NYC's Arthur & Sons Italian restaurant opens in Bridgehampton
“Chicken parm pays the bills” was a mantra that Joe Isidori, a third-generation New York City restaurateur, heard often from his father, Arthur. He'll soon find out whether that holds true in the Hamptons.
Arthur & Sons in Bridgehampton is Isidori’s second red sauce joint; the original is in the West Village. Rustic wooden beams line the low-key space, where Isidori actually worked 20 years ago when it was called Southfork Kitchen. Now it has vintage Tiffany lamps, red glassware and Rat Pack-inspired art. Returning to the space feels like a homecoming, with his father, Arthur Joseph, watching from above.
“The crowd here doesn’t look at me as this NYC guy coming out for the summer. I’ve been out here for almost 20 years,” said Isidori, who is also a Michelin-star awarded chef and co-founder of the viral Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beers franchise. “The feeling is local. Summer is summer, but we’re here year-round.”
Owner Joe Isidori at Arthur & Sons in Bridgehampton, which offers spicy rigatoni alla vodka and can't-miss cannoli. Credit: Newsday/Marie Elena Martinez
The menu is Italian American red sauce classics, from Artie’s parm to penne to calamari and fried mozz. All are served in shareable portions. Most are piled high, with pillows of fluffy Parmesan on top — “that's kinda our thing; we go through at least two or three wheels a week,” Isidori said.
Old school appetizers ($17-$28) include Caesar salad (made here with lemon as a light, bright alternative to eggs and anchovies) fried calamari, meatballs and ricotta or decadent, oversized fried mozzarella triangles. Entrees ($29-$45) range from spicy rigatoni alla vodka made with speck and Calabrian chilies; shrimp scampi and veal marsala. And of course, the requisite chicken parmigiana.
A word of caution: Do not miss the cannoli. The interior cream is superb — light and subtly sweet — and the shells are from Artuso’s in the Bronx. The mostly Italian wine list features red, white, rosé and sparkling house wines; cocktails include espresso martinis, a spicy Cosmopolitan diavola, and a limoncello spritz Isidori is pegging as the “drink of the summer” that will get its own outdoor bar treatment in the garden, an idyllic perch complete with heat warmers that seats 30.
Arthur & Sons, 203 Bridgehampton Sag Harbor Tpke., Bridgehampton, arthurandsonsnyc.com; Open Monday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.
A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.
