Serafina East Hampton — Restaurant in Town of East Hampton

I think when people, myself somewhat included, go to East Hampton to dine they expect to be greeted by somewhat snobby hostesses who look behind your shoulder to see if Gwyneth has rolled in. Food that costs a fortune that would only fill up aforementioned Paltrow and overall not a great dining experience. However, Serafina in East Hampton could not be further from this stereotype. Warmly run by Goran the owner who is a jovial, much-loved European who makes everyone feel warm and welcome the second they step through the door. A joyful bartender and a warming fireplace to take away your chill round out the general vibe here. But it’s not just the great staff that sets Serafina apart, it’s also the food and my fellow diners and myself always go to seriously eat. We began with spritzes which seem like such an easy cocktail to make, yet I cannot tell you how many we’ve had recently which require our own adjustment. A splash more prosecco, or another orange slice to muddle, yet not here. Perfectly balanced with just enough sweet bubbles to awaken the palate and cool citrus to enliven the senses. Next, we shared the romaine salad. Unlike at other restaurants where the salads are baby bunny portions, here they could be called “family share style.” Heaping piles of fresh greens and sweet bites of succulent corn were had by all, a table of four. I also couldn’t help but notice that all the diners around us were also joining in the large salad mix. The caesar also looked particularly good and we all made a mental note to try it the next time. After this, we shared the margherita pizza which we’d all heard good things about. Keeping in mind my table was outfitted with New Yorkers we are by no easy means an easy group to please when it comes to za. Yet, here we found ourselves oohing and awing over the crisp, perfectly baked thin crust that could have been straight out of Napoli. They have a wood oven here and without sounding trite it delivered like dominos. We followed this with a shared gnocchi, yet another dish which is hard to please in our books. Normally it is served here with a tomato sauce, but we felt like trying the porcini mushroom cream sauce and it must be said it was perfect to carry the delicate pillows of softness which melted in our mouths. Each of us declared it was indeed, “the best gnocchi we’d ever had” clearly homemade and so soft it hardly required a chew. Another diner had the lobster ravioli which was also delicious. Not too much dough and served in a lobster bisque sauce that had just the right amount of hum. It too was dubbed, “the best she’d ever had.” Our other guest had the tried-and-true spaghetti and meatballs which arrived in a mountain of triumph and smiles from the diner. Heaping thin pieces of spaghetti held huge nonna-made looking meatballs that were so large our diner delightedly got to take part home for lunch the next day. To finish our meal we had the rarely found profiteroles. Crunchy yet sweet pastry held cooling balls of pistachio and vanilla ice cream with warm chocolate sauce to drizzle that left us all in a happy food coma. Truly, not enough good things can be said about Serafina. The food is simply the best Italian in the Hamptons, perhaps New York state and the price point is completely reasonable for seriously generous food portions that are artfully made with care by Goran and his well-trained team. If ever you find yourself in East Hampton I highly suggest you dip in for what can only be described as a joyful experience for your spirit and happy...

Three words for you, consistency, delicious, don’t have to sell a kidney to eat here affordable and more delectable than other Italian restaurants out East. Last night we found ourselves once again at Serafina an establishment we so enjoy we drive all the way from Southampton just for a quick meal. The reason being Goran and his staff simply run one of the best eateries out here that never disappoints. We have a running joke in our family that the second time we dine it’s always terrible, never close to our first positive experience at a place. However, not here, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. There is something about the pizza as a long-time New Yorker, former food blogger and all-round pizza aficionado I can wholeheartedly say the pizza in the Hamptons sucks. It simply does, poor quality ingredients, crusts that are either so soggy you could use them as a sponge or so hard they could double as a weapon. At Serafina’s, they have a traditional pizza oven with quality, fresh ingredients that melt in your mouth. Not to sound cliché, but you can truly taste the difference. To-go orders are always pouring out for the pizza and I thank my lucky stars they aren’t closer or undoubtedly none of my pants would fit. The Aperol spritz’s are perfectly refreshing and balanced no matter who the bartender is. And my personal favorite that I actually dream about like a fat kid in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is their homemade gnocchi. Lusciously light small bites that dissolve onto your tongue with barely a chew. I always order mine with a mushroom cream sauce instead of the traditional marinara. And have watched friends who hate shrooms of all kinds eat half my plate as it’s irritably mouthwatering. Don’t be dissuaded by the name either if you’re like me, a snobbish Manhattanite who thinks, “oh I’ve been to a million Serafina’s in the city before.” This Serafina is unlike any other, a true gem of Italian hospitality and cuisine that delivers not like dominos but just like your Nonna would....

We were greeted by an awesome host. We were sat down and after 20 mins of no waiter the host took our order and gave us some whine. I got up like a pre I student to ask for bread beacuse the waiters around us wouldn’t even make any eye contact with me as if I was an ex. Still Unbenounced to who our waiter was we kept asking the host, or the busser or whoever dared make eye contact with us, asked for extra pepper or anything else we needed. I raised my hand twice to ask who our waiter was, I felt rude if I kept asking the host, but the host said it busy night which would I would have believed if we didn’t have a bunch of empty tables to the right side of us. Anyways after getting our first course the busser brought our second course, who then we asked for some cheese, who then was brought by a random waiter, and then I asked that waiter for fries who then the waiter asked our host to place the order because the host was our apparent waiter. We did have some random waiter on occasion ask if we had needed anything only after we had already asked someone else for something …anyways very odd very poor service but overall descent food. We wouldn’t come here again though. We ordered our dessert to go which looked like the remains of what was once a beautiful Italian...