The Hamptons

A new Mediterranean restaurant will bless the village of Water Mill with their Mykonos inspired flavor this summer. Brought to you by the famed team behind Amali, Il Cantinori and Periyali, CALISSA will kick off Memorial day weekend with it’s grand opening. Their vision aspires to celebrate the shared qualities between Mykonos, “the jewel of the Cyclades,” with that of The Hamptons, the jewel of New York. The East End signifies the perfect location to compliment the cuisine and culture of this Greek Island’s traditional charm. Both islands set the standard for summer splendor, and Calissa aims to fuse the two.

The restaurant brings a family style dining experience to The Hamptons, offering small and large sharable plates. Their menu honors the East End’s abundance of sea food and farm fresh vegetables, featuring dishes that highlight this treasured seasonal fruition. Emphasizing heritage Cycladic ingredients, Calissa will provide diners with large format Greek dishes like Salt-Baked Striped bass, Lobster Bucatini and “Thieves’ Lamb,” as well as their own contemporary innovations such as Corn Croquettes with Spicy Feta, Tarama with Salt Cod, Salmon Roe and Vinegar Crisps and Rocket Salad with Louza.

In addition to their bountiful food menu, their cocktail list will suggest the largest selection of wine the South Fork has yet seen. Calissa will be offering over 30 different wines by the glass and verticals of the highest quality roses, while three full time sommeliers will assist guests with 150 different bottles.

TheHamptons.com had the privilege of previewing this menu at Calissa’s sister restaurant in NYC. To start, we enjoyed the grilled romaine with cherry tomatoes, kopanisti (a fermented stilton style cheese) and candied walnuts, followed by the spit roasted baby carrots with caramelized greek yogurt, pea tendrils, and sumac. We had the pleasure of indulging in their lobster bucatini and salt-baked red snapper, which literally melts in your mouth. As if that weren’t decadent enough, we finished our meal with a chocolate cake a la mode and some loukamades, a classic Greek doughnut covered in honey and walnuts, and served with sesame, pistachio, orange and raspberry curd for dipping.

Accompanying our truly heavenly dining experience was the warm hospitality of Calissa’s staff, hosts, managers, and owner, whose generosity was paired with a grounded sense of humor, making our evening all the more enjoyable. We are looking forward to visiting them again in their Hamptons location, which will embody the beach chic vibes of Mykonos with their 25 foot open air bar and indoor/outdoor bohemian lounge area.

We love Kahil Gibran’s take On Eating & Drinking

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