 
Hopefully said:
You can NOT order a la carte at Cape May Café. It is an All You Care to Eat buffet and everyone is charged the full buffet price regardless of how much or how little you eat.



We own at BCV and stay there every year. I walk through the lobby yearly and I have never found a offensive fishy smell emanating from Cape May Café. I have read that others have as well. But I don't
We ate there a few trips ago. I only ate the shrimp and the other non fish items. It was ok but I am in no hurry to return.
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I never smell it in the lobby but I definitely smelled it coming from the Yacht club back to Beach Club. It isn't so bad at the entrance (which is weird because the buffet is closer to that area) but in the L more towards the Yacht it was nauseating.
 
wilkeliza said:
I never smell it in the lobby but I definitely smelled it coming from the Yacht club back to Beach Club. It isn't so bad at the entrance (which is weird because the buffet is closer to that area) but in the L more towards the Yacht it was nauseating.
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I'm not doubting you smell it, I just don't. We usually do that hall too about once a year.
At any rate, there are better restaurants in WDW IMHO
 


For those pp's that are saying that Cape May has a very strong 'fishy' smell - they are sooo correct!! That smell is very 'normal' and consistent with most places that sell/serve boiled/broiled/steamed seafood. Am used to our crawfish/shrimp boils in Louisiana, plus we have gone a few times to Maine and had some great lobster boils!

If the smell is offensive to you, it's probably because you do not care for that type seafood, and this place is definitely not for you. It smells great to us and we can't wait until next week to go there again, and again (twice while we're there). :thumbsup2 We would be so disappointed if it 'didn't' smell that way!! :goodvibes

But, to the OP, we've never seen a menu there. It's strictly buffet and one price.
 
North of Mouse said:
For those pp's that are saying that Cape May has a very strong 'fishy' smell - they are sooo correct!! That smell is very 'normal' and consistent with most places that sell/serve boiled/broiled/steamed seafood. Am used to our crawfish/shrimp boils in Louisiana, plus we have gone a few times to Maine and had some great lobster boils!

If the smell is offensive to you, it's probably because you do not care for that type seafood, and this place is definitely not for you. It smells great to us and we can't wait until next week to go there again, and again (twice while we're there). :thumbsup2 We would be so disappointed if it 'didn't' smell that way!! :goodvibes

But, to the OP, we've never seen a menu there. It's strictly buffet and one price.
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Grew up with a grandpa who use to be a shrimper, we had crawfish boils and lobster and crab legs are my 2 favorite seafoods so I definitely don't dislike that type of seafood. NO crawfish boil I've ever been to smells like Cape May does. It just smelled like low quality seafood not the fresh caught straight from the gulf I grew up with.
 
wilkeliza said:
Grew up with a grandpa who use to be a shrimper, we had crawfish boils and lobster and crab legs are my 2 favorite seafoods so I definitely don't dislike that type of seafood. NO crawfish boil I've ever been to smells like Cape May does. It just smelled like low quality seafood not the fresh caught straight from the gulf I grew up with.
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If you grew up with the seafood boils, you, like us, did most/all of your boils outside. That's the main difference with Cape May - it's all inside, and the smell tends to be stronger, as it has no outside air to dissipate in. I still hate to do anything like that in my house, as the smell seems to linger for days! We always try to do them outside.

Also, if you aren't used to the smell of clams and crab legs - they do tend to smell differently! 'If' we weren't eating, (just passing through), the smell would probably get offensive to us also.
 
North of Mouse said:
For those pp's that are saying that Cape May has a very strong 'fishy' smell - they are sooo correct!! That smell is very 'normal' and consistent with most places that sell/serve boiled/broiled/steamed seafood. Am used to our crawfish/shrimp boils in Louisiana, plus we have gone a few times to Maine and had some great lobster boils!

If the smell is offensive to you, it's probably because you do not care for that type seafood, and this place is definitely not for you. It smells great to us and we can't wait until next week to go there again, and again (twice while we're there). :thumbsup2 We would be so disappointed if it 'didn't' smell that way!! :goodvibes

But, to the OP, we've never seen a menu there. It's strictly buffet and one price.
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Nope, I love all the types of seafood they serve (and those in boils) but hate, can not stomach the smell at Cape May. It's nauseating. And yes, you can only smell it in the hall walking from BC towards Beaches and Cream.
 
Cape May definitely stinks of seafood. Once you get near it, you can smell it from the side of the lobby all the way around to Martha's Vineyard bar. It's not as fishy as it used to be, but it still has a strong odor. And for the pp's who haven't experienced the smell, you aren't visiting on a regular basis - it smells.
 
To each their own interpretation of seafood boil 'indoor' smells!! :goodvibes
But, as for us, we've had many, many years of experience with seafood in general and the smells are 'right on'.
Too bad everyone usually passes through that area to get to pool, etc. It's the strongest area of smell maybe because of the draft from doors in this 'hall like' area. :confused3
 
I can definitely smell it in that hallway to Yacht Club, but I still enjoy eating there.
 
My family has eaten here a number of times. One of our's is a big "seafood is disgusting" type and there is still plenty on the buffet there for her.

As for the smell, it is definitely there. Let me preface this by saying that I worked in seafood for seven years and did hundreds of clambakes a year. I don't think that the smell at Cape May is an indication of any sort of issue with the food. People will say 'seafood shouldn't have any smell at all' and that just isn't the case, realistically. When you consider that...
  • The seafood is being prepared indoors as opposed to outside.
  • The quantity of seafood being prepared is pretty large.
  • The seafood is not fresh off the boat, same day, gulf product (which would be unrealistic to expect in this situation IMO)
...there is going to be a smell, it is unavoidable, it doesn't mean the product is bad. I definitely understand people being turned off the atmosphere though, it has never been a factor for me. There is a different between "this smells like seafood" and "this smells like rotten seafood".

That said, Cape May in general isn't anything special. It is fun, and if you are looking specifically for a laid back seafood buffet, it is worth going to, but there are better restaurants on property. Sometimes the clams can be quite sandy, hit or miss. I wouldn't be opposed to eating there (esp. if I'm at BC) but it isn't on my must-book list.
 
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wilkeliza said:
Grew up with a grandpa who use to be a shrimper, we had crawfish boils and lobster and crab legs are my 2 favorite seafoods so I definitely don't dislike that type of seafood. NO crawfish boil I've ever been to smells like Cape May does. It just smelled like low quality seafood not the fresh caught straight from the gulf I grew up with.
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I totally agree. Fish places I've eaten at in Louisiana don't smell nearly as bad as Cape May and we usually hit one once a week. It's nauseating to have to walk past the dining area. You can even still smell it in the morning sometimes.
 
When I was there last October, they had a roasted brussel sprouts with sriracha dish that was to die for! I couldn't eat enough of it. LOL!

Cape May Cafe had been a long time favorite of my family but this trip, we tried the Seafood Sensation buffet at the Garden Grove in the Swan. I have to say the quality of their snow crab legs was far above Cape May's. They were bigger and meatier, and easier to de-shell.

Cape May has a bigger variety of food, but we're going back to the Garden Grove next visit.
 
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