Eat With Your Eyes At These Top Spots

The Most Photogenic Plates of Food on the East End 

You eat with your eyes, and on the East End, it’s important that what you eat looks just as good as how it tastes. The Hamptons offers some of the most beautiful plated dishes on Long Island: fresh local fish, vibrant vegetables, perfectly roasted meats. But if you’re looking for the ultimate photo finish, check out our recommendations, a curated list of the dishes we like best, both when it comes to eating and admiring the masterpieces in front of us. Here are our favorites. 

At Rosie’s, in Amagansett, the restaurant itself is plenty photo-worthy. Blue ceramic tiling, yellow and white striped fabric wallpaper, and pleasantly neutral banquettes make for a warm and inviting dining atmosphere (don’t forget the sconces and pendant lighting throughout). But for a dish that will light up your photos the way those sconces light up the face of the person sitting across from you, head directly to the salmon tartare. The fresh fish is topped with bright green avocado, a few tortilla chips, and a sprig of dill. Pair it with the Beet Down, a vibrant cocktail made with vodka, carrot and beet shrub, lime, and club soda, and you’ve got a meal worth cataloguing. 

East Hampton’s Highway Restaurant & Bar has plenty to brag about when it comes to good-looking food. If you find yourself at the restaurant on a cozy, early spring evening, consider tucking into one of the gorgeous meat entrées, like the brown and burnished spit-roasted organic chicken, which arrives on a thick brown cutting board, alongside a tiny sauté pan of jus and a skillet of glazed rainbow carrots. The expertly seared salmon is another winning choice, for photographers both nascent and practiced. The rich fish is plated atop a lemon-yellow butternut squash purée and served with beech mushrooms and Brussels sprouts leaves. 

Armin & Judy is a French-style patisserie and bistro in Bridgehampton, where diners can enjoy a casual all-day menu. What’s the prettiest little thing to order? It’s hard to beat the chilled yuzu crema with caviar, a decadent dish that skirts the line between savory and sweet. For mere mortals, however, there is also the gorgeous pan-seared fluke, a perfectly browned piece of fish that has been topped with a lemon-butter sauce and that is studded with briny green capers. Any one of the bakery’s perfect loaves is a great companion for lunch, but you can also take a loaf home and snap a photo there. The simple baguette is its own perfect meal. 

Southampton’s El Verano brings plenty of beauty to the plate. Opt for the camarones: spicy jumbo shrimp, served with rice, a chipotle-peanut sauce, and a carrot slaw. The toro taquitos, featuring rich tuna belly, are equally easy on the eyes. They’re served with a charred chocolate habanero sauce and bright green scallions. To drink, dive right in to one of the restaurant’s compelling frozen margaritas. The tart, red pomegranate version is the ideal complement to any meal — and any photo album.