PORTERS on the lane — Restaurant in Town of Brookhaven

I had a little extra time today, was in the vicinity of Bellport, so what the heck; why not knock off another Burger that was on my Buger Hit List🤷‍♂️

I enjoy Bellport, and have good memories there.

I House sat for a friend a few years ago, and fell in love with the Village, and all it's offerings.

It has a few restaurants, an Ice Cream store, a brewery, drug store, grocery store, pizza , AND a Theater.

If you are a resident you get your own ferry to Fire Island. An unheard of bonus, on Long Island.

It feels like you are in an isolated place when you are there.

As I drove South on Station Road, off Sunrise, towards the Village, I was getting a slight bit of nostalgia for my former, temporary home, and a huge sense of Angst,😳 wondering if the burger was still as good as it was a few years ago.

I ordered the burger my usual Medium Rare, without all that lettuce, tomato, and onion, IE rabbit food.

I'm happy to report the burger was fantastic!! It had the brightness, and saltiness, of a true, grilled Sirloin burger, and the structure, feel, and juiciness, of a in-house, hand pressed, burger.

The bun to Meat ratio was more than appropriate, as one, didnt overwhelm the other.

Toasting the brioche bun added to the buttery taste of the brioche bun.

The French Fries did not play second fiddle to the Burger, in any way, shape, or form!

It was immediately obvious that they were hand cut, soaked, and rinsed, in house, as the soft interior of the fries burst with that tasty prominent, potatoey flavor.

A little on the high side for a burger, $18.

Any cheeses, or other additions were $2, $3 extra.. You looking at $20, to $23, if you load it up. The fries come with the burger.

I do not begrudge the restaurant for charging what they do...

As much as I enjoyed it, and would have no reservations recommending the burger, or the restaurant, it did not break into my mythical Top 5...

It is certainty a Top Tier burger, in my eyes, but not Tippy Top. I enjoy blended meats in my Bugers

The sevice was efficient.

The help was professional, and polite.

The restaurant is beautiful, in a rustic way, wood floors, wooden beams. Etc

As I was the only one at the bar, for a good portion of my time time there, one would expect good service, and it was.

Plenty of parking, as there is a Municipal lot right next door, and a decent amount of street parking.

A small caveat, the Village is busy on weekend evenings, and in the Summer, so parking can get a bit scarce.

Do NOT break the 30 mile an hour speed limit, you will get a speeding ticket😉

Porters on the Lane, Bellport Village

2/4/2024

Btw...The license plate of the car in front of me in the parking lot, must be a Deli or Bagel Store owner, or a BEC freak,...

This is the most atrocious dining experience I've had in recent memory and I'm used to pretentious, cold hipster service. We came here with a group of 14 to celebrate our friend's bachelor party and the only positive aspect of our dining experience was the fact we have a ridiculous, comical story to share now.

Our reservation was at 7:30 PM and we got there right on time and were immediately seated. The waitress came over and took our drink orders and it was a complete free fall in terms of service from there. After ordering appetizers and entrees a random waiter who seemed lost brought out 4 of our friend's plates; we thought it was kind of strange but we then realized those plates were actually for another table, who seemed even more miserable than we looked. The waitress then came over and sneered "those aren't your plates". Awkward but in the words of Hannah Montana "nobody's perfect" and so that in of itself was no big deal. However, the way we were then treated was completely unjustified. They proceeded to completely ignore our group while trying to rectify their mistake with the aforementioned other table. Hungry and thirsty we tried to get anyone's attention to no avail. After waiting for more than 2 hours we still hadn't received any of our plates, while multiple tables who had arrived and been seated after us were already finishing, including a group of loud, obnoxious women being actively encouraged to yell by the waitstaff. One of our courageous friends went up to ask the waitress for an update and she had the nerve to say that we had stolen the other table's plates?!?!? I cannot make this up. Listen I understand serving a large group isn't easy but blaming the customer for the waitstaff's mistake was completely unwarranted. Moreover, using that as an excuse to prolong our wait is both childish and petty, which seems to be an accurate description of the restaurant manager who never took the time to apologize or explain the situation. To top it all off the taco shells I got were more stale than week old bread, the fish a colorless, flavorless goop.

Thesis statement: we waited more than 2.5 hours to receive our food and were blamed for the waitstaff's mistake who then held a grudge against us. If I had wanted to witness clowns in action I would have gone...

My wife and I had been in the area, running errands and we just wondered in for a late lunch one day. We walked in, unknowing they were still not open for another hour, but they welcomed us with open arms and one of the most delicious lunch we’ve ever had. I had the Lamb chops (cooked to a PERFECT mid rare) w/Truffle Mash Potatoes and Asparagus. My wife had the Filet (cooked perfect as well) w/Mash potatoes and some kind of out of this world vegetable. Our server Cadalena or Madeline (if those are spelled incorrectly or completely wrong... my bad) was not only adorable, positive and passionate, she just felt genuine. Seriously just an amazing person.

With that said, we decided to come back for Friday evening dinner reservation to celebrate our anniversary. Now was the ultimate test. Now, we’re here in a packed house (to COVID standards packed), with several people waiting. Will the food be as well prepared in this type of setting??? Oooooohhh BABY!!! We had the French Onion Soup (one of the best I’ve had in years), side salads, oysters in a 1/2 shell, shrimp cocktail and for our entrees we had Filet (again... my wife is the kind of person that order Chicken Parm all the time because it’s “safe”.... anyway) and I had the white truffle ravioli. Not only were our meals almost flawless, the entire Serving Staff should be commended. They really are the backbone and face of a successful restaurant and you can tell Porters prides themselves on that.

Porters has now become our go to any and every time we are in the Bellport area or just in the mood for a diverse menu and specials to pull you in from wherever you reside on the island. The restaurant is located in a quaint “Main St” type are, with plenty of family owned businesses and plenty of eye Candy. You can seriously spend a couple ours walking around and making Porters your final destination that’ll put a positive pump in your heart to end your perfect day.

Thank you, Porters. We hope your standards stay as high as they are and you continue to grow. Be safe, take care and...