🍻 Roundup: Nightlife on MV

alcohol laws by town, live music/dj best bets, transportation options, late-night eats

Visitors and Groups are often searching for where to go out late night, but if you’re heading out in the wrong town you may be disappointed. The six towns of MV have very different alcohol laws and nightlife scenes, so this post is intended to help you plan accordingly. Have fun and be safe!

Port Hunter, Edgartown at Night

MVacay TLDR; if you’re going out late at night, we suggest the main streets of Oak Bluffs or Edgartown. Things close around 12:30, and if you want late-night food, OB is your better bet.

Alcohol Laws

• “Wet”: Edgartown + Oak Bluffs:

  • Beer + alcohol are sold both in stores and at restaurants/bars/stores

  • Last call is at 12:30, bars close at 1:00

• “Moist”: Vineyard Haven + West Tisbury:

  • Beer + alcohol can be served at restaurants, but it’s not sold in liquor stores or traditional bars. There are a few restaurants in VH that sell “To Go” food and you can purchase alcohol as well.

  • Most restaurants close by 10

• “Dry-Ish”: Chilmark/Aquinnah:

  • No sales of hard alcohol at restaurants/bars, only beer/wine/appertivos

  • No liquor stores or bars sell it without food. Aquinnah allows the sale of liquor on tribal land at The Cliffs, but there currently is not a restaurant selling

Live Music

• See our Live Music roundup for more!

• Best bets for live, late-night music:

  • The Ritz (OB)

  • Port Hunter (Edg)

  • Portuguese/American Club (OB)

• Best bets for live, late-night DJs:

  • Eleven Circuit (OB)

  • The Loft (OB)

  • The Wharf (Edg)

  • Rockfish (Edg)

Transportation

• VTA busses operate until 12:30ish, depending on the route (here are approximate routes dependent on the time of year):

  • Last bus from Edgartown #1 to VH via Edg/VH Rd is 9:40pm

  • Last bus from Edgartown #13 to OB then VH is 11:30pm

  • Last bus from VH to OB #13 then Edg is 11:30pm

• The last Steamship Ferry is at 9:30 or 9:45pm typically (from Vineyard Haven)

• Otherwise, you will need to use a local cab or rideshare app to get places!

There is always fun to be had at The Ritz in OB

Late Night Munchies

• Oak Bluffs

  • Giordano’s - pizza, etc.

  • Back Door Donuts - an MV tradition

  • Tigerhawk - fried chicken sandwiches

  • Dos Mas - tacos, etc.

  • Midnight Taco - tacos, etc.

  • The Ritz - Brazilian food

  • Bombay Indian - wings, pancakes

• Edgartown

  • Slice of Life - pizza

  • Backyard Taco - tacos, etc.

Please note that this roundup is accurate to the best of our research and knowledge as of August 2023. Things change constantly, pop-ups are added or hours are scaled back, etc depending on time of year and staffing. There are plenty of fun options for daytime too (for live music, drinks, etc) that are omitted from this article to focus on nightlife only.

Did we miss something? Send us a kind note at marthasvineyardvacay@gmail.com and we will happily update our post! xx