Courtside Sport + Social opens in Babylon

I was never hit by the pickleball craze that has swept across Long Island, but Babylon’s newest eatery, Courtside Sport + Social, may change my mind.

Courtside Sport + Social opened Tuesday in the former Long Island Pekin on East Main Street. The 3,000-square-foot space for roughly 75 guests feels luxurious and modern, with modular lounge areas, green velvet seats and backlit banquettes. The idea of fusing food and pickleball came from proprietor Frank Bragaglia, who also owns The Brixton in Babylon.

"A lot of these places that do have pickleball or golf simulators or other things; you’re kind of going for that and then the bar is an afterthought," said assistant manager Patrick Capellini. "whereas here, this is going to be a restaurant first and foremost."

The menu by chefs Zach Rude and Louis Kirsch includes starters such as steak tartare ($22), potato skins ($13), crispy wings ($19) and must-try bloomin' shallots served with roasted garlic ranch dipping sauce ($14). The raw bar includes littleneck clams ($29 for a dozen) Beausoleil oysters ($49 a dozen) and shrimp cocktail ($19).

For mains there's French onion pasta ($21), roast chicken ($29) and steak frites ($32) served as an 8-ounce sirloin with Courtside’s steak sauce, fries and salad.

The drinks includes mocktails like the "Nah-perol spritz" ($12) and a hibiscus margarita, plus classic Manhattans, old-fashioneds and daiquiris (all $15). The "Blackheart" cocktail is made with Irish whiskey, fuji apple, pear, Italicus bergamot and ginger ($17).

Come spring, Capellini said the restaurant will debut a 2,600-square-foot pickleball court in the back where guests will be able to reserve play by the hour.

"It will be a permanent structure, so it’ll be enclosed," Capellini said. "We’re working on whether it’s a membership-only to start and then after that we can open it up to players that can just come and play whenever, but we’re going to make a whole schedule for that."

Courtside Sport + Social, 96 E. Main St., Babylon, courtsidebabylon.com. Open 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

By Melissa Azofeifa

melissa.azofeifa@newsday.com

Melissa Azofeifa is a restaurants reporter with Newsday's FeedMe team. Having grown up on Long Island, she loves talking about food and its impact on culture. A graduate of Stony Brook University, she joined Newsday in the fall of 2024.