La Plage restaurant of Wading River to open Bellport location

There’s hardly a more North Shore restaurant than La Plage. Since 1996 it has occupied a wind-swept spot with a commanding view of Long Island Sound in Wading River, and it has distinguished itself as one of the best eateries in the area.

Now, South Shore diners will have a chance to see and taste what all the fuss is about. Chef-owner Wayne Waddington plans to open La Plage Bistro in the former Bellport Brewing Company, just off South Country Road, the main drag of Bellport Village. He's shooting for a May debut. 

Initially conceived as a French restaurant, La Plage (French for "the beach") has, over the decades, developed a more eclectic style, blending high and low, French and Italian and New American. In Bellport, Waddington plans to lean into its Gallic roots. "We’ll have some of our current signature dishes — the green apple salad with blue cheese and walnuts, the duck confit on risotto, the basil mussels. All of the dishes," he said, "have been approved by our guests over the last couple of years on our Friday night ‘Bistro Night’ prix fixe."

He intends to give the old brewery "a nice face lift" with globe lighting, subway tile and a zinc bar.