A Minted Location day guide
Dock & Dine in Nantucket
On Nantucket you dine ashore from a berth or from a tender, and it works well. The Boat Basin's three wharves put you in the middle of town on foot, and the Town Pier is the only dinghy dock for anyone on a mooring or at anchor — so a mooring night and dinner in town is a short row and a walk, not a docking problem. Plan the meal around where the boat is, not the other way round.
Straight Wharf Restaurant, CRU Oyster Bar, Slip 14 and Brant Point Grill all sit on or beside the water, and all four are reached the same way: on foot from a Boat Basin berth, or by dinghy to the Town Pier. None of them keeps a dock of its own.
The one venue that arrives by water does it with a boat of its own. TOPPER'S at The Wauwinet runs the Wauwinet Lady as a scheduled passenger launch, not dockage — a 50-minute service each way, seven days a week, with 2026 dates of 22 June – 7 September and a fare of $35 per person round-trip. The property's own pages put the launch at 20 passengers on the dining page and 21 in the FAQ, so confirm the number when you book. Bringing your own boat there is a conversation with the property rather than a published arrangement — call ahead.
The stops, as their own docks describe them
| Spot | Where | Arriving by boat |
|---|---|---|
| TOPPER'S at The WauwinetThe one Nantucket venue that arrives by water, and it does so with a boat of its own rather than a dock of its own. The property's pages put the launch at 20 passengers on the dining page and 21 in the FAQ, so confirm the number when you book. Bringing your own boat is a conversation with the property rather than a published arrangement — call ahead. | The Wauwinet, north-east shore — reached from town by the property's own launch | A scheduled passenger launch, not dockage — the Wauwinet Lady, 50 minutes each way, seven days a week; 2026 dates 22 June – 7 September; $35 per person round-trip |
| Straight Wharf RestaurantOn the harbourfront beside the marina, and about as central as Nantucket dining gets. There is no dock of its own: take a Boat Basin berth and walk, or come in by dinghy to the Town Pier. | Nantucket Harbor waterfront — beside the Boat Basin | Walk from a Boat Basin berth, or dinghy in to the Town Pier |
| CRU Oyster BarSits directly on the harbour, in the middle of the waterfront. No dock of its own: walk from a Boat Basin berth, or come in by dinghy to the Town Pier. | Nantucket Harbor waterfront | Walk from a Boat Basin berth, or dinghy in to the Town Pier |
| Slip 14Named for a slip and addressed on one of the Boat Basin's wharves, which is also how you arrive: take a berth at the marina and walk in. | Nantucket Harbor waterfront — a Boat Basin wharf address | Take a Boat Basin berth and walk |
| Brant Point GrillOn the harbourfront near Brant Point, where the mooring field is hailed on VHF 68. No dock of its own: walk from town, or come in by dinghy to the Town Pier. | On the harbour near Brant Point | Walk from town, or dinghy in to the Town Pier |
Dockage notes are what each restaurant publishes on its own site — space is first-come and dinner-hour rafting is real, so hail ahead. Where a venue states nothing about docking, we say so rather than guess.
Planning more than lunch?
We represent buyers wherever the right boat sits — shortlisting, surveying and sea-trialing on the buyer's side of the table. Tell us the mission and we'll tell you which boat, and which berth, it calls for.