Restaurant Review: Gigi's Montauk at Gurney's

Gigi’s is a new restaurant that opened this summer in the Hamptons. It has taken a lease of the dining room and deck at Gurney’s Inn, the oceanfront resort in Montauk that affords without question the best view of the Atlantic Ocean on Eastern Long Island. Gurney’s sits at the top of a 60-foot cliff. Way down below, the ocean waves break on more than a quarter mile of Gurney’s beach.

We were seated on that deck, which is open air but under a huge, heated awning. About 60 people get seated out there.

As it happened, this was at 6 p.m. on Friday, August 21. It was high tide at that hour and Hurricane Erin was at that very moment  passing Montauk and throwing 30-foot waves through the mist of reflected sunset. This could not have been a better setting.

There are two ways to review a restaurant. One is to ask the chef to give us samples of different things. The other is to just order dinner. We chose the second way.

I’ve written many restaurant reviews. And my opinion, from what we ate, is that this is one of the top 10 dining experiences on eastern Long Island. Expensive, but worth it. This is a major resort. And this is a major restaurant.

A large uniformed staff brought out what we ordered without delays, a remarkable feat considering this is a vast establishment with about 200 seats, nearly all of which were taken.

Rolls, crispy on the outside and soft and warm inside set the stage. Freshly baked, they were rolled up with slices of cheese and a thick dressing within. Delicious.

For an appetizer, my wife ordered a market salad, which came neat and fresh. I ordered Hamachi – thick sashimi with dried crunchy capers, basil oil, chili oil and citrus-yuzu cured on top. It was a knockout.

For a main course, my wife ordered seared scallops with summer corn, puree and mild mushrooms. I went for Lobster Tagliatelle, which is lobster pieces soaked in a bisque base with umi butter and breadcrumbs atop pasta. We had agreed to share, but when I took my first bite of the lobster dish, I found it so remarkable I tried to get out of sharing. We each took the larger share of what we ordered. She didn’t want to let go of her order either.

Dessert was strawberries and a butterscotch cake, a fine confection.

Beyond all these, the offerings include dressed shrimp cocktail, oysters on the half shell, a wide variety of imaginatively prepared steaks, shrimp, octopus, lamb chops, whole fish and phylo crusted halibut.

The sun was setting, the huge waves pink as we departed. I asked the maître de if they had a restaurant in the city. Not yet, he said. We all grinned. It will have to happen. For reservations call 631-668-2345.