Hamptons Restaurant Review: Coast Grill, Noyac

I tend to coast right by the Coast Grill on Noyac Road in a hurry to get to or from my Sag Harbor home. That’s a shame because Chef/owner Brian Cheewing is cooking up some great dishes in there—and the water view is a beaut!

The Coast Grill is located at the Peconic Marina. You can “pull up and fill up.” During my most recent meal there I watched fishermen unloading bags of fresh clams.

General Manager Nick greeted my husband and me with a warm smile. It’s his first Hamptons summer and he asserted “I love it here!”

We happened upon “Wine & Dine Wednesdays.” A $25 pre fixe that includes appetizer, entrée (drawn from a well-edited “greatest hits” of menu favorites) that includes a glass of house wine. Lo! An
actual Hamptons bargain!

My glass of house wine was a pinot grigio that exhibited a light, grapey mouth. I then continued my search for the perfect local chardonnay to accompany seafood by trying a hyper-local glass of wine—from Channing Daughters in Bridgehampton. It was light and refreshing, but the all-important search continues. The Coast Grill also offers wine from Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack.

I was tempted to try the Coast Grill Sunset of Skyy Infusions Blood Orange Vodka, Thatcher’s Organic Blood Orange Liqueur, lime and cranberry juice as I gazed out toward the setting sun, but I resisted. Wednesdays are “school nights,” after all.

Dang, the bar menu is tempting too—turkey or sirloin burgers, lobster sliders, baby back ribs, antipasto and Peconic oysters.

Husband went with a martini straight up with Tanqueray and an olive, which met his approval. He started with Roasted PEI Mussels served with Spanish chorizo and cannellini beans, cumin, fennel and tomato fumé. He only managed a few words as the shells flew down empty, one after another. “Oh…that’s a good combination…the chorizo…and the cannellini…”

Husband moved on to the Pan Roasted Fluke with toasted faro, local chard, Mediterranean tapenade and saffron butter. I had you at “Pan Roasted Fluke,” right? Husband was left in a not-quite-verbal state by this dish, uttering, “Mmm, good the olives are…there’s kind of a tapenade…it works with the butter!”

I started with the Coast Grill Chopped Salad of leaf lettuce, red onion, paquillo pepper, chunks of fresh mozzarella, golden raisins, candied walnuts, balsamic vinaigrette—and I was very glad that I did! It’s not the ingredients that make a great dish, it’s the chef and the BALANCE he or she achieves. This salad has it. I’m not a red onion fan as a rule but these little pieces worked with the mozzarella, the pepper and the nuts to produce a crunchy, hot/sweet, luscious dish!

My entrée was Wild Mushroom Cavatappi—a hearty portion of it, in fact. It contained baby spinach, a creamy and delish film of goat cheese, fresh herbs and truffle essence. It was “all kinds of savory” and the spinach and mushrooms were perfectly cooked—a great mix of textures.

How did we save room for dessert? We didn’t, but we’re pros, so we ordered some anyway. I couldn’t resist a Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich with its peanut butter gelato, fresh whipped cream, burnt marshmallow and peanut butter drizzle. No one should. People with peanut allergies should weep for want of this dish. Upon sampling it, Husband said, “that’s pretty amazing…that’s pretty amazing,” while lost in some long-forgotten campfire reverie.
He had a slice of Belgian Chocolate Truffle Cake with cappuccino gelato, fresh berries, chocolate sauce and fresh whipped cream, which he wolfed down.

Did I mention that the service was attentive and FAST at the Coast Grill? With food this good, it has to be!

The Coast Grill, 1109 Noyac Road, Southampton. 631-283-2277, thecoastgrill.com.