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In our guide to spending an ideal day eating, drinking, and adventuring through a new-to-you place, Brad Johnson shares his picks for the best restaurants in Martha's Vineyard.
Once you have visited Martha’s Vineyard, a 20-mile-long island just off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, you will fall in love. There are no chain stores or traffic lights. Instead, you'’l find bike paths galore, as well as cool small towns lined with quaint storefronts, housing art galleries, shops, and independently owned restaurants. Though you can cover the entire island in a day, getting around does require driving. The towns of Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, and Edgartown occupy the north and northeast of the island, with West Tisbury near the island’s center, and Chilmark and Aquinnah at the western point.
The distinct smell and taste of salty Cape air hits you the moment you drive across the Bourne Bridge to the ferry, getting you into traveling mode. That ferry and one small airport are the only ways to reach Martha's Vineyard, and since I’ve been coming as a child, watching cars full of summer supplies and groceries drive right onto the ferry has been a momentous first sight of vacation.
Some of the best restaurants and shops in Martha’s Vineyard have changed hands over the years, but the well-preserved spirit of this place remains intact. Nancy’s, once a modest dockside spot for burgers and fries, has quadrupled its footprint, adding multiple decks, an expanded menu, and cocktails. Others, like longtime favorite Giordano’s, with its walk-up pizza slice shop, fried clam bar and accompanying full-service restaurant, have been operated by the same family for four generations.
With the shifting tides of the seasons (many of the businesses here are seasonal, so check restaurants’ websites for current hours), the well-preserved, timeless beauty of Martha's Vineyard remains as magnificent as it ever was.
The Essentials
The best time to visit is… Memorial Day to Early October, if you want to catch New England bursting with color.
Don’t forget to pack… Comfortable shoes or sneakers for hikes and long walks, and a warm sweater or hoody. When the fog rolls in it can get chilly.
Don’t leave town without… The feta-style cheese from Mermaid Farm in Chilmark and a bottle of the house-made very popular salad dressing from MV Salads in Oak Bluffs.
The best place to stay is… A lovely bed and breakfast called Oak Bluffs Inn. It’s tough to beat its proximity to town, and a wraparound front porch, ideal for morning coffee and people watching.
Breakfast Worth Waiting in Line For
Looking for a tucked-away spot in the heart of bustling Edgartown? Behind the Bookstore is where you should go to find beautifully presented coffee, a slamming avocado toast, and assorted baked treats. During the busy summer season, the line may snake up the sidewalk, but this charming three-meal-a-day venue, with its canopied patio for outdoor seating, is the kind of place worth waiting in line for. Here you can expect inspired plates and perhaps the best espresso on the island.
Or get the day going at Lucky Hank’s, where the team sources locally, recycles, composts, and monitors their use of plastics. Start with cod cakes and a dab of lobster tartar sauce, or the Crunchy French Toast with fresh strawberry, slivered almonds, and vanilla mascarpone cream. Finding parking on weekends and during the peak of summer can be tedious, so if you’re not afraid to bike through some traffic, cycle here for brunch.
Lunch on Lobster Rolls and Banana Cream Pie
Along with my wife and son, I make a beeline straight from the ferry to John’s Fish Market and Sandy’s Fish & Chips (yes, that’s all one name) in Vineyard Haven. I’ve been coming here for lunch since lobster rolls cost $10. The rolls might be $26 now, but it barely matters when they’re this good: stuffed with sweet chunks of coastal Maine lobster and mayo, squished into a perfect buttered and grilled bun. Order a side of onion rings and a lemonade, and eat it all on the parking lot bench.
The Aquinnah Shop is another classic Martha’s Vineyard restaurant and has been one of my must-visit stops from my very first trip to the island with my parents in the ’60s. Perched atop the clay cliffs of Aquinnah, one of the most scenic vistas on the island, the view is nothing short of majestic. My go-to order is the grilled fresh fish of the day between a soft buttered and toasted bun with lemon and tartar sauce, and if it's chilly, a bowl of New England Clam Chowder. For as long as I can remember the matriarch of the family-run business, Anne Vanderhoop, has been working the line. The restaurant is currently operated by her son Cully and his son Jacob, the head chef. The homemade pies—banana cream is my all-time favorite—are not to be missed.
I don’t know if there is a place that better illustrates why people return to this magical island time and time again than MV Salads, a very popular, perpetually busy, centrally located salad and wrap shop in Oak Bluffs. If you’re walking over to nearby Inkwell beach for a late afternoon in the sand, stop here first for a few of the wraps. Many dishes, like the Tivoli Cauliflower wrap, are vegan. The BLT salad can be made with locally grown shiitake mushrooms, and the Mermaid Meadow Summer salad comes with that standout feta. I can never pass up the Menemsha Lobster Cobb, chased down with a house-made watermelon cooler.
Take a Ride on America’s Oldest Carousel, Then Head to the Beach
Just down the street in Oak Bluffs is Flying Horses, the oldest platform carousel in the country. Have some cotton candy and watch as the carousel goes around. Kids sit on replicas of horses, their outstretched arms grabbing silver rings from the mechanical “ring feeder” on each pass. For whichever lucky rider grabs the prized brass ring, the next ride is on the house.
In the early evening visit the quintessential fishing village of Menemsha. Grab some plump juicy cherrystone clams on the half shell from Larsen's Fish Market and take a blanket over to the public beach to watch the summer sky change colors as the sun sets over the harbor.
For Dinner, Jerk Chicken and Sweeping Views
The Veteran of Foreign Wars building in Oak Bluffs may not be the typical setting for a world-class meal, but don’t let that dissuade you from going to Chef Deon’s Kitchen. The Jamaican-born chef brings all of his culinary skills to the plate here, with dishes like jerk chicken, buttermilk-fried pork chops, and ham mac and cheese.
I highly recommend a leisurely, scenic drive across the island, and one such drive will bring you to Outermost Inn. The restaurant and hotel was built in 1971 as a family home and began taking guests in 1989. Located at the westernmost part of the island, perched on a hillside with sweeping unobstructed views of spectacular sunsets, the restaurant is considered by many to be one of the best fine dining experiences in town. Led by executive chef Scott Grewe, the kitchen turns out a seasonal menu that—for now, at least—features fresh veggies like grilled jumbo asparagus, along with braised spring lamb, crisped duck breast, and much more.
End the Night With Doughnuts
As a teenager, after nights of dancing to Parliament Funkadelic at house parties in Oak Bluffs, we’d regularly make a stop at the Old Stone Bakery’s back door. We’d plead with the overnight bakers for doughnuts before heading home. Well, that became a popular concept, and the current owners adopted the name Back Door Donuts in 2018. You can’t visit the island without sampling their crazy good apple fritters.