Almond — Restaurant in Town of Southampton

Summary: will never go again. Meh experience, plus food poisoning.

Details:

While the waiter was pleasant when we interacted with him, the service in general was terrible. Our table (and others around us) were not getting enough attention from the wait-staff. Even when the restaurant cleared out by 40% or so, the service remained bad.

My wife got the mac'n'cheese and a focaccia-based dish and neither tasted good. We both love food and hate wasting it, but she barely ate a third of her meal. I had an $80 combo of mussles, clams, oysters, octopus, and white fish with a side of fries. Everything but the octopus tasted decent and fresh. However, the octopus was served in this mason jar with potatoes and a mayo-like dressing. It tasted off. I only ate about 20% of it. Then we went home.

That's when the food poisoning started.

Mild headache before bed, then woke at around 1am soaked in sweat. Next day, had a fever of 101F and body aches. My wife wasn't sick at all.

The only highlights of the evening were the fries (which were served hot and tasted good) and the drink I had: The Old School. But honestly? Save your money and make the drink at home :)

Vibe: it's the Hamptons, so lots of wealthy folks. Half of them were in their 20s or 30s. Felt like a Labor-day weekend crowd of mostly people from NYC chilling at their weekend home.

If you want excellent food in the Hamptons, try Bistro Ete instead. Service was good, clean bathrooms, and I think it's run by the chef...

We had a wonderful birthday dinner celebration here.

Originally, we had a table booked outside, but because the weather was unpredictable, the restaurant let us know that we would still be able to dine with them, indoors. Upon arrival, it was not raining nor forecasted to rain, the hostess advised us that we cannot sit outside anymore and only inside. We were a little confused at first because the original booking was for outdoor seating, so it didn't make sense that they put us indoors..

Our waiter was amazing. He was super helpful and very sweet. We started off mussels, burrata, trout tartar, fried clams and escargot. Everything was absolutely delicious except for the fried clams - they were super rubbery and chewy and impossible to chew down. For entrees, we ordered the lobster spaghetti (MY FAVORITE!!), lamb kebabs (very good), scallops (very good), and striped bass (also very good). Let me tell you, I could eat that spaghetti lobster every day for the rest of my life, that's how good it was! For dessert we had the sticky toffee date cake and this peach cobbler or crisp or something, but both were delicious!

Overall, great...

Although Almond has been here for a minute, this was the first time I’ve ever dined in. And what a wonderful experience it was! We called ahead to confirm that we could eat outdoors despite the poor weather - we were told that we could sit under heat lamps but they recommended that we bring blankets for the chairs so our bottoms wouldn’t be cold - helpful advice! As soon as we arrived we were set up under warm, warm heat lamps and the owner Eric took wonderful care of us. Our server Rachel was able to answer all our questions and help out with dietary restrictions. The drinks were so well made (ask for The Aviation) and the service was impeccable but the food speaks for itself. We recommend the bison Friday special, the duck breast and the scallops — honestly none of them to be missed! We spent over 3 hours outside on the patio under the heat lamps and were so incredibly comfortable and well fed while the manager Lara came over to ensure we always had what we needed. 10/10 for service, food, drinks, ambiance. Possibly the single best dinning experience I’ve had since before lockdown began. Thank you! We will...