The Hotel Nantucket (125)
The Nautilus: The only thing I don’t love about Nautilus is that you need to be as wily, tireless, and determined as Indiana Jones to get a reservation. If you can meet the challenge of getting a table, everything will be delicious and the crowd will be lively and very attractive. My favorite dish is the blue-crab fried rice (I order it with two eggs), and this past year, I also really loved the Thai barbecue chicken. Website: Thenautilus.com; Instagram: @nautilusnantucket.
Cru: Another near-impossible reservation. Cru sits at the end of Straight Wharf and has a lot of fun outdoor seating that attracts an extremely beautiful crowd of bons vivants. Inside, there are three seating areas: front room, middle room, and back bar. I nearly always eat at the back bar. I nearly always order the lobster roll and fries with mayo (Chef Erin Zircher has been known to spoil me and send out an array of flavored mayos, which is my idea of heaven). Cru has the best raw-bar scene on the island, which is saying a lot. Cru has the appeal of see-and-be-seen with delicious, carefully prepared food, excellent service, and water views. There’s a reason it’s almost impossible to get in. Website: Crunantucket; Instagram: @crunantucket.
The Pearl and The Boarding House: As of this writing, my two favorite restaurants on the island, the Pearl and the Boarding House, have been sold to new owners. The Cobblestone Telegraph tells me the new owners are keeping not only the original feel to both restaurants but also the menus. In years past, I loved to sit at the bar at the Boho and order the crab dip, the lobster spaghetti, the chocolate cookies with mini-milkshake. Upstairs at the slightly fancier Pearl, I liked to get the tuna martini, the sixty-second steak topped with quail egg, and the lobster rangoons (limit two per customer). I can only hope that the excellence will be preserved. Website: Thepearl-nantucket.com; Instagram: @pearlnantucket.
Bar Yoshi: This is where Lizbet and Heidi Bick go for dinner in this novel. Bar Yoshi was new in 2021 and I ate there multiple times because the food is so light and fresh and the space so appealing. This is the place to go for sushi; I always opted for fried rice, dumplings, spring rolls. The restaurant is on Old South Wharf and has water views out the large open windows. Website: Baryoshi.com; Instagram: @baryoshinantucket.
Or, The Whale: Or, The Whale (which is the subtitle of Moby-Dick) occupies prime real estate on Main Street. It has a long bar and an adorable back garden. This past year, I discovered the best reason to go to OTW: the Korean pork butt. It’s expensive but it will feed four people with leftovers to take home. This is a pork butt roasted for hours so that it is so tender and succulent, you can eat it with a spoon. And it’s served with light, bright, and spicy sides—lettuce wraps, fresh mint, chili sauce. Website: Otwnantucket.com; Instagram: @orthewhalenantucket.
Ventuno: If dining out for you means Italian food, you want to go to Ventuno, located in the heart of downtown. During my first twenty years on the island, this was the beloved restaurant 21 Federal, which appears in many of my novels, including The Blue Bistro and Golden Girl. The antique building has remained the same but the cuisine has changed to upscale Italian, plus the best steak on the island. However, what I love most about Ventuno is the bar scene. Revelers might prefer the spirited back bar, but like Mint Benedict’s nurse Charlene, I can be found at the inside bar with the legendary bartender Johnny B. Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. Website: Ventunorestaurant.com; Instagram: @ventunorestaurant.
American Seasons: Great choice for a romantic night out. Chef Neil Ferguson’s food is exquisite. The tiny bar is a hidden gem. Website: Americanseasons.com; Instagram: @americanseasons.
Straight Wharf: Straight Wharf has a split personality. There’s the bar side, which attracts a young crowd and can get loud. But the restaurant side is some of the most elegant dining on the island. The dining room is stunning, and tables on the deck are the most coveted because you can watch the ferries coming and going and might be able to catch a glimpse of Lizbet headed into Mario’s cottage! (It was while dining at Straight Wharf that I first noticed the cottages perched at the end of a dock and thought, I’m going to have Mario live in one of those!) Website: Straightwharfrestaurant; Instagram: @straightwharf.
Languedoc: The hits keep coming! Languedoc is a classic French bistro on Broad Street. I have set scenes in many books here—this is where Isabel’s baby shower is held in Winter Storms and it’s where Vivi and Willa go for a mother-daughter dinner in Golden Girl. The Languedoc is elegant yet relaxed; you can eat escargot in your Patagonia puffy vest (lots of people do this). I always order the cheeseburger with garlic fries; paired with the chopped salad as a starter and the sweet inspirations sundae for dessert, it’s the perfect meal. The downstairs dining room and the bar, helmed by the great Jimmy Jaksic, are my preferred spots, although the upstairs dining rooms are cozy and charming. Website: Languedocbistro.com; Instagram: @languedocbistro.
Millie’s: We’ve talked about Sconset on the east end of the island but we haven’t yet talked about Madaket on the west end. Madaket is primarily residential—a drive out to Smith’s Point will take you past the tiny summer cottages (such as Wee Bit in my novel Golden Girl). It is the place to watch the sunset, and the vistas over Madaket harbor will immediately improve your Instagram. The epicenter of fun in Madaket is the Millie’s universe. Millie’s is probably best described as a Tex-Mex-inspired restaurant with a heavy Nantucket influence. All of the menu items are named after places on Nantucket. I always start with the Altar Rock, chips with salsa, guac, and their incredible queso. Then I move on to either the Wauwinet, which is a luscious Caesar topped with grilled shrimp and served tossed in a creamy lime dressing, or the Esther Island, a seared-scallop taco with purple cabbage slaw. Millie’s has a ton of outdoor seating as well as upstairs and downstairs indoor seating, but there is always a wait, which can be frustrating. I suggest going before you get too hungry! There’s an ice cream stand for after your meal as well as a small market where you can provision for trips out to Smith’s Point! Website: Milliesnantucket.com; Instagram: @milliesnantucket.