The Crow’s Nest

4 Old West Lake Drive

Montauk, New York

Get ready for the best setting with a grassy hill, a beach, and a stream in which you can catch fish! The most awesome part of this restaurant is the lake because the water is shallow, there are many sandbars, and there’s a floating dock!

Food-wise, I recommend pasta with cheese and butter, though you can also get chicken skewers, hummus with pita bread, and halibut. They have excellent gelato and sorbet and.. the watermelon juice is out of this world (and tastes best from the beach bar). Don’t forget your minnow net!

Scarpetta Beach

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Gurney’s Resort

290 Old Montauk Highway

Montauk, New York

This is in a large resort, so you need to get through a few things to find the restaurant, so ask an employee for help. (If you’re thirsty when you arrive, stop inside the door for some fruit-infused water.). Once you arrive, request a table outside, overlooking the big beach, so you can get a preview of where you’ll be after dinner! Get spaghetti with olive oil. And if you want, there’s lots more.

After dinner, you can get desert from the menu or (my choice) from the coffee bar inside or go play on the beach.

Inlet Seafood Restaurant

541 E Lake Drive, Montauk, NY

There’s something here for everyone, from sushi to mac n’ cheese. Johnny is the best sushi chef on the East End and he even makes special rolls to order. He has even named some after two people in my family! If sushi isn’t for you, don’t worry. The other chef makes all the traditional kid favorites, plus chicken parmesan (it’s huge; share), seared salmon, and great salads, too. Basically, Inlet is a crowd-pleaser.

For dessert, they make ice cream sundaes with sprinkles and might even add a cherry if you ask nicely.

Not only is the food amazing, but from the 2nd floor dining room you can watch ships and fishing boats going in and out of the harbor. You can also spy Gosman’s dock across the way and beautiful sunsets.

(Insider tip: Merry is in charge and Juanita does the best penguin impression you’ve ever seen!)