East End Eats: A New Winner in North Sea

North Sea Tavern

And Raw’r Bar

1271 North Sea Road

North Sea

631-353-3322

Dinner nightly

Lunch, Wednesday through Sunday

Sometimes reviewing restaurants can be a bore and a chore. You have no idea how many expensive, mediocre, noisy evenings I have spent with friends trying “locally sourced” this, “artisanal” that, “farm to table” flotsam, and “muddled shrub with cranberry spheres” jetsam. North Sea Tavern and Raw’r Bar, I am pleased to report, is a new restaurant that doesn’t just talk the talk, it walks the walk.

Having never been to the old North Sea Tavern or TAPS, also at this location, I wouldn’t know what went into the renovation. The place is simple looking, with pale, blue-gray and white walls, some mirrors, a wee bit of artwork, plain wood tables with a few communal picnic tables, and surprisingly comfortable aluminum chairs. On the night of our visit, it had only been open two weeks, so business was slow, especially for a Saturday in August. I suspect, and hope, this will change soon.

We began our meal with mussels, tuna bao, and fried fish tacos. All three were absolutely delicious.

The mussels came in a somewhat murky broth, full of spice. The menu described it as “blood orange pale ale-blueberry-garlic-butter-herbs-chili.” It was the blueberries that gave it the dirty dishwater hue, but this did not detract from our enjoyment. The mussels were served with a big wedge of crusty bread that had been drizzled with lots of good olive oil and a sprinkling of salt.

The tuna bao was two bao buns (similar to the mushy, soft buns of the Chinese steamed pork buns variety) with thick pieces of barely seared tuna, a bit of spicy aioli, and a vinegary chive relish. The combination of rich aioli and tart relish was perfect with the mild tuna. The fried fish taco dish was two deep-fried flour tortillas topped with crispy fried fluke, scallion crema, and herbal chimichurri sauce — crispy, crunchy, original, delicious.

For entrees we ordered a crab roll, swordfish, an oyster po’ boy, and a side of New Bay fries. The crab roll was an insanely generous portion of jumbo lump crabmeat piled onto a brioche bun, moistened with a bit of garlic white wine sauce, and topped with arugula.

The swordfish was cooked perfectly, as in, not overdone, and was served with pan-roasted Halsey Farm corn “chowder” and a big portion of salad. The only problem with this dish was the overzealous amount of roasted garlic added to the corn, overshadowing its sweetness. The salad served with it was utterly fresh greens, a bit messy in a homemade way, with a delicate vinaigrette.

The oyster po’ boy was another winner. A couple of huge perfectly fried oysters were piled into a brioche bun and served with spicy red aioli and a slice of good tomato. Now let’s talk about the fries. We ordered them because Old Bay seasoning is one of my favorite spice blends, and we figured “New Bay” would be North Sea Tavern’s riff on it. It was. The fries were sooooo good. The fat little nubbins of spuds were seasoned with what tasted like freshly ground spices, including just a hint of nutmeg and clove, but not so much that it was weird. Our minor quibble was that ketchup had already been added to a corner of the big bowl of fries, and some people don’t like ketchup. I liked it because I’m pretty sure it was the Sir Kensington brand, which is much more savory than the usual Hunt’s or Heinz.

The menu itself is short and interesting, almost verging on “Really? Do you have to add gooseberries to that app? Do chilis, coconut, peaches, pineapple, sherry, and flowers really go with shrimp?” It’s got a touch of Williamsburg-meets-Portlandia-and-plops-down-in-North-Sea. It’s quirky and original.

There is also a caviar menu offering reasonable domestic and foreign, sustainably harvested roes served with frozen vodka, a great idea that I plan to investigate on my next foray. The cocktails and wine list are also impressive in that there are a lot of Long Island wines and beers and creative concoctions.

The service on the night of our visit was very good, especially considering how new North Sea Tavern and Raw’r Bar is. But as I said before, business was pretty slow that evening. The prices are moderate, especially considering the quality of the food. Raw bar items, appetizers, and small plates are $1.75 to $21, large plates are $17 to $32, sides are $5 and $6, desserts are $9.

Alas, not everything was divine. There were three dessert offerings that night, chocolate raspberry pots de creme, blueberry bread pudding, and Blue Duck Bakery apple pie a la mode. We already know that Blue Duck makes a swell apple pie so we just tried the other two desserts. The chocolate pots de creme came out with a soupy, milky puddle on top, so I asked our waitress, “What’s up with that?” I thought perhaps some whipped cream had melted on top. Nope. Then we tasted it. We were so flustered by its weirdness that when I referred back to my notes, I saw that I had written “milk with salted salt.” And that’s exactly what it tasted like. The chocolate part was good but we sent this back.

The blueberry bread pudding was also a sad state of affairs. We suspect the kitchen took some of the glorious, toasted and oiled and salted bread that accompanied our mussel dish and incorporated it into a dessert. It was crisp and crunchy and salty but lacked the moist pudding part. I totally get salted caramel and appreciate a wee bit of saline with sweetness, but these desserts had too much.

On the drive home we all agreed that this is a great new addition, and if it was closer to Sag Harbor, we would be regulars. Regardless, it is worth the trip and I look forward to discovering what kinds of cuckoo combos the chef comes up with next.