Dine in the romantic mansion that Captain Ebeneezer Linnell built for his bride in 1840. With a sprawling lawn and gardens filled with wisteria and sprays of lavender, this stately home is a favorite spot for Cape Cod weddings and rehearsal dinners. The restaurant serves dinner nightly from 5pm. Off the beaten path and just a short walk to Skaket Beach, the location is secluded and romantic.

Under the ownership of the Conways, the historic Captain Linnell House seems to have found the tender loving care this venerable building needed to restore it to its rightful place as one of the Cape Cod's most distinguished dining spots. Bill and Shelly Conway, a couple with visionary imagination and big hearts took on this neglected building with total commitment to restoring it to its former grandeur. After 17 years of hard work, the building is well on its way to its former glory as a clipper-ship captain's mansion.

Chef-Owner Bill Conway laid the groundwork for his culinary accolades the traditional way by apprenticing to a classically trained chef. Bill has been featured in Gourmet magazine, the New York Times, Yankee Magazine's Travel Guide. "Great American food, " is how he describes his own variations on his classical training and says, " I believe my guests should not leave my restaurant hungry, but should not feel over-stuffed either." Zagats has rated the Captain Linnell House as exceptional - its highest ranking.

The Captain Linnell House offers an intimate setting for your wedding , rehearsal dinner, family event or corporate function. Our chef will work with you on your menu so that your guests, and you, will rank your wedding "the best". Near Skaket Beach (great for photos) and with a gazebo garden for ceremonies or cocktail parties, this acclaimed restaurant is the "real" Cape Cod.


History of the Captain Linnell House

As present owners of the Captain Linnell House, we'd like to share its history with our guests as a way of preserving its heritage.

Captain Eben Linnell, the original owner, was born in 1811 on Barley Neck Road, Orleans. He lived a full and adventurous life until he died at sea off the coast of Brazil in 1864 when a tropical storm pinned him against his ships wheel. It's been said that the captain was unequaled among American ship masters for native ability, energy, and shrewdness.

From the bygone era of stately clipper ships, one of the Captain's many world-ranging speed records still stands. In 1855, he raced his most famous ship, the Massachusetts-built Eagle Wing from London to Hong Kong in 83 1/2 days. Captain Linnell was also famous as an inventor. He devised an improved top-sail rig, which was patented and incorporated in the design of 64 ships.

He still found time for two great love affairs in his lifetime. The first was with the beautiful Rebecca Crosby who became his bride in 1835. The Captain had a Cape Codder built for her on the present site of the Captain Linnell House, which at one point consisted of 35 acres of open land along 400 feet of the Cape Cod Bay shore. There they had three daughters. In France in 1850, he fell in love again. This time with a French-designed, neo-classic villa built for a shipping agent friend in Marseilles. The Captain brought back the plans to America and soon began building an exact replica of the villa for his family.

He also brought back furniture and fittings for the house from Europe and the Orient, and it seems he was preparing to fully enjoy his mansion's grandeur but in another of the endless ironies of the sea, he told his family that the voyage that took his life would be his last.

The house still carries the heritage of the clipper master's personality and reflects his worldliness, inventiveness and taste. We hope to preserve this legacy, and our plans include continuing the restoration of the Captain Linnell House. We're delighted that it's regarded as one of Cape Cod's important historical sites.

A warm welcome ~ The Conways