A Pizza Joint With Local Attitude

You likely read about it in this very paper: the onslaught of pop-up shops, temporary restaurants, and roving watering holes that infiltrate the East End in an effort to siphon off some fizz from the summer rush. Come late September, they’re as forgotten as a July Fourth hangover, leaving locals to fall back on a relative handful of permanent year-round options. Now, a new joint, from the minds of veteran restaurateurs Frank Pinello, Ben Selby, and Pir Granoff and called, with admirable clarity, Best Pizza & Dive Bar, is dead set on joining the ranks of eateries that outlast the season.

Housed in what locals know as the long-shuttered Inn at Napeague on Montauk Highway, the no-frills slice spot was selected by the trio for its location, tactfully equidistant from Amagansett town center and Montauk proper. Perhaps more importantly though, it has the capacity for, as Granoff said, “multiple vibes:”

“When we walked into the building,” he explained, “it was immediately obvious that this space was ripe for something special.”

Design is not the point here at BPDB; a wide-open floor plan and rows of picnic tables and Adirondack chairs reinforce the Chow Hall aesthetic. And the menu is brief, with just a few pizzas, a handful of toppings, and other Italian standards like a chicken parmesan hero and garlic knots. That minimal approach was a cue picked up from nearby successful roadhouses like Clam Bar and LUNCH. “We felt like there was an overwhelming number of new venues that try to skew high end,” Granoff explained, “so we’re excited to buck the trend.”

BPDB’s locals-first philosophy was revealed even before it opened its doors. The New York Times came knocking earlier in the summer looking to write up the new spot, but the Gray Lady was met with a swift nope from the guys behind some of the buzziest, Instagrammed Manhattan eateries, including Short Stories and Millie’s Cuban Café. “We want to serve the community and visitors for decades to come, and want to build something real with them — regulars and longstanding friends, as opposed to a flash-in-the-pan for Insta-hungry revelers,” said Granoff.

His advice to fellow Hamptons restaurateurs? “Serve good food, and provide good service,” he said simply. “Don’t try to be a TriBeCa nightclub, and don’t try and rip your customers off just because you can.”

Best Pizza & Dive Bar is located at 2095 Montauk Highway in Amagansett.