Best Nantucket Restaurant? We Tried 7 Local Favorites and Picked Our Favorite!

After the incredible response to our San Miguel de Allende dining tour episode, we decided to create a follow-up video for Nantucket Island while on our recent New England tour. So we asked some locals for recommendations on the top restaurants in town and ended up visiting these 7 hotspots:
1. Or, The Whale
2. The Proprietors
3. Brant Point Grill
4. Lemon Press
5. Straight Wharf Restaurant
6. Bar Yoshi
7. Nautilus
So which ones stood out and are worth spending your own time and money? Watch to find out!
0:00 Introduction
0:15 ABC Intro
0:38 Heading to Town
1:03 Or, The Whale
4:40 Brant Point Grill
6:50 The Proprietors
9:48 Lemon Press
10:56 Straight Wharf Restaurant
15:58 Bar Yoshi
18:48 Nautilus
24:15 Outro

[@robertbates5537]

We love these restaurant videos. Not sure who told you that Nantucket is closed but our hardware stores, grocery stores, coffee shops stay open for the most. Retail and hotels close down but they are not heavily frequented by locals due to pricing

[@AlwaysBeChanging]

Thanks for the feedback! We’ve gotten some conflicting info. But for the most part we’re learning that the essential stores like grocery, hardware etc stay open year round. That makes sense because people who live in Nantucket year round need resources. However, when we were there, there were many shops and restaurants that were still closed or just opening that week. It definitely gave us the impression stores are very limited over the winter months and nothing like it is during peak season.

[@robertbates5537]

@@AlwaysBeChanging been here working for the town for 32 years. Retail caters to the tourist but the basics are open

[@barbaragookin]

Great video, except for the part about the year-round community. There are over 30,000 people on Nantucket year-round with the public schools and several private schools all bursting at the seams. Grocery stores, hardware stores, pharmacies, many restaurants etc are open year-round. You were obviously talking to a person who came to Nantucket for the summer and has no clue about the year-round community. I've been a year-rounder for 30 years... and still love it. Fall is the best season... and then Christmas Stroll (usually a week after Thanksgiving) is a very special weekend, in an old-fashioned way. Its generally the last big hurrah for tourists until Daffodil Weekend in April... but the locals have plenty to do with kids in school, playing sports, theatre, arts, and all of the normal things people do in communities all over the country.

[@AlwaysBeChanging]

Thank you for that insight! We were wonder about schools in the area. It wasn’t the impression we got so we didn’t understand how the school system would work. Do you have insight what the island is like in the dead of winter?

[@barbaragookin]

@@AlwaysBeChanging Winter is actually milder than the mainland. Somehow we are insulated by the water, I guess. The weather often reports Cape Cod and Islands are due for snow, and we don't get any of it. I'd say once per winter we might get a dusting of snow, but not even enough to go sledding. We get excited to see a flurry and then its done. The public school has expanded in recent years with the population. There's a high school, a middle school and an elementary school, and pre-schools... plus two private schools that are pre-k thru grade 6 or 8; The Nantucket New School and Nantucket Lighthouse School. There is also a Montessori pre-school, Children's House of Nantucket. All great schools. If you have kids, you know life often revolves around their activities, and you meet other adults as the parents your kids friends, or your co-workers. There are also a lot of activities on the island, depending what you're into. There's an ice-rink, so there's figure skating and hockey for kids and adults. There's a community swimming pool at the high school. Lots of clubs and organizations...

[@AlwaysBeChanging]

@@barbaragookin That’s very cool to hear! Are most restaurants closed like we heard? We also got to Nantucket at the beginning of the season and noticed that many shops and restaurants weren’t open yet.

[@barbaragookin]

@@AlwaysBeChanging No. Quite the contrary. The Town of Nantucket went to GREAT lengths to create outdoor seating due to Covid restrictions. Many restaurants that have never done 'take away' offered curbside pick-up. It was a slow start, and took a lot of creativity, including closing some streets to create outdoor dining opportunities, but it's been an evolving process. Many have indoor dining now, with more space between tables than previously. Here's the current list of who's open and their dining options (THIS WEEK July 19, 2021) www.nantucket-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/5854/Restaurantsopen?bidId=

[@margiethomas2004]

My husband and I go to Nantucket quite frequently. In fact we will be there in October. We were just there at the beginning of June and we had a difficult time finding a pharmacy. The only grocery store that I have seen is the one by the harbor and then we have gone out to Bartlett’s. Where are the others? Also are there any beaches that have shells? We stay at the Wauwinet and the beach over there has scallop shells sometimes and rocks . Do you know if Dune has changed owners? Our last visit there was not good and it’s always been exceptional.

[@juneruby6519]

We LOVE the restaurant videos. Especially the cocktail reviews. MUAH!

[@margiethomas2004]

You should go to Sconset snd eat at the Chanticleer. It is such an amazing restaurant!

[@AlwaysBeChanging]

I think we had heard something similar and maybe that one was just beyond walking distance from our house... Either way, we'll need to hit that place up next time we're in town. Thanks!

[@EnjoyNantucket]

Lovely video 😍

[@dannyrollingghostface3466]

Great video with that being said you folks should totally do a video of (ocean city Maryland) and the fine dinning restaurants they have to offer especially (The Bonfire) buffet restaurant which is the best buffet ever just a suggestion!

[@AlwaysBeChanging]

Thank you! We love tips and recommendations. We’ll make sure to keep Ocean City Maryland on our radar.

[@aurydiaz6831]

Good Afternoon. Thank you for sharing your video. Reading the menu at Straight Wharf, are you only able to select 2 items from the menu? I noticed you sampled more, was just curious. Also, what would be your top restaurant on the island?

[@AlwaysBeChanging]

None of the restaurants disappointed us. They were all great except Bar Yoshi (mediocre) and Lemon Press is really casual. Our favorite was definitely Nautilus and we also really liked Brandt Point Grill. I remember having a fantastic clam chowder and and the other dishes we had were great too. But Nautilus was fantastic!!

[@jonrossjan]

@@AlwaysBeChangingwhy didn’t you venture to mid island area where there are more great food choices?

[@davidapacjr1989]

8:04. Are you guys also Bowie fans?!

[@AlwaysBeChanging]

Well, who isn't? But I'm watching it again and can't find the reference for the life of me... Is he playing in the background or is it something else? 🙃

[@davidapacjr1989]

I believe the drink suffragette city is named after his song but idk why it didn’t occur to me that you guys chose it based on ingredients cause it sounds amazing😂. The name jumped out to me initially.

[@AlwaysBeChanging]

@@davidapacjr1989 Ah...! I guess we're not big enough Bowie fans to have picked up on the reference, but that's cool to learn!

[@janetceniza8091]

husband speaking - Nantucket - not so much - time for another story. - My wife is used to bargaining for most everything. one of my first two trips we are in town and wanting finally to go back to her mother's home. She flags a PUJ - public utility taxi - no AC, This being 1978 or 79. It is hot, we are tired, we get in the passenger side fo fhs back seat. Talk talk, my wife opens the driver's side and we get out. What's wrong, he wanted about 4 peso's to take us home. So for 50 cents U.S. we are standing in the heat again ? OR, at the Carbon Market, she would leave me at a friend's stall and she would go around the corner to buy something. Then, she would bring me around to see what she got. The seller was not happy to see what price they agreed to and then see that she was married to an American. She can't do that so easy today as she just doesn't look like a local anymore.

[@sauvageaux]

Best Curry??? 🔱

[@AlwaysBeChanging]

Hi! Did we feature curry in this one? (It's been a year) Or are you saying you'd LIKE us to feature the area's best curry? Thanks for watching :)

[@wiseking6023]

Just got back from Nantucket for a Film Festival visit. In the final analysis, the restaurants suck and are wildly expensive. They are best avoided. If you have to go out you can hit Downyflake for breakfast or Lemon Press for a light lunch but pretty much all the hyped places were just awful and easily $150/pp

[@AlwaysBeChanging]

Sorry to hear that your Nantucket experience wasn't as positive as ours :( We found the restaurants to be top-notch and in most cases, relatively affordable (considering the exclusivity of the island itself). We certainly didn't encounter any $150/pp joints but the places we've featured in this episode were a fantastic mix of flavor, reputation, cost, and value. Hope your other travels are more to your liking... thanks for sharing your experience!

[@wiseking6023]

@@AlwaysBeChanging I can say this in defense of Nantucket; the restaurants in the Hamptons are even worse!

[@georgeryanjr.776]

It’s Nantucket so of course it’s expensive….Lol.

[@hunter6719]

@@wiseking6023 the food in California is even worse 😫

[@jonrossjan]

I’d like to know where you ate that “sucked”. I’m a year rounder and have been for over a decade. Of course things are expensive here. It’s an island and everything has to be either flown or ferried over. Didn’t you notice that our gas prices haven’t gone down in over 3 years? They just went down last week for the first time since 2019. If you’re going to say something allegedly sucks then man up and tell us