The Hamptons

In the mood for something new + different we ventured into Southampton to the place where Nello’s used to be discovering a new love – Nammos! Its ambience flavored by Greek music throughout carried us away to the other side of the world! We were pulled into the main dining room by its nautical style and the delightful breeze coming through the wide open doors and big windows. We noticed though that most others opted for the splendid outdoor patio that was hedged in nicely for privacy but yet open to the stars above for this evening’s perfect summer sky!

Indoors though with the open market bordering one side of the bar in plain view of our table we got a much more Mediterranean feel – exactly what we were looking for! Starting with a wonderful glass of sauvignon blanc and fresh off the grill pita bread served a chick pea spread, we couldn’t help but glance around the tasteful open space taking in the new redesign of one of the oldest establishments in Southampton – originally known as The Old Post House.

Service was adequately attentive but more impressive was that the chef pleasantly came out to greet us and explained precisely how each dish was prepared – we must warn you though that portions are so generous that we shared each one and were quite content by the end of the delicious spread laid out for us.

Everything sounded scrumptious so we allowed Elliot Eliades, Nammos’ manager, choose for us. I think perhaps our favorite of all was the Cheese Saganaki made with a Greek Kefalograviera cheese which is sheep and cow milk cheese aged for three months, flour coated and fried lending a special crispness to it. It was topped with a smoked honey sauce made of honey and roasted chili peppers and served alongside a double slice of watermelon – a sweet and unusual blend of tastes. Talk about a melt in your mouth delicious surprise!! Following that was Marouli – the Greek version of light salad made up of romaine hearts of lettuce, frisee, radicchio, feta cheese, dill and spring onions tossed with a red wine vinegar and olive oil.

For the main entree we enjoyed a succulent Tsipoura fillet which is known as the Princess of the Meditarenean Sea because of the crown that circulates around its head. Buttery, white and tender, it comes from the island of Kefalonia. All whole fish at Nammos are naturally fresh, charcoal grilled and topped with latholemono – a classic Grecian lemon-oil sauce. This was accompanied by baby potatoes drizzled lightly with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, dry and fresh oregano. We couldn’t seem to stop there so ended up ordering their shrimp wontons which we spied on the menu and had our hearts set on before we were sweetly offered the special buffet of appetizers. The shrimp saganaki again were very crisp as each shrimp was wrapped in a a spring roll leaf with crumbled feta, chopped tomatoes, red + yellow bell peppers and ouzo and than deep-fried embellished with red pepper-feta coulis.

The three appetizers and one entree were absolutely delish as was the custard in phyllo dessert we shared leaving us wanting some MORE so have put on the #mustgoback list!! Only element we would have added was a LIVE version of the wonderful Greek music we enjoyed so much {hint-hint}.

We love Kahil Gibran’s take On Eating & Drinking

You can find handy links to both restaurants & lodging from Westhampton to Montauk on “The Hamptons”.com