The Pearl Nantucket Menu — What to Order
Published
Verdict: Order the salt & pepper wok-fried lobster; The Pearl serves Nantucket's most inventive seafood, worth booking for a birthday.
Not for: Not for a quiet anniversary whisper. The Pearl is a loud, animated room of colour and energy, not a hushed, candlelit corner.
The Pearl menu is Asian-inspired seafood built around one dish: the Nantucket Salt & Pepper Wok-Fried Lobster that Travel + Leisure named a World's Best Award recipient. Around it sit precise ceviche, careful beef tartare, tuna larb and a cocktail programme of real ambition. It is the island's most consistently exciting kitchen, and a $$$ splurge worth planning.
What The Pearl Actually Is
The Pearl is at 12 Federal Street in downtown Nantucket, sister to The Boarding House beneath it, and it reopened in 2023 with a refreshed room in the 1850s building. Where the island trades in clam chowder and steamed lobster, The Pearl imports wok technique and coastal provenance. Our Pearl review ranks it #4 in Nantucket's dining scene, and the Pearl booking guide covers a table that books out in season.
What to Order at The Pearl
The Nantucket Salt & Pepper Wok-Fried Lobster is the order and the reason to come — lobster fried hard in a wok with lime-leaf vinaigrette and jasmine rice, a salt-and-pepper crust that plain butter never reaches. New England Travel & Life cited it in naming The Pearl the best seafood restaurant in New England.
Beyond the lobster, order the ceviche for its precision, the beef tartare built with as much care as the seafood, and shared plates of crab-and-shrimp wontons and yellowfin tuna larb; the grilled whole fish of the day and halibut show a kitchen above the island average. The cocktail programme draws on the same intelligence as the food. Prices sit in the $$$ band.
When to Go and How to Book
The Pearl runs a Nantucket season, and its top tables book out on summer weekends, so reserve well ahead through the restaurant or OpenTable. The room is animated and best for a night with momentum. It is a birthday and first-date room built for energy rather than quiet.
The Smart Play
Anchor the table on the wok-fried lobster, open with ceviche and tuna larb, and let the bar run the evening. Budget for a $$$ splurge. If The Pearl is full, its downstairs sibling The Boarding House, the raw bar at The Nautilus and the harbourside Straight Wharf hold the island's best alternatives. For the wider field, see our best seafood restaurants worldwide.
View The Pearl on Restaurants for Kings →
Related Reading
- Our full profile: The Pearl Nantucket review.
- How to get the table: Pearl reservation guide.
- The wider island: Nantucket dining guide.
- The downstairs sibling: The Boarding House.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best thing to order at The Pearl in Nantucket?
The Nantucket Salt & Pepper Wok-Fried Lobster, without question — a Travel + Leisure World's Best Award dish, fried in a wok with lime-leaf vinaigrette and jasmine rice. Around it, order the ceviche, the beef tartare, yellowfin tuna larb and crab-and-shrimp wontons. The cocktail programme is a genuine one, so start with a drink rather than a glass of house wine.
How much does The Pearl cost?
The Pearl sits in the $$$ band, an island splurge rather than an everyday dinner. The wok-fried lobster and shared plates add up quickly, and the cocktail programme rewards ordering. Reserve ahead: our Pearl booking guide covers a table that books out on summer weekends in the Nantucket season.
What is The Pearl known for?
The Pearl is Nantucket's most inventive kitchen, known for Asian-inspired seafood in a register no other island restaurant works in. Its signature salt-and-pepper wok-fried lobster earned a Travel + Leisure World's Best Award, and New England Travel & Life named the restaurant the best seafood spot in New England. It is a loud, colourful room, sister to The Boarding House.
Where is The Pearl in Nantucket?
The Pearl is at 12 Federal Street in downtown Nantucket, upstairs from its sibling The Boarding House in an 1850s building it reopened in 2023. It is a short walk from the harbour and the rest of Nantucket's dining scene, and ranks #4 on our island list for its wok-fried lobster and cocktails.