There are lush green salads with watermelon radishes; cold, crisp ceviches and sky-high raw bar towers with slick red shells peeking out of their icy vessels. Steamers at sunset are accompanied by rum slushies or spiked strawberry lemonades with striped straws. There is a welcome abundance of local fluke and Peconic Bay oysters on menus.
And there is ice cream. We’re talking beachfront dining here, where your toes can wiggle around in the cool, wet sand under shaded tables, conjuring vacations and holidays, time off and lazy days, and family. Luckily for us, Long Island is full of beautiful outdoor spots where this idyllic vision springs to life.
From sophisticated beach clubs to rowdy beach parties, spanning every kind of summer delicacy from clams to claws to coladas to crab cakes, here are five spots where you can perfect your beach dining. 494 Prospect Ave., Sea Cliff A bowl of steamers at The Sunset Club at Tappan Beach in Sea Cliff.
Credit: Yvonne Albinowski The Sunset Club opened last summer on the pristine, expansive Tappan beachfront that overlooks Hempstead Harbor and, just beyond, Long Island Sound, and it offers diners a slice of sunny happiness. Serving lunch, dinner and everything in between, it calls to mind a simpler time when toes in the sand and sandos and ices in the hand were enough to please. Maybe it’s the yellow-and-white striped umbrellas shading picnic tables and sofas anchored by firepits.
Maybe it’s the soft white sand fronting Caribbean-blue .
