With Memorial Day finally here, the forecast for the Hamptons this summer looks sunny, with plenty of bright new restaurants, cheery cocktail clubs and beachfront thrills to while away those lazy hot days. Fashion and beauty shops are popping up all over the East End. And the social circuit is as robust as ever with big-ticket parties nearly every weekend from now to Labor Day.
Here are our picks for the best new places to eat, drink, play and relax in the Hamptons this summer.
1. Getting There in Style
The Hamptons skies are more crowded this summer.
Blade, the Uber-like helicopter app, is back and bigger than ever. With a new terminal on Wall Street, it now offers four departure points from Manhattan, with one-way fares starting at $495. Onboard snacks are catered by brands including Dean and DeLuca, though the short flight (about 35 minutes) barely leaves time for a second glass of Château d’Esclans Rock Angel rosé.
JetSmarter, a service that flies to 170 countries, is also offering helicopter service between New York and the Hamptons on new Bell 407 or Bell 407GX helicopters. Flights are included in annual memberships (starting at $9,675) and are $495 one way for everyone else.
2. Ditching the Car
Although Uber is still banned in East Hampton, getting around the East End is easier (and cheaper) this summer with the Hampton Hopper, a mint-green school bus that operates 12 stops from Sag Harbor village to Montauk. Single rides are $12; unlimited daily passes, $20. It runs Thursdays to Sundays; download its app for a schedule.
Had too much pinot at the party? A new app, Driver on Tap, will dispatch a designated driver to get you back home in your own vehicle, starting at $35.
3. A Quieter Montauk?
You won’t hear as much music thumping across Montauk this summer. Town officials are enforcing existing noise codes against live music, as a way of tamping down on the rowdiness that has turned this once-quiet fishing village into a party capital.
The Surf Lodge, which had announced a summer concert lineup that included Mike Snow and Gary Clark Jr., is in limbo. “It’s very frustrating,” said an owner, Jayma Cardoso, who is optimistic she can work with the State Liquor Authority and town officials to find a compromise. “Canceling live music is robbing the community of culture that flourishes and grows here.”
The restrictions won’t dampen the fun at Sloppy Tuna, a wild beachfront bar where Charlie Sheen has partied, and popular drinks include the fireball shot. Earlier this year, one of the owners announced the bar was closing because of an internal dispute, but that has been cleared up, just in time for summer. “We’re trying to keep it as the pearl that it is in Montauk,” said Jeff Capri, the general manager.
The Surf Lodge, 183 Edgemere Street, Montauk; 631-483-5037, thesurflodge.com. The Sloppy Tuna, 148 South Emerson Avenue, Montauk; 631-647-8000, lisloppytuna.com.
4. Montauk Nibbles
The nights may be quieter this summer, but the dining scene heats up in Montauk.
Newcomers include the Grey Lady, a casual seafood restaurant that opened on Lake Montauk, down the block from Gosman’s Dock. A 1951 wooden sailboat is docked nearby and available for charters. “You can order food from the restaurant, have a little picnic, go out and watch the sunset and come back,” said an owner, Ryan Chadwick.
Ciao by the Beach, the site of many noise complaints last summer, is now the Arbor, a Mediterranean-style restaurant that serves wines from high-tech dispensers. Its owner, Marc Rowan, is also behind the changes at Duryea’s, the beloved seafood shack that has been around since the 1930s. Plastic tables and chairs have been replaced with teak; paper plates, with bamboo. The adjoining fish market has also been upgraded with an oyster and sushi counter.
Ruschmeyer’s is also switching things up, teaming with the chef Savannah Jordan and the East Village bistro Virginia’s to create new dishes. Jay Astafa, a new chef at the Surf Lodge, is introducing vegan dishes inspired by Australian surf towns, like cantaloupe gazpacho with eggplant “bacon” and borage.
The Grey Lady, 440 West Lake Drive, Montauk; 631-210-6249, greyladymtk.com. The Arbor, 240 Fort Pond Road, Montauk; 631-238-5430, arbormontauk.com. Duryea’s, 65 Tuthill Road, Montauk; 631-668-2410, duryealobsters.com. Ruschmeyer’s, 161 Second House Road, Montauk; 631-668-8249, chelseahotels.com.
5. Hamptons Edibles
The rest of the East End has plenty for hungry Hamptonites.
The Greenwich, a new American restaurant, opens May 26 at the former Red Stixs space in Water Mill. While the menu (roasted chicken, lobster broil) may not win points for originality, the cocktail list promises more-unusual ingredients like lavender bitters and kaffir lime leaves.
Owners of the Southampton Social Club are behind Union Cantina, a farm-to-table Mexican restaurant in the former Southampton Publick House. The restaurant has three bars, including the 400 Rabbits Tequila Bar, which carries more than 100 types of tequila.
Southampton Inn is “modernizing everything” said the owner Dede Gotthelf, including a new restaurant, Cafe Klyde, which offers banquets and clambakes, and Carry Out Cafe Klyde for takeout.
The Greenwich, 1020 Montauk Highway, Water Mill; 631-726-6200, greenwichrestaurant.com. Union Cantina, 40 Bowden Square, Southampton; 631-377-3500. Southampton Inn, 91 Hill Street, Southampton; 631-283-6500, southamptoninn.com.
6. Beachy Bods
Barry’s Bootcamp, the bro-friendly fitness class, is opening its third and largest location in the Hamptons, this time within a “farmhouse chic” space in Southampton. Expect sweaty celebrity sightings at the intense cardio classes.
Out-of-shape tennis fans can work out at the Hampton Racquet in East Hampton, which has a new outdoor fitness area with TRX training, boxing and strength training. “People in the city are indoors too much,” said John Graham, the founder, who is also opening what he calls a “country club for kids” with board games, art classes and, of course, tennis.
Hotels are also getting into shape. At the Surf Lodge in Montauk, Xtend Barre offers its ballet-like workouts overlooking Fort Pond, and Anna Kaiser will lead her popular AKT InMotion dance cardio class May 28 and Aug. 13.
Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa offers an array of water boards (including surfboards, beaver beater boards, paddle boards and boogie boards) to guests, courtesy of Paddle Diva Water Sports.
Barry’s Bootcamp, 10 Montauk Highway, Southampton; barrysbootcamp.com. Hampton Racquet, 172 Buckskill Road, East Hampton; 631-324-0297, hamptonracquet.com. Gurney’s, 290 Old Montauk Highway, Montauk; 631-668-2345, gurneysmontauk.com.
7. Sizzling Southampton
The Hamptons restaurateurZach Erdem is expanding his night life empire. Mr. Erdem, the owner of the ever-popular 75 Main in Southampton, is opening four new spots this summer.
Opening on May 27 is Kozu, a 250-seat Japanese restaurant with a large patio overlooking Main Street. Daniel and David Koch, the party promoters, are holding their Champagne brunches there on Saturdays. Behind it is Summer House, a late-night lounge with a patio filled with white-linen daybeds and hydrangeas.
Mr. Erdem is reopening the former 1Oak space as AM, a booming nightclub with graffiti-decorated walls, headlining D.J.s (Fat Joe raps May 27), and gyrating burlesque dancers from The Box. And when it’s time to sleep, Mr. Erdem’s Hotel ZE (at the same address as Kozu) has five suites and four rooms designed by Costas Kondylis. Rates start at $800 on weekends.
Kozu, Summer House, Hotel ZE, 136 Main Street, Southampton; 631-619-6660, 75maingroup.com. AM, 125 Tuckahoe Lane, Southampton; 631-353-3888, 75maingroup.com.
8. Chinese Society
Craving dim sum with Champagne? Jue Lan Club, a clubby modern Chinese restaurant named after a secret art society from the 1930s, is opening a 6,000-square-foot night spot in Southampton.
The action begins during the day with a three-course “bottomless brunch” with unlimited mimosas, bloody Marys or screwdrivers ($34.95). The art-club theme comes alive in the backroom, where the Barn-Gruin Gallery opens May 27 with a photo exhibition, “Punks, Poets and Provocateurs,” by Marcia Resnick. On weekend nights, the Elm & Main lounge takes over the backroom and features D.J.s and an open kitchen till 4 a.m.
Jue Lan Club, 268 Elm Street, Southampton; 631-353-3610, juelanclub.com.
9. Rosé Crawl
If the Hamptons runs out of rosé (remember the scare of 2014?), the North Fork has your back. Several wineries (including Bridge Lane Wine, Castello di Borghese Vineyard, the Lenz Winery and Roanoke Vineyards on Love Lane) will hold a North Fork Rosé Crawl on June 11. The self-guided tour coincides, naturally, with National Rosé Day.
Rosé will also be flowing at André Balazs’s Sunset Beach hotel on Shelter Island, which has lined up Balearic D.J.s on weekends between July 4 and Labor Day. The hotel is also offering a Sunset Hooky day-trip package that includes an 11 a.m. seaplane flight on a Thursday or Friday, three-course lunch and 4:30 p.m. return ($735).
Sunset Beach, 35 Shore Road, Shelter Island; 631-749-2001, sunsetbeachli.com.
10. East End Art
Few artists can afford it anymore, but the Hamptons remain a place to see (and buy) art. The Art Hamptons art fair returns for it ninth installment in Bridgehampton June 23 to 26. Its founder, Rick Friedman, is also holding a new home design and décor show, Hamptons Contemporary, June 3 to 5, featuring some 160 design firms and stores at the Elks fairground in Southampton.
On the museum front, Guild Hall features “Peter Beard: Last Word From Paradise,” the artist’s first solo exhibition in the United States in 15 years, June 18 to July 31. The Parrish Art Museum showcases the work of three influential New York painters — Ross Bleckner, Eric Fischl and David Salle — on July 31. And the Watermill Center showcases an installation of red, yellow and blue light sculptures by G. T. Pellizzi from June 11 to Aug. 28.
Art Hamptons, 900 Lumber Lane, Bridgehampton; 800-563-7632, arthamptons.com. Hamptons Contemporary, 605 County Road 39, Southampton; hamptonscontemporary.com. Guild Hall, 158 Main Street, East Hampton; 631-324-0806, guildhall.org. The Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill; 631-283-2118, parrishart.org. The Watermill Center, 39 Water Mill Towd Road, Water Mill; 631-726-4628, watermillcenter.org.
11. More Magazines
Make room in the beach bag. The East Hampton Star, the 131-year-old weekly newspaper, is starting a glossy magazine, East, that will cover the East End lifestyle with the “credibility and authenticity only The East Hampton Star can provide,” according to its media kit. The first issue comes out June 23.
Hamptons Magazine, part of the recently renamed Greengale Publishing (titles also include Gotham and Ocean Drive), has been revamped. “It’s the coffee table book to keep all summer long,” said Samantha Yanks, the editor. The Memorial Day issue, out May 26, features Drew Barrymore on the cover and is 350 pages. The magazine will also be on Snapchat @HamptonsMag.
12. Road Envy
Tesla is opening a showroom in East Hampton where customers can customize their electric vehicles with autopilot hardware and HEPA filters. And while your contractor is installing a charging station in your beachfront garage, plug into new charging stations at the Maidstone, White Fences Inn and the Montauk Yacht Club Resort and Marina.
Tesla, 50 Newton Lane, East Hampton; teslamotors.com.
13. Hotel Redos
While no new mega resorts are opening in the Hamptons this summer, there are plenty of face-lifts.
The 90-year-old Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa in Montauk, which has been transformed in recent years, has 42 newly renovated rooms that feature dip-dyed omber drapes and other modern touches. The Surf Lodge has freshened up all 20 rooms with new furniture, mattresses and whimsical photographs by Gray Malin. And all 90 rooms at theSouthampton Inn have been redone with paint, carpenting, lighting, soundproof flooring and Tempur-Pedic mattresses.
