I turned 32 last Thursday, so I took the day off to spend it with Nena and Jackson. We rarely make it out to the Hamptons, particularly once the ‘on season’ starts, so I thought it would be fun to head out to the Hamptons, enjoy the beautiful day and maybe have a tasty lunch somewhere.
As we drove out, I didn’t have any particular restaurant in mind, but then we drove by Southampton Publick House, a place that I’ve wanted to try for a long time now. I’ve been a fan of their beer for quite a while and I’d heard some good things about the restaurant too. And, because it was my birthday, my loving wife (who avoids beer almost at all costs) suggested we go.
We were there for lunch, and it was only our first time there, but at this point I’d still suggest that you go there for the beer, not the food.
The experience doesn’t warrant a full review, but here are some quick-hit positives and negatives:
- Positive: I really love the beers. I had a Secret Ale (their flagship beer) and a Golden Lager. I also sampled their Double White after Nena tried it. If you haven’t tried the beers, track them down and try them.
- Negative: I ordered a blackened duck salad, because it sounded good and was one of the few non-standard pub fare items on the menu. The duck came out cooked very (very) well done, rendering it tough and barely recognizable as duck. It was a simple salad of lettuce, duck, tomatoes, green apple and goat cheese. With the duck overcooked, and the tomatoes flavorless, there wasn’t much saving this salad. They should have at least tossed all of the ingredients together so the dressing covered the apple slices, which were slightly browned.
- Positive: The place is very baby friendly. The restaurant was pretty empty because it was a Thursday and it’s not Hamptons season yet, so we had a back dining area pretty much to ourselves. Then again, Jackson didn’t wake up until we were leaving.
- Negative: Nena ordered mussels steamed in beer with andouille sausage. She thought there was too much sausage and that it completely overpowered the mussels.
- Positive: Did I mention the beer? Seriously though, our server was great and so was the hostess. Good service can make a meal like this one bearable. Of course, so can good beer.
We’ll go back some time. Hopefully the kitchen’s "A team" is cooking next time…I can only assume they weren’t on this visit.