REOPENING OF THE PEARL
Three years since closing, The Pearl and Boarding House reopen their doors.
For decades, The Pearl and the Boarding House have been mainstays of the island’s oft-touted restaurant scene. That was until longtime owners and proprietors Angela and Seth Raynor announced in 2021 that they would be selling their beloved businesses and moving on to new endeavors. Now, after more than a year of being shut down for major renovations and retooling, these island icons are about to reopen under the leadership of Blue Flag Partners.
The Pearl reopened in late April in time for the island’s unofficial start to the summer season: the annual Daffodil Festival, featuring sold-out soft open seatings throughout the weekend. It was followed by the reopening of the Boarding House in mid-May just prior to the Nantucket Wine and Food Festival.
“It’s important for us to keep the Raynors’ legacy alive and honor Seth and Angela in doing all of this,” said Ricki Millington, a senior associate with Blue Flag who manages the company’s food and beverage programs at their various properties on island and beyond. “In that vein, we’ve kept seven or eight dishes that were favorites at The Pearl.”
Many a memorable meal has been had in these eateries over the decades thanks to Seth’s Asian-inspired cuisine combined with an often- times decidedly French presentation. Several of the dishes that the Blue Flag team will continue to serve will be the sixty-second steak and eggs and the wok-fried lobster along with a variety of new additions including lemongrass and cilantro prime beef as well as the seven-spice chicken, a specialty of the restaurants’ new executive chef John Tubolino (formerly chef de cuisine at Row 34 in Boston and Fort Oak in San Diego). Tubolino spent significant time speaking and working with Seth to get the legacy dishes just right.
The restaurants’ now fully renovated interiors were designed by the well-known Home Studios firm out of Brooklyn, New York, and while updated, these spaces still make strong references to the original layout and design. “In some ways, it’s everything you remember about The Pearl and Boarding House with just an updated look and feel,” said Millington. “Angela was famous for her hospitality, and we hope to continue that welcoming energy in a refreshed, elegant and fun environment.”
This includes a now wide-open first floor dining room accented by a large hearth and fine art adorning the walls, along with the well- known bar space just inside the front entrance. The chef’s table on the covered side deck of the building still offers an exclusive outdoor dining experience only accessed through The Pearl’s busy kitchen. (These reservations can be hard to come by!) On the second floor, the iconic “Pink Room” has retained its identity, with another adjacent dining room and cocktail lounge, perfect for private events.
Next door at the Boarding House, some modifications have been made to the traditional layout with an almost exact replica of the previous bar and dining room tucked inside more than thirty covered terrace seats. Those who’ve spent time in the Boarding House’s former incarnation will remember a lower-level dining room, which has been repurposed as a private dining and event space replete with high-end features throughout.
The Boarding House’s menu is highlighted by spicy tuna tostadas, peel and eat shrimp and Vietnamese chicken salad as starters and prime beef bavette, line-caught swordfish and Hainanese chicken on the dinner menu. Dessert will feature another beloved holdover from the Raynors’ tenure: the chocolate chunk cookies with sea salt and malted almond milk.
While The Pearl requires reservations for all seatings (except the bar), the Boarding House will be seated on a walk-in/first-come basis. Both restaurants feature an extensive cocktail and wine list, with Pearl libations listed at $20 a glass. Highlights include the “Not a Cosmo but Looks Like a Cosmo” with vodka, Campari, pine- apple, maple and lime salt. The “Verdita Green Goddess” features mezcal, verdita juice and agave, while the “Five Spice Old Fashioned” features whiskey, five-spice corn liquor bitters and orange. The wine list, while mostly European, represents a wide variety of origins. Sake and beer offerings round out the list.
Reservations at The Pearl are available online via their website at pearlnantucket.com or on the OpenTable app. Millington said both restaurants plan to be open between Daffodil Festival weekend and the Indigenous Peoples holiday in October each year.
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