The Best Lobster Rolls on Nantucket: Every Roll, Ranked by Price

There are rituals that define a Nantucket summer. The ferry horn. Fog rolling off the harbor at dawn. And the eternal, deeply personal quest for the perfect lobster roll.

This is not a casual undertaking. On an island that takes seafood as seriously as any place on earth, the lobster roll is a point of pride, a subject of fierce debate and, at most restaurants, a significant line on the bill. I went through every published menu on the island to map the field. Thirty restaurants list one. Here is how they stack up.

First, Know Your Styles

Every lobster roll on the island falls into one of two camps, or offers both:

• New England style (cold): chilled lobster meat dressed with mayo, often with celery, chives, lemon and herbs. Classic. Clean.
• Connecticut style (warm): lobster meat bathed in warm butter, sometimes with a lemon cream sauce. Richer. More indulgent. Dangerous.

Several spots let you choose. I will note those as we go.

The Value Pilgrimage: $32 to $38

Yummy, Surfside Road: $32

Yummy at 63 Surfside Road is a mid-island locals' spot for a reason. The "Lob & Roll" ($32) is a big, chunky lobster salad with a touch of mayo on a grilled brioche, and it is the friendliest price on the island. Yummy runs breakfast and lunch hours (7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., closed Friday and Saturday), so plan it as a midday stop.

Walter's Deli, Broad Street: $36.95

Hidden in plain sight at 10 Broad Street, Walter's Deli is one of those places tourists walk past and locals duck into. It is open from 8 a.m. until 2 a.m. Its Lobster Roll is $36.95, which in the context of downtown Nantucket feels almost radical. No fussy description on the menu, no buzzwords. Grab it, find a bench on Main Street and eat it in the sunshine.

Sayle's Seafood, near the Rotary: $38.45

If Walter's is the downtown sleeper, Sayle's Seafood at 99 Washington Street Extension is the mid-island institution. The fish market and takeout counter serves a 1/3 lb. Lobster Salad Roll for $38.45 with Cape Cod potato chips on the side. Peak New England unpretentiousness: a takeout container, a paper napkin and very fresh lobster.

167 Raw food truck, Cisco: $38

167 Raw is one of Nantucket's most celebrated seafood shops, and its food truck (11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily) is the relaxed, sun-drenched sibling of the fish market on Hummock Pond Road. At $38 the lobster roll is one of the best values relative to pedigree on the island. Heading to Cisco Beach? Route through here.

bACKyard BBQ, Straight Wharf: $38 at lunch, $46 at dinner

Yes, a barbecue joint. Hear me out. bACKyard Barbecue's New England Lobster Roll comes with lemon aioli, crispy onion straws and its own ACK Bay seasoning, and it is available warm with butter if you ask. It is $38 on the daytime menu and $46 on the dinner menu, the island's most dramatic daypart swing on a single item. Plan accordingly.

The Sweet Spot: $39 to $42

This is where the island really delivers: full sit-down experiences, thoughtful preparations, and prices that feel fair for what you are getting.

Brotherhood of Thieves, Broad Street: $39

Brotherhood of Thieves at 23 Broad Street is one of Nantucket's most beloved institutions, a subterranean whaling-era pub with honest food. Its lobster roll ($39) is a crowd-pleaser and you choose your style: the Warm Lobster Roll is warmed in brown butter, the Cold Lobster Roll gets celery, chive, lemon and mayo, and both come on griddled brioche with fries and coleslaw. Choice of style, fries and slaw, inside a downtown landmark, for $39. This is the one I keep coming back to.

Easy Street Restaurant, Historic District: $39

Easy Street Restaurant puts a little more flair into it: the Nantucket Lobster Roll has lemon herb aioli, jicama for crunch and a buttered brioche bun, served with house fries. A step up in creativity without a step up in price.

Island Kitchen, Chin's Way: $39

Mid-island, Island Kitchen lists a $39 lobster roll on its dinner menu: IK's signature lobster salad on a buttered brioche roll with a side salad. A solid answer when you are not making the trip downtown.

Millie's, Madaket and the Rotary: $39

Millie's Muskeget Lobster Roll ($39) is the quintessential beach roll, named for the tiny uninhabited island off Nantucket's western tip. It is traditional New England style, cold-dressed on butter-toasted brioche with Bibb lettuce and chives, and the menu says to ask for it Connecticut style if you prefer warm. At the Madaket location it comes with purple cabbage slaw and a summer rice salad; at the Rotary location it comes with slaw. If you are heading out to Madaket Beach, eat here first.

Town and Queequeg's, Historic District: $40 and $41

Sister restaurants a block apart, Town (4 East Chestnut Street) and Queequeg's (6 Oak Street) serve a 1/3 lb Lobster Roll with Maine lobster, Bibb lettuce and tarragon aioli on a New England roll with fries, $40 at Town's lunch and $41 at Queequeg's. The tarragon aioli is the tell that a real kitchen is behind it. Sandbar at Jetties Beach and the Miacomet Golf Course Restaurant both list $40 rolls too, Miacomet's with mayo, scallion and tarragon.

Straight Wharf Fish, the Wharves: $42

This is the connoisseur's pick. Straight Wharf Fish is a serious seafood restaurant on the working waterfront, and its lobster roll ($42) reflects that: warm with brown butter and shallots, or chilled with mayonnaise, crème fraîche and celery. The crème fraîche in the cold version is the detail that elevates a good lobster roll into a great one. Sit outside, watch the boats, order a glass of white.

Slip 14, Old South Wharf: $42

Slip 14 takes the most creative approach in this range: butter-poached lobster on a brioche bun with pickled onion and fresh herbs, with za'atar fries. If the classic preparations feel predictable, this is your move. The za'atar fries alone are worth the trip.

The Splurge: $44 to $50

Summer House, 'Sconset: $44

Summer House in Siasconset makes you feel like you have wandered onto a film set, all rose-covered cottages and linen tablecloths. The Summer House Lobster Roll ($44) comes with truffle fries, either an inspired pairing or an unnecessary flourish depending on your philosophy. Eating it on that patio in 'Sconset village is an experience unto itself, and the ride out from town is part of the charm.

Lobster Trap, Washington Street: $45

Lobster Trap at 23 Washington Street is the most dedicated lobster roll spot on the island. It is in the name. Both styles are $45: the New England (chilled claw, knuckle and tail with light mayo, diced celery, red onion and a secret house seasoning) or the Connecticut (warm with a lemon cream sauce and butter). The takeout window runs 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. If you only try one $45 roll this summer, make it this one.

The Tavern, Harbor Square: $45 and $47

The Tavern on Straight Wharf lists two fully realized dishes rather than a choose-your-own footnote: the Tavern Lobster Salad Roll (celery, red onion, lemon, a touch of mayo on griddled brioche, $45) and the Warm Lobster Roll (lobster meat, lemon butter, griddled brioche, $47). The waterfront setting is unbeatable.

Galley Beach, Cliffside: $48

Galley Beach is one of Nantucket's most romantic restaurants, right on the sand at Jefferson Avenue. The lobster roll ($48) comes with celery root slaw and potato salad on a buttered bun, and eating it at lunch with the Atlantic a few steps away is the kind of thing you tell people about when you get home.

The Tap Room, Broad Street: $48

In the Jared Coffin House, The Tap Room serves a classic cold Lobster Roll (house aioli, celery, herbs on brioche) at lunch and a Hot Lobster Roll (hot-buttered lobster, brioche, fries) at dinner, both $48. Old Nantucket in the best way: dark wood, candlelight, proper cooking. Breeze at the Nantucket Hotel matches the price with a $48 roll of fresh claw and tail with citrus aioli, and lists a smaller $24 version on its après-sea menu, the lowest-priced lobster roll on the island if you can live with the size.

Brant Point Grille, Easton Street: $49

Brant Point Grille at the White Elephant has perhaps the finest setting on this list, right on the harbor. The Nantucket Lobster Roll is Maine lobster salad with Boston Bibb lettuce and lemon mayo, and the showstopper side: beef tallow fries. At $49 it is a splurge, but you are paying for the whole picture.

Cru, Straight Wharf: $50

And then there is Cru. The most expensive full-size lobster roll on the island at $50, and for many people the best. Warm with lemon butter or chilled with lemon mayo, on toasted brioche with frites, on a harborside deck that is one of the most beautiful places to eat on the Eastern Seaboard. Is it $11 better than the Brotherhood's? That is between you and your credit card. At least once a summer, you should find out.

One footnote for the completists: Club Car on Main Street lists Lobster Sliders on mini croissants at $34 for lunch and a market-price Hot Lobster Roll at dinner.

The Verdict

The honest truth? There is no bad lobster roll on Nantucket. This is an island that takes the thing seriously. But there is the right lobster roll for you: the right setting, the right style, the right price for the day you are having. Go find it. They are everywhere.