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A summer evening at Nomans Restaurant in Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard. Live music, cozy outdoor seating, and relaxing island vibes in 4K video.
Nomans at 15 Island Inn Road in Oak Bluffs is the only biergarten-style outdoor spot on Martha's Vineyard: part restaurant, part hangout, often compared to Cisco Brewery on Nantucket. You order at the counter, the rum carries the house name, and there are lawn games, live music and a free shuttle from the ferry terminal.
Filmed August 2024The island moves on: shops, signs and prices may differ from what you see here. The text of this guide was checked October 2026.
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For roughly 25 years the space was Lola's Southern Seafood, known for dancing until 1 AM, gospel brunches and Cajun food. It sold for $2.3 million in September 2018, and after a long renovation Nomans opened in June 2019 under owner Doug Abdelnour Jr., whose family has run Nancy's on the harbor since 1960. The name comes from Nomans Land, the uninhabited island off the Vineyard's south shore.
The outdoor seating at Nomans under the sail shades and string lights on a summer evening.
It's counter service: you find a table, order inside and pick up at the window. Most items are $9–$20:
Cocktails run about $15 and use the house Nomans Rum, distilled at Triple 8 Distillery on Nantucket. Beers are $6–$8.
The Raw Bar trailer under the canopy: oysters and clams from a window, a few steps from the tables.
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The lit arrow pointing the way to the outdoor bar at Nomans, in the old Lola’s space.
The big patio and lawn have cornhole, giant Jenga, Connect Four, firepits and an outdoor TV, plus "Rum Huts," cabanas for 10 that you can reserve 30 days ahead. Dogs are welcome; Nomans calls them "VIDs" (Very Important Dogs). Friday nights bring live music and DJ Smooth B.
Twilight at the picnic tables, the string lights on and more tables filling up under the shade sails at the back.
Summer hours in 2026 were Sun–Thu 11 AM–9 PM and Fri–Sat 11 AM–9:30 PM, with no reservations, walk-ins only. Two free shuttles ran to Nomans: from the OB ferry terminal (12 PM–close, every 30 min) and from Little Bridge (5 PM–close). In the fall Nomans cuts back and then closes for the winter, so its website or Instagram is the place to check the current days before you go.
The lawn also works as a stage. In 2026 the Martha’s Vineyard Songwriters Festival opened here with a free kickoff party on Thursday, September 17, before three ticketed nights at the Strand Theatre. For what's coming up on the island, check our events calendar.
Harthaven, the quiet neighborhood off Beach Road next to Nomans: split-rail fences, pitch pines and the water at the end of the lane.
For more Oak Bluffs dining and nightlife, see our Complete Oak Bluffs Guide (2026) or plan your trip with our car-free travel guide.
Island tip of the day Beaches No. 26 of 86 New tip at midnight, island time
Moshup Beach near the Aquinnah Cliffs: parking is $35/day in season, card only; walking or biking in is free. It is a 10-minute walk down to the sand, with restrooms at the lot but none on the beach.
The Martha's Vineyard Songwriters Festival, September 17 to 20, 2026: a free kickoff at Nomans and three nights of Nashville writers at the Strand Theatre in Oak Bluffs, with our photographs from inside the Strand, the night-by-night lineups and practical notes for next year.
Where Martha's Vineyard's oysters, bay scallops and quahogs come from: the public solar hatchery on Lagoon Pond that turned fifty in 2026, the dozen oyster farms in Katama Bay, Menemsha Pond and Vineyard Sound, the wild beds in the great ponds, the autumn scallop season and its limits, visitor shellfish permits by town, why rain closes a pond, and where to eat them.
Lobster on Martha's Vineyard from trap to paper plate: how the small Menemsha fleet fishes, the Massachusetts rules on size, egg-bearing females and whale-safe gear, where to buy lobster off the boat (Larsen's, Menemsha Fish Market, The Net Result), how to eat it on the dock with your own bottle, and how a visitor can get a permit and catch a few.
The Feast of the Holy Ghost in Oak Bluffs, held every third full weekend of July since 1928: the Queen Isabel legend behind the free soup, the Sunday parade from the ferry up Circuit Avenue, the crown blessed at Our Lady Star of the Sea, the sopas at the Portuguese-American Club, the club the rest of the year, and how a visitor should behave at the island's Portuguese feast.
Every supermarket and market on Martha's Vineyard with posted hours: Stop and Shop, Cronig's, Reliable Market, Alley's, the meat and fish markets, the Falmouth Stop and Shop before the ferry, Instacart and pre-stocking delivery, and an honest word on island prices.
Is Martha's Vineyard a dry island? Town by town: Chilmark is fully dry and BYOB, West Tisbury and Aquinnah pour beer and wine with meals, Vineyard Haven serves full liquor but has no liquor store, and only Oak Bluffs and Edgartown have package stores. Corkage, beach rules, the ferry and the state laws, checked September 2026.
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