The Galley

A venerable, family-owned restaurant since 1958, the Galley—where untold numbers of Nantucketers have celebrated their anniversary dinners—got a chic new facelift for its own 50th anniversary this summer. Brothers and co-proprietors David and Geoffrey Silva (who inherited the business from their parents more than a decade ago) put their heads together with Brazilian restaurateur Marco Coelho, and the resulting new Galley is every bit as successful as the trio’s other venture, Lo La 41°. By day, the elegant, rattan-furnished open-air dining room (which looks right onto the colorful beach umbrellas of the Cliffside Beach Club) still draws old-guard regulars, who pair their lump crab cakes and Pernod-infused escargots with wine by the glass. At night, though, a decidedly trendier scene unfolds in the newly created back room with its sleek zinc bar, and on the torch-lit new beach lounge (where St. Bart’s-style couches sit right on the sand). Here, a young, rich, and expensively dressed crowd canoodles over creative cocktails—like the Back of the House mojito, made with 10 Cane rum, fresh mint, and house-made mojito sorbet—and gets increasingly lively as the night wears on.

Tip: Although a sort of party corridor has formed between the Galley and Lo La 41°, with taxis bringing patrons back and forth between the two spots all night, the cocktail menus at both places are exactly the same.