The Patio, off the Nautical Mile in Freeport
Spicy shrimp tacos are a special appetizer at The Patio in Freeport. (July 30, 2013) Credit: Newsday / Erica Marcus
This summer I’ve been making an informal survey of the waterside restaurants in Freeport that are not on the Nautical Mile. First I hit Pier 95, alongside the Hudson Canal, where I had a tranquil and delicious Portuguese-inflected meal.
This week it’s The Patio, at the Freeport Inn and Marina on South Main Street.
The Patio is well-named. There’s an indoor bar area, but most of the restaurant sprawls over a patio that overlooks the marina’s bobbing boats, with a little of Freeport’s semi-industrial shoreline in the background. Fire pits are lit when the sun sets, and Thursday through Sunday evening, there’s usually a live band or a DJ.
For me, the main attraction at The Patio is Alex Algieri, who earned three stars from Newsday when he was executive chef at North Fork Oyster Company in Greenport. His seafood focus has not dimmed as he’s moved west.
We started out with shrimp tacos that were out of this world. Every element — spicy, jerk-rubbed shrimp, sweet roasted corn, scallions, shredded raw cabbage and radish all drizzled with a cumin-spiked crema— registered, and delighted.
I also enjoyed pristine clams on the half shell and a restrained Caesar salad. The fresh lobster roll, on its toasted, buttered bun, had a little too much celery for my taste. Coriander-seared tuna came perfectly rare on a bed of Asian noodles, but both elements were too lean, lacking a certain luxuriance. The only real disappointment was linguine and clam sauce, overloaded with onions and hot pepper so that the dish tasted hot and sweet — and barely of clams.
There’s much more on the menu to try — including some nice-looking wood-fired pizzas — so I’ll be going back.
The Patio is at 445 S. Main St., Freeport, 516-623-2980, patiofreeport.com.
