Since Easter weekend, we’ve been feeling the shift here (and we don’t mean the 4.8 earthquake that rocked us all yesterday) — you can feel the Hamptons starting to stretch and yawn from its winter slumber, and the spring edition of Long Island Restaurant Week is a great way to welcome the warming season ahead.
From Sunday, April 7 to Sunday, April 14, restaurants all over Long Island will offer $24 two-course prix-fixe lunch and three-course prix-fixe dinners, at $29, $39 or $46. But it’s not just a great deal for your pocket; these 18 excellent spots are bringing their edible A game.
The annual event, which has three incarnations per year (spring, fall and winter) is gives curious customers the opportunity to try out a new spot, or indulge in an old fave. And as restaurants are gearing up for the busy season ahead, lets them welcome (or welcome back) hungry fans as the season slowly gets under way. Note: On Saturday nights, participating eateries offering dinner prix-fixe only are required to do so until 7 p.m., so if you’re looking for a weekend date-night, be sure to plan (and reserve!) accordingly. Below are the restaurants in this edition’s round-up — good luck choosing!
Bistro 72, 1830 W Main St., Riverhead, 631-369-3325
Stylish farm-to-table Bistro 72 restaurant is serving both prix-fixe lunch and $39 prix-fixe dinner, including dessert (their apple blossom, ice-cream capped tart is divine!). Head on in for a chapped veggie salad with candied walnuts, apples and goat cheese (so springy!) and pan-seared salmon atop a white bean, kale and spinach rags or their honey glazed pork chop with sweet potato mash, apple chutney and roasted asparagus.
Bistro Eté, 760 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, 631-500-9085
This cool and casual Water Mill mainstay has a coastal French vibe and menu that doesn’t leave vegetarians out in the cold. Dig it! Restaurant week offerings include mushroom and brie puff pastry with mesclun salad, wild shrimp ceviche, Long Island duck sliders and zucchini “spaghetti” with fresh burrata.
Bridgehampton Inn Restaurant, 2266 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton, 631-537-3660
Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of the opportunity to cozy up in the pretty dining room or at the lovely bar of the Bridgehampton Inn Restaurant? The food offered by chef Alejandro Osorio is hyper-locally focused and changes as the seasons and ingredient availability dictates, making the menu a constant delicious surprise. Note: They are closed Monday and Tuesday!
Calissa, 1020 Montauk Highway, Water Mill 631-500-9292
With its ample, comfy gray banquette seating and come-all vibe, Greek-centric Calissa’s ever the welcoming dining room is ready to feed you (and a pile of your besties — they do well with large groups, here) for Restaurant Week. Closed Mondays.
Captain Jack’s on the Coast, 1109 Novak Road, Southampton, 631-204-5877
Owned by father/daughter duo, Jack and Erin Reiser, this almost-year-old eatery is a local-seafood-centric casual spot with a twist. Among the nautically themed, low-key decor overlooking Wooley Pond, the food here made by chef Mike Soleau gets creative with the southern comfort food theme, with great dishes like the mahi-mahi reuben sandwich, abundant crab-stuffed pretzel wedges and really good chicken and waffles (for the landlubbers).
Centro Trattoria and Bar, 336 W. Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays, 631-594-5744
Hit up Hampton Bays’ Centro for a no-holds-bar two-course lunch, featuring their famous Nonna’s meatballs, mussels with garlic and white wine, eggplant parmigiana or even a stellar New York strip with parmesan roasted mashed potatoes. Closed Tuesdays.
The Clubhouse, 174 Daniels Hole Road, East Hampton, 631-537-2695
Dinner and a game? Don’t mind if we do! The Clubhouse is offering an abundant, three-course prix-fixe, with highlight options like bistro veggie spaetzle risotto, sesame crusted ahi tuna, braised boneless short ribs and a bounty of other hearty fare. Open Thursday to Sunday; kitchen closes at 10 p.m..
Cove Hollow Tavern,85 Montauk Highway, East Hampton, 631-527-7131
We are big fans of chef Terry Harwood and Lisa Murray’s always comfortable and ever delicious mainstay East End eateries. At their East Hampton spot, they’ll be offering a $39 three-course dinner special (until 7 p.m. on Saturday; closed Monday and Tuesday) with all your favorite Cove covetables.
Cowfish, 258 E. Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays, 631-714-4436
Open seven days a week, go for the dynamite dinner dishes; stay for the seaside view. We’ll be ordering the local burrata with roasted figs, prosciutto and brioche toast along with their ample, juicy rotisserie chicken with sweet potato and Brussels sprout bacon hash. Yum. Be sure to make a res for their $46 three-course bonanza, because tables fill up here quickly on the regular.
Farm Country Kitchen, 513 W. Main St., Riverhead, 631-369-6311
This pretty little hidden gem in Riverhead is offering both $24 lunch and $46 prix-fixe dinner, from fried artichoke hearts with creamy horseradish dipping sauce and and their excellent flatbreads, to their beloved Maria panini (seriously, it’s good!) and larger plates like the pan-seared New Orleans-style scallops with guacamole.
Fauna, 6 Parlato Drive, Westhampton Beach, 631-288-3500
Need a great date night? Head to lovely Fauna in Westhampton Beach for an inspired three-course, $46 prix-fixe full of decadent faves like lamb lollichops and blue-cheese and smoked hazelnut-dotted Brussels sprouts, brown-butter drizzled butternut squash ravioli and their ode to the building’s former famed chef-owner, Starr Boggs, with his recipe for almond flounder. Open 7 days.
Il Buco al Mare, 231 Main St., Amagansett, 631-557-3100
Il Buco al Mare’s approachable but exceptional menu manages to be unpretentious but still offer upscale vibes, focusing on local seafood and other nearby-sourced ingredients. Make your rezzie soon here, though — tables typically fill up fast on the regular, and Restaurant Week is sure to make this a hard seat to get for the $24 lunch and $46 prix-fixe dinner.
La Buena Vida, 714 Montauk Hwy., Morches, 631-909-1985
Offering the $46 prix-fixe dinner option, get in on the excellent empanadas at this Spanish-centric restaurant, along with saffron-spiked veggie paella, grilled mahi-mahi with mussels and clams in a lemon butter sauce and velvety housemade flan to finish.
Nick & Toni’s, 136 N. Main St., East Hampton, 631-324-3550
The crown jewel of Honest Man Hospitality’s string of excellent restaurants, N&T has been perennially packed for decades. For Restaurant Week, they’re offering the $46 prix fixe all week (and until 7 p.m. on Saturdays), showcasing Joe Realmuto’s unforgettable dishes. Click here to see what they’re offering this week.
R.aire at the Hampton Maid, 259 East Montauk Highway, 631-728-4166
Will there be the famous paella? Yes indeed! That and so much more from R.aire for Long Island Restaurant Week, like pumpkin lobster bisque, patatas bravas with garlic aioli, and mushroom fideua. The three-course dinner menu is $46 .
Saaz Indian Restaurant, 1746 County Road 39, Southampton, 631-259-2222
Saaz dubs their food “a symphony of spices,” and we agree. This Indian staple serves all your faves, like saag paneer, chana saag, veggie biryani chicken tikka masala and a multitude of other flavorful options, to stay or to go. Open daily ’til 10 p.m..
Shippy’s, 36 Windmill Lane, Southampton, 631-283-0007
The quiet revamp of Shippy’s may not have hit your radar since new owner John Betts took over about a year or so ago, but it should be. This is a great week to go check it out, with their $24 lunch and $46 dinner offerings. Think classic Shippy’s: chowder, burgers, shnitzel, sauerbraten and, of course, German chocolate cake!
Southampton Publick House, 62 Jobs Lanes, Southampton, 631-283-2800
From classic French onion soup to the tender roast beef in their French dip au jus, the Publick house has been in business as long as it has for good reason — it’s easy going, great pub food with zero attitude in a town that, well, can sometimes have a little extra helping of the latter. Open daily.
Trumpets on the Bay, 58 South Bay Avenue, Eastport, 631-325-2900
The menu at this clapboard Eastport spot offers both classic continental fare — and a view. Located right on Moriches Bay, Trumpets is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Hit ’em up this week for fork-tender osso bucco and delicate flounder Francaise with veggie cous cous. Prix-fixe is $46; sunset views are free.
