Restaurants in Hampton Bays

Before the kitchen uses them in rolls and bisques, hard-shell lobsters from northern Maine and Canada are stored in Brewsters Seafood Market's chilled tanks filled with saltwater pumped directly from Shinnecock Bay. They’re among the many locally caught, grown, and produced fish and shellfish available each day at the market, which stays stocked with tasty items such as tuna, mussels, and clams.

Over at the Brewsters restaurant, chefs take seafood right from the display counters and craft dine-in and takeout entrees such as oyster po' boys, linguini with clam sauce, and flounder stuffed with shrimp, scallops, and crabmeat. Along with an eatery and market, the facility accommodates an on-site smokehouse where a fishmonger smokes everything from eel to swordfish .

At The Pizza Grille of Mystic, chefs grill freshly tossed dough over a wood-fired grill, then layer the thin, crispy discs with gourmet toppings such as ricotta, wild mushrooms, and fresh herbs. Though the namesake entree puts a creative spin on pizza dough, most dishes cleave closely to traditional Italian recipes. Chefs load calzones with housemade tomato sauce and nearly 2-dozen fillings, the same number of fillings found in the mouth of the average sugar-company owner. The kitchen team also tosses pastas with wood-grilled meats and from-scratch marinara sauce.

Passed from Andy Saldamarco to Tom DeLuca, Saldamarco’s Deli has been a fixture in the community for 37 years, and DeLuca carries on Andy's recipes as he serves up many of the same sandwiches and pizzas that have kept it a local staple. Saldamarco's was also voted #3 in the 2011 Best of Shoreline Readers' Poll for Best Homemade Soups. Freshness is a priority, as all salads are made fresh including tuna salad with Hellman's Mayo and the Deli grinds their own beef with no additives. Housemade roast beef adds tasty weight to soft sub rolls, and freshly cut steaks and pork roasts line the butcher's case alongside strands of housemade italian sausage that are great for grilling in the summer or exercising when a jump rope is unavailable.

Inside Bistro 72’s lofty dining room, the crosshatching of wicker-backed chairs echoes lined wooden floors and the stripes that deck the boxy, woven chandeliers—the geometric designs creating a pleasing symmetry. This attention to detail and design extends to Chef James Junk's seasonal menu, which pairs local meats and organic produce with exotic sauces. Situated inside Hotel Indigo, the restaurant also lends guests the option to lounge poolside beneath stone porticoes and murmur nutrition facts into their dining companions’ ears.

Ahi seared tuna over soba noodles. Teriyaki chicken skewers. Oriental chicken dumplings. Items like these aren’t found at the typical Mexican restaurant, but they fit right in at Agave’s Tequila Bar & Lounge, where a quick glance at the appetizers makes the eatery’s culinary twist clear: Mexican food, with an Asian influence. There’s no shortage of traditional south-of-the-border favorites, but on the whole, Agave’s chefs turn things up a bit when it comes to their tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, offering customers fillings beyond the usual ground beef and grilled piñatas—for example, fried Montauk flounder, sautéed tiger shrimp, and grilled sesame tuna. The house specialties deliver as well, with everything from traditional seafood paella to tuna bronseado splayed across rice beneath a crown of Asian slaw.

However, there's no mixing of cultures when it comes to Agave’s drinks. As a tequila bar, the eatery is, of course, known for flights of Don Julio, Partida, and Corzo, and bartenders also muddle fresh margaritas on the spot. Patrons can enjoy their sips amid the glow of NFL games every Sunday and Thursday, or head upstairs and dance to live salsa and reggae music.