My friends and I will be going to Martha's Vineyard over July 4th. Any really great restaurant suggestions would be a tremendous help since we are only going to be there for five days.

We will also be taking a ferry to Nantucket for a day. Any suggestions there will be also aprreciated.

Thankyou, Ann

What price range?

That said, L'Etoile, Johnny's fine carryout, fresh pasta and pizza (pizzeria) village bakeshop (west tis) for sandwiches, and a great diner next to the lumberyard in VH who's name I forget but has some of the best food on the island for great prices. I hate to mention it because the lines will now become immense, but they deserve the business. Sigh.

I can vouch for L'Etoile at the Charlotte Inn in E'town as an island highlight. Nice covered courtyard type setting, not too stuffy but very well done.

Thankyou.....I made reservations at L'Etoile and I'm not going to worry about prices. We're only there for five days and we want to enjoy ourselves. Thanks again!

If you intend to go to Menemsha (sp?) at the other end of the island, I can recommend the Beach Plum Inn. The food is great (think it was voted best restaurant on M.V.). Its not stuffy and I didn't think too expensive. Its dry so B.Y.O.B. The view of the harbour and sunset was fantastic. Enjoy!!

Warning: don't bother with the restaurant at the Outermost Inn. Vastly overpriced, just for the view and rubbing shoulders with a Taylor Brother, but food is mediocre at best. Breakfast there is great, by contrast, but I don't know if you can come in off the street for it -- doubt it, but ask. A better view in the morning anyway.

Would be surprised if it's still there, but there's a Brazilian restaurant not far from the ferry slip where we have a Brazilian lobster dish that was a revelation. Place looks a little funky from the road, and parking is a major challenge, but make sure you eat "upstairs" on the porch overlooking the harbor.

Sorry I don't have the name -- anyone else?

Checked -- it's the Ipanema in Vineyard Haven -- and worth going there, for sure. You WILL need reservations.

Also, check out "Balance" in Oak Bluffs for the best of the newest. Pricey.

Thanks again for all the info!!!

I'm so looking forward to our trip!

THe date you are going just clicked in my head. You are wise to make restaurant reservations now. The island is as full over july 4 as it ever is.

Hey Guys!!!

I still need more restaurant suggestions! Any price range....it does'nt matter.....just great food and a great atmosphere!!!

Thanks again,
Ann

I have spent over 20 years vacationing on the vineyard, both in-season and off. One place that is consistent for great lobster and exceptional scallops is The Square Rigger. It is located in Edgartown, at the Triangle - no water views, but great seafood.

I'd also recommend going to the HomePort in Menemsha - you can make a reservation and eat in or get your dinner "take out style" and sit outside overlooking the Menemsha harbor. Very plain food here but again, exceptional fish. The swordfish is caught right in Menemsha. I also like the shore dinner - one lobster, a dozen or so steamed mussels, corn, fries, chowder or stuffed quohog and pie for dessert. Casual place - great for sunset!

Try the ice cream at Mad Martha's - they have several locations on the island. Sometimes long lines, especially in summer, but worth it.

The fudge at Murdick's is very good. You can even send it to friends direct from the stores. There are locations in each of the "major" towns.

Good place to get "to go" seafood for lunch to take to the beach is Edgartown Seafood Market. This is a small fish market, but they have good fish and chips and fish sandwiches.

Best fish sandwich on the island - Linda Jean's in Oak Bluffs. It is fried cod or haddock and it is delicious.

Good place for some good beers and a sandwich - The Newes Pub - in downtown Edgartown, near the Kelley House Inn. The beer and food menus change seasonally.

Try something from the Black Dog Bakery - a vineyard institution - they have a restaurant, but I would recommend the bakery - the main location is in Vineyard Haven, near the ferry terminal. The muffins and breads are terrific!

Hope this helps - as I think of more I will reply. Feel free to ask any questions!

I'll second the Homeport and Newes Pub. THe Homeport will be insanely difficult to get in then, however.

There's a barbecue place (only one) in Oak Bluffs that is very good/rustic/inexpensive. Lola's in OB is also ok, but more for atmosphere value than straight food. (New Orleans style). Always try to get a seat at the bar there - they don't serve the bar menu in the formal dining room.

The Coach House in Edgartown has a great Brunch with an outstanding view.

For a negative, don't go to David Ryans. Good bar but the food is awful and expensive.

I agree - stay away from dinner at David Ryan's.

Another to add that I forgot earlier is Chesca's - it is in Edgartown, next to the Colonial Inn. It's Italian and good food......it has been around for several years, and came in after many restaurants had been in and out of that location after just one season.

My favorite meals on MV has been sitting on the beach at sunset at Menemsha Harbor. Eileen already mentioned getting take-out from the Homeport restaurant. Another suggestion is what I do...get a take-out from The Bite (in-between the beach and Homeport) which is a one-window take-out "shack" with the best clam chowder, "bite" fries and clams. Don't forget...BYO.

Sweet time cafe in oak bluffs

Whoops I was typing too fast. Should be Sweet Life Cafe. Sorry.

Now we're cookin......great ideas and information. Thankyou all.....Eileen.....you outdid yourself!

Ann

Several people have mentioned the Homeport. Let me "warn" you that if it were located anywhere but on Martha's Vineyard, it would not be a particularly remarkable place -- wooden building, no atmosphere other than the usual resort-town seafood-place (with french fries in the north, hushpuppies in the south.) Yes, you get decent seafood there including lobster, but it gets crowded quickly and you will end up ordering around the side window and hoping to grab a table as soon as someone gets up. It's BYOB and/but they have an inside and outside "bar" to sell you set-ups or your drinks. Very very casual.

When we were there mid-July last year, there were a lot of people, a lot of waiting, a nice sea-breeze, and a limo that pulled up with two people we didn't recognize who ambled into the restaurant as if we all were supposed to recognize them. The year-rounders at the next table said "Yahoos!" in contempt.

That pretty much summed up the entire MV's experience for us: crowds, quaint buildings that might even be ramshackle if they were on the mainland, beautiful views, decent food, too many limos and too many "yahoos" amid the year-rounders.

Nantucket's nicer, but it knows it, which is why it's so expensive and difficult to get there. Enjoy it.

I would disagree about whether Nantucket is nicer, but each to their own - I find aspects of it nicer, and aspects less nice. ALl in I prefer the Vineyard. Nantucket is much more pretentious.

As for the crowds, you were in the wrong places. I never see a crowd on the VIneyard.

And I wouldn't go to the Homeport myself. You can pickup takeout at The Bite, (which is great) get a lobster at Larsens fish market, and eat it on the dock. Same view, less than half the price.

Any new restaurants openning on Martha's Vineyard?Please update the "must" restaurants.Also,when booking a popular restaurant when should I make the reservation?

Thanks reg