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2005/06 ZAGAT Survey
Reviewers Say:
Oakland's raters report that you "couldn't ask for
a better location" than this seasonal seafooder's spot
directly on Shinnecock Bay" in Hampton Bays; from its large deck and "great
outdoor bar" diners can
"watch the fisherman come in" or take in "amazing sunsets" as "bands play in the
summer twilight";
meanwhile, "friendly" staffers serve up fine fare that's "fresh and good."
Oakland's Bracing For Busy
Summer
Friday, April 29, 2005
By Caroline Simson
Southampton Press
It's a sunny Friday afternoon in late April, and Oakland's
Restaurant and Marina in Hampton Bays is already pleasantly busy. Joyce Oakland,
part owner and a founder of the restaurant, pauses an interview frequently to
fulfill her role of hostess.
"This is
nothing," she says, after escorting yet another group of hungry lunch goers to
their table. "You should see us in the Summer."
And, judging
from a postcard available at the restaurant featuring an aerial photo of the
restaurant during a summer fishing tournament, she's right: the restaurant is
packed to the gills with people and cars.
"Sometimes
the line at the bar is six people deep," she says with a knowing smile -
obviously, she's worked through a few Hampton's Summers.
The
restaurant is located at the very end of Dune Road on the western side of the
Shinnecock Canal, and has the unique position of having water on three sides of
the building. It also boasts a full marina with 46 boat slips, Ms. Oakland said.
Drawn by the
prices - though they depend on availability, the highest price on the menu right
now is $32 - and "unbelievable sunsets," the customers flock to the restaurant
in the Summer, manager Joan Mauro says.
But now,
after a very recently completed renovation and expansion over this past Winter,
Ms. Oakland says they hope to keep the restaurant going - at least the catering
and private parties - well into the Holidays.
Though
establishments on Dune Road may have the reputation of being either extremely
chichi or raucous partying joints, Oakland's is neither: it is a family-oriented
restaurant with a flair for serving local seafood. "We try to be very friendly,
and to make a warm and comfortable atmosphere for the customer," said Ms.
Oakland.
Oakland's has
been run by Ms. Oakland and her family since they bought the existing property -
then a restaurant called Callahan's - in 1990, and has been an established bar
and grill since 1992. Although Ms. Oakland's husband, Wally, died in 1995,
Oakland's Restaurant & Marina is still a family affair: she owns and runs the
restaurant with her son Doug and daughter Christine, and Christine's husband,
John Hill, has been the chef de cuisine, since Oakland's opened.
Mr. Hill's
menu is dominated by seafood - local, when it's available - and other meat
dishes, but also features a few vegetarian dishes as well. A chef with 15 years
of experience, working in New England restaurants, it makes sense that his
specialty is seafood. "It's what I like to eat and serve," he said.
Mr. Hill is
most proud that everything, from sauces to desserts, is made from scratch right
in the restaurant's kitchen.
Though the
most popular dishes, and, incidentally, Mr. Hill's top recommendations, are the
swordfish and tuna, the lobsters always sell well also, he said.
The lobster
special is priced right now at $29, though that price will probably be going
down soon, as availability improves. It includes a pound - and - a - quarter
lobster, shrimp and mussels, corn on the cob, choice of soup or salad, and a
complimentary Coors Light. This "Lobster Bash" is right now available on Friday
nights, and will be available Monday and Tuesday nights after Memorial Day.
Oakland's
also offers other daily specials depending on availability, a price fix on
Sunday for $26, and a Sunday Brunch from Noon to 3 p.m. for $17.
Water Views, Ocean Flavor
May 20, 2004
By Hillary J. Larson
Southampton Press
There are few pleasures more simple and universal than a cold drink and perhaps
a seafood dinner by the water on a summer’s evening. During the warm weather
months, Oakland’s Restaurant and Marina in Hampton Bays aims to offer exactly
that. Its sprawling back porch, which includes a tiki bar, offers diners and
happy hour cocktail drinkers a view of boats bobbing at the docks while the sun
sets over the Shinnecock Bay. Boaters can pull alongside and dock for free while
they patronize the restaurant, according to manager Joan Mauro. Even in the
indoor portion of the restaurant, water views are inescapable. Sea and sand
dunes are visible from every seat in the octogonally shaped, window-walled
building, Ms. Mauro said. “We have the ocean view on one side, the Shinnecock
Inlet and Shinnecock By on the others,” she said.
The restaurant’s blessed
location is undoubtedly a prominent reason for its success over the past 13
years, Ms. Mauro said, as Oakland’s prepares to accommodate a 14th summer of
waterfront diners. It is truly a family operation: Douglas Oakland, his mother
Joyce and his sister Christine all work there, and Christine’s husband, John
Hill, is the chef. “We’re definitely a seafood restaurant, but in case people do
not eat fish, we have plenty of other choices,” said Ms. Mauro, who is one of
the few non-Oakland family employees. The restaurant’s seafood cuisine is
reflected in its decor: a giant model fish hangs in the center of the dining
room, surrounded by the jaws of other large fish and colorful regatta flags.
Aside from these touches, the interior decoration is muted, paneled blond wood
and simple white tablecloths allow the sweeping water views to dominate. Mr.
Hill said diners come to Oakland’s primarily for the seafood dishes, which he
tweaks with the changing seasons. “I know it’s a cliche, but I try to purchase
my ingredients as locally as I can,” he said.
Appetizers include the popular
fresh mozzarella napoleon layered with tomatoes over arugula ($10), crab cakes
($13), cherrystone or littleneck clams on the half shell ($7) and Prince Edward
Island mussels steamed in a broth of white wine, lemon, butter and garlic ($11).
Warm tomato, pepper and eggplant bruschetta with mozzarella ($9) is an option at
lunch; dinner starters include Southwestern barbecue spare ribs served with a
crispy shrimp and bell pepper empanada and cumin sour cream ($11). There are
also several salads to choose from, including classic Caesar ($9) and spinach
with Portobello mushrooms and goat cheese ($10).
Seafood main courses range from
grilled jumbo shrimp with a Dijon cilantro and cumin glaze over plantains ($24)
and corn-crusted Salmon with a salsa of avocado, smoked bacon and bell peppers
($22) to the popular sesame garlic swordfish served over Nori rice rolls and
Asian slaw ($27) and red chili-coated Tuna steak with whipped sweet potatoes,
roasted corn and black beans ($24). The special Oakland’s seafood pasta- shrimp,
scallops and calamari with tomatoes and basil over fettucine ($29)-is also very
popular, Ms. Mauro said. Non-fish eaters can choose from rigatoni with chicken
and sun dried tomatoes in a roasted-pepper cream sauce ($20), New York sirloin
steak with fried leeks, whipped potatoes and vegetables ($32) and oven roasted
chicken breast with a sun-dried tomato parmesan puree and caramelized shallot
paprika butter sauce.
At lunchtime, Oakland’s serves a variety of sandwiches,
including lobster with arugula and yellow tomatoes, fried flounder,
sashimi-style tuna, and grilled chicken with zucchini ($9-12). Other options
include shrimp with vegetable summer rolls ($16), chef’s seafood tacos ($16),
and oven roasted Long Island duckling ($12). The selection of desserts varies
and a full bar is available. Oakland’s offers several popular specials including
the summer Monday and Tuesday night “Lobster Bash” available now on Friday’s
since the restaurant is only open now on weekends until Memorial Day. The bash
includes 1 1/4 lb. lobster, mussels, shrimp, corn on the cob, soup or salad and
a draft beer for $26.
Southampton Independent Review
MAIN COURSE By Amy Patton
(August 27, 2003)
There's no question that the view here is spectacular. Gaze out at the motor
yachts moored dockside at Oakland's Restaurant and Marina, feel the cooling
breeze off the bay, and you'll know you've arrived somewhere special.
Located on the northwest corner of
the Shinnecock Inlet on Dune Road in Hampton Bays, Oakland's offers superlative
cuisine accompanied by a true Hampton's dining experience. The dining room with
its indoor bar is cool and expansive, but the place to be on a sunny Summer day
is under an umbrella on the restaurant's impressive deck overlooking the
picturesque marina and inlet. The deck's "Tiki" bar is a great place to meet
friends after work or on a weekend for an icy margarita or two.
On a recent visit to Oakland's, we
started our meal with two chilled glasses of Rodney Strong Chardonnay. Culinary
gold was struck with an appetizer special of flavorful lobster tempura
accompanied by a Caesar salad perfectly dressed and topped with aged Parmesan
shavings. Equally impressive were six perfectly chilled Malpak Canadian oysters
that arrived at the table, tasting of the sea. The bivalves with their slight
saline brine put us in an appropriately marine-themed mood.
Other appetizer standouts at the
bayside eatery to try are the empanadas stuffed with vegetables, a dish of
lightly battered fried calamari, and jumbo lump crab cakes with a corn-mango
chutney. Stellar main plates include a corn-crusted salmon dish of wild filet
that's pan-seared and topped with an avocado/crispy apple wood bacon/red pepper
salsa combo. Also recommended - off the lunch menu - is the lobster sandwich, a
summery concoction of fresh lobster meat, arugula, yellow tomatoes, and a
tarragon mayonnaise. On the day we visited, a pasta special of chicken rigatoni
tossed with a sun-dried tomato sauce was swoon-worthy. For those into pasta with
a seafood twist, Oakland's offers a very good calamari/shrimp/scallop dish with
linguine in a tomato sauce base. Of course, you can always play it simple and
order up a steamed lobster at market prices. The restaurant's wine list has some
good selections including local fine wines: a Palmer reserve chardonnay, a Lenz
reserve and Wolffer Merlots top the list. Oakland's boasts a full dessert menu
that's worth perusing. Top-notch service is also the rule here.
Oakland's offers first-rate cuisine
to match its wonderful view.
Dan's Papers Review of
Oakland's
By Clara Jablonski
(August 29, 2003)
Oakland's Restaurant and Marina, a haven for a delightful meal on the Shinnecock
Bay, sits right alongside the inlet and welcomes all who enjoy a relaxed coastal
atmosphere with their food and drink. Family owned and managed for the past
twelve years, Oakland's is definitely a classy local place that should not be
overlooked especially with the tasty creations that Chef John Hill makes happen
in the kitchen.
Whether you are the person
indefinitely searching for a restaurant with a great ambience or if you
simply enjoy moderately priced but marvelously tasty food Oakland's can truly
satisfy both of your cravings. Further if you enjoy the fresh sea air on the
back deck you will find that the marina truly creates a picture worth a thousand
words. The peaceful dancing of the sunlight along the rippling water as the
boats glide past is sure to keep you happily entranced before your food is
served.
If you prefer you can always sit down
at the Tiki bar outside for a drink before your meal, or you can have the
friendly wait person bring you anything you like. The beverage list includes
everything from tap beer to an extensive wine list, both of local North and
South Fork vintages as well as domestic Red, White, and Blush. Sparkling wine
and champagne are also available to go with bread brought to your table.
Starting with a salad, you have a
choice of a Caesar, a house salad with a great apple balsamic vinaigrette or a
marvelous Spinach salad topped with sliced Portobello mushrooms, creamy goat
cheese and an apple smoked bacon vinaigrette. The dressings on all three are
very impressive, so make your choice dependent on what your taste buds enjoy
most.
Having sampled an assorted variety of
appetizers and entrees off the Lunch and Dinner menus I sincerely found
everything to be excellent, probably since Chef John Hill goes out of his way to
buy food locally or off boats and accentuates it with herbs that he grows in his
own garden. And although the most popular dishes are the ones of the Sea the
restaurant does serve chicken and steak meals as well as ones for the
non-carnivorous and children.
Some of the dishes that should not be
missed include the wonderful crispy crab cakes served with a great sour
corn-mango chutney that is delightfully light and sweet and the Southwestern
barbeque style spare ribs, which come with a lovely shrimp bell-pepper empanada.
Also, the calamari have a unique yellow-tomato sauce for dipping although I must
admit that my favorite appetizer was definitely the delicate half seared Tuna in
lemongrass oil served with delicious ginger eggplant dumplings wasabi and soy
syrup.
Without question my number one dish
on the entire menu would have to be the corn crusted Salmon which utterly melts
in your mouth. If you are a Salmon lover, I beckon you to try this wild filet of
Salmon topped with sweet corn powder, avocado, crispy apple wood bacon and bell
pepper salsa. It is to die for.
But realize that it may be worth your
while to save room for one of the yummy desserts that you have to pick from. You
can have your choice of tiramisu tart, fresh berry cheesecake or even the Creme
Brulee Du Jour. Just as a warning for you chocolate lovers, the triple chocolate
caramel tart is a dream come true and will surely keep you smiling for the rest
of your day.
So without a doubt this is a
beautiful place to dine on a lovely sunny day or warm Summer evening with just a
light breeze off the water to rustle up your tresses. But ladies I do recommend
wearing your hair tied back if you plan to sit on the deck so that you can focus
all of your energies on the scrumptious food. Or you can always opt to sit at
the indoor dining area which is a tad bit more formal.
The restaurant is open every day for
Lunch and Dinner starting at Noon. And if you enjoy live music you can
listen to some live tunes from Friday to Tuesday evenings at the Tiki bar.
Overall the most popular times to visit are lunches on weekends by boat (you can
tie up for free) and Dinner time as with most restaurants. But whatever time you
choose to come, Oakland's truly is a great place for a great meal. And as my
mother always said "you can always tell if a seafood restaurant is worth trying
if there are fisherman that can be spotted "chowing" there--it is their
specialty." And you can be sure that you'll see both one-time visitors as well
as local regulars at Oakland's Restaurant and Marina. Check it out for yourself.
Good Catch At Oakland’s
By Kimberly Beekman
(Western Edition of Southampton Press 2002)
At the eastern end of
Dune Road on the barrier beach in Hampton Bays, just shy of where the road ends
at the Shinnecock Inlet, lies a restaurant that is known for its food, its views
and its active marina. Perks for those dining on the outside deck or inside the
nautical-decor dining room at Oakland’s Restaurant and Marina include cool air
blowing off the bay, broad views of fishing boats against the sunset, and local
seafood prepared by executive chef John Hill.
Mr. Hill, 37, the brother-in-law of
owner Doug Oakland, received his culinary training from Johnson and Wales in
Rhode Island and worked as a chef in a number of restaurants and hotels before
coming to Oakland’s when it opened 11 years ago. Mr. Hill refers to Oakland’s
cuisine as “eclectic,” saying that he likes to take global dishes and put his
own spin on them.
“Some things on the menu are Asian or
southwestern, incorporated with local products,” Mr. Hill said. With fish and
nautical flags mounted on the walls and a large marina opening onto the bay out
back, it is no surprise that the menu focuses on fish and seafood, which, Mr.
Hill said, is caught “as locally as possible.” He said the restaurant buys fish
off the boats that come through the inlet, as well as from Gosman’s in Montauk
and Cor-J’s in Hampton Bays.
Mr. Hill noted that while the menu
includes steaks, pasta and chicken dishes, many of the regular menu items and
daily specials involve fish. Some popular appetizers, he said include New
England clam chowder made with fresh clams straight out of the surrounding
waters ($5), a half-dozen local littleneck or cherrystone clams on the half
shell ($7), flash fried calamari served with a yellow tomato dipping sauce ($9),
and a half-dozen local Blue Point oysters on the half shell($10.50).
Salad lovers can enjoy an Oakland’s
house salad, which features an apple balsamic vinaigrette and imported feta
cheese ($7), Caesar salad, spinach salad or shrimp salad.
Oakland’s lunch menu offers seafood
main plates such as a sashimi-style tuna sandwich ($17.50), flounder sandwich
($11), shrimp and summer rolls ($16), lobsters sold at market price, and a
seafood pasta, a house specialty which includes jumbo shrimp, scallops and
calamari sauteed with fresh basil and tomatoes, tossed with ribbons of fettucine
($17).
Non-seafood lunch dishes include
hamburgers ($9.50), a grilled chicken and zucchini sandwich ($9.25), Long Island
duckling ($12) and a grilled vegetable sandwich($9).
Oakland’s dinner menu includes fish
specialties such as red chili-coated tuna steak ($24), sesame garlic swordfish
($27), oven roasted halibut ($22), sauteed flounder ($21), grilled shrimp ($24)
and lobsters. Several pasta dishes make their way onto the menu, along with an
18-ounce steak topped with fried leeks and a port wine glaze and served with
whipped potatoes and chef’s vegetables ($32), a 10-ounce filet mignon topped
with a tempura fried Portobello mushroom cap and served with a demi-glaze
horseradish sauce ($29) and pan-roasted poussin ($19).
Mr. Hill said that Oakland’s offers
Sunday Brunch as well as a prix fixe special on Thursday and Sunday nights,
which includes a complete dinner for $25. He said Oakland’s “Lobster Bash” is
offered on Monday and Friday nights and includes a one-and-a-quarter-pound
lobster, choice of soup or salad, shrimp, mussels, corn and a complimentary beer
for $22.
In addition to the restaurant,
Oakland’s, accessible by both land and sea, is a fishing hub. The 42-slip marina
has seasonal and transient slips, allowing boat owners to dock their boats
long-term or just for a couple hours while they enjoy lunch, dinner or
cocktails. Many charter boats are based out of Oakland’s, including the marina’s
own charter vessel, “Reel Action,” and for the past seven years the marina has
held its own memorial tournament in the spring honoring Doug’s father, Wally
Oakland. With a certified 1,200-pound weigh station, Oakland’s has become a
popular spot for sport fishermen to bring their catches.
Mr. Hill said he hopes people are
drawn to Oakland’s for the food, but he knows its location and other amenities
have a lot to do with the restaurant’s popularity.
Over the years, Mr. Hill said he
believes the restaurant has developed a good clientele, mostly people from out
of town, and continues to establish a local clientele. He said that although the
restaurant is closed for the winter months, their goal is to eventually stay
open year-round, despite the seasonal focus in the area.
“We’ll see how the fall goes,” Mr.
Hill said of the waning days of the 2002 season. “It’s hard down here on the
water.”
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Oakland's
Restaurant & Marina