The Marin opens in Northport
The cold lobster roll at The Marin in Northport Harbor. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
When Lindsay Ostrander took over the former Whales Tale, her vision for The Marin was to transform the rowdy, seasonal watering hole at the Britannia Yachting Center overlooking Northport Harbor into a year-round dining destination.
"They were only open half the year," she said. "All the tables were outside on the deck with just a bar inside." The Marin’s cool dining room now seats 75, with another 50 outside. (The best view of the water is actually from inside.)
A Northport native, Ostrander and her husband, Dan Klein, also own two other spots in the village, Salted. On the Harbor (est. 2020) and The Wine Cellar on Main (2012). She chose the name The Marin to evoke all the words — marine, marina, maritime — that derive from the Latin marinus, which means "of the sea." ("Marin" is pronounced like the first two syllables of marinara, the sauce supposedly invented by Italian sailors.) The Marin opened earlier this month.
The Marin, at the Brittania Yachting Center, has a view of Northport Harbor. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
For the menu, she was inspired by another waterfront restaurant, Harvest on the Pond in Montauk. "It’s my favorite restaurant," she confessed. "Since it’s so far away, I’m happy to ride on its coattails."
As at Harvest, the dinner menu is designed to be shared, with lots of tempting starters and flatbreads. Pastas, salads and mains are all oversized and will feed two or more.
"That’s how I love to eat," Ostrander said. "It’s not just what am I eating, it’s what are we eating?"
Pastas ($45 to $50) include cacio e pepe and sausage and peas. Mains ($50 to $140) include roast whole chicken with roasted cipollini onions and mashed potatoes, grilled 42-ounce porterhouse with roasted garlic and rosemary, pan-seared Faroe Island salmon with Dijon-dill sauce and grilled broccolini. Not into sharing? Order Marin burger (with tomato jam, Manchego, roasted garlic mayo on brioche, $25) or the lobster roll (cold or warm, $48) which is every bit as good as the one at Salted — one of Long Island's best. As befitting the seaside location, there’s a full raw bar too.
The lunch menu focuses more on individual portions, with sandwiches ($20 to $28) and a tuna poke bowl added to the starter-salad lineup.
The Whales Tale closed in October 2025 after 16 years in Northport — four months after the owners opened a location in Hampton Bays.
The Marin, 81 Fort Salonga Rd., Northport, 631-284-6555, themarinrestaurant.com. Open Tuesday to Sunday noon to 10 p.m.
