Plaza Cafe, Southampton: Updating a classic

The Plaza Cafe opened in  December, 1997. And it has stayed  one of Long Island's best seafood houses, year after year.

Chef-owner Douglas Gulija has been updating the three-star restaurant, in decor as well as on the plate. He also recently has started offering Sunday brunch.

“I've been kind of reinventing things,“ he said, from the beachy hues in the dining room to more casual dishes on the menu. Gulija has kept his tasting menu. And the terrific lobster-and-shrimp shepherd's pie, too.

But you'll now also find a bar menu with a lobster roll, grilled seafood taco, spicy rock shrimp tempura and, for the carnivorous, a barbecued duck confit slider.

At brunch: an omelet with butter-poached lobster, asparagus, morels and Gruyere cheese; duck confit with poached egg and duck cracklings; and French toast with orange-infused honey.

The Plaza Cafe often was seen as a special-occasion restaurant. It's still that. Now, re-energized, it's a lot more,  too.

The Plaza Cafe, 61 Hill St., Southampton; 631-283-9323.

The Plaza Cafe.