Nancy’s Snack Bar

Ehhh. Nothing great here food wise. Typical outdoor bar beach food. Plus, they don’t let you change the preset ingredients so you’re stuck with whatever toppings and sauces come on what you ordered.
The view of the boats are nice and the outdoor seating area is kid friendly.

This is one of my fav places. If you ever visit Oak Bluffs, you should definitely eat here. Their burgers are AMAZING and their fired calamari plate with tartar sauce is definitely worth the spend. Their seafood dishes also come with a side of fries so there is more than enough to eat. Also, it has a relaxing setting. There is an indoor sitting area, an outside sitting area and an upstairs sitting area where you can see a view of the city. Staff is also really nice. Definitely worth the visit.

Excellent meal! Wonderful Lobster Quesadias with delicious, ample Lobster. And the new version of the old school crabcakes were fabulous. Very tasty. Better than Legals in Boston. Waitress, hostess, and serving team was top notch. This is a dining restaurant and we’ll above the snack shack start. Your founders would be proud.

Amazing place, great service. Lobsters are out of this world. Will definitely come back and recommend this place.

Waited 1 + + hour for our food on a Saturday at 1:30 pm ! We actually got up and left the restaurant (after an hour plus) to go get counter service some place else because our children were so hungry they were feeling sick.
The waitress keep saying they were slammed and the food would be out soon — multiple times 10 –15 mins apart after the 4 th time we decided to leave ! She never offered us bread or any other food while waiting –as far as I’m concerned you should be able to serve as many tables as your restaurant has.
Unacceptable — just poor management
Just awful service and a horrible experience.

Convenient location and plenty of seating outside right by the waters. I ordered the fish and chips and a clam chowder. The fish had no taste but it was definitely fresh. The clam chowder had a good taste but was filled with sand so I would stay away from that.

Nancy’s is an amazing place — lots of history and fun here. It’s right off the harbor and has a great view of the dock. Obama ate here, and I hear he knows his fried clams. I had the fish and chips but asked them to substitute a side salad for the fries and they happily obliged. All the good eating on our trip meant it was time for some veggies, haha. The food was great, and people were relaxing on either side of us with drinks. Everyone looked so happy. It was our last meal before getting on the boat back to reality, and Nancy’s was a great farewell to the island.

The three stars is for the most yummy lobster mac and cheese I’ve had. However, I haven’t had lobster mac and cheese very often before, so maybe I’m comparing it to nothing. I also got a salmon sandwich that was incredible with a giant slab of finely cooked salmon. The pasta salad that it came with was pretty bland though. It’s expensive, but not terrible for Martha’s Vineyard.
I took away two stars despite the yummy food because of the appalling service we had. The waitress was cold and spilled a drink on my friend! She offered to buy her her next drink, but then still charged her in the end. We also came with a large group and instead of allowing us to just pull over one extra table, the manager came over and acted irritated. We were very polite and yet he seemed rude and unaccommodating. Yet they still get a 20% automatic tip =/.

This is the place to be in Oak Bluffs. I have been coming for years and it is always the first stop. Bacon cheeseburger and fries are perfect.
Donovan’s Reef is the infamous bar that is right on the harbor. Mudslide is the drink of choice here. Line can be very long especially during the summer weekends because Donovan is the only bartender. All of his drinks are amazing so it is worth the wait.
Location is second to none and the food is cheap and delicious. Very convenient for those who take the Island Queen and is perfect for a quick bite to eat and great drinks.
My favorite place to be in the summer and there is nothing I would change about this place.

The food is okay here, it has a variety of options and is good for a casual dining restaurant. However, you’re really paying for the great view and if you want to sit outside by the waterfront. It’s a great place for drinks and frozen cocktails, and the patio view is worth checking out.

Being from Texas and just on a day trip from Boston I wasn’t sure what to order. The gentleman working was very friendly and pleasant and quickly fixed me up with some fried clams with tarter sauce and French fries. Then he recommended the ‘dirty banana’ to drink from the bar next door. Everything was delicious! I loved eating on the patio and watching the boats come in and out of the harbor. It was a great experience! I hope to return to Oak Bluffs when I can stay longer and will definitely be eating at Nancy’s again!

Gotta love warm lobster rolls. I have been coming to Nancy’s for years now and they never disappoint. The food selection is decent I haven’t had everything but majority is pretty good. The pick and order window could function more effectively sometimes the employees confuse themselves and you. The prices are a bit high for such a little portion. Friday and Saturday nights if you not at Lola’s Nancy’s is the place

Here’s my tip for anyone who wants to give his/​her opinion about a place: 1) make sure you’ve actually eaten there, and 2) that Cheesecake Factory isn’t considered fine dining… or else 3) please STFU.
Here’s my tip for anyone (self included) receiving the above opinion: discount the validity of the opinion like Black Friday at a Walmart.
We came here based on «everyone’s» recommendation according to one of the guys we were with. What he really meant was two of his uninformed buddies «vouched» for this place b/​c they been here once and doesn’t know anywhere else.
Look, this place isn’t remotely bad. The service is great and bartender is funny, but the food was just «meh» and the price is «ummm…really?» Please don’t bother with the lobster bisque which is essentially a New England clam chowder with lobster flavor and 2 pieces of meat. If you really want a chowder stick with their New England clam chowder.
Also don’t have an high expectation for the lobster roll: picture lobster meat (which is fresh) stuffed between a hot dog bun. It’s the best $ 7 lobster roll $ 16 can buy. Is it me or has «lobster roll» become the overplayed sandwich in the last two years? The next person that recommends a «lobster roll» to me, I will recommend that person’s left cheek run into my right open palm.
Take this place for what it is: a typical tourist mediocre joint with a nice view.

Great place! We had the fried clams and the lobster roll both were very good. Not the best i ever ate but definitely not the worst. Donovan is awesome he really does having awesome energy. Tried the dirty bannana and can understand why its so popular. This is a fun place.

Love love Nancy’s for casual, harbor side dining! The lobster rolls are great as well as all the seafood take out.
But my absolute favorite take out is a piña colada from Donovan’s Reef! Reggae while you wait. My tip to you… get two on your first trip because the line can be long!
Highly recommend it!

This is an excellent place to grab some frozen drinks and sit outside by the waterfront to do some people watching. It’s a great location to see all the boats come in as well as watch the day tourists arrive for the day. The breeze by the ocean makes it comfortable to sit.
The line for the specialty frozen drinks can get quite long but they are delicious ! Nancy’s is a staple and is not to be missed on an island, just go and try the Dirty Banana made with fresh bananas and tia maria. The bartender is comical and entertaining.

Nancy’s is an institution.
It’s the first place I go, when I arrive in the Vineyard and the last place I go before I leave.
It’s the most happening spot on the marina. The deck is usually packed, when the weather is good.
The cool thing about Nancy’s is it’s as if you’re visiting four restaurants in one.
You can eat on the patio and enjoy the views of the marina.
You can eat in the oyster bar, which is covered by a roof, but has seating that faces the marina.
You can go upstairs and eat indoors
Or you can dine on the upper level deck.
The menu is vast enough to fit all taste buds: Seafood, sandwiches, salad, finger foods and even a Middle Eastern section.
The most fun part of the experience is the frozen drinks at Donovan’s Reef. He comes to Martha’s Vineyard seasonally just to serve frozen drinks. Ask for the Dirty Banana. It’s very refreshing and oh so dirty!
Every time I’ve visited Nancy’s, I have enjoyed my food.
You haven’t really seen Oak Bluffs unless you’ve «met» Nancy.

Nancy’s has a nice outdoor area so it’s really nice in a sunny summer day to eat your food. Food is mostly all fried. I ordered the fired oysters, fried clams, and Nancy lobster roll.
If I were to order the lobster roll in the future I would ask for no butter. My roll had way too much butter and I could not really taste the lobster.
I wish there was more option for fresh/​steamed seafood that is not all fried.
I noticed that many others ordered the fish and chips.

Ah Nancy’s… a very exciting place to go to, especially for my sister named Nancy. We went to the snack bar outside rather then the fancier restaurant upstairs. The outdoor seating had an excellent view and Donovan’s bar right next to where you order food. It is also family appropriate (there’s a kids menu!). We ordered the steamed lobster plate, steamed mussels, fried jumbo shrimp, and fried oysters. I also took the time to try their famous Martha’s Dirty Ale and it was excellent!
The lobster was well cooked and tasted fresh. It came with cooked potatoes and a delicious corn on the cob. Yum. Mussels aren’t usually my favorite, but this was also fairly decent tasting. It was kind of cold even though they were supposed to be steamed. As for the fried shrimp and oysters, I was very pleased to encountered fried seafood that wasn’t too oily. As you can tell from my pictures, both of them were similarly fried to perfection and they tasted great outside and inside.
I also tried the famous dirty banana drink at Donovan’s and I was surprised how much alcohol went in it, but also how well it was blended together. I could barely taste the alcohol! The bartender was appearing to have a great time at his job, joyfully singing to the music and making drinks.
I truly recommend this snack bar if you’re looking to eat some good, quick food while enjoying a nice view. It is definitely one of Martha’s Vineyard’s jewels.

There are many reasons why Nancy’s Snack Bar is famous, one of them being President Obama comes here whenever he’s at Martha’s Vineyard and the other reasons being: food, booze and atmosphere. Yes, in that order! ;-)
During the summer when we had the pleasure to watch the Brazil vs. Colombia match here, the girls dined on fresh oysters, drank beer (gin n tonic for me!) and fried calamari. The seafood is so fresh here, the house drinks cheap and strong and the staff are so friendly like you’ve known them for a long time. Of course, THE drink of choice on the island (mind you, it’s a very small island) is the DIRTY BANANA. It’s like a banana flavored milkshake, the glass is coated with chocolate but it’s a creeper. Beware of having more than two, you’ll be giggly the whole day through! (yeah, I went there, I just made a rhyme)
I’ve only been here once but the fresh seafood, fresh salty ocean breezes and relaxed vineyard ambiance are the ingredients that make for an unforgettable New England summer fun. I hope to return someday.