Hampton Restaurant Week Offers an Opportunity to Try Something New

Sunday marks the start of the ninth annual , where top-rated restaurants across the East End will offer diners a three-course, price-fix meal for $19.95 or $24.95.

Sponsored by WordHampton public relations firm, Hamptons Restaurant week is aimed at getting people out to try new restaurants during the off season. More than 50 restaurants are participating this year, and ten are right here in the Westhampton-Hampton Bays area.

“This is a great way to get out and try out restaurants because of the prices,” said Tara Berkoski, account coordinator for WordHampton. “You may also find a new favorite restaurant.”

Aside from creating Hampton’s Restaurant Week, WordHampton is also the organizer of, which takes place in November. Over 200 restaurants across the island participate in the event that restaurants say is a boon to business.

The promotions, said Berkoski, “really help the restaurants in the off-season.”

Berkoski said that aside from bringing in business in the winter months, Hampton Restaurant Week also helps restaurants that are just starting to re-open for the next season, get ready. 

“It gives their staff a chance to get readjusted,” she said.

Among those participating in East Quogue are Dockers Waterside Restaurant & Marina and Stone Creek Inn.  In Hampton Bays, 1 North Steakhouse, Edgewater Restaurant, Rumba, Squiretown Restaurant & Bar, Sunday’s on the Bay Restaurant and Villa Paul Restaurant are partaking.  And in Westhampton Beach Sushi 1 and The Patio $54 Main signed up.

At Dockers Waterside Restaurant in East Quogue, Larry Hoffman, owner, said he has chosen to participate because “it’s a good spring training.”

“We get to try new menu items. Everyone is cabin fever, so they are ready to get out. It’s a pre-season for us,” he said.

Among some of the dishes that patrons can try during restaurant week at Dockers is a horseradish encrusted Atlantic salmon dish that features a mild mustard glaze; a shrimp scampi penne with sun-dried tomatoes and red pepper garlic butter; and a pan seared half chicken that is oven roasted with rosemary and herbs.

Over at 1 North Steakhouse in Hampton Bays, owner Chris Cariello said restaurant week is “beneficial for both the customers and the restaurants.”

“It gives the customers an option to come out and pay an affordable price and it also increases business in an normally slow off-season,” he said and added, “We love restaurant week. It definitely brings in people who otherwise shy against dining out in the winter.  It gets the local economy back into the swing of things and brings in new faces.”

During the upcoming restaurant week, Cariello said 1 North Steakhouse will be debuting a number of new menu times, including a half-roasted Tuscan brick chicken, which is a whole, half-roasted chicken that is seared in a cast-iron skillet in Tuscan spices.

In addition, Cariello said the restaurant is offering an 18 oz, aged rib eye and many other steaks

And in Westhampton Beach, Pietro Bottero, manager and chef at The Patio @54 Main, says he is looking forward to having new customers come in and try new dishes during restaurant week.

“This is a unique opportunity to expose ourselves to a wide-range of people and let them have a full meal at an affordable price,” said Bottero.

Bottero says while participants in restaurant week are required to offer three appetizers, main courses and dessert selections for the prix fixe menu, he said he will be offering five.

“We took it one step further,” he said.

Bottero said The Patio’s menu will change from day to day during restaurant week depending on “what’s fresh,” but, he said the restaurant is known for its pastas and those looking to dine at The Patio during restaurant week should give one of their pasta dishes a try.