By Josh Engel
The Hamptons is known for having an array of great dining options—there’s certainly no shortage here. Adding to the seemingly endless list of dining options are these newcomers that we suspect are sure to become Hamptons classics. Check out these hot new restaurants arriving for the start of the summer 2010 season, and your list of favorites will be growing a little longer.
Navy Beach
A Montauk newcomer for the 2010 season, Navy Beach is poised to give the Hamptons restaurant scene a welcome shaking-up, with special events in the works including a Guitar Hero video game night, live acoustic music concerts, and “lobster bucket night”, where each guest will receive a bucket of steamed lobsters, a bucket of French fries, and a bucket of beers. Traditionalists should not be scared away, though. The restaurant, helmed by veterans of Sushi Samba, Asia de Cuba, and Nick and Toni’s, will offer a pleasing menu of Hamptons comfort food on its daily dinner menu. Diners can expect Montauk clam chowder, fried calamari with sweet chili garlic dressing, steak frites, and summer lobster pot pie. The restaurant has been renovated in beach house style, with exposed beams, an antique wooden bar, and panoramic windows overlooking the beach. Bar-goers can treat themselves to tailor-made drinks like Navy Grog, Mawn-Tawk Iced Tea, and the potent-sounding Fort Pond Fog, as well as bar food snacks including meatball sliders, kung pao chicken wings, and hand-tossed Neapolitan pizzas. 16 Navy Road, Montauk, NY, 631-668-6868; www.navybeach.com
Serafina East Hampton
Manhattan favorite Serafina will be branching out this summer; the owners plan to open their first East Hampton branch of the crowd-pleasing Italian restaurant this May. Manhattan residents will recognize the signature Serafina yellow umbrellas along the outdoor tables that line the North Main Street location. The restaurant is known for its thin-crust pizzas, and will be importing several pizza chefs from its main branch to spin dough in the open kitchen. Pizza offerings will include Braesola with Fontina, Portofino (tomato, mozzarella, pesto and pine nuts), and the decadent Al Caviale (sliced potatoes, crème fraiche and caviar). Fans of the New York restaurant’s authentic Italian cuisine will be pleased to find their favorites on the menu, including imported prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella, gnocchi al pesto, and a simple ravioli with butter and sage. The restaurant plans some changes to respond to their new Hamptons clientele, including happy hours, local delivery, and a children’s menu featuring pastas, pizzas, and chicken. 104 North Main Street, East Hampton, NY, 631-267-3500; www.serafinarestaurant.com
Love Lane Café
Love Lane Kitchen, the acclaimed seasonally-inspired restaurant in Mattituck, has become so popular in recent years that its owners have seen fit to expand the project. The Love Lane Café, opening in Sagaponack late this June, will bring the original restaurant’s flair for creative American and International cuisine to a new, cozier location, which formerly housed the Fairway Café. Service early in the day will be
casual, and offer comfort food classics. Breakfast will include steel-cut oatmeal, griddle cakes, French toast, and custom-made omelettes. Lunch is sandwich-focused, with burgers, Cuban sandwiches, and goat cheese panini, as well as salads, steaks, and fish and chips. Love Lane Kitchen rose to fame for its inventive, constantly changing dinner menu, though, and plans are underway to reprise this feat at Love Lane Café. The menu is still evolving, but selections may include baby butterhead lettuce with blue cheese fondue and roasted tomato relish, soft shell crab with fennel and papaya, and speck-wrapped halibut with polenta and roasted tomatoes. Stop by during the day with a book for coffee and homemade gelato; you may end up sticking around for dinner. 3556 Montauk Highway, Sagaponack, NY; www.lovelanekitchen.com
Bostwick’s Chowder House
Fans of simple, well-executed Hamptons seafood classics, as well as regular visitors to Bostwick’s Seafood Grill and Cherrystones Clam & Lobster Shack, will likely be flocking to this East Hampton newcomer. Expect lobster shack favorites: large raw bar, two varieties of clam chowder, a steam pot with clams, mussels and old bar shrimp, and the ever-popular lobster rolls. Daily specials will run towards the more inventive, and feature items like fish tacos, seafood pastas, and a rotating fresh fish selection including swordfish, tuna, and mako. Also look for an original drink selection, including the Bostwick Breeze (two
varieties of rum, pineapple, orange juice and grenadine), and the Lilly Pond Lemonade, with a mixture of lemonade and tea-infused Firefly vodka, served over ice. 277 Pantigo Rd., East Hampton, NY, 631-324-1111;
www.bostwickseh.com
Philippe
Run by a 25-year veteran of Manhattan’s Mr. Chow, Philippe is a new entry to the Hamptons dining scene that has been setting the bar for fine-dining Asian cuisine. The restaurant is known for its elegant reinventions of classic American-Chinese dishes—perennial favorites are Maine lobster spring rolls, salt and pepper calamari, noodles in pork or veal bean sauce, and a wide array of dim sum. Maine lobster is a specialty, served for two people and prepared simply with ginger and scallions. And a visit to Phillipe wouldn’t be complete without trying the acclaimed Peking Duck, in four or seven pound varieties, a consistent contender for the much-debated title of New York’s best. 44 Three Mile Harbor Rd., East Hampton, NY, 631-604-1616; www.philippechow.com
