Who's up for a day trip? The season's maximum sunlight invites Long Islanders on longer-than-usual journeys, and there's hardly a better warm-weather destination than an exciting new restaurant on the water, near the vineyards or in the Hamptons. Here are 16 suggestions for summer-worthy dining. 

437 E. Main St., Centerport

One of the prettiest water views on Long Island just got better: Mill Pond House, which was built in 1909, has reopened after a top-to-bottom renovation. Get ready to be wowed — light, bright and airy, this Mill Pond is stunning with blond wood on tastefully paneled walls, white oak floors and a massive center bar overlooking the patio dining room (spectacular sunsets guaranteed). The private dining room upstairs has an enlarged veranda for al fresco dining. The menu moves away from Italian red sauce classics in favor of lighter pastas and more emphasis on steak and seafood like the filet mignon and shrimp "surf and turf," accompanied by mashed potatoes and asparagus and the halibut over a delicate sunchoke puree. For dessert, the Blondie bottom banana cream pie is a must. More info: 631-261-7663, millpondrestaurant.com 

31 Baker Place, Patchogue

The Sandbar, which replaces the former Baja Boathouse, is a tribute to summer: The three-acre lot has long been a meeting spot for dinner, drinks or just watching the ships go by. Anchored by a 37-slip marina, the multilevel space has indoor-outdoor dining, a sandy lounge that fronts a stage for live music and high cocktail tables around the grounds. There’s oversize Connect Four games, live music on weekends, twinkling Edison bulbs after sunset and plenty of cocktails including the spicy Sandbar margarita, a piquant blood orange and muddled jalapeño combo. Bites skew seafood heavy, but there are burgers and chicken sandwiches for landlubbers. More info: 631-730-6521, sandbarkitchenandcocktails.com

40 Peconic Ave., Riverhead

After 22 years west of town, Buoy One has moved into the heart of Riverhead, taking over the old River Walk Bar & Grille with its spacious dining room and view of Peconic Riverfront Park (and, if you squint, the Peconic River itself). The original vibe — fish market with dining room attached — has given way to a more traditional restaurant. The menu checks all the crowd-pleasing seafood boxes — raw bar, chowders, baked clams, coconut shrimp, fried calamari, clambakes, buckets of clams and mussels, baskets of fried seafood, mains based around flounder, tuna, salmon and cod besides burgers, pastas and steaks. More info: 631-208-9737, buoyone.com

5775 W. Mill Rd., Mattituck

When Anthony Martignetti bought The Old Mill Inn in 2018, the 200-year-old building was condemned, its plumbing and electrical systems shot, the waters of Mattituck Creek coming through the floorboards. Over the next seven years, the NYC hospitality impresario restored it to a glory it probably never had either in its original incarnation as a tidal grist mill or as one of the series of restaurants that followed (the last one closed in 2017). Now raised safely above the creek, its interior buffed to a soft glow, it’s poised to become a new North Fork landmark. Chef Kyle Bloomer (formerly of The Halyard and Bruce & Son in Greenport) highlights local produce and seafood with a menu that treads the line between classic and contemporary, from a salad of greens from KK’s The Farm in Southold and squid a la plancha to fish and chips and roast chicken with maitake mushrooms. More info: 631-621-2251, oldmillnorthfork.com

111 Main St., Greenport

Claudio's, the historic 155-year old Greenport stalwart, has rolled out its new dining concepts on the waterfront. Claudio's Tavern & Grill now goes by Charlie Boy, an all-day Italian American cafe with a modern twist. Italian-inspired breakfast "burritos" coast with handmade pastas and wood-fired pizzas. The former Crabby Jerry's is now Common Country East, a country-style restaurant and bar that's a sexy, upscale honky-tonk, complete with live music and a backdrop of Greenport's harbor. Funky cocktails include a pickle juice martini, spiked "prairie" lemonade, and an applejack Old Fashioned, while the menu features elevated, yet playful bar fare with a southern twist including elote fritters made with Mexican-style street corn, jalapeño poppers, salads, burgers, and of course, mac and cheese. More info: 631-477-0627, claudios.com, commoncountrybar.com, charlieboyrestaurant.com

Westhampton Beach, Southampton, Montauk

Crispy Taco is spreading itself all over the Hamptons. The chainlet formerly known as Uno Mas opened last summer in Southampton and Westhampton Beach but founder Gary Spangler rebranded it to pay tribute to the star of the menu, a taco whose filling — steak, chicken or pork — is folded into a crispy tortilla before being embraced by a soft tortilla. The menu also features regular soft tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, guacamole and more. Plus a tequila-centric bar. Not only are the Southampton and Westhampton stores rebranded, a new Montauk outlet is scheduled to open in June. More info: 44 Hampton Rd. #2, Southampton (631-259-3827), 77 Main St., Westhampton Beach (631-684-9230), 769 Old Montauk Hwy. (Breakers MTK), Montauk (631-238-5341), crispytaco.com.

144 Main St., Westhampton Beach, 631-288-9777

Manhattan’s Donohue’s Steak House is making the trip east this summer. The Upper East Side landmark (est. 1950) is taking over the former Post Stop Cafe, which has been closed since 2023. Maureen Donohue, whose father and grandfather founded the restaurant, lives in Hampton Bays and was approached by a group of customers who wanted to buy a commercial property in the area so she could establish a satellite. The Post Cafe (a stripling that opened in 1979) fit the bill. Donohue said that she’ll be bringing her menu of simple salads, burgers, steaks, chops and seafood as well as that famous martini that comes with the pint-size glass in which it was mixed, so customers can top themselves off. "I want the place to be low key and cozy," she said. Donohue is shooting for late June and plans to be open year-round for lunch and dinner every day except Monday.

76C Jobs Lane, Southampton

Located in Southampton Village, in the old Bamboo space, Namiro Sushi nods to the Japanese word for "wave." Expect fresh cuts of sushi, signature rolls, and rolls with twists like the vegan beet roll made with beets, vegan feta, and pistachios. Cooked entrées include lobster udon ramen, lamb chops with mustard miso, and Korean fried chicken. More info: 631-204-5371, namirosushi.com 

Taco Lot: 10 Windmill Lane, Southampton; Farm Market: 101 Jobs Lane (at Hill St.), Southampton

El Verano chef Julian Medina is expanding his upscale Mexican food outpost with El Verano Taco Lot, a casual, outdoor Mexico City-style taqueria next door. Here, you can grab a picnic table for casual bites like queso fundido, birria tacos, or lobster rolls, plus beverages like a Mexican Arnold Palmer with hibiscus tea and limeade, or a frozen margarita. Additionally, look for Medina and partner Chelsea Laviano’s El Farm Market at 101 Jobs Lane. Offering prepared foods and Mexican specialties like guacamole, homemade chips, roasted tomato salsa, dips, and sandwiches — including a lobster BLT and Mexican tortas — plus rotating seasonal veggies. More info: 377-3050, elveranony.com

203 Bridgehampton — Sag Harbor Tpke., Bridgehampton

Restaurateur Joe Isidori opened Arthur & Sons last summer and is adding a new concept to his East End home: burgers. The three-time Food Network "Burger Bash" champion's Hamptons spinoff of his Manhattan bar and lounge, Artie’s Backroom, features specialty margaritas (golden, strawberry or spicy watermelon) alongside the Late Night Burger (American cheese, special sauce, and pickles) and Artie’s Burger (provolone, special sauce and cherry peppers). There's french fries and KoreanBBQ wings, too. More info: arthurandsonsnyc.com

542 Sagg Main St., Sagaponack

Sagaponack has only a handful of businesses but, for almost 150 years, it has had a store at 542 Sagg Main St. Built in 1878 as Chamberlain Bros. Sagaponack resident Mindy Gray bought the property and restored the store to a glory it never knew: She reconstructed the front porch that was destroyed decades long ago and installed floor-to-ceiling windows on the back wall so that patrons could look out onto farmland. Inside, there’s a little bit of everything: rotisserie chickens, soups, salads, sandwiches and other takeout items; homemade pastries; produce (as local as possible) and grocery items from milk, eggs and yogurt to tinned fish and fresh pasta; coffee from La Colombe and bread from Alpina (Water Mill) and Big Fresh (Southampton). There’s also frozen yogurt, penny candy, a small range of housewares and branded merchandise. More info: 631-536-5242, sagaponackgeneralstore.com

74 James Lane, East Hampton

You may recognize the name of this new spot from yesteryear New York City, and you’d be correct in assuming a connection. Swifty’s, the Manhattan haunt of socialites was shuttered in 2016, before Andrew and Sarah Wetenhall revived the brand at their Colony Hotel in Palm Beach in 2019. This summer, they have a second location at The Hedges Inn — an East End landmark that dates back to 1873. Serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, Swifty’s most popular dishes include crushed avocado with espelette, agave house chips, pico de gallo, and salsa, jumbo lump Maryland crab cakes, served with creamed spinach and Lyonnaise potatoes, and curried chicken salad, a Palm Beach transplant. Modern takes on American classics showcase local purveyors including Montauk Shellfish, Braun Seafood, Balsam Farms and Catapano Dairy Farm. More info: 631-680-5939, thehedgeseasthampton.com

47 Montauk Hwy., East Hampton

Crazy Pizza, the festive SoHo spot that debuted in 2024, has landed in the Hamptons. This is food as theater. Every now and again, the dining room breaks into ABBA’s "Gimme Gimme Gimme" and one of the pizzaiolos, or spinning chefs, emerge from the kitchen twirling a giant round of faux pizza above his head. There's clapping and singing as the pizza dough dances its way through the dining room to beats spun by the in-house DJ. Coated with fresh ingredients imported from Italy, cheese and toppings from prosciutto to prawns, mushrooms, peppers and eggplant, the thin crust pizzas are the go-to menu item here, but there are also pastas like creamy cacio e pepe, tagliatelle Bolognese and a simple pomodoro alongside perennial favorites chicken Milanese and parmigiana. Salads include Caesar, spinach and burrata, while apps like calamari round out the menu. Don't sleep on the Nutella pizza for dessert. More info: crazypizza.com

Gigi’s Montauk and Dune Café & Lounge

290 Old Montauk Hwy., Montauk

Opening June 16, Gurney's, Montauk's luxury beachfront property that dates back to 1926, is launching two new food concepts: Gigi’s Montauk, offering the cuisine of the moment — Mediterranean coastal. Dune Café & Lounge serves coffee, breakfast and lunch by day, and transforming into a raw bar and cocktail lounge by night. More info: 631-668-2345, gurneysresorts.com

Sea Salt

Sole East Resort, 90 Second House Rd., Montauk

The expansive Second House Road hotel with the hammocks and fire pit and daybed-surrounded pool garden underwent a redesign. Seasalt, is a modern and breezy Mediterranean-inspired eatery helmed by chef Melissa O’Donnell, former executive chef of Duryea’s. Dishes include octopus confit and local fish served in bouillabaisse, as well as lighter fare (think Mediterranean labneh, hummus and red pepper feta) plus breakfast and brunch offerings including shakshuka. More info: 631-668-2105, soleast.com/resort

Bagatelle 

Expect a party vibe at Gosman’s Dock — which dates back to 1943 — as the French Mediterranean hot spot from Manhattan takes over the historic location better known for fisherman friendly lobster dinners than what's soon to be caviar and crudités. Opening in June. More info: bagatelle.com