Right off of Montauk Highway in the heart of East Hampton, Michael Gluckman, the restaurateur behind The Boathouse, has brought us Beachhouse. “Now everyone has a Hampton’s beachhouse,” is the tagline of the restaurant, which is a mentality they look to convey to guests during their dining experience.

The space is decorated with plush banquette seating paired with checkerboard wooden chairs for the aisle seats. It also includes a raw bar and an outdoor dining area, which is key for summertime eateries. The staff makes it a point to make you feel welcome and are more than happy to meet your every need. The clientele is on the older side – around 7pm and the place is not packed, but picked up around 8pm with a younger crowd. The speakers pumped feel good, 80s music like Hall & Oates and Tears for Fears as a few ants marched on our banquette, which we chalked up to being in the Boonies… well, that and the door near us was open!

The menu for this time of year, created by Executive Chef Dennis J. Farrell, formerly of NYC’s Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse, was very time appropriate with a large selection of local seafood. While we waited for our first course, we were served rustic bread with a chickpea spread, which hit the spot after being in the car for over an hour! I also requested the Watermelon Martini, which ended up being a simple but strong concoction of Tito’s vodka and fresh watermelon juice.

For our first course we chose the lobster- glazed seared local scallops over truffle sweet creamed corn with lemon aioli and the Atlantic tuna tartar with avocado and a light soy yuzu vinaigrette. The scallops were seared perfectly and the flavors, although not traditionally a combination, were complimentary and tasteful. The tuna, although fresh, lacked flavor.

For our second course we chose one of the 21-day dry-aged USDA prime steaks, the 10-oz filet mignon served a la carte with bernaise sauce and steamed spinach on the side. The second dish we chose was the local white sea bass meuniere with confit leeks and parsnip pomme puree. We did have to wait over half an hour for our entrees, which we thought was peculiar. The two choices, much like our first course, were inconsistent. The filet was good, but not anything spectacular. However, the sea bass was a delightful light dish. I was apprehensive since the skin was crisped on the plate, but the mixture of the crunchy skin and smooth puree complemented each other.

To end on a sweet note, we took our server’s suggestion of the dessert sampler, which included a pair of homemade mini chipwiches, a pair of homemade mini donuts, a slice of cheesecake and chocolate mousse. This is a perfect option for those that want to try a little of everything and can probably be used as a light dessert for a group of four. The chipwiches with gelato interior were delicious and the donuts were reminiscent of a zepole with donut sugar. The cheesecake and chocolate mousse did not stand out amongst the other two but were satisfactory inclusions.

Overall, this is a place that I would recommend since I myself would like to try it again to sample the other dishes.  There were extremely innovative dishes, which I feel were their strong point and worth taking the trek out to the Hamptons to experience.

– Stephanie C.

Beachhouse
103 Montauk Hwy
East Hampton, NY 11937
631.324.1663