Martha's Vineyard restaurant guide 2026: new openings, reservation tips, BYOB rules, and dining picks from fine dining to casual.
Martha's Vineyard's restaurant scene runs from James Beard semifinalists to fried-clam shacks, and 2026 brought the biggest batch of new openings in years. This guide covers where to eat by category, how to book, and the essential BYOB logistics for the island's dry and semi-dry towns (the full town-by-town alcohol map is in our dry towns guide). If the term is new: BYOB means bring your own bottle. The restaurant has no liquor license, so you carry in wine or beer you bought ahead (Edgartown and Oak Bluffs have the island's only liquor stores), and the kitchen supplies glasses, ice and sometimes a small corkage fee. For ranked lists of the best lobster roll, pizza, breakfast, and ice cream (plus town-by-town food tours), see our Food Tour guide. Staying overnight? See Where to Stay.
Table of contents [Show]
Worth settling before dinner plans: Edgartown and Oak Bluffs are the only towns with real package stores. In Edgartown that means Al's Package Store on Upper Main, Your Market at the Triangle, and Rosewater Wine and Spirits, with MV Wine and Spirits out by the airport. In Oak Bluffs, Jim's Package Store sits by the harbor along with Our Market, which also delivers island-wide, handy for up-island rentals. Vineyard Haven has no proper liquor store: restaurants pour with meals, and a shop here or there may sell a limited bottle or six-pack, but do not count on it for anything specific. West Tisbury restaurants serve beer and wine with meals only (no bottles to go, no BYOB), and Aquinnah pours beer and wine with meals but sells no bottles. Chilmark is the island's only fully dry town: nothing sold at all, which is exactly why its restaurants are BYOB. Two Massachusetts quirks while we are at it: happy hour drink discounts are banned statewide, and bring photo ID regardless of your age.
The hand-painted sign at Al's Package Store, across Upper Main Street from the Stop and Shop.
Groceries, newspapers, liquor: the Our Market signs by the harbor say exactly what the store does.
The Black Dog Tavern on the Vineyard Haven waterfront.
Black Joy Kitchen (7 Oakland Ave, Oak Bluffs): Chef Allessandra "Ting" Bradley-Burns serves African Diaspora cuisine tracing foods from West Africa through Brazil, Peru, the Caribbean, and the American South. Not soul food: Somali coconut fish curry, Ethiopian Doro Wat, Peruvian huacatay shrimp, and "Billionaire's Bacon Bouquet." 80% of the menu is vegan/vegetarian/GF. Wednesday Chef's Table $75 prix fixe, Saturday dinner from 5 PM, Sunday BrunchBQ with DJ. All-Black-owned wine program. A 2% surcharge supports the Wampanoag community. Year-round. Resy.
Indigo (266 Upper Main St, Edgartown): Martha's Vineyard's first Indian restaurant. Owner Babu Koganti (Rebel Foods, 20+ restaurants off-island). Tandoor dishes, seven house-made naans, biryanis, OG Butter Chicken ($32), and an Indo-Chinese "Mumbai to Martha's" fusion section. Spiced cocktails with chaat masala and cardamom. Year-round. Resy.
Ocean Club (75 Main St, Vineyard Haven): In the historic Old Stone Bank building. Boston's Lyons Group with chef Marc Orfaly, a six-time James Beard "Best Chefs" nominee. Fine dining seafood and pasta, 85 seats. The former bank vault door leads to a semi-private dining table inside the vault; request it when booking. Dinner daily 5–10 PM, bar from 4 PM; confirm off-season hours. Year-round.
Highlands General (25 Circuit Ave, Oak Bluffs): Replaced Linda Jean's (closed February 2025 after 40+ years, building sold for $4.9M). Fast-casual, counter-order restaurant and market. Affordable breakfast, lunch, and coffee. Year-round.
9 Craft Kitchen (9 Main St, Vineyard Haven): Connected to Mansion House Hotel. Owner Joseph Monteiro (also 19 Raw, Edgartown). New American with Asian, Peruvian, and Italian influences: cast-iron swordfish, lobster tostadas, craft cocktails. Vineyard Haven's first serious cocktail bar. 130 seats. Dinner only. Reservations via Toast ($35 cancellation fee within 24 hrs).
El Barco (Main St, Vineyard Haven): Mexican street food with 70 seats. Tacos, burritos, and margaritas in a casual setting. Opened summer 2024 as part of Vineyard Haven's restaurant boom following the 2022 alcohol law changes.
A blue-tray lunch at El Barco: taquitos under a drift of cotija and pico, quesadillas and a salt-rimmed margarita.
Behind the Bookstore (behind Edgartown Books, Edgartown): All-day cafe by day, the Hemingway Bar by night. Coffee, pastries, and light fare mornings through afternoon; cocktails and small plates evenings.
ESH restaurant storefront in Oak Bluffs in summer 2026.
Esh (Circuit Ave, Oak Bluffs): Rebranded from Dos Mas in March 2026. "Progressive American" with a new California chef. The menu pivots from Mexican to a broader seasonal American approach. Early reviews suggest creative small plates and an ambitious wine list.
State Road Restaurant (West Tisbury) earned a 2026 James Beard semifinalist nod for Outstanding Hospitality, a milestone for MV dining and only the second Vineyard restaurant ever nominated in a non-regional category.
The island's restaurants turn over every year. These closures are worth knowing about:
The island letter
Three island guides, free on arrival
The Beach Guide, The Vineyard in the Fall and Where to Stay, plus a short letter from the island when there is something worth telling.
One-click unsubscribe, and we never share your email.
The biggest story in MV dining over the past two years has been the transformation of Vineyard Haven. After the town approved full liquor with meals in 2017, then alcohol without food in a 2022 vote, nine new restaurants opened in 2024–2025 alone. Before the vote, Vineyard Haven had a handful of casual spots and no real cocktail bars. Now Main Street rivals Edgartown for dining options.
Key additions beyond Ocean Club and 9 Craft Kitchen include El Barco (Mexican), The Attic at Waterside (the upstairs tavern over Waterside Market, with MV's largest bourbon collection), and several others. For visitors staying in or near Vineyard Haven, this means you no longer need to drive to Edgartown or Oak Bluffs for a proper dinner out.
Dockside tables around Oak Bluffs harbor on a summer evening. Every town eats differently.
Oak Bluffs has the most restaurants and the most variety: from harbor-view seafood at Nancy's to craft beer at Offshore Ale to the new Black Joy Kitchen. Circuit Avenue and the harbor area are walkable, and most places are casual enough for sandy flip-flops. OB is also where you will find the island's best late-night food options, including Back Door Donuts. Key spots:
Giordano’s sign at the top of Circuit Avenue, in the family since 1930.
Edgartown is the fine dining capital of the island. Upper Main Street and North Water Street are home to most of MV's white-tablecloth restaurants. The dress code skews smarter here: collared shirts and sundresses are the norm at dinner. Edgartown also has the island's best concentration of wine shops, making it easy to pair a bottle purchase with dinner reservations up-island.
The specials board outside Espresso Love in Edgartown.
Filmed August 2024The island moves on: shops, signs and prices may differ from what you see here. The text of this guide was checked September 2026.
Transformed by 9 new restaurants in 2024–2025. Vineyard Haven is now a real dinner town. If you are arriving on the Steamship Authority ferry, you can walk to every restaurant on this list from the terminal.
The Black Dog Bakery Cafe sign and the red patio umbrellas in Vineyard Haven.
The entrance at Beach Road, with the pond water showing past the porch; dinner from 5, Monday to Saturday.
West Tisbury is rural and has fewer restaurants, but the ones here are standouts:
The counter and chalkboard menu at 7a Foods in West Tisbury.
Menemsha is a working fishing village and the sunset dinner capital of the island. Chilmark is the only fully dry town on Martha's Vineyard: every restaurant here is BYOB. This means you need to plan ahead: buy wine or beer in Edgartown or Oak Bluffs before driving up-island, because there are no liquor stores anywhere west of Edgartown.
For the complete Menemsha guide including sunset timing and parking, see our Menemsha village guide. For the best lobster rolls ranked, see the Food Tour guide.
Planning an off-season visit? Most MV restaurants are seasonal (Memorial Day through Columbus Day). These stay open year-round, though hours may be reduced in winter:
Year-round restaurants are concentrated in the three down-island towns. Up-island (West Tisbury, Chilmark, Aquinnah), options are extremely limited from November through April.
19 Raw Oyster Bar in Edgartown, one of the tables everyone wants in season. Book ahead.
The rule is simple: upscale = Resy, casual = walk-in. No MV restaurants use Tock, and only a handful (Homeport, Ocean Club, MV Chowder Company, Sweet Life) take OpenTable.
Set one more expectation before you arrive. In July and August the island's kitchens are at capacity every night with a seasonal staff, so takeout and delivery orders routinely take thirty to forty-five minutes rather than the fifteen an app promises, and a walk-in at the places on this list means a real wait. Order ahead, book ahead, and treat both as part of the season rather than a failure of the restaurant.
The blue doors of the Sweet Life Cafe at 63 Circuit Avenue.
| Platform | Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Resy | Détente, Atria, Alchemy, State Road, Black Joy Kitchen, Indigo, Red Cat Kitchen, Bettini |
| OpenTable | The Homeport (Menemsha), Ocean Club, MV Chowder Company, Sweet Life |
| Toast | 9 Craft Kitchen ($35 cancellation fee within 24 hrs) |
| Walk-in only | Offshore Ale, Nancy's, Among the Flowers, Lookout Tavern, ArtCliff Diner, Biscuits, Net Result, Larsen's, The Galley |
Peak season strategy: Book Resy restaurants 1–2 weeks ahead for July–August. State Road Restaurant is the hardest reservation on the island; one reviewer described "finally scoring a 9 PM Monday reservation booked three weeks in advance." Walk-in strategy: eat your main meal at lunch, or aim for dinner before 5:30 PM or after 8:30 PM. Weekday dinners are significantly easier to book than Friday–Saturday. If you strike out on Resy, check again at 3 PM the day of; cancellations often drop same-day tables.
Chilmark is the only fully dry town remaining on Martha's Vineyard. All Menemsha and Chilmark restaurants are BYOB: Homeport supplies mixers, Chilmark Tavern's bar staff creates cocktails from your spirits with house-made elixirs. Typical corkage runs $12 to $15 per bottle of wine; confirm when you book. West Tisbury and Aquinnah now allow beer and wine at restaurants. Vineyard Haven approved full liquor at restaurants in 2017.
The Atlantic restaurant on the Edgartown waterfront at dusk.
Correction: State Road Restaurant is no longer BYOB; it now serves beer and wine. The Outermost Inn (Aquinnah) also no longer allows BYOB.
Package stores exist only in Edgartown and Oak Bluffs: there are no liquor stores past Edgartown headed up-island. If you are heading to Chilmark or Menemsha for dinner, buy wine before you leave. Here are your options:
| Store | Town | Delivery | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our Market | Oak Bluffs | Island-wide $3–10 | Largest selection. Since 1919. Call by 2 PM |
| Jim's Package Store | Oak Bluffs | Island-wide | Wines, spirits, walk-in cigar humidor |
| Al's Package Store | Edgartown | None | 258 Upper Main St. 41+ years |
| Rosewater Wine | Edgartown | None | 65 Main St. Sommelier on staff |
| Your Market | Edgartown | Island-wide | 249 EV Haven Rd. Wine, beer, spirits + groceries |
There are no liquor stores in Vineyard Haven, West Tisbury, Chilmark, or Aquinnah. Tony's Market (OB) sells beer and wine only at competitive prices.
What to expect per person (food only, no drinks):
The Biscuits sign on Circuit Avenue: breakfast and lunch, and usually a line.
Best value tip: Cook at your rental: buy fish from Larsen's or Net Result, produce from Morning Glory Farm, bread from Iggy's. Offshore Ale is the best-value dinner out. For getting around to restaurants without a car, the VTA bus is fare-free through June 30, 2027 and connects all three down-island towns.
Not sure where to eat? Here are quick picks by occasion:
Martha's Vineyard has a growing food truck scene, especially in Oak Bluffs and near the ferry terminals. They are the quick, cheaper meal between activities: The honeymoon guide builds five days of dinners around these.
The lobster roll sign outside Grace Church in Vineyard Haven: Fridays, as the board says.
For the complete restaurant directory with all 68 restaurants by town, see our Restaurants page. Planning your trip? Start with our one-day itinerary, the full family guide, or our June visitor's guide. Coming from Boston? See our Boston to MV transport guide. And for the complete ranked list of where to eat by category (lobster rolls, pizza, breakfast, and more), see the Food Tour guide.
Book Martha's Vineyard Experiences
Explore guided island tours, sunset cruises, and day trips. Browse all tours →
If you book through this link we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It helps keep our guides free.
For a deeper look at one of OB's less-known spots, read our review of Nomans Restaurant.
Keep Reading
Island tip of the dayInsiderNo. 84 of 86New tip at midnight, island time
A 502-foot breach opened at Norton Point on January 1, 2026, cutting the sand link between Katama and Chappaquiddick: the Chappy Ferry is once again the only way across, likely for years. OSV drivers should check current beach access with the town of Edgartown.
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.
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.
Every farm stand and visitable farm on Martha's Vineyard, checked with the farms in September 2026: Morning Glory, Beetlebung, North Tabor, Mermaid Farm's 24-hour dairy shed, Native Earth, Allen Farm, Island Alpaca, the FARM Institute and the West Tisbury Farmers Market, with hours, honor-system rules and the fall pumpkin dates.
A reader planning a trip for May 2027 asked us what would actually be open. The honest year-round map: restaurants, cafes, trails, museums and services that never close, town by town, plus the calendar of when everything else reopens.
The free island library · 2026
Beach reports, events worth a day, ferry heads-ups. Sent when there is something worth telling. The Beach Guide, The Vineyard in the Fall and Where to Stay arrive with your welcome email.
Get the free guides
Island prices, hours and details change often. Please verify with businesses before you go. Full disclaimer
The island right now
12:49 AMisland time
Three free downloads · 2026
The island guides, in your inbox
The Beach Guide, The Vineyard in the Fall and Where to Stay. No spam, one-click unsubscribe.
