Find Yourself at the Lost Dog Pub

By: Chris Setterlund, January 26, 2012

With locations in East Dennis and Orleans, the Lost Dog Pub is a place where “everybody knows your name.”           

Both locations have been the staple watering holes of mid-Cape locals for over 10 years. But the Lost Dog got its start about 2,000 miles away.  While owner Andy Murphy can usually be found making the rounds or hard at work in his basement office in East Dennis these days, back in February 1991 he was opening the original Lost Dog in the small coastal town of Frederiksted, St. Croix.

Looking for a way to “extend my summer vacation,” Murphy ended up in the U.S. Virgin Islands as a part of a construction crew.  He found the building in ruins from a storm and decided to open up a place catering to the expat community. 

Murphy tells the story of the original Lost Dog’s grand opening:  “No lie,” he says with a smile, “as soon as we opened the doors, a decrepit old dog wandered in and lay down on the floor.”  The dog’s master had been the previous owner of the building—and for Murphy, it was a good sign as any for a place called Lost Dog.

Tropical roots meet fish n' chips

On the Cape, the Lost Dog Pub is more known for its nightlife, with an ever-popular jukebox live music on Wednesday nights and at the Dennis location and a steady entertainment lineup in Orleans on Friday and Saturday nights. It’s also a great place to watch the game at one of the flat-screens around the bar.

The food is every bit as appealing as the nightlife, featuring classic Cape Cod standards like fish and chips and a Captain’s Club—a fishy version of a club sandwich.  If seafood is not your thing, there are burgers, a Philly cheesesteak sub, salads, and wraps.

Looking to chow down during the game? Lost Dog’s potato skins, chicken fingers, calamari will hit the spot. The bone-in chicken wings are available in several savory varieties: Buffalo, honey habanero, JD BBQ, chili garlic, and teriyaki.

If these options don’t reel you in, I highly recommend trying the Lost Dog’s pizza, available every night until midnight in the Orleans location and until 10 PM in Dennis (during the winter). If you have to just choose one pie, I’d go for the JD BBQ Chicken Pizza, complete with barbequed chicken, bacon, onion, mozzarella cheese and “JD BBQ” sauce, a house-made whiskey reduction.  The pizza was delicious, with each ingredient noticeable but not overpowering.     

All the food at the Lost Dog Pub is from scratch, including the sub breads and pizza dough at the Orleans location.

But the secret to the success of the Lost Dog Pub is its loyal employees, many of whom have been there from the beginning.  “There is not much turnover,” Murphy says. “The staff makes this place.”