Behind The Bookstore

Can’t make a simple egg and cheese sandwich when the place is empty at 8am? Ok, fair enough, we went someplace a lot more family-​friendly. The location is fantastic but the menu and set up are pretty painful.

We had breakfast here on a weekday. The coffee is excellent, the best I had in Martha’s Vineyard and comparable to my favorite coffee in NY. For breakfast we ordered at the counter (1 cappuccino, 1 latte, 1 shakshouka and 1 slice of almond strawberry cake). You have to carry your coffee over but they will bring your food out when it is ready. Everything was excellent, the cake was so fresh it was still a little warm. They told us that a baker comes in at 5 am every morning and bakes everything from scratch.
The shakshouka was great and we wanted some extra bread which they provided us with at no cost.

Now go from NASCAR to F1 in one pass.
Sit in a quiet garden setting (outside) w/​fountains.
Enjoy extreme creative energy w/​excellent service and beyond compare smells and savors as a result.
The food orchestra is in full swing here.
The only regret was having to leave.

Great food– bad service. Very nice setting.
We waited way too long and watched the next table of many people get their food way before us, even though we came in before them.
Need to get better organized.

First the good — Coffee. Though I love the Stumptown coffee at Waterside and the Raos cold brew coffee at Nat’s Nook both in Vineyard Haven.
Also great — The atmosphere is lovely.
Now my complaint
Food… I got a braised beef sandwich $ 13 on a baguette. If there was 1 oz of meat on the sandwich that would be a generous estimate. The coleslaw quantity on it was triple the amount of the beef. Quality of ingredients was good, it was just a case of price gouging.

There are no truly gluten free options here, but modifications were not too difficult and the staff were helpful. My coffee is delicious (I tend to the hypercritical with coffee) the outdoor space is calming and open/​fresh like a little oasis.
We ordered the Shakshuka-​Baked Eggs and the Fried Egg BLT (which they can do in a bowl) and both were superb.
Note– the coffee is SO good that I ordered too many and am getting cracked out. Oops.

This place have it all, amazing space, lovely patio, great coffee, the food is out of this world, diversity in MVY!

A great courtyard and the best coffee on MV. I love their pour over coffee and the care they put into the brews. Best early morning Edgartown spot.

This place is absolutely charming — teas, cookies, coffees and a lovely place to enjoy them. I’ve not stayed for a meal, but have gotten warm drinks and sweet treats to enjoy in their garden, which is fantastic.
Sure, the place is a tad pricey, but you’re paying for the real estate, ambience and service as well as the high-​quality goods. If you’re not looking to pinch a penny or two, but thoroughly enjoy the finer things in life, then you will love Behind the Bookstore.
They have a wonderful selection of tea and sweets, which is perfect for me, especially at around 3pm when I am looking for a quick nibble and pick-​me-​up during an afternoon walk, but note that the Turkish coffee is not available to go – only for dining in!
I definitely look forward to staying longer for a full-​on meal rather than just a snack in their garden, which is absolutely beautiful, romantic and calm.

Updating my review because I came here for cocktails and snacks this summer and enjoyed it. The cocktails were well-​done, creative, and carefully crafted. Food was also very tasty, especially the lobster mini-​rolls. The setting is so pleasant, I just wish the tables were smaller so you can talk more easily to the person across. The service was also pretty slow, I think they (like many spots on the Vineyard) are understaffed.

The food here is good, but it is crazy overpriced and not particularly filling. It’s okay to have overpriced food in Edgartown, but t isn’t okay to have us leave hungry. I clarify that I am not fat.
Our group ordered the sea bass special, seared tuna and mussels. The sea bass was excellent. The seared tuna was good, but a little bland. The mussels were also good but were identified under the «large plate» section of the menu. The mussels were insufficient in quantity to qualify as more than an appetizer for two people. Further, the bread that was supposed to come with it was burned to a crisp.
Service was adequate except that the wrong drink was delivered at one point and the server found it more amusing than anything else. While explaining that it was someone else’s fault, she got into an argument with a customer at another table about which employee was at fault for switching the drink order, which is hardly professional. By the way, we never got the right drink but were charged nonetheless.

I came here ONLY because I saw their sign for specialty coffee and I’ve been dying for a cortado since I got to the island. At first glance, not what I expected. It was like walking into a jungle, and on a beautiful vineyard morning who the heck wants to do that? For some reason they wouldn’t take bills larger than a 5 on this morning, which was fine and the woman working the register was very apologetic, but this was still a bit odd.
But hey, at least the cortado was good! If by cortado you meant wet single shot cappuccino poured short. It was weaker than any cortado I’ve ever had and really made me think the barista is getting by on his latte art (which was actually pretty good).
Honestly, it’s a descent café if you don’t mind things like this, but definitely not for me.

It has really fun outdoor seating but it also happened to be one of the most humid days on the Vineyard so we went inside to grab an iced tea first, and even for MV the prices! We couldn’t fathom the bill. A cup filled with ice splashed with a tiny shot glass full of liquid needs to be re-​priced… sorry even for Edgartown we balked at the prices all day!

I love the ambiance — it is beautiful and peaceful, but $ 4 for a small iced tea is really crazy, even on the Vineyard. You have to adjust your mindset that you are paying for the experience and not buying a $ 4 shot of iced tea.

Totally adorable café!
We stumbled upon this café when my daughter needed to use the restroom in the bookstore. A few mornings later when we were looking for a lighter breakfast option, we gave it a try.
Totally not disappointed! The outdoor seating area is adorable. There are about 10 – 12 tables set-​up in a treelined backyard. It had a total French café feel. You walk inside a shop behind the seating area that has an old school coffee house feel (circa ’95) and order your food and coffee. There are a ton of coffee options. The menu is posted on a board outside, there are also paper menus inside. We had:
Yogurt Parfait — delicious. So simple and so perfect. Greek yogurt, homemade granola (with almost a [peanut] brittle consistency — big pieces), honey and berries. You get a very generous helping
Turkish Coffee — yummy with a Turkish Delight
Iced Coffee — very good
Croissant — Fresh and flakey
The service is friendly and the bathrooms are very clean. We would definitely come back!

Breakfast was big, good quality, filling. Coffee was slow brewed to perfection. Atmosphere was really nice too.

Sandwich, cappucino & iced coffee were all good. Quiet, shaded outdoor tables — very nice.

I still love it here. This season I see a shift in a customer base that appreciates finer teas, coffee and espressos. Behind the bookstore has really up’d there game this year with amazing staff, baristas that care and table assistance better than in the past. The only thing that was noted so far this season is the summer tourists seem ruder and more impatient than ever (for so early in the season) before. Loudly demanding and careless and needless comments abound. Give these employees a minute to cater to your needs, they’re awesome.

As I walk down a sleepy Edgartown street at 5:50am in search of life I stumble across a cute sign for Behind the Bookstore Coffee. I climb over a small fence, walk through a courtyard perfectly surrounded by vegetation. Am I behind a bookstore or in a book. I approach the door and notice my arrival is greater than an hour before opening time. The Barrista and PM notice me looking longingly at their coffee and invite me in. Best cup of coffee on the Island. Wonderful staff. You made my day BTBSC!!! Thank you. I will be back!

I happened upon this little place while meandering around on my own before all of my friends woke up on Labor Day weekend. Any place with baked goods is automatically going to earn my patronage — especially when the baked goods look as delectable as the ones here!
I had a fennel ricotta muffin, which is a combo I’ve never seen before. It didn’t taste much like fennel (a good thing, in my book) and was just very moist. I wish I would’ve picked up some of the other carb-​filled goodies. Also had fresh pressed juice (watermelon, cucumber, lemon). So fresh! Great to have first thing in the morning.
I probably would’ve given this place 4 stars except I found it to be rather expensive. Now, yes, I know this is on Martha’s Vineyard… so I should expect that, but c’mon…it was around $ 10 for juice and a muffin.