A.K. Diamond’s -
Where Great Food & Comfort Are House Specialties
All too often on Nantucket, it seems like polo shirts and white tablecloths are pre-requisites to an exceptional dining experience. Let’s face it though, we live at the beach, and sometimes we just want a place that doesn’t judge us for wearing something comfortable to dinner. At A.K. Diamond’s, comfort and great food are both specialties of the house.
This family restaurant and pub is the eatery you’ve been looking for since you washed ashore. Here you can sink into a cushioned booth, order a drink from the warm and friendly staff, browse a menu that feels like it was customized to your tastes, and prepare for portions so generous that all but the heartiest eaters will be taking home lunch for the next day.
On the first floor, A.K.’s (named for the owners’ children, Alison and Kevin Diamond) has a roomy wrap-around bar and spacious pub area with booths and tables. It’s a friendly, cozy spot for lunch or an afternoon drink, with a cheery staff and a daily trivia question that is often a conversation starter. Newspapers are shared across the bar and televisions strategically placed around the pub are tuned to varous games, news, or weather. With a different lunch special for every day of the week, it’s not uncommon for locals to show up every week on the days their favorites are served. There’s even a sheltered outdoor patio that is perfect for enjoying the last of the summer sun and warm September evenings.
Upstairs at A.K.’s is a spacious dining room with booths that can be joined together to seat large parties and a separate dining area for private celebrations. The entire menu—all five pages of dinner entrees, light entrees, sandwiches, pizzas, salads, and finger foods—is available both downstairs in the pub and upstairs in the dining room.
Dinner at A.K.’s starts with a trip to their Salad Bar, which comes with every dinner entree (served after 5 pm). One of the last remaining on Nantucket, it is constantly replenished with crisp, fresh greens and an assortment of more than 30 toppings that include meats, veggies, pasta, fruit, nuts, and cheeses. Six different dressings are available to mix or match. Their salad bar is so popular that they even offer it as its own menu item: unlimited trips for just $10.99.
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The salad bar is only one of several salad and vegetarian options. The Caprese Salad is a taste of summer sunshine with sweet, ripe locally grown tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, pesto, and a drizzle of balsamic. You can savor some of the same fresh flavors in their new Vegetable Bruschetta, which starts with a garlic crostini that is spread with ricotta cheese and topped with fresh, juicy tomato slices alternated with crispy slices of eggplant, breaded and fried. Chopped basil and balsamic reduction finish the dish. You’ll want to get a bit of each in every forkful for juicy, crispy, creamy, tangy bursts of flavor. |
| Vegetarian entrees at A.K.’s include Cheese Raviolis with sauteed mushrooms, onions, sweet peas, spinach, and tomato in a roasted red pepper cream sauce and a Stuffed Portabella Caprese with fresh mozzarella, basil, tomato, sweet peas, and garlic. |
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Their robust Vegetable Pizza, loaded with artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, spinach, tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh ricotta, also comes highly recommended. The thin crust has just the right balance between crispy and soft so that even those who prefer thick-crust pizza will be pleased. There are five additional pizza choices offered: grilled margherita pizza, pepperoni, bbq chicken, proscuitto & arugula, and a fantastic BLT pizza. |
Hungry for seafood? A.K. Diamond’s features fish and shellfish in a dozen appetizers, sandwiches, and entrees, and several more dishes can be dressed up with your choice of shrimp, salmon, or lobster salad. |
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The new Coconut Shrimp came as a tasty surprise during our meal at A.K.’s. We expected the usual butterflied shrimp rolled in shredded coconut batter. What we got was so much better! Chef Jermaine Scarlett has devised a special coconut milk batter for the jumbo shrimp that adds just enough coconut flavor without overpowering the delicate taste of the shrimp. The three shrimp are served on a luscious sweet-spicy mango dipping sauce spiked with a splash of mango rum. You’ll be dipping your finger in the mango sauce for a few more tastes long after the shrimp are gone, it’s that good! |
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Our favorite among the seafood appetizers at A.K.’s are their Fish Cornucopias— a delicious mix of hot and cold, crunchy and soft, tangy and sweet. Two crunchy cones made from corn tortillas are filled with fried haddock nestled in shredded lettuce, cilantro tartar sauce, and chopped fresh tomato. They’re fun to pick up and eat like savory ice cream cones. These make a hearty appetizer, so order this to share with a companion or pair it with a salad for a light meal. |
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Executive Chef Jeanne Diamond and her talented kitchen team led by Chef Scarlett have an uncanny ability to transform everyday ingredients into unforgettable meals. Their new Lobster Crusted Haddock entree is the perfect example. Haddock is a mild and delicately sweet fish—topping it with lobster stuffing is nothing short of inspired! Shavings of asiago cheese are melted overtop and the fish is served in a pool of tasty citrus-honey dill cream sauce. |
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Our table favorite among the seafood dishes is also a favorite of Chef Diamond’s: The Seafood Bowl. This simple name is descriptive—this entree is a bowl filled with shrimp, scallops, and lobster—but it doesn’t go far enough...sauteed with the seafood are tomatoes, red onion, sweet peas, garlic, and herbs, and this heavenly combination is set over angel hair and anointed with a suberb Malibu coconut cream. The result is stunning: succulent, sweet, and savory. This entree steals the show on star-studded menu! |
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Diamond and Scarlett have perfect pitch not only with fish and seafood, but also with meats. Their Grilled 12-Ounce Sirloin is glazed with homemade steak sauce that is beefy and rich yet has a delicious twang of piquant flavor. The steak is then topped with crumbled gorgonzola cheese that melts a bit to make a tasty crust. These toppings both highlight the essence of the juicy steak and add complex layers of flavor. Mashed potatoes underneath catch every drop of jus and steak sauce and guarantee you’ll clean this plate! |
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AK Diamonds has the best baby-back ribs on the island, hands down. Smothered in a house-made cranberry BBQ glaze, you’ll be dipping your fries right into the ribs, wondering why anybody would choose ketchup instead of this BBQ sauce. The tantalizing aroma of these tender, slow-cooked ribs being brought to a nearby table will have you chasing your server down so that you can add them to your order. |
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Desserts at AK’s are as generously sized as the entrees, but this is a casual eatery, so go ahead, loosen the belt buckle, and order the house-made Apple Oatmeal Crisp ... |
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... or go all out and get the Chocolate Chip Pie with vanilla ice cream. |
If you simply cannot find the room for dessert, then consider ending your meal at AK’s with a specialty cocktail: we recommend one of their hot coffee drinks.
The comfort and pleasure of a meal at A.K. Diamond’s doesn’t end with the last sip of coffee: you get to experience it again when the check comes and you see you’ve enjoyed fabulous meal at a very appealing value.
A.K. Diamond's
16 Macy Lane • 508-228-3154 • www.akdiamonds.com
Open daily from 11:30 a.m.
Dinner entrees range in price from $18.99 to $27.99
“Anytime Entrees,” Hearty Sandwiches, & Pizzas from $10.99
Half-price appetizers from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
major credit cards accepted
families welcomed • all menu items available for take-out
indoor & outdoor dining • handicap accessible • full bar
plenty of off-street parking - NRTA shuttle stop across the street
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