The forecast for the Hamptons this summer looks sunny, with plenty of bright new restaurants, cheery cocktail clubs, and beachfront thrills to while away those lazy hot days. Fashion and beauty shops are popping up all over the East End. And the social circuit is as robust as ever with big-ticket parties nearly every weekend from now to Labor Day.
Here are our picks for the best new places to eat, drink, play and relax in the Hamptons this summer. Let’s start with getting there.
- Ditch the car and get there relaxed and in style
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Hamptons Edibles
The Greenwich, a new American restaurant, opened in May 26 at the former Red Stixs space in Water Mill. While the menu (roasted chicken, lobster broil) may not win points for originality, the cocktail list promises more-unusual ingredients like lavender bitters and kaffir lime leaves.
Owners of the Southampton Social Club are behind Union Cantina, a farm-to-table Mexican restaurant in the former Southampton Publick House. The restaurant has three bars, including the 400 Rabbits Tequila Bar, which carries more than 100 types of tequila.
Southampton Inn is “modernizing everything”, including a new restaurant, Cafe Klyde, which offers banquets and clambakes, and Carry Out Cafe Klyde for takeout.
- Rosé Crawl
If the Hamptons runs out of rosé, the North Fork has your back. Several wineries (including Bridge Lane Wine, Castello di Borghese Vineyard, the Lenz Winery and Roanoke Vineyards on Love Lane) will hold a North Fork Rosé Crawl in June and July.
Rosé will also be flowing at André Balazs’s Sunset Beach hotel on Shelter Island, which has lined up Balearic D.J.s on weekends between July 4 and Labor Day. The hotel is also offering a Sunset Hooky day-trip package that includes an 11 a.m. seaplane flight on a Thursday or Friday, three-course lunch and 4:30 p.m.
- Hotel Redos
While no new mega resorts are opening in the Hamptons this summer, there are plenty of face-lifts. The 90-year-old Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa in Montauk, which has been transformed in recent years, has 42 newly renovated rooms that feature dip-dyed omber drapes and other modern touches.
The Surf Lodge has freshened up all 20 rooms with new furniture, mattresses and whimsical photographs by Gray Malin. And all 90 rooms at the Southampton Inn have been redone with paint, carpenting, lighting, soundproof flooring and Tempur-Pedic mattresses.
- East End Art
Few artists can afford it anymore, but the Hamptons remain a place to see (and buy) art. The Art Hamptons art fair has returned for it ninth installment in Bridgehampton.
On the museum front, Guild Hall features “Peter Beard: Last Word from Paradise,” the artist’s first solo exhibition in the United States in 15 years, June 18 to July 31. The Parrish Art Museum showcases the work of three influential New York painters — Ross Bleckner, Eric Fischl and David Salle — on July 31. And the Watermill Center showcases an installation of red, yellow and blue light sculptures by G. T. Pellizzi from June 11 to Aug. 28.
- Sizzling Southampton
The Hamptons restaurateur Zach Erdem is expanding his nightlife empire. Mr. Erdem, the owner of the ever-popular 75 Main in Southampton, is opening four new spots this summer.
Opened on May 27 is Kozu, a 250-seat Japanese restaurant with a large patio overlooking Main Street. Daniel and Derek Koch, the party promoters, are holding their Champagne brunches there on Saturdays. Behind it is Summer House, a late-night lounge with a patio filled with white-linen daybeds and hydrangeas.
Mr. Erdem is reopening the former 1Oak space as AM, a booming nightclub with graffiti-decorated walls, headlining D.J.s, and gyrating burlesque dancers from The Box. And when it’s time to sleep, Mr. Erdem’s Hotel ZE (at the same address as Kozu) has five suites and four rooms designed by Costas Kondylis. Rates start at $800 on weekends.
We guarantee you that there is a lot more to the Hamptons than this. So give a call, book a ride and start your Hamptons experience with Limo Service Long Island from Islip Limo.
