Café Al Dente returns to Oyster Bay in new space

Five years after its closure initiated a flurry of contention and lawsuits, Oyster Bay fixture Café Al Dente has reopened a few blocks away from its original home, taking up residence inside now-defunct Spinnakers Restaurant & Bar.

Owner Phil Morizio has teamed up with Damien Carlino, the owner of Spinnakers at 62 South St., to transform that space into the new iteration of Café Al Dente. "I missed my passion," said Morizio, who made his living in part by selling mattresses since the closure of the original Café Al Dente in 2013.

Though Spinnakers signage is still up, the menu is now given over to the Italian dishes that Café Al Dente was known for, from meatballs with ricotta ($9) and bacon-laced rigatoni Norcina ($24) to seafood fra diavolo ($32) and the dessert dubbed dirty snowballs ($8), all prepared by longtime Café Al Dente executive chef Juan Aguilar. One Spinnakers dish remains: The signature burger, topped with Gruyère, mushrooms, bacon, egg and arugula, for $18.  

For decades, Café Al Dente held court in a homey space at 2 Spring St., until it was closed by the town of Oyster Bay in 2013 for purported code violations. Subsequent, separate lawsuits brought by the owners of 2 Spring St., as well as Morizio, sued the town for damages related to denial of due process, including damage from burst pipes during the 18 months of so the building was padlocked. Owners Sandra Leung and Hsiao Chun Wu eventually sold the building and the restaurant 2 Spring opened there last winter. The town settled with Morizio for $400,000 in 2016, while the lawsuit from Leung and Chun Wu is ongoing.

Spinnakers was opened in August 2016 by Carlino and his wife, Yakshi, in the spot where Jack Halyards used to be. Carlino is the majority owner of Café Al Dente, Morizio said, and the changeover in signage and décor will be gradual.

Cafe Al Dente, 62 South St., Oyster Bay, 516-922-2999