Martha's Vineyard food guide: ranked lists for best lobster roll, breakfast, pizza, burger, and ice cream. Town-by-town tours and BYOB tips for 2026.
Martha's Vineyard isn't just a beach destination; it's one of New England's most extraordinary food destinations. Over 40 working farms, a fishing heritage stretching back centuries, and chefs who change menus based on what the boats brought in that morning. This guide ranks the best of everything (lobster rolls, breakfast, pizza, burgers, chowder, ice cream) and maps food tours by town. For full town guides, see Oak Bluffs, Edgartown, and Vineyard Haven.
The Food Truck says it plainly on the side: where the locals eat. Weekday lunches parked at the Airport Business Park.
Table of contents [Show]
Lobster rolls at Grace Church fundraiser in Vineyard Haven.
Expect $28–42 at most spots. Most island spots let you choose Connecticut-style (warm, buttered) or Maine-style (chilled, mayo). Budget pick: Grace Episcopal Church lobster rolls, $18–20, Fridays in summer, a 30-year tradition with proceeds supporting local nonprofits. Offshore Ale pairs theirs (knuckle and claw meat with mayo, Dijon, red onion on grilled brioche) with award-winning craft beer brewed on-site.
Fresh shrimp dish on Martha's Vineyard.
Quitsa Kitchen (455 State Rd, VH): bakery cafe from longtime island caterer Theresa Manning, opened in early 2025 in the former Humphreys space. Scones, muffins and cookies fill the case up front while the kitchen turns out breakfast and lunch specials.
The pastry case at Quitsa Kitchen runs deep by mid-morning: scones, cookies, muffins and cakes under the flowered wallpaper.
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.
Porto Pizza (36 Water St, VH): a slice counter minutes from the Steamship terminal, thin crust and deep dish both, with evening delivery down-island. The kind of place you grab a cheese slice while waiting for the boat.
The slice case at Porto Pizza near the Vineyard Haven ferry: veggie, white and special pies laid out under the menu board.
Fresh-baked cookies from a Martha's Vineyard bakery.
Ice cream: Mad Martha's (3 locations, 50+ years) → Ben and Bill's (Circuit Ave, novelty lobster ice cream) → Bernie's (VH).
Burger: Offshore Ale (MV Magazine winner 5 consecutive years) → Brick Cellar Bar (beneath Atria, Edgartown) → Fat Ronnie's (OB, best late-night).
Chowder: MV Chowder Company (the island's only trademarked chowder recipe, gluten-free, no pork, no roux; Yankee Magazine Best Chowder in New England) → Offshore Ale (multiple TripAdvisor reviews call it "best chowder I've ever had") → Atlantic Fish and Chop House (Boston Globe's "best chowder on the island") → Black Dog (quahog, year-round) → Menemsha Fish Market (silky texture, won MV Magazine readers' choice). Cup $10–15, bowl $14–20.
Bar: Offshore Ale (9 rotating taps) → The Ritz Café (4 Circuit Ave, since 1944, live music nightly) → Newes from America (Edgartown, pouring in a tavern building that dates to 1742) → Alchemy (best cocktails, 10+ consecutive MV Magazine wins).
Bakery: Back Door Donuts (#5 bakery in USA, USA Today 2025, 60,000 apple fritters/year, opens 7 PM–1 AM, apple fritter $9, honey dipped $3, line runs 15–45 min, every donut fried to order (bakery roots back to 1948; 5 Post Office Square, OB) → Orange Peel (Wampanoag, wood-fired) → Scottish Bakehouse (VH, since 1961).
The Black Dog Bakery Cafe in Vineyard Haven.
Ferry docks here. Start eating immediately. Net Result for lobster roll. ArtCliff Diner next morning. 9 Craft Kitchen for dinner cocktails. NEW: Ocean Club (six-time James Beard nominee, bank vault door table, OpenTable). El Barco for tacos by the ferry. Murdick's Fudge on Main St (watch through the window; temporarily closed as of mid-August 2026, check before visiting). Mad Martha's for dessert.
Biscuits for breakfast. Graze Circuit Ave: Giordano's, Offshore Ale, Coop de Ville wings. Red Cat Kitchen for dinner (Resy, only 20 tables). NEW: Black Joy Kitchen (African diaspora fine dining, year-round, Chef Ting) and Highlands General (replaced Linda Jean's, fast-casual year-round). Back Door Donuts from 7 PM. The apple fritter is mandatory.
TigerHawk Sandwich Co (12 Circuit Ave, sharing the Mad Martha's storefront): a counter spot for stacked hot sandwiches and a properly crispy chicken sandwich, best chased with a glass-bottle Coke.
The crispy chicken sandwich at TigerHawk Sandwich Co on Circuit Ave, fries riding along and a glass-bottle Coke on the side.
Mo's Lunch (137 Vineyard Ave, inside the Portuguese American Club): the island's best-kept sandwich secret, run by Austin Racine and Maura Martin since late 2020. Towering Italians, rotating specials and the ten-dollar Leo Burger, eaten at picnic tables or in a clubroom that feels like a friendly basement rec room from another decade. Lunch through early dinner most days; closed Sunday and Monday.
Walking into Mo’s Lunch at the Portuguese American Club: chips rack, stickered coolers and the counter crowd.
Détente for finest dinner. Alchemy for cocktails. Among the Flowers for garden brunch. 19 Raw for oyster bar. Bad Martha Brewery for craft beer in barn setting with pizza and live music.
What the line is for at Wicked Burger: a smash patty with melted cheese and lettuce, box of fries alongside.
Call Larsen's early to pre-order lobsters. Pack BYOB (dry town). Pick up at 6 PM with chowder and oysters. Walk to Menemsha Beach. Crack lobsters as the sun drops. This is the single most celebrated food moment on Martha's Vineyard. Crowds regularly break into applause as the sun disappears. The Bite fried-clam legend has closed, replaced by Iggy's Bread (pastries, croissants, coffee).
Morning Glory Farm (Edgartown, year-round). West Tisbury Farmers Market (Saturdays June–Oct, 40+ vendors). State Road Restaurant (James Beard semifinalist; pours beer and wine, no longer BYOB). Chilmark Tavern (BYOB, staff provides mixers). Beetlebung Farm for artisan bread. North Tabor Farm honor-system stand.
The self-serve fridge at Mermaid Farm: cheese, raw dairy and labeled bags, on the honor system dawn to dusk.
For the full restaurant guide by category, where to stay, and getting around without a car.
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.
Island tip of the dayTimingNo. 71 of 86
Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary is almost empty before 9 AM and after 4 PM. Dawn is best for birding: osprey are active at first light. Trails open dawn to dusk. $4 trail admission.
The Hallmark Martha's Vineyard Mysteries are not filmed on Martha's Vineyard: Victoria, British Columbia plays the island on screen. But the books behind the movies are pure Vineyard, and the real places are better than the set.
Lake Tashmoo in Vineyard Haven hides a century of stories: the 1887 waterworks that watered the town, a golf course where a bull was a hazard, town baseball and the frozen winters when islanders raced ice boats.
Dates, the lighthouse lighting, the Main Street parade, winter ferries and who is open: a fact-checked local guide to the island's biggest December weekend (Dec 10-13, 2026).
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 Gay Head Cliffs are sacred Wampanoag land, not just a viewpoint. What visitors are welcome to in Aquinnah, what the rules protect, and how to be a good guest.
Shearer Cottage, Dorothy West, the Inkwell and 30 marked sites across the island: how to walk or tour the African American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard.
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 guidesIsland prices, hours and details change often. Please verify with businesses before you go. Full disclaimer
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.
