MARTHA's Vineyard Restaurant Recos?
We will be traveling to the Vineyard in August, and are wondering if anyone has had any great lunches or dinners on the island this summer? If so, where did you feast? Would you recommend it? We will be in the Edgartown area...
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Citygirl -- Having a house in the Chilmark area of the Vineyard since the Iceberg Lettuce Age, I can assure you there are no "great" lunches or dinners, only recently were arugula and sea salt discovered here. But you can do pretty well if you "faites simple." In Edgartown L'Etoile is best, followed closely by the Harborview Hotel. Detente is well-meaning but unprofessional, we were kept waiting for >45 minutes recently. In Oak Bluffs Sweet Life, if you can sit outside, and Slice of the Life, for casual meals. Nothing in Vineyard Haven. West Tisbury's best resto, which is currently the Island's overall best, is State Road, you'll simply have to forgive their "bread," a brioche-like concoction that bears no resemblance to the real thing. (It's also deafeningly noisy, sit in the bar.) Lamberts Cove Inn boasts a cozy, Martha Stewart-like decor with better than meiodcre food. The Chilmark Tavern is quite professional this year. Out in Aquinna, with a spectacular view and a generous, prix fixe menu, the Outermost Inn is a romantic option. Excellent lobsters on the beach can be cooked to order at Larsen's fish shack, order some clams, byo wine and watch the sunset from Menemsha Beach, a total Vineyard scene. Bon voyage, Chicfille
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Sweet Life Cafe
63 Circuit Ave, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568Harborview Restaurant
5 Marina Plz, Newport, RI 02840State Road Restaurant
688 State Rd, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 -
Art Cliff Diner -Vineyard Haven
Great food in a very casual atmosphere. Open for breakfast and lunch. There’s usually a wait unless you go very early, but it’s worth it. Heard they have a truck outside at night this year for take out too, but haven;t tried it yet.The Bite- Menemsha
Way out at the tip of the island, this is a small clam shack where you can get the BEST fried clams and chowder and have a high likelihood of spotting visiting celebrities. Limited seating on picnic tables. Menemsha is a great place to watch the sunset, so get your food to go and carry it down to the beach.Alchemy -Edgartown
Good food downstairs and equally good but more casual and less expensive food upstairs in the pub. Great burgers upstairs.Lattanzi’s Pizzaria- Edgartown
Good, crispy, thin crust pizza. Indoor and outdoor seating. Skip the fancier Lantanzzi’s Restaurant next door—their food is not worth the price.Coach House- Edgartown
On a nice night, eating on the porch is fun, great view of the harbor. Food is good but you also pay for the view.Avoid:
Among The Flowers Cafe, Edgartown--nice setting but food is lousy. A tourist trap
Le Grenier, Vineyard Haven--absurdly overpriced, mediocre food with lots of attitude.-----
Lattanzis Restaurant
PO Box 407, Edgartown, MA 02539›1 Reply -
I am from NYC and post a lot on that site. I am on the island probably a total of 40 days per year.
My favs in Edgartown:
#1 Alchemy. Great space, good sized portions, doesn't try too hard, just love it. My abs fav on island. I think I'll go there tonight, as a matter of fact.
#2 For proper meal, place which does try rather hard to be upscale, and for the most part succeeds, L'etoile
#3 The Newes from America - Pub food. Great fish and chips, draft beer selction is wonderful.I hate: The Atlantic. Their food is shameless. I really have given it a fair try and nothing has been very good for its high prices. I do like its wine by the glass list and fun atmosphere at night for drinks. Its lobster roll was inedible. That's right: on Martha's Vineyard!
I like Detente and Atria too. Atria for their burger special. Good wine list at the latter as well.
Skip:
Seafood Shanty - try to find something delicious. I challenge you.
David Ryan's - ditto. I believe they source from Sisco, but not sure.
Chesca's - some things are OK, but again, I think they open some cans back there.Casual: I LOVE the chicken salad at Katama General Store. I am borderline gout because of the amount I eat. (That and the massive amount of sushi, more about that later.)
For Tex-Mex, you know, Sharky's is pretty damn good! There's also one in OB. I eat nachos maybe 2-3x per year, and I love their Super Nachos.Good tequila list. Crazy long and wide.
Right Fork Diner for breakfast and lunch - in Katama.
Dock St Diner - only open for breakfast. Good eggs and linguica! Solid diner breakfasts.In Oak Bluffs:
I am obsessive over the sushi at The Lookout Tavern. Seriously. It is fresh, great prices. Sure, the chef is not exactly fretting over his rice or cutting in an incredibly precise manner, but it is just fresh and delicious! I have gone 4 days in a row eating lunch there.
The Offshore Ale House - very good pub food. Pizzas, burgers, hand crafted ales and beers.
Raw bar along the pier at Nancy's, but not much else actually. Oh, and I like their fun and fruity, fresh and boozy drinks, upstairs.
Wings at Coup de Ville are decent.
In Vineyard Haven
Zephrus Grill. Good bouillabaisse.The one to try this season is supposedly State Road. I haven't tried as I never feel like schlepping out to West Tiz.
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L'etoile Restaurant
22 N Water St, Edgartown, MA 02539Right Fork Diner
12 Mattakesett Way, Edgartown, MA 02539David Ryans Restaurant and Cafe
11 N Water St, Edgartown, MA 02539Ale House
37 Friend St, Amesbury, MA 01913Seafood Shanty
PO Box 3450, Edgartown, MA 02539State Road Restaurant
688 State Rd, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 -
We, too, were just there last week. Our cousin has lived there for 25 years, and took us to a couple of good places. The Wharf Pub in Edgartown had some great softshell clams steamed with a little cream, tarragon and lime, seriously good. Very casual, surprisingly available on a Saturday evening. (Things are apparently relatively quiet this summer.) We had a lovely, tasty dinner at the Harbor View Hotel in E'town, their Water Street restaurant. Excellent service for an evening devoted to conversation, and fine food. Net Result in Vineyard Haven is a fish market that has tables outside and serves good food, and lobsters at a reasonable-for-the-island price. Not fabulous, but popular and friendly. And then there's Back Door Doughnuts. Google them for the story.
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Water Street Restaurant
131 North Water Street, Edgartown, MA 02529Wharf Pub & Restaurant
37 Bowens Wharf, Newport, RI 02840Net Result
79 Beach Rd, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 -
You didn't get any replies yet? We were on the island last week, and here is what we (husband and I) thought. Detente in Edgartown: Good food, somewhat somber but OK atmosphere, service could have been better. Had their famous peach appetizer, which was amazing and frankly quite filling. Also had a lovely lamb dish and they let me change around the sides. Service mostly good, but waitress extremely slow at bringing the first drinks, one of my pet peeves. Atlantic in Edgartown. Went there for lunch. It looks like an upscale nautical version of Paparazzi, and has amazing views from the entire restaurant, of the harbor and the sailboats, plus extensive outside decks and terraces. Amazingly, we thought it was excellent. Had a great crab appetizer, very fresh and simple. Great caesar salad, wonderful burger, great service. Would go again. Blue Canoe in Vineyard Haven: I had not heard that the town is no longer dry!!! They offer wine and perhaps beer too. This is a lovely restaurant on two floors, with a great view of the harbor. It would be amazing to sit on the upstairs deck, however, we were inside right near the window. Had a fantastic waitress, way above average service even though the place was crowded and kind of hot, she was very pleasant and attentive. We both thought the food was great. I got scallops and hub got roast chicken. Coffee was good too, served in a giant heavy coffee cup. Would definitely go back. Sweet Life Cafe in Oak Bluffs: The terrace is so pretty, but unfortunately we could not get a table out there. Inside is OK, just not magical like the terrace. Service was really very good, no complaints. My complaint is that the drinks were VERY weak (I had a mojito and it had no buzz to it at all, and later a glass of wine that seemed weak as well -- husband agreed with my assessment). The food is really wonderful, but at these prices I was shocked at the small portion on our entrees. My husband ordered chicken and he and I agreed it was pretty much an appetizer portion. If he had not previously had an appetizer, he would have been hungry. And this place may be the most expensive on the island -- well into the 30s for these entrees. I'm not in a hurry to go back.
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Sweet Life Cafe
63 Circuit Ave, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568›1 Reply
