Sandbar takes over Baja Boathouse in Patchogue

Patchogue’s newest waterfront restaurant, The Sandbar, is a beachy, laid-back tribute to summer with a seafood-heavy menu and alfresco dining. The 3-acre space on a canal off the Great South Bay (not to be confused with the Cold Spring Harbor restaurant of the same name) has long been a meeting spot for food, drinks or just watching the boats go by; it was last Baja Boathouse.

Serving lunch and dinner, the large menu's starters include lobster bisque ($12), mussels ($19-$26) and fried calamari ($18.99). Raw bar items position tuna tartare alongside plantain chips and a ginger sesame sauce ($22), plus clams, oysters and shrimp cocktail ($25). Crabmeat sandwiches, octopus tacos ($17), and lobster rolls at $32 join more formal entrées like roasted chicken, grilled branzino ($34) and swordfish steaks ($35) at dinnertime. If you’re not a fan of the sea, there are burgers ($18), chicken sandwiches, a daily risotto, even a bone-in rib-eye ($39).

Anchored by a 37-slip marina, the multilevel space has indoor-outdoor dining, a sandy lounge that fronts a stage for live music and high cocktail tables all around the grounds. There are colorful murals, oversize Connect Four for the kids, live music on weekends, twinkling Edison bulbs after sunset and plenty of cocktails including the spicy Sandbar margarita ($16) — a piquant blood orange and muddled jalapeño combo — or a Key Wester rum bucket ($24) full of rum and juices for on-site DIY craft cocktail making. Inside the restaurant, tasteful nautical-themed blue and white decor surrounds a large bar where the cucumber martinis are shaken and poured.

For weekend diners, there’s live music both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, following brunch, with choices ranging from French toast to egg-topped avocado toast to rich short rib and waffles. If you’re with a drinking crew, tack on $25 for bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys.

The Sandbar, 31 Baker Place, Patchogue, 631-730-6521, sandbarkitchenandcocktails.com; Open Monday through Saturday 11:30 a.m. to midnight. Sunday 11 a.m. to close.

By Marie Elena Martinez

marieelena.martinez@newsday.com@mariesworlds

A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.