Calissa Hamptons — Restaurant in Town of Southampton

Season after season this place gets it right every time, and honestly, I’ve never had an evening here that didn’t feel absolutely awesome! It’s literally the best place in the Hamptons––gorgeous food, drinks, ambience, people, and staff. The space has flow down to an art form. You pull in off Montauk highway, drop your keys with a valet, walk in to hear great music pumping (often curated/DJ-ed by owner James), are greeted by the awesome host staff (perhaps awesome co-partner Tonya), grab a life-changing drink from the perfectly designed circular bar with the friendliest bartender around, walk through a beautifully designed dining room, and make your way out the back door to a classic Hamptons patio and open sky garden. It can get busy in the summer high season of July and August, but with so much space they somehow manage to avoid the stuffy, cramped experience you have at so many other local places. By contrast, here it feels like the more the merrier–this is a high energy place, and people are there to live the good life. I’m often impressed at the fact that they seem to draw a crowd that’s seventeen to seventies, and everybody seems to be having fun. In addition to the regular lunches and family dinners I’ve had here, this place attracts incredible talent, and I’ve heard the Gipsy Kings play here, and on August 1 they’ve got Wyclef Jean! I was lucky enough to get invited to their Summer Soiree which was a super elegant evening. I got to meet the partners James and Tonya, some of the staff Micah(sp) and Jordan, the high energy chef, and the bartender. It’s always a good sign when the people who work at restaurants love spending time at the place….and it turns out James (a partner) is also a superb DJ!!! As for the food, I’ve had nearly everything on the menu, and it’s all delicious….I could literally throw a dart at the menu and love what shows up at the table. That said, their oysters are sublime, the watermelon salad is always perfection, and the Saganaki is like crack in cheese form…I’m addicted! Calissa isn’t inexpensive, but to my mind in the Hamptons where everything is pricey, it’s a great value for the money. Their attention to food, drinks, service, ambience, and attitude make it well worth the sticker price. I recently found out that these partners also own Amali and Juniper in the city, so after summer season closes, I’m looking forward to exploring...

It is with great disappointment writing this review because I had gone in with high expectations being an "upscale" Mediterranean spot in the Hamptons, however it was anything but upscale. I had gone with a group of 10+ women for a bachelorette dinner/party. The service slowed down as the night went on and a lot of mistakes with our drinks occurred, such as bringing our drinks to a different bachelorette party and then when asked where the drinks were the waiter proceeded to go over to take back the drinks he gave to the other girls to give back to us. When it was time to eat our entrees the lights were completely closed and we were eating some of the pricier items from the menu in the complete dark and were then very quickly asked if we wanted the items packed up --it all felt very rushed. I was then asked by wait staff for my CC to closeout without being given an itemized receipt. You would think that at a place that is raved about with such high prices and a bill paid over $2K would warrant a round of shots for a table of ladies as good measure but nothing. There were so many tables left open under the tent where many women got up to dance to music played by a sub-par DJ and we had to ask the waiters to move some around to give us space. After exactly 1 hour of dancing we were told we had to move inside as they were cleaning up. We then transitioned to small corner by the inside DJ to continue the party. It was extremely hot and poorly ventilated. After some time the DJ from outside continuously was coming up to only our party insisting that we need to "relocate" so he can sell tables for bottle service. He had no area to relocate our party that just spent a significant amount of money at the restaurant. When asked to speak to the manager the said DJ said he was the owner. So now the DJ was the bottle service man/table organizer/manager/owner all wrapped in one (yea okay). When questioned and met with refusal to leave, he proceeded to give horrible attitude and showed immense amount of unprofessionalism. It is safe to say that I 100% do not recommend this place and please save your time and money & go somewhere else to celebrate such once in...

Just left the restaurant (7/27/18) 10:00pm, Hamptons Location.

My wife and I and a couple of friends got invite to go to Calissa to listen to our favorite local band (Marcello and Ludmila - Brazilian Jazz).

Upon arrival we approach the hostess and told her that we are here to watch the band etc...she froze for a couple of seconds and asked if we had reservation, I said no. Then she goes to my wife a day go to the bar and I will try to figure something out for you guys.

After waiting for a good 20 minutes, nothing happens so we decided to get our drinks and check the back of the restaurant where the band was set up to play. We found two “low tables” that were set up as a lounge and we did seat to wait for the hostes to figure it out. After another 15 min we saw waiter looking at us and talking to the hostes “like we are doing something awful and wrong”.

My wife trying to make it all work once again approach the hostes at the front and asked for the table and she proceeded on asking what was my wife’s name and then we were able to get a table.

Now, that’s when is gets weird, unprofessional and disrespectful. Waiter gave us the menus and we looked into it and decided to order a couple different appetizers for the table as most of us were not in the mood for a steak or big meals at 10pm.

Once the waiter saw that we were ordering only appetizers at that point she said “wait a minute guys, I need to talk to the hostes, I will be back”. She came back and told us that we can only seat st the table if we order an entree....WHAT!!!....I have never experienced anything like that. I have been to many restaurants, which by the way were more expensive, more prestigious then Calissa and they would NEVER do such a thing.

I immediately stood up and told my wife that we are not eating there and I was going to get our car to leave.

While waiting for my car a believe that the manager and hostes saw me and knew what was happening and guess what? They did nothing! Did not talk to me or try to explain themselves.

In conclusion, if you would like to try Calissa in the Hamptons, please be aware that you must order a “3 course meal” or they will ask you to...