With cooler weather moving in and tourists moving out, many Montauk restaurants have battened down the hatches. Don’t cry into your Driftwood Ale just yet. Here’s a list of who is closing when and who is sticking around for the long haul.
The Montauk Farmers Market gathers an all-star cast on the Village Green including Amber Waves, Balsam Farms, Bonac Farms, Carissa’s Breads, Hamptons Brine, Mecox Bay Dairy, Night Owl Baker and tons of other great vendors on Fridays through October 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then again for the Fall Festival Weekend, October 10 and Oct. 11. See full list of market participants here.
German Biergarten Zum Schneider, the first restaurant you see coming into town at 4 South Elmwood Avenue, is pretty much obligated to stay and celebrate Oktoberfest. In addition to great bier and traditional Oktoberfest fare like Wiesn Hendl, Haxn and Riesenbrezn, Mösl Franzi and the JaJaJa’s, will play live sets starting at noon, October 17, 18, 24 and 25.
Run to Red Hook Lobster Pound before they close on September 27. They keep it classic, serving Homarus americanus claws and knuckles on toasted split-top buns with North Fork Potato Chips and Brooklyn Brine pickles. Ask the awesome manager Keri Seidel for a discount card. Ten lobster rolls and you get a freebie. Then there’s no excuse for not trying all styles: the Maine, Connecticut, or Red Hook original and my favorite, the Tuscan. Open Thursday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 34 South Etna Avenue.
Thankfully chef Shawn Christman, who is turning out the best comfort food in town, will keep his Sea Bean food truck open weekend days until November at Lion’s Field, conveniently located near Montauk Brewing Company, South Erie Avenue. Whole butterfish curry with organic Balsam potatoes and squash, barbecue beef short ribs on Blue Duck brioche with red pickled onions, organic yogurt-marinated chicken gyro with harissa and lemon, stuffed whole pumpkin with organic grass-fed lamb and wild rice are part of the fall menu. If your mouth isn’t watering yet, please turn the page.
We’re rooting for two new downtown restaurants, Saltbox and Muse at the End, which are attempting to stay open year-round. Both are now closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Saltbox is serving lunch and dinner starting at noon and closing around 9:30 p.m., depending on the flow of the evening. Heartier dishes and bar food specials will debut in time for football season.
Muse at the End, sister restaurant to Muse in Sag Harbor, is serving dinner at 5:30 p.m. as well as their popular Sunday brunch at 11 a.m., 41 South Euclid Avenue.
Harvest on Fort Pond, 11 South Emery Street, is Montauk’s Old Faithful. Fort Pond Bay Company, which also owns East by Northeast at 51 Edgemere Street, sticks with what works. Waterfront dining rooms and sunset, for starters. The Harvest’s freshly baked bread is worth the trip alone. Family-style Italian meals have kept locals happy through many a cold winter.
Chef Jeremy Blutstein, a wonderful addition to ENE this season, is debuting his Food is Bond… Dinner Series featuring Macari Vineyard, Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., Palmer Vineyards and Wölffer Estate Vineyards, in succession, on Thursday nights at 6 p.m. from September 24 to October 22, skipping the 15th. They currently offer a $26 two-course pre-fixe from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. but hopefully they’ll expand those hours a little. Pretty please?
The Inlet, known for sushi and sky-high harbor views, is currently open seven days a week, from noon until 9 p.m., 541 East Lake Drive, but will decrease to five days in October before closing for the season mid-November.
The taps at Fishbar. • Courtesy photo
Savor your last bowl of Fishbar’s Monk-Tauk Stew, made with bone-in monkfish, little-neck clams, fingerling potatoes, carrots, leeks and pancetta. Although their sister cafe, Bliss Kitchen on Main Street, will continue to crank out daytime goodies, Fishbar will finish up the season Columbus Day weekend. Until then, dinner is served nightly at 5 p.m. (except Tuesday and Thursday) and lunch at noon on the weekends, 467 East Lake Drive.
On the other side of the harbor, reservations are still recommended at cozy Dave’s Grill. The Montauk mainstay is open weekends for dinner starting at 5:30 p.m. through October 25 at 468 West Lake Drive.
Next door, at 570 West Lake Drive, the Clam and Chowder House at Salivar’s Dock and Westlake Fish House around the corner at Westlake Marina, will both close Halloween weekend. Salivar’s is staying true to their fishing roots, serving breakfast at 5:30 a.m. and lunch at noon five days a week, closing Tuesday and Wednesday. Dinner is available at 5 p.m. six days a week, closing – you guessed it – Tuesdays.
Swallow East, 474 West Lake Drive, stayed true to their word and remained open all year-round last year, and is currently open all week for dinner. In October, they’ll cut down to Thursday through Sunday while promoting half-price tapas, free glasses of wine and free desserts, and serving lunch on the weekends.
Finally, you can’t get any closer to Montauk’s commercial fishing fleet than the Dock, open until November 15 every day from noon to 9 p.m. but only if you can abide by their rules: No checks, no credit cards, no strollers, no public restrooms, no screaming kids, no requests, no dirt bags, no whining, no wimps or chickenhawks. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.
See all our #SeptemberIsTheNewAugust posts here.
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