There are now four Dopo restaurants in our midst, in Southampton, Sag Harbor, East Hampton, and Bridgehampton. I had the overpriced pleasure recently of dining twice at Dopo il Ponte in Bridgehampton.
The Dopo in Bridgehampton is located at the old World Pie space, with the advantage of inheriting World Pie's wood-burning oven. The redecorating is attractive. There is a long bar to the right upon entering, cushioned banquettes by the windows and along the walls, and an additional dining room in the back. The walls and ceiling are semi-glossy white and the trim all around is a lovely Williamsburg Wythe-esque blue color.
I'll skim over my first visit, which was not as culinarily memorable as the second. We tried tiger prawns, mushroom pizzetta, tuna tartare, cacio e pepe, and eggplant Parmigiana. The tiger prawns were okay, the mushroom pizzetta excellent, tuna tartare good, cacio e pepe all wrong, swimming in a pepper-darkened sauce, and the eggplant Parmigiana excellent.
On the second foray, we tried Caesar salad, the mushroom pizzetta again, fritto misto, and eggplant Parmigiana to start. I am very particular about Caesar salad and I have to say this one was perfect. It was hearts of romaine lettuce leaves properly dressed in a tart lemony garlicky dressing with white anchovies draped over the top and a sprinkling of homemade croutons. The mushroom pizzetta, topped with wild mushrooms, Taleggio cheese, and truffle oil, is an appetizer-sized pizza in an oval shape. Chris, a.k.a. Datenight, declared it "good, but the mushrooms could have been dispersed better, rather than holding a convention mid-crust." Ha ha, he has a point, perhaps they slid to the center through the oil and rich Taleggio.
The fritto misto, we all agreed, was as good as it gets. The crispy coating on the calamari, shrimp, and branzino bits was perfectly seasoned with lemon on the side and an excellent fresh marinara sauce. The eggplant Parmigiana is served straight from the wood-burning oven, bubbling around the edges of a clay ramekin. The proportions were just right with the tender but not greasy eggplant swimming in the same marinara with buffalo mozzarella on top.
For entrees we ordered the tiger prawns, fish special of the day, which was halibut on parchment paper with white asparagus and potato slices, linguine alle vongole, and a side order of confit Yukon potatoes with lemon and rosemary. The tiger prawns were better this time, which is a comfort as you only get two per serving for $61! They were served with a tart little tangle of frisee on the plate, and the prawns were tender and lemony from the sauce. The halibut was presented pale as a ghost with the white parchment paper on the bottom (rather than "en papillote," wrapped around the fish), white fish, white asparagus, pale potato slices, and slivers of garlic. My friend Ellen who ordered it enjoyed it very much but found the fish to be a tad overcooked. The linguine alle vongole was made with Manila clams which we all agreed is a bit of a shame when we have such beautiful briny local littlenecks in all the waters around us. Nonetheless, the dish was a good rendition. Datenight did think the pasta could have been given a chance to absorb more of the flavor. The side order of confit potatoes was not confit at all, they were roasted. Confit potatoes would have been poached in olive oil with its seasonings, low and slow.
For desserts we tried the tiramisu and rose water panna cotta with berries. The tiramisu, as it has been on previous visits to Dopo, was perfect. It was fresh and rich, with all the ingredients and flavors shining through: coffee, cocoa, booze, mascarpone, and cake. The panna cotta, however, did not have a hint of rose water, more like a hint of "this has been in the refrigerator too long" flavor.
The service on the night of our visit was attentive and professional. We very much liked our waitress, Rochell. The prices, as I mentioned before, are staggering. Appetizers are $25 to $29, pastas $29 to $42, pizzettas are $23 to $26, entrees are $41 to $61, sides are $16, and desserts are $14.
Datenight is an oenophile and he said the "wine list has good selection of Italian wines, largely offered by the glass or bottle. Expensive for the pour (and poor) but such is life."
The restaurant filled up quite significantly on both visits, which is always a heartening sign, and we all agreed we would return for some of the finer dishes.
