Review: Nick & Toni's in East Hampton

It’s been the hottest spot in the Hamptons since 1988 and could almost be forgiven for resting on its laurels. Instead, Nick & Toni’s is one of the most assured restaurants not only on the East End, but on Long Island.

It helps that the original concept — Rustic Italian / New American with an emphasis on local produce — turned out to be an enduring approach and that, 36 years later, the East End now grows more and better produce than founders Jeff Salaway (whose nickname was Nick) and Toni Ross could have imagined. In the early 1990s, the restaurant established its own garden that now supplies up to a third of what the kitchen cooks with. 

Salway was killed in a car crash in 2001 and Ross has stepped back from day-to-day involvement, but managing partner Mark Smith, director of operations Christy Cober, and longtime executive chef Joe Realmuto run a tight ship. 

In summer, it’s a hard reservation to score as many seats are filled with boldfaced names like George Clooney, Paul McCartney, Ina Garten, Howard Stern or any number of Real Housewives. But the staff evinces not one hint of snobbery toward less illustrious guests.

The restaurant comprises multiple dining areas — inside and outside, all appointed with low-key elegance — and, thus, is equally appropriate food for simple meals at the bar or blowout celebrations at one of the big, round tables.

A favorite option is the narrow room that houses the mosaic-tiled wood-burning oven whence issue roasted vegetables, fish and chicken. In the kitchen is a wood-fired grill for steaks and chops.

As befits a restaurant devoted to seasonality, the menu changes throughout the year. Summer brought an arugula salad brightened by snap pies and deepened by farro (grown by Balsam Farms), housemade lumache (shells) with octopus Livornese and Taggiasca olives, wood-grilled Berkshire pork chop with Nick & Tonis own Swiss chard and a cherry-balsamic reduction. No matter when you go, salads, pasta and grilled or roasted proteins are a good bet.

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