Review: 18 Bay in Jamesport
Baked sfoglia with fresh ricotta and wild mushroom ragu at 18 Bay in Jamesport. Credit: Megan Schlow
When 18 Bay opened in Jamesport last year, it was the third iteration of a restaurant whose first address was 18 Bay Ave. in Bayville (2005-10) and rose to universal acclaim during its tenure on Shelter Island (2011-22).
Chef-partners Adam Kopels and Elizabeth Ronzetti in the kitchen at 18 Bay in Jamesport. Credit: Megan Schlow
After a four-year consulting gig, chef-partners Adam Kopels and Elizabeth Ronzetti are back in the kitchen, and their new venue dwarfs anything they've done before: It's the old Dimon Estate, a stately property that sprawls over almost 4 acres, encompassing a landscaped patio, fruit orchard, herb garden and a vegetable garden that, at 6,000 square feet, is more of a tiny farm. Of course, on the North Fork they are surrounded by dozens of farms, which makes it the perfect setting for a couple who truly walks the farm-to-table walk, often buying the day’s produce and fish on their way to work.
18 Bay
Range of entrees: $39 to $68; four-course tasting menu is $145
Accessibility: No stairs
Attributes: Celebrations, date night, dine at the bar, new for 2026, outdoor seating, tasting menu, vegetarian-friendly
Reservations: Required on weekends
370 Manor Lane, Jamesport
As it always has, 18 Bay offers a four-course, fixed-price, Italian-accented tasting menu (a bargain at $145) that comprises a quartet of antipasti, a homemade pasta, entree (your choice of fish or meat) and dessert. But in Jamesport, for the first time, there is an a la carte menu so you can create your own feast, or just have a bowl of Ronzetti’s supernal pasta at the bar — she is a true master of the art.
Credit: Megan Schlow
Notable dishes
Fettuccine verde with oysters and guanciale, any salad, any local fish dish, grilled New York strip steak
Tip:
Don’t sleep on the beverages here: General manager Chris Cardone is an award-winning mixologist. He's put together a thoughtful cocktail menu and, with the chefs, a mostly Italian list of lesser-known (and value-priced) wines. And don’t skip dessert.
Both menus change constantly but always highlight local, seasonal vegetables and fish. (In the winter, fluke crudo was served with batons of apples; in the summer the apples were swapped out for musk melon. A cold-weather salad of radicchio salad with blood-orange vinaigrette was succeeded by the exceedingly vernal purslane and radishes.) What marks every preparation is a blend of simplicity and sophistication — no trendy ingredients, no showy garnishes. And the skill in the back of the house is matched by the warmth and professionalism of everyone in the front. Together, they put 18 Bay in the very top tier of Long Island dining.
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