The MV Dining Dispatch

We eat here in November, too.

The MV Dining Dispatch is a short letter about eating on Martha's Vineyard: what opened, what closed for the winter, and where we would send a friend this week. Written by someone who has lived on the island for ten years and keeps the listings on this site, and sent only when there is something to say.

What's in it

What goes in it.

Short entries about specific places. Nobody pays to be in it.

Openings and closings, confirmed.

We check each restaurant's own website, social posts and posted signs, and date every change. New chef, new owner, or shut for the season: you hear it here.
What's actually in season.

Bay scallops in November. Oysters through the shoulder months. The two weeks striped bass turns up on menus all over the island.
Reservations that are gettable.

When the Edgartown books open, which rooms keep bar seats for walk-ins, and where you can still eat at eight on an August Saturday without a booking.
One real recommendation an issue.

One place we went, what we ordered, and what we liked about it.

Sample issue

Read one before you decide.

A complete sample issue at its real length, so you can judge the writing before you hand over an address.

Sample issue · August 2026

The state of the season

More than half the island closes for the winter.

Of the 169 places in our listings, 96 are seasonal. In Edgartown 35 of 56 close for part of the year, in Oak Bluffs 40 of 56. Vineyard Haven is the exception: 8 of its 38 close, and the ferry runs all year.

So from February on, most of the island's open tables are in Vineyard Haven, and the Dispatch spends more of the cold months there than the summer issues would suggest.

Getting a table

Most of the island does not take reservations.

33 of the 169 places in our listings take them. The other 136 are first come, first served, which in August means the queue is the booking system.

If you want dinner at eight in high season, you are choosing between those 33 rooms and a wait. Either works, as long as you know which one you picked before you drive there.

One recommendation

Larsen's Fish Market, Menemsha

A family business since 1969. Betsy Larsen, daughter of the founders, has run it for more than forty years, and the building was fully renovated in 2021 and 2022.

It is a fish market with a raw bar. You order at the counter and eat on the dock, nine to seven, seven days a week, May through October. Two things to know before you go: lobsters have to be ordered by phone in the morning, and Chilmark is a dry town and Larsen's allows drinks you bring outside the market, so bring the wine. There are no reservations because there are no tables.

Hours, phone and directions →

That is a whole issue. The next one comes when there is something to report.

Cadence

How often, how long, how to leave.

Frequency: No fixed schedule yet. An issue goes out when there is something to report, and not otherwise.
Length: Short. A few entries about specific places.
Unsubscribe: One click, at the bottom of every issue. It works immediately and we do not ask why.

Who writes it

Written by the person who keeps the listings.

The Dispatch is written by David, who lives on the island and keeps the restaurant listings on this site. He checks each restaurant's own website, social posts and posted signs, and dates every change he publishes.

No restaurant pays for its place in our lists or for what we write about it, and right now restaurants cannot pay for anything on the site. If an issue gets something wrong, reply to it. The reply reaches a person, and the correction runs in the next one.

Part of the MVVacation.com family

169 Restaurants tracked, across all six towns.
96 Of them seasonal. We track which, and when they come back.
0 Restaurants that paid to be included.

Before you sign up

Reasonable questions.

How often will you email me?

There is no fixed schedule yet. An issue goes out when there is something to report, and not otherwise.

What is in it that is not already on the site?

The site is the reference: hours, addresses, maps and all 169 listings. The Dispatch is what we would tell a friend: what changed, what we ate, where we would go this week.

Who writes it?

David, who has lived on Martha's Vineyard for ten years and has eaten at more than half the restaurants in this guide. He also keeps the listings on this site.

Is it free?

Yes. No paywall and no upsell sequence.

Why do I have to confirm my address?

So nobody can sign you up without your say-so, and so our mail keeps landing in inboxes instead of spam folders. One click and it is done.

How do I unsubscribe?

A one-click link at the bottom of every issue. It works immediately and we do not ask why.

Do you sell my address?

No. Not to advertisers, not to restaurants, not to anyone.

The MV Dining Dispatch · Free · Unsubscribe in one click

Come along for the off-season.

An email address is all we ask for. The first issue arrives when there is something on the island worth telling you about.