Nantucket: Where to Eat: Big Night Out: Topper’s

Topper’s

Chef Chris Freeman, who put Topper’s, the restaurant of the Wauwinet, at the top of the Nantucket dining scene, left in 2006 to buy his own restaurant, but new chef David Daniels picked up brilliantly where his predecessor left off. Daniels’s innovative menu is mostly a riff on French cuisine, with the occasional Asian, American or Italian touch. Most memorable during a recent dinner was the creamy lobster bisque, the rich truffled rigatoni and the perfectly prepared Wagyu beef sirloin. Topper’s more formal white dining room has banquette seating, large tables and is furnished with antiques, but the gracious service ensures that it never gets stuffy. More casual is the patio, where guests are seated on cushioned wicker chairs, with sea views in the distance. If you reserve for dinner, arrange to arrive on the Wauwinet Lady, an open launch that leaves from Nantucket Harbor and is complimentary for diners at Topper’s.

SEE ALSO: Classics: 21 Federal, Newcomers: Òran Mór, Table for Two: Sfoglia.