In search of the best seafood and where to eat in Montauk? Duryea’s Lobster Deck offers a Montauk fish market style meal with elevated service.
If there is one place that is as synonymous with the history of Montauk as the Montauk lighthouse, it’s Duryea’s Lobster Deck. Duryea’s Lobster Deck has been around since the early 1900s. What first began as a fish supply business eventually became a low-key takeout joint. Its position is ideally located just steps from the Montauk train station, so the question of where to eat in Montauk after a long day of work came easy. In 2016 it was purchased by Marc Rowan who maintained its concept as a seafood establishment, but evolved it from a takeout joint to a high-end marina and dining establishment with Mykonos-like indoor and outdoor seating and cuisine. It’s the type of place where you’ll want to take a deep breath of that sea salt air and take a dreamy mental snapshot of the moment.
Duryea’s Lobster Deck is considered one of the most beautiful places to eat in Montauk. Located on Fort Pond, it has stunning views of the newly renovated pier or dock available to customers who arrive by boat. It almost looks like a scene straight out of Mykonos. The exterior has white banquettes and bleached wooden tables line the outdoor pier, high-tops face the ocean with views of sail boats, yachts, and the coastline, bottles of Provençal rosé are placed in ice buckets. The interior seating and fisherman’s market recalls the history of Montauk with white walls accented by wooden features and long modern frosted glass ball fixtures held up by fisherman ropes hanging from the ceiling. For lunch, we were lucky and got seated on a high-top facing the ocean shaded by what looked like an elegant white fisherman’s net strung above our heads.
The beauty of Duryea’s Lobster Deck is that they do not take reservations, so it’s first-come first-serve. The establishment opens promptly at 12PM, I recommend you get there early to grab a seat and people watch as the crowd starts to roll in with a glass of rosé and a beer. The alternative would be to come during sunset, if you’re lucky enough to get a table. In true “fish market” style, the waiter introduces herself and hands us a clipboard with a list of menu items to choose from. Ordering here is simple, mark what you want on the clipboard, take it to the check-out counter, pay, and wait for your order. The menu options are endless from raw bar and seafood platters, sides, salads, rolls, shared mains, starters and desserts. Of course, everything is seafood based just like the traditional Duryea’s Lobster Deck.
Lunch at Duryea’s wouldn’t be lunch without an accompanying glass of wine. Duryea’s has an extensive world-class wine list, with bottles of champagne and wine going for several hundred dollars a piece. People here don’t hold back, it’s a place to treat yourself. I ordered a simple glass of rosé and Pat ordered a beer.
As a starter, Patrick and I ordered the little neck clams. The little neck clams were presented on a tower sitting atop a bed of ice with a red wine vinegar and a spicy cocktail sauce. I loved the taste of the salty little neck clams accompanied by the spicy cocktail sauce. They paired nicely with my rosé. As our main, we ordered their notable Lobster Cobb Salad and a side of fries, both were big enough to feed four and served in a beautiful wooden bowl completing the coastal country-like feel.
Duryea’s signature Lobster Cobb Salad was everything I ever needed out of a seafood dish and more. I had been avoiding lobster all summer since I found lobster rolls to be a bit too filling for lunch. But a lobster salad? Finally! This was exactly what I had been looking for all summer long. The salad came with a creamy buttermilk dressing combined with tarragon vinegar, lemon juice, and oil among other seasonings. The dressing ramped the natural saltiness of the lobster meat up a notch, but it was mellowed out by the accompanying lettuce leaves, sliced cheddar cheese, sweet cherry tomatoes, and avocado. Optionally you can add a chopped egg and bacon bits to add a little bit of more protein to your salad, which of course, we did. You got to go all in or nothing, am I right?
Our waiter wasn’t sure whether we wanted the bacon bits or not. She personally came over to us and let us know she asked them to put it on the side for us in case we had any dietary restrictions or allergies. We didn’t, but the fact that she kept this top-of-mind and acted on it immediately shows great customer service. The staff was super friendly, well-dressed, well-mannered, and very attentive to detail. The food was incredible and the views were great, but the staff’s attentiveness added to the experience as well.
The food was so well-done, I never felt full at any point during my meal. I had to stop myself from eating when I realized the dent I had put in our meal! You know you’ve had a good meal when you’re stomach isn’t feeling full and bloated. When all is said and done and you make your way out of what feels like Homer’s enchanting land of the Lotus-eaters, stop by the Market at Duryea’s. If you want to cling on to the meal and experience a while longer, on your way out pick up some local artisan products for your trip to the beach or home. I promise you, when it comes to where to eat in Montauk, you won’t regret your decision of splurging at Duryea’s Lobster Deck.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Duryea’s Lobster Deck. All opinions remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company.
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