Trader Ed's Pool Bar

Yuuuuuuuuuck.  Did I go to a different place than the other reviewers?  A friend brought us here, he said we'd like it.  When we left we asked him "Were you drunk when you came here?  What part of it did you think we'd like?"  Bad ambience (depressing concrete pool area, tightly packed tables of white resin), bad food (sh*tty microwaved frozen garbage), bad service (sweet young girls, pleasant, but rushing around like crazy, actually RUNNING at times ...it wasn't that busy).  Never again.

As a native of South Florida, I've considerable expertise with waterfront drinking. Pretty simple formula, most believe; take open water, add alcohol.

But nay good sir. There's more than a fine line separating whalers slowly tipping tall boys by the wharf, the bronzed and picturesque quaffing martinis on the rocky beaches of the French Riviera, gringos and locals alternating between napping and shooting mezcal in Tijuana and, well, how ever you'd describe the shit that goes down in South Beach.

That said, if you slam the atmospheric apple corer over the latter and shift the little nugget to the Cape, you've got yourself Trader Ed's. While the beautiful, sparkly-pocketed staff can afford to be curt and catty, they aren't. Quite the opposite, in fact, as Allie defined service with a smile - quick with a joke and (when the sun shifted) the pair of designer shades off her head.

Food's moderate and the mixed specialty drinks read straight from a seaside frat menu. Basic and powerful, the $7-8 price tag doesn't hit the wallet as quickly as the alcoholic suntan will turn you into one. Probably not my scene if under a roof, but because it ain't, I'd definitely swing by again.

This is a lunch review.  It's our habit to find a cheap and fun place to eat on Fridays, and Trader Ed's was our pick this week.  

Trader Ed's at Hyannis Harbor is a bit of a chameleon.  First, it's somewhat hard to find being tucked in toward the back of the Hyannis Harbor parking lot.  Secondly, it apparently changes with the time of day, from a chill harbor-side lunch spot to a happening night club as the sun goes down.

It was not busy during the lunch hour on this particular Friday.  The menu is a decent selection of sandwiches and dinners, all very reasonably priced for this prime location.  I had a barbecue chicken sandwich and my partner had a tuna melt, plus two sodas (and a ton of free refills) for a total of $30 (before tip).  The service was frequent and friendly.  

We didn't check out the bar, although it looked inviting and fun (I had to go back to work).  

We'll be back.