Good Ground Tavern — Restaurant in Town of Southampton

Had the pleasure of dining here yesterday and I was simply so happy I did. I would go so far as to say, this is the best brunch spot in the Hamptons hands down. Admittedly, when they first opened we dined here for lunch and was not overly impressed. However, since then and these many years later I am happy to report the food fairy must have been sent to wave their magic wand and turn this into a wondrous establishment from start to finish. To begin let’s just start with the service, Jake and Debrina are the team from heaven. Jake actually checks to make sure everything is to your liking and runs a seriously tight ship. Whilst Debrina is nothing short of a magical sprite herself. Sprinkling you with her sweet, more than accommodating personality and making sure you love everything about your dining experience. You know how there are certain people who are made for the service industry? They have a welcoming demeanor that puts you right at home all the while tending to your every annoying wish. This is Debrina and Jake personified. But, let’s get to the meal shall we? I’ve had benedict from Los Angeles to New York City to every brunch spot on both the North and South forks and these reign supreme. Light, fluffy biscuits that you barely have to use a knife to cut through that must have been baked that morning. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had to shamelessly ask for a steak knife to hack through my overly toasted Thomas’s English Muffin. At Good Ground Tavern it could not be more the opposite. Tender biscuits cradle your poached egg with the perfect hollandaise with just the right balance of lemon to butter ratio. Catching in the nook and crannies of the English muffin every last drop of the creamy sauce with the smoked salmon balancing out the heaviness to sublimity. A hearty side salad of greens you can tell were picked that day to counterbalance the entire decadence of the meal on the side, with freshly squeezed orange juice to wash it all down. In addition to this, they also have the greatest happy hour in all of the Hamptons. Though, we did not have the delightful Debrina as our waitress, we did have Shane as our bartender who was simply lovely. However, the real standout here to me, as I'm not a huge drinker is the food. One of the thinest-crispiest pizza's this side of Italy for $10. That's correct $10! My friends looked on in horror as I consumed slice after slice, I could not help myself. Just the right amount of "under carriage" as Dave Portnoy would say and the perfect amount of sweet sauce to cheese ratio with tons of basil. Also, at the last minute decided to try their much lauded homemade ricotta, because I really needed more cheese at this point!?!? Holy balls of Mama Mia joy. The softest whipped blanket of creamy cheese bathing in a pool of honey and herbs, our whole group nearly wept. This nearly upstaged the pizza and we ordered two as well, once again for ten dollars! Surrounding us everyone also had clams casino that they were raving about which I would have loved to try, but sadly don't eat meat and have bacon in them. Yet, still looked beyond mouth watering. As a life-foodie and former food blogger if you are looking for the true gourmand experience with prices that won't break anyone's bank and the best service in the Hamptons then look no further, Good Ground Tavern...

No thanks. I’ve eaten here several times since it opened, and while the venue is gorgeous, the operation sucks. We were seated on the terrace on a chilly evening, and the heaters were barely noticeable. It was Sunday evening at 6:30 on Father’s Day, and not busy at all, but still we sat for 10 minutes before a man in a suit, presumably a manager, tried to upsell us by offering us sparkling water–we then requested tap water. It was another 10 minutes before a server appeared from the kitchen to take our order. I’m assuming she’d been on a break because in the 20 minutes we’d been sitting at that point, I hadn’t seen her on the restaurant floor before that moment, although there were plenty of other waitstaff scurrying around. My spouse and I were hungry walking into the restaurant, and starving by this point. The drinks arrived in a reasonable timeframe but we were really hungry. A pizza stand arrived on our table next, which puzzled me because we hadn’t ordered pizza…I wondered if the crudo we’d ordered to share was going to be on a very large plate. Soon, one of the several dazed and confused bus staff realized the error, and moved the stand from our table to an adjacent table. I would have been livid if I watched a service item move from someone else’s table to mine without first being cleaned. Soon after, two pieces of the smallest focaccia arrived with a delicious olive oil/honey spread…they were two 4” x 1” slices. We ate them in one bite and I asked the server if we could have more, to which she happily replied “yes”. Soon after, a minuscule crudo that we had planned to share arrived….four slices of 1.5” x 1.5” tuna that were again, delicious, and again, gone in one bite. Then two more slices of 4” x 1” biscotti-sized slices of focaccia arrived. I was annoyed because one way a restaurant can easily and cheaply attenuate for slow service and/or small portions is with bread. The burger my spouse ordered was pretty bland which left me puzzled, because a burger is usually one of the safe bets on a menu. It was ordered medium, but came out rare and room temperature. They were so hungry at that point they didn’t send it back, but asked for pepper instead. They’ve been feeling nauseous ever since eating it. My sea bass was delicious, but again, small portioned. When the check came the insult to injury was that not only had we been charged for that minuscule extra serving of focaccia, but the burger that was listed on the menu at $32 appeared as $34 on the check. I live year-round in the Hamptons and eat at all the restaurants frequently, and am no stranger to having pricey dinners. But nothing annoys me more than being nickel-and-dimed on a check. This restaurant clearly needs a management change, because by being chintzy on the heat and the portions this restaurant is actually engaged in a false economy….had they made this place more comfortable and enjoyable, we would have easily sat for another hour and consumed dessert and another $100 in alcohol. Instead, I couldn’t wait to get out of this place, and was so frustrated that I didn’t even want to waste the breath to complain. I drove through McDonald’s on the way home and had a Big Mac, which tells you everything you need to know about this restaurant’s inability to serve up...

The restaurant is located in the newly renovated space, Canoe Place Inn and Cottage.

First, the Setting. The Canoe Place is a very nice renovated space. We really liked the outdoor space, walking in from the back parking lot. I loved the vibe of the restaurant. The dining area is broken up into two sections (three if you want to count the two tables in the main walkway on the same level as the hostess area). The bar area is very inviting, giving a nice mix of modern and old-timey vibe (of course the restaurant setting could have added to it). There are two thing about the decore I didn't like was the round bistro tables for two placed in the corners. It would have been just as easy to fit a rectangular table, giving the diners more space. But, i understand it was a design couse. The second waa the banquet seats the line the walls of the most of the tables. Its not so much the banquets that make the seats uncomfortable but the cushion choice, i would have preffered no cushion at all.

Second. the Food. It's the Hamptoms, where I find the prices to be worse the NYC. Beware, the portions are small. If ur looking for a big meal, this isn't the place. The meal was started with a drink order. The wines are over priced. The mixed coctails are more reasonable, and pretty good. Next, the table is treated with fresh made focaccia...so good!! As well as, a dramatic show of bread sticks, which weren't as good. For the meal, the crab dip (sorry no pic), delicuous! Large chunks of crab cooked and served in a cast iron skillet with bread. The black bass (skip). I'm in the camp of when the fish skin is left on it should be crispy. The olive oil pouched bass skin was wet and soggy and very unappetizing. The fish was slightly over cooked, not terrible but verging on dry. The flank steak, which i ordered medium rare, was closer to a medium. It was a good steak, again small portion. The fries were really good.

Last, the Service. Top notch! Mayb it's because it's the slow season, but the servers were super attentive. They were prompt in filling your water glass even though they left a bottle on your table.

Good experience. Welcoming, great service and nice vibes. The food portion was small, which i didn't mind. I did have problems with over cooked proteins. ...