Every summer a new crop of restaurants pops up in the Hamptons faster than you can say rosé.
Some are the brainchildren of East End natives, while others have New York City chefs and restaurateurs at their helms. (There’s even a Michelin-starred chef entering the scene out east for the very first time.) From lobster shacks to fine dining, this summer’s new eateries run the gamut. So crack open your fave bottle of Long Island-made wine, slurp down a dozen oysters and get ready to eat your way through the Hamptons, hamlet by hamlet.
The buzzy newcomer in town is Showfish, at Gurney’s Star Island Resort and Marina at 32 Star Island Road in Montauk. Hamptons-born chef Jeremy Blutstein delivers innovative takes on seafood: swordfish bacon, mackerel crudo, house-dry-aged bone-in tuna rib eye and slightly cured Montauk fluke crudo among them. The seafood is delivered straight to Gurney’s docks — no farm-raised salmon or Chilean seabass allowed — and the produce is mainly sourced from within a 20-mile radius. Signature dishes include Jonah crab tagliatelle with Maine uni butter, Calabrian chili and anchovy crumbs; and seared scallops with house-cured duck prosciutto, curried sunchoke puree and carrot chimichurri. Give Showfish 48 hours’ notice, and Blutstein will prepare wood-fire roasted striped bass, rack of lamb and even a whole suckling pig. For more casual fare, Blutstein also helms the newly opened hotel’s Il Forno Market (offering duck prosciutto pizza with just-picked arugula) and the Pool Club (for signature sriracha lobster rolls). Don’t forget to check out Showfish Bar at the base of the resort’s signature lighthouse.
Nick & Toni’s Mark Smith has launched Coche Comedor, at 74A Montauk Ave. in Amagansett. It’s a more upscale Mexican spot next to La Fondita, the restaurant group’s popular, picnic table-casual taqueria. Coche Comedor promises to hit the sweet spot for midday drinks and nibbles before morphing into a proper restaurant at night. By day, think frozen margaritas, on-tap sangria and raw bars. Then come back for chef Joe Realmuto’s dinner menu, with classics like guacamole, ceviche, chicken adobo with mole and pork rib carnitas. There’s also a woodburning grill and rotisserie for roast chicken, meat and seafood paired with house-made tortillas.
Italian lovers have two new options. First up: Paola’s East at 341 Pantigo Road in East Hampton is an outpost of the Upper East Side’s popular Paola’s. Stefano Marracino tells The Post he’s been eyeing this spot — where EMP Summer House once stood — for the past six years. But he’s not intimidated by taking over a spot vacated by the “best restaurant in the world” team of chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara. “We are who we are,” Marracino says. And that’s comforting northern Italian fare with fresh fish, pan-fried artichokes and pastas from cacio e pepe to linguine with clams. There are even gluten-free options. Marracino hopes to add boozy brunches outdoors with jazz and, in the offseason, to offer cooking classes.
Next up: Bel Mare, opening at 28 Maidstone Park Road in East Hampton from owner Rich Gherardi and chef Luigi Del Conte. (Del Conte is known for his line of artisanal sauces.) Expect dishes like shrimp and scallop sambuca and penne alla vodka to share the menu with gluten-free and vegetarian options — plus a takeout window for pizza, of course.
For American fare, there’s T-Bar Southampton (268 Elm St.) It’s another Upper East Side import, this one from Tony Fortuna and Derek Axelrod. The classic menu features a steak bar — with a shareable Porterhouse, prime-aged ribeye and Black Angus steaks — along with a burger bar offering turkey, lamb and Angus beef burgers. There are also thin-crust pizzas, grilled seafood and raw items, like a yellowfin hamachi crudo with lemon and chili. Fortuna’s signature banana parfait dessert is worth a visit on its own.
Restaurateur Stratis Morfogen and his partner Robert (Don Pooh) Cummins have also launched Brooklyn Chop House in the Capri Hotel at 281 County Road 39A in Southampton. It first tested the waters as a one-month pop-up last summer. The original Brooklyn Chop House is actually in the Financial District and features everything from Morfogen’s famed chicken satays and eclectic dumplings to steaks and seafood.
A Lower East Side Instagram-favorite eatery named after artist Marcel Duchamp’s feminine alter ego Rrose Sélavy, Sel Rrose, is also opening in Montauk at 4 South Elmwood Ave. Think oysters, craft cocktails and a raw bar a la a foodie’s French bistro — c’est magnifique!
And if Michelin-starred chefs are your jam, welcome Terrence Brennan to the East End. The chef, famed for bringing fine dining to the Upper West Side via now-shuttered Picholine, is opening Blue Mar Hamptons at 136 Main St. in Southampton. In the partnership with restaurateur Zach Erdem, Brennan is going local — focusing on seafood, Mediterranean-style fare and a 200-bottle wine list.
Another Michelin-starred toque, Australian native Shaun Hergatt, is climbing new heights as culinary director of the famed Surf Lodge in Montauk. Hip Surf Lodge owner Jayma Cardoso tapped the talents of Hergatt, who currently helms a private, residents-only, country club-style restaurant at 432 Park Ave., the tallest residential building in the western hemisphere.
Talented chef Sam Talbot, who slayed it at Surf Lodge, is resurrecting a new spot at the former Cyril’s Fish House location: Morty’s Oyster Stand. With partners Jeremy Morton, Jack Luber and Charles Seich, of Ferris, Talbot’s Amagansett joint at 2167 Montauk Highway will offer raw bar treats and lobster rolls along with mains like grilled local squid with zucchini and pesto and a hanger steak with roasted mushroom chimichurri. The menu also features plenty of cocktails.
Lobster rolls are, of course, a staple of summer. This season, try newbie Ed’s Lobster Bar East, which is another city import — from Ed McFarland, of Ed’s Lobster Bar in Soho. Opening in Bay Burger’s old Sag Harbor spot, at 1742 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, it offers lobster rolls along with lobster-topped pizza, fried shrimp and scallops.
This summer, East End go-tos are also debuting new outposts of their own. Kevin Boles and Chris Eggert’s popular casual seafood eatery Bostwick’s Chowder House is launching a new spot — Bostwick’s on the Harbor, where the Bay Kitchen Bar used to be at 39 Gann Road in East Hampton. Look for the usual: raw bars, steamed lobsters, clams and oysters on the half shell, tuna crudo, garlic mussels and seafood pasta.
Carissa’s, the popular bakery at 68 Newtown Lane in East Hampton, is also expanding. The second Carissa’s: The Bakery opens at 221 Pantigo Road in East Hampton as a 3,500-square-foot all-day restaurant with a bake shop and production kitchen. Customers can still enjoy basics like grab-and-go coffees and breads; Carissa Waechter’s famed salty sour pickle rye is a favorite. But there’s also a full menu and dinner service courtesy of chef Molly Levine, formerly of Chez Panisse, along with a gelato bar that scoops seasonal flavors like polenta from Stones Throw Farm.
Later this season, Silver Lining Diner will open from Marc and Eric Miller, of the now-closed Bay Kitchen Bar. The spot, at 54 Montauk Highway in Southampton, will offer classic diner fare in old-timey surrounds.
Craving Japanese? Highway Restaurant & Bar will bring back its popular Shuko Beach pop-up from Nick Kim and Jimmy Lau (two Masa alums) at 290 Montauk Highway in East Hampton. The omakase and kaiseki specialty spot launches June 7 and will run weekends throughout June, with Thursdays added during July and August.
Chef Mark Militello is also back at 75 Main in Southampton following a two-year absence. He’s introducing new dishes like seared breast of Long Island duck, chickpeas, Swiss chard, parsnip and kumquat jam as well as seared diver sea scallops in red wine short-rib sauce with roasted cauliflower and potato puree. Il Mulino, at 108 Wainscott Stone Road in Wainscott, will also be back with an outdoor space, serving pricey but delicious dishes from chicken parmesan to veal piccata to seafood. Claude’s Restaurant at the Southampton Inn (91 Hill St.) will launch a new all-day poolside menu; highlights include fish tacos with house-made salsa and lobster mango salad.