Grace Episcopal Church

We had long heard about the best lobster rolls on the island, and it is true, that by 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, swarms of people are headed to Grace Episcopal Church. What we sampled here was certainly very good– and oversized– we ordered three to-​go lobster rolls for five of us (and we had leftovers). I would skip the packaged pies, and the chips that come with the lobster rolls are pretty uninspired, but it doesn’t matter. The rolls themselves are filled with very fresh, very tasty lobster meat (and very little mayo). You can pay your $ 17/​a piece by cash or, yes, by check.

While on Martha’s Vineyard for a week this year, we took it upon ourselves to try and compare the many «best» lobster rolls. Anyone who has spent time on the island knows that the «best on the island» or «best in MA» lobster rolls are more common than hungry skunks in Edgartown. The one supposed champ was an elusive roll that was available in limited supply and for short time periods at the Grace Episcopal Church in Vineyard Haven.
With some fortunate planning and lucky weather, we found ourselves in Vineyard Haven on a Friday at 4 PM, the magical witching hour to actually get in and obtain a Grace Church lobster roll. These can only be obtained from 4:30 to 7:30 on Fridays nights from May to September, when the church patrons raise money for charity. We were warned of lines forming as early as 4 PM and wanted to beat the rush. When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the doors were already open and service had begun. As the pleasant woman at the door explained; «if the lobster is ready to serve, were happy to start early.» A minor note however, is that the price has risen slightly, from $ 15 to $ 17 for a lobster roll, chips and a drink, with pie another $ 4 a piece.
The roll was worthy of the title, and all the effort to get there. the roll is served in a fair-​style cardboard boat with a fresh soft hotdog roll loaded high with succulent lobster meat. It truly is not lobster salad, consisting of lobster meat with a scant amount of mayo and white pepper. The meat is truly amazing, whole claw pieces, along with tail and knuckle piled high throughout, mind-​bendingly good and melt in your mouth fresh.
With the chips and drink, this would be worth $ 25-​$ 30 at any other location on the island, and it still be worth it easily. With the fantastic roll, the pleasant people and the good karma of helping out a local charitable organization with such an amazing product, its a no brainer on a Friday before 7:30. Good luck with your planning…

So many of the other reviewers have done this church justice. I will just add the following:
1. these church-​made lobster rolls are the best on the island. The Chilmark Community Church does rolls on Tuesdays but Grace has them beat — by a mile.
2. portions are worth $ 30 but don’t tell them that I said that.
3. it’s easy — I was in and out of there in ten minutes with a meal for my entire house. This may become a friday night tradition.

Every Friday from 4:30 — 7:30pm May through the end of September, they sell Lobster Rolls to raise money for charity. This is hands down the best and biggest Lobster Roll I have ever had by far. For $ 15.00 you get a lobster roll, bag of chips and your choice of lemonade or Iced tea. There was no fillers either just a touch of mayo and big chunks of lobster. This lobster roll has two or maybe even three times the lobster than your average roll. You have a choice of eating it in the church or taking it to go where they put the lobster in a separate container and you can put it together later.

Best Lobster Roll on Martha’s Vineyard. If you are on MV on a Friday you MUST stop and have the lobster roll and homemade pie for dessert.
The lobster roll has the lightest touch of mayo and white pepper. Bread is soft but the lobster is the star, entire claw pieces, & huge. It melts in your mouth. The pie was light, sweet, and mile high. All this and ice tea under $ 15! The roll is large enough to split if you want a small meal.

Description from Grace Church…
«Every Friday afternoon from the first of May through the end of September, Grace Church offers Lobster Rolls to the community as its primary fundraiser for local outreach ministries.
Voted „Number One“ by residents of the island 4 years in a row in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, Grace Church is consistently featured in the July issue of The Best of the Vineyard published by Martha’s Vineyard Magazine.
The winning recipe is no secret. No fillers are used in making the rolls, just a little mayonnaise and white pepper for seasoning; the results are placed in a freshly baked roll or a container for carry out between the hours of 4:30 and 7:30 PM every Friday evening.»
As a self proclaimed Manhattan food snob and lobster roll aficionado, this is as good as it gets. I’m admittedly practically obsessed with lobster rolls. This simple sandwich, a hot dog bun grilled in butter, bursting with fresh, succulent lobster meat, is the perfect lunch (or dinner) any time of year. So perhaps I give this meal more cred than it is due… though I’d beg to differ with anyone who feels so.
In Bethenny Frankel’s NYC lobster roll crawl, one of her cohorts sites the Grace Church lobster rolls as the standard to meet. While they never explicitly say so, even those at famous Mermaid Inn and Peal Oyster Bar fall short.
So the question is, what REALLY makes these lobster rolls so good?
1) The quality of the meat is fantastic. It’s nice and firm, sweet, and not at all watery.
2) I have NEVER found entire claws in any other lobster roll. Often lobster rolls at restaurants are comprised of only the tail meat as the claws are sold separately as part of cold seafood platters with oysters etc. etc. The tail meat is of course good, but it lacks the sweetness and texture of the claws and knuckles. Not only do these lobster rolls have claws in them, but you often find ENTIRE claws.
3) The price is insanely fair.
Overall, these are just simply the best. I look forward to them every single summer and hope that Grace Church never stops making them.