Hamptons Guide: il Buco al Mare
Address | 231 Main St, Amagansett, NY 11930
With the start of a new season, we’ve been busy over here. Between the rush of work, school functions, Jack’s football games, and gathering with friends the past few weeks and flown by. On Friday night my wife and I decided that we were due for a quiet date night in the Hamptons. Following a walk on the beach we decided to try somewhere new and ventured to Amagansett to have a candlelight dinner at il Buco al Mare. il Buco al Mare has an inviting, cozy and rustic vibe.
The restaurant was packed with diners so for a weekend meal I suggest you book a reservation—which fortunately, we had done in advance. Since the autumn weather is still pleasant, we opted for outdoor dining. The outdoor heaters were sufficient to balance the cool breeze and it was romantic to enjoy the fall night outdoors.
The menu is organized in sections: ancient grain focaccia, raw, tins, small plates, mains, vegetables, and dessert. We ordered a few dishes to share.
We shared a bottle of chilled red wine, Cardedu, Cannonau + Bovale Sardo “Astili” 2019 (Sardegna, It). It was light and fresh with notes of cherry and paired nicely with the clams and fish.
From the ancient grain focaccia section we ordered the Forest mushroom, straciatella, provolone + grilled onion. We both love mushrooms and when our server recommended this focaccia we ordered. It was a nice focaccia with good air pockets. The toppings were tasty and had a rich autumnal flavor.
From the small plates we ordered the Littleneck clams, green garlic butter, pickled chilies + grilled bread. The chilies were bright and flavorful. The clams were cooked to the perfect texture and the sauce was a good balance of acid and butter.
For the vegetable we settled on Roasted sweet potato with roasted fioretto cauliflower, labneh + lime. The labneh and lime combination was tasty and the slight char on the vegetables was nice.
For the main we had the Charred local striped bass, baby artichokes, gordal olives + meyer lemon. The olives and artichoke complimented each other well and the bass was fresh and tasty.
At the end of the meal, we were too satiated to order dessert, although they had some nice seasonal options that I otherwise would have liked to try. The overall dining experience at il Buco al Mare was relaxed with friendly service and a nice seafood menu.
