11 Best Restaurants in Long Island, New York

In a market crowded with sushi joints, this one is an original, and remains a standout with its unique selection of specialty rolls and unpretentious service. The ambience is loungy, trendy, and very grown-up, but if you happen to arrive with a little one in tow, he or she will be treated like a celebrity. Every Japanese restaurant offers salad with ginger dressing, and Aji's is exceptional. If you like sweet and savory together, try the Paradise Roll with spicy lobster and fried banana. The surf and turf includes a 4oz filet mignon and lobster tail in truffle mushroom sauce, and the price is quite reasonable. Save room for fried ice cream.

At this bright and airy restaurant the talented chef-owner utilizes the freshest local produce and seafood—and his considerable talent—to provide a memorable dining experience. Oven-roasted halibut, rack of lamb with Mediterranean spice, and braised Montauk lobster with baby vegetables are among the dishes on the French-leaning menu. Homemade desserts such as ricotta mousse and lemon tart may quite possibly induce a swoon. The dining spaces are elegantly spare, with polished hardwood floors, lots of windows, and white-clothed tables. A $30 prix-fixe is available Monday–Thursday.

Locavores will love this place for its credentials in sourcing ingredients only from local suppliers, but they'll also enjoy an upbeat yet relaxed dining experience. A four-course chef's menu—including four different antipasti, handmade pasta, a choice of entree, and dessert—is built around local, seasonal products and changes every Wednesday. "Hyper-local" seafood antipasti may include black sea bass crudo with salt-and-pepper cucumbers and green coriander or fried Long Island squid with chilies and mint. Meat, including grass-fed New York strip, comes from nearby farms. Even the flowers on the tables are local. The wines come from near as well as far, and artfully crafted cocktails are made with organic syrups. Outdoor dining is available on the porch.

At this intimate storefront bistro, a favorite among locals, the ceiling fans, wood floors, and a series of small, pendant lights add homey touches. Chef-owner Steve Sands, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, oversees the kitchen, while co-owner Jules Buitron ensures that every guest gets the V.I.P. treatment. The ecelctic European menu lists dinner salads and burgers as well as more substantial dishes such as maple-dijon encrusted rack of lamb and a variety of pasta dishes. Schnitzels and brats round out a selection of German dishes. Weekend brunches are also a hit.

Locals treasure this as their secret spot—a simple roadside restaurant housed in a little red house that serves good breakfasts and lunch, as well as fresh, creative American dinner fare. People rave about the blueberry pancakes and chorizo hash. Crab cakes and chicken quesadillas are popular with the lunch crowd, and vegetables and salads couldn't get any fresher—they come from their own garden out back. A three-course prix-fixe dinner is offered for $29. If you want to make a reservation, call between 2 and 3:30.

Entrées are inspired by Tuscan, Sardinian, and Sicilian cooking, and the wine list is similarly inclusive. Try the branzini (Mediterranean sea bass), which is roasted whole and then filleted at your table. You can dine on the porch overlooking the village, or sit at a candlelit table inside, where you'll be surrounded by photographs of Europe and serenaded by live jazz bands on Tuesday through Sunday nights.

Upscale yet reasonably priced, Jewel, by Long Island's renowned chef-restaurateur

Tom Schaudel, is sophisticated with a touch of whimsy, with its multitude of glass-ball chandeliers. The service is attentive and professional. The beet salad impresses and is a perfect starter to the millionaire's pizza with black truffle, fontina cheese, and fried egg. The salmon with thick "forbidden" coconut rice with mango vinaigrette is a stunner.

A warm, welcoming, busy little bistro, Le Chef serves mainly French food. Standouts include baby rack of lamb and noisettes of veal; specials on their pink restaurant board change weekly. Attracting an upscale "early bird" crowd, prix-fixe menus are available Thursday through Sunday before 6:45 pm, and brunch is offered on Sunday. This nice place, albeit a bit dated, offers a nice alternative to the twentysomething Hamptons "scene."

In a market where restaurants come and go, this quirky spot has been around since before Prohibition. Outside, two 12-foot-tall fencing musketeers stand guard over the driveway. Inside, staff and longtime patrons are happy to show you "Nixon's booth," and share stories of former regulars Ringo Starr, Burt Lancaster, and Joe DiMaggio—in it's heyday, this was a real hotspot; check out the old newspaper clippings in a small vestibule. Today the interior is dated but cozy, the carpet is old and worn, but the food—a mix of northern and southern Italian pasta, seafood, veal, and steak—is prepared with care, and you get the kind of warm and attentive service that's all but lost in the modern world. The $25 prix-fixe menu is a great deal. Enjoy swinging lounge music on weekends.

The dining room of this sophisticated see-and-be-seen restaurant has artwork, white linens, large windows, and simple wooden chairs. The New American fare featuring prime steaks and local seafood is just as attractive. The menu changes daily, and each dish, though it's on the expensive side, is unforgettable. Start with lobster bisque, followed, perhaps, by laquered Half Crescent Farm duckling or pan-seared dolphin. Diners with heartier appetites can opt for the grilled Kobe flatiron steak. There's open-air dining on the patio, which has a waterfall. A $35 prix-fixe menu is available, as well as specials like Monday night's all-you-can-eat lobster bake.

A wall of windows provides stunning views of the Great South Bay at this restaurant known for its seasonal, seafood-focused menu and raw bar. Modern small-plate dishes such as Peking duck tacos join traditional favorites like filet mignon and Mantattan clam chowder, and the menus are designed to appeal to a variety of personal tastes and budgets. Sushi (available weekends) has made a splash, and The View has become a favorite Sunday brunch spot. In warm weather patio dining is available, and the happy hour and party crowds swell on weekends, with live bands to entertain them on Saturday. The restaurant is 3½ miles west of Sayville. To be sure of eating here on a weekend, reservations are advisable.