Where to eat before and after the Maritime Festival
Every September, Greenport hosts the epic Maritime Festival, a weekend-long party, of sorts, with street vendors, activities, a gala, and plenty of things to see, do, and, yes, eat. But after the Festival is over, you may want to grab a sit-down bite at an actual restaurant. Greenport proper can get crowded during this weekend event, but that doesn’t mean that the North Fork isn’t full of delicious options when it comes to Festival time. Read on for some of our favorite options for 2024, and don’t forget to eat early and often.
At Nookies, the new year-round spot operating from the iconic Silver Sands Motel, elevated diner cuisine is all the rage. An all-day morning menu includes breakfast sandwiches, homemade biscuits, and superlative hash browns, as well as locally harvested oysters (they appear in an oyster chowder, and also on the half-shell, with a mignonette). Smash burgers. Fish and chips. BLTs. The menu is nothing if not a recitation of delicious comfort classics, executed with precision, but still made in a way that feels neither stuffy nor derivative. It’s a delight to dine at a place like this in the wake of an equally casual street festival. Take our word for it.
Legends Restaurant, long a New Suffolk standby, has recently changed hands, and the new iteration is a welcome refresh. It’s a cozier version of the previous Legends, with a menu that feels thoughtful, though not erudite. There’s a small emphasis on seafood, with a raw bar section that favors classics like tuna tartare, shrimp cocktail, and little necks on the half-shell. From there, the menu is very much bistro-style, with proteins (steaks, chicken, fish) cooked a la carte, and offered with accompanying sauces and sides.
Continue the party that is the Maritime Festival with dinner at the brand-new Branch Brewing Co., in Mattituck. The beautiful and spacious taproom offers plenty of craft beers on-tap, as well as a petite menu that complements the scenic space. Smokehouse pulled pork sliders are served with piping hot fries, the farmstand arugula salad comes with tomatoes and goat cheese, and the Bavarian pretzel is amplified by an outrageous house-made beer cheese sauce, perfect for dipping. Branch Brewing also serves up a variety of delectable flatbreads — fig jam and arugula; bacon, chicken, and ranch; and even Neapolitan — for those who prefer to have myriad culinary options before them.
If you do opt to stay in downtown Greenport, that’s great, too. At Ellen’s on Front, which is within walking distance from the whole Festival, dig into a plate of honey butter chips with honey butter sauce; grilled shishito peppers with sesame miso and cotija cheese; and pork bao buns with kimchi and cucumber. The sweet tea-brined fried chicken is a go-to for a reason (it comes with hot sauce honey butter, and, for a little extra, a choice of two sides), but you won’t be disappointed with the braised lamb flatbread, either, which is served with grilled peaches, burrata, pickled red onion, and a parsley and mint salad.
