Diners looking for a special way to ring in 2024, have a number of options on the South Fork. Champagne toasts, noise makers, oysters, and caviar are all on the menu in various packages and a la carte options.
1770 House
Those missing the 1770 House's Christmas dinner take-home option this year can avail themselves of Michael Rozzi's celebratory menu choices on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
A New Year's Eve three-course menu will cost $125 with an option for wine pairings by Michael Cohen, the inn's sommelier. On New Year's Day, there will be a two-course $65 menu.
The restaurant will be open on New Year's Eve from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. with a menu offering a first course, entree and dessert. Tax, tip, and beverage are not included.
As usual the choices are as varied as they are appealing. Montauk Pearl oysters, Peconic Bay scallop sashimi, a peekytoe crab tartlet, a salad with mache, fig and sweet Gorgonzola, white bean and roasted garlic tortellini, and foie gras mousse on house-spiced brioche are the appetizers.
Entrees are marinated swordfish with crisp calamari, shrimp scampi with handmade spaghetti, Long Island duck leg confit, sugar pit-cured Berkshire pork loin, and grass-fed beef tenderloin en croute, all with appropriate and tempting sides. A chef's selection of desserts ends the meal. There are also oysters on the half shell and shrimp cocktail as starters for a supplement.
Full menu information is on the website. Reservations can be made by calling 631-324-1770.
Nick and Toni's
Nick and Toni's has a four-course tasting menu to ring out the old and bring in the new.
An amuse bouche of a deviled quail egg and caviar includes a glass of champagne. The antipasti course has choice of shaved brussels sprouts, spinach and ricotta tortellini, wood-oven-roasted octopus, foie gras torchon, Iberico ham, and cotechino, and a special Christmas pork sausage. The main courses are wild mushroom lasagna, pancheri pasta with a short rib ragu, halibut filet, whole-roasted black sea bass, roasted free-range chicken, Long Island duck breast, and prime New York strip steak.
The meal ends with a choice of dark chocolate cake, brown butter salted caramel pots de creme, sour cherry tart, and tartufo.
The four-course menu is $135 per person, plus tax and gratuity. There is also a menu for children. The same adult menu with some additional options is available for take home with a la carte pricing.
Full menus are on the website. On-site merrymakers will have hats, noise makers, and balloons to make the celebration more festive. Guests will also go home with a gift from the pastry chefs for sweet dreams. Reservations are recommended through Resy or by calling the restaurant directly at 631-324-3550.
Fresno
Fresno in East Hampton has a la carte specials and an oyster and sparkling rose promotion to mark New Year's Eve.
Six Montauk Pearls and a half bottle of Billecart-Salmon rose brut cost $110. Other specials are the oysters without the champagne, oysters Rockefeller, roast cauliflower soup with caviar, and bay scallop crudo as starters. Roast loin of venison and pan-roasted halibut are the featured entrees. Reservations can be made on the website.
Almond
Bridgehampton's Almond has a $150 four-course menu served with party favors and a champagne toast on New Year's Eve beginning at 9 p.m. Earlier diners will be served from the regular a la carte menu with some specials for the evening.
The set menu starts with house-cured steelhead on a potato pancake with creme fraiche and smoked trout roe as the amuse bouche. Appetizer options are tuna poke, a celery root and oyster veloute with local bay scallops, and duck confit with duck prosciutto. A middle course consists of a tamal with mushroom, koji, beurre rouge, queso, black truffles, and quail egg. The entree choices are butter poached lobster, cabbage-wrapped steamed halibut, and aged New York strip steak, each with tempting sides. The dessert is a chocolate-banana brioche bread pudding with banana fritter, banana sorbet, and dulce de leche ice cream.
Reservations are recommended by calling the restaurant at 631-537-5665.
Claudio's
Anyone on the North Fork or up for a drive can spend New Year's at Claudio's in Greenport. The restaurant will serve a surf and turf special for $79. Other festive touches are a special merry berry espresso cocktail and a New Year's Ball Drop dessert. A D.J. will keep the tunes spinning and there will be tours of the Claudio's historic speakeasy. Reservations are recommended by calling the restaurant at 631-477-0627.
