Leo Daunt's New Restaurant The Bird Flies in Montauk

In 1976, Rich and Frances Daunt were offered the chance to buy the restaurant property across the road from the family’s namesake Montauk motel, but turned it down. Almost 50 years later, the couple’s grandson, Leo Daunt, 30, has purchased the lease for the same space and is now overseeing the evolution of The Bird, a revamped bar and restaurant that features “warm and elevated” fare that doesn’t slink away from its old Montauk roots.

It’s a tricky balancing act, for sure, but one that Daunt, the third generation proprietor of The Bird’s sister-property, Daunt’s Albatross Motel, is well prepared for. As president of the board of Montauk’s chamber of commerce and a native son, Daunt says he wants The Bird to be familiar to those who remember the A-frame building as an iconic local breakfast spot, while also making sure his new concept can keep up with the fierce-and-getting-fiercer summer dining competition.

“What we focused on is how do you take a property and do something kind of new and respect the history of Montauk and be local and have that sense of old Montauk, but elevate the experience a little and do it well?” says Daunt.

One way is by playing with the name of his new restaurant. “The Bird” is an ode to the restaurant’s past as a 40-year Montauk institution famously known as “Bird on the Roof” (the building still sports the iconic bird silhouette). Helmar and Rich Cirillo, who previously ran the restaurant, closed it during the pandemic. Daunt says he is now the sole lease-holder and owner of the business.

While so many restaurants under new management in Montauk are trying to leverage the hamlet’s rising popularity and ride the wave of “Hamptons-style” bar and dining concepts, Daunt, who is general manager of his family’s motel, says he’s focused more on food and hospitality — and, of course, a vibrant facelift for the premises — than public relations.

“We’re not trying to be modern and upscale as much as we’re trying to focus on quality and service and having that feeling of old Montauk while having something new and different,” says Daunt.

The new and different is evident in a full dinner service Friday, Saturday and Sunday that’s already in addition to daily brunch and a nightly bar scene that offers small plates.

Chef Marcos Martinez-Perez, a fixture in some of East Hampton’s top kitchens, is offering fresh takes on brunch favorites as varied as soft scramble toast topped with young burrata, avocado and basil oil, to shakshuka, a North African dish with stewed peppers, tomatoes, goat cheese and a poached egg on top, served with toasted sourdough bread for dipping.

Meanwhile, the dinner menu features a fascinating mix of earthy and creative dishes like tempura trumpet mushrooms with gochujang sauce; green curry with tofu, roasted baby zucchini and Brussels sprouts; and smoked half chicken with harissa yogurt and arugula salad.

“The team and I are really excited to expand upon our work in the kitchen last year,” says Martinez-Perez. “By being open for dinner for the first time, we’re able to show different techniques and flavor profiles.”

The new concept behind the bar/cocktail program means to evoke the classic Montauk vibe while still being perfect for an intimate date night. For example, bar manager Sophia DePasquale took a classic cocktail like a Hugo and “punched it up” into The Bird’s Hallie Parker, a blend of gin, Prosecco, St. Germain, strawberry and lemon.

The bar menu is designed to have a little something for everyone, from sundry wine choices to mezcal negronis. “We want a seat at the bar to feel like a seat at your friend’s; a place you can kick back, enjoy a drink and laugh until you only have enough air left to say, ‘I’ll have another please,’” says DePasquale.

Daunt says he and chef Martinez-Perez spent two months in New York City’s West Village last winter studying restaurant concepts before settling on The Bird’s current modus operandi. The restaurant’s updated décor features leather banquettes, aged plaster and a color-scheme imbued by Montauk’s iconic geography.

“I feel really lucky to be part of the community and for the support for the property; it’s special to live here year round and grow up here and run a business here,” says Daunt. “It’s something a little bit different because the community really does rally around you a lot. Honestly, if you do something you believe in and try and respect everyone in town, people will rally around you and support you. Do things the right way, do right by people — that tends to return itself.”

The Bird is located at 47 South Elmwood Avenue, Montauk. For more info, visit birdontheroof.com.