Good Ground Tavern opens at Canoe Inn in Hampton Bays

Canoe Place, the new resort that opened in August in Hampton Bays, has a suitably sumptuous restaurant called Good Ground Tavern. Sprawling across two dining rooms — one, soothing and sleek, one rustic and cozy — it’s a boon for the inn’s guests as well as anyone passing by this previously derelict property on the north bank of Montauk Highway. In fine weather, there also a lovely patio for eating, drinking and lounging.

Good Ground Tavern’s executive chef of record is Ülfet Ralph, an American-trained native of Istanbul. 

The seasonal dinner menu is divided into snacks and small plates (such as clam chowder, homemade ricotta, clams casino, and local beet salad; $19 to $26), mains (wood-fired local bass; steak frites; duck confit with polenta and sour cherries; and local bouillabaisse; $26 to $54), pasta (cacio e pepe and bucatini pomodoro; $20 to $26), pizza (butternut squash-spiced yogurt, and shrimp scampi with Fresno peppers; $21 to $26) and sides (crispy smashed potatoes, and grilled carrots with pumpkin seed gremolata; $14 to $18).

There’s also an all-day menu with more casual dishes such as falafel, a spiced chicken sandwich and Niçoise salad.

At a recent weekend lunch,  the fried chicken sandwich was barely warm and the Niçoise salad lacked the requisite potatoes, anchovies and green beans — but still, I'll be back. Service was extremely accommodating and the setting really can’t be beat.

Good Ground Tavern at Canoe Place is at 239 E. Montauk Hwy., Hampton Bays; 631-763-6300, canoeplace.com/dining