What are the best waterfront restaurants?

Some of the best waterfront restaurants on Long Island include Prime in Huntington, The Buoy Bar in Point Lookout, Louie’s Prime Steak & Seafood in Port Washington, Claudio’s in Greenport, Inlet Seafood Restaurant in Montauk, The Oar Steak & Seafood Grille in Patchogue, and The Halyard in Greenport. These restaurants range from casual dockside spots with live music to polished dining rooms overlooking harbors, rivers, bays, channels, and Long Island Sound.

In Short

For an upscale waterfront dinner, Prime on Huntington Harbor and Louie’s on Manhasset Bay are strong choices. The Buoy Bar offers a more casual open-air experience with sunsets and live music, Claudio’s provides a lively Greenport harbor atmosphere, and Inlet Seafood is especially notable for seafood and sunset views in Montauk.

For a broader list of waterfront dining options, use the Long Island Waterfront Restaurants directory and interactive map. The guide lets you compare restaurants by location, dining style, outdoor seating, boat access, region, and sunset views.

What Are the Best Waterfront Restaurants on Long Island?

The best waterfront restaurant depends on whether the priority is the food, the view, the atmosphere, or a combination of all three. Some diners want a refined steak and seafood restaurant suitable for an anniversary or celebration, while others prefer a casual deck where they can order seafood, burgers, tacos, cocktails, or a lobster roll while watching boats pass.

The recommendations on this page are not presented as a strict ranking because a lively seasonal bar and a formal waterfront dining room provide very different experiences. The choices below are intended to help narrow the options by occasion and setting.

Best Waterfront Restaurant for a Special Occasion

Prime in Huntington and Louie’s Prime Steak & Seafood in Port Washington are among the strongest choices for anniversaries, birthdays, business dinners, and other special occasions.

Both offer polished dining rooms, full-service menus, cocktails, wine, seafood, steaks, and views across active North Shore harbors. Prime has a contemporary luxury atmosphere on Huntington Harbor, while Louie’s combines Manhasset Bay views with more than a century of local history.

Best Casual Waterfront Restaurant

The Buoy Bar in Point Lookout is one of the clearest choices for a casual waterfront meal. Its channel-side setting, open-air seating, live music, brunch, seafood, burgers, tacos, and cocktails make it a good fit for beach days, afternoon gatherings, and relaxed summer evenings.

Claudio’s is another strong casual option, particularly for visitors who want a lively harbor environment near the shops and attractions of downtown Greenport.

Best Waterfront Restaurant for Sunset Views

Inlet Seafood Restaurant is one of Long Island’s leading choices for a sunset meal because of its broad views across Montauk Harbor and the surrounding waters. The Halyard also provides impressive sunset views over Long Island Sound, while The Buoy Bar offers a more casual South Shore sunset experience along Reynolds Channel.

Best North Shore Waterfront Restaurants

The North Shore includes some of Long Island’s most polished harbor restaurants. Prime overlooks Huntington Harbor, Louie’s sits on Manhasset Bay, and The Halyard faces Long Island Sound near Greenport. North Shore waterfront dining often feels more sheltered and village-oriented than the open coastal environments farther east or along parts of the South Shore.

Best South Shore Waterfront Restaurants

The South Shore offers restaurants beside rivers, channels, bays, and marinas. The Buoy Bar in Point Lookout provides casual open-air dining along Reynolds Channel, while The Oar Steak & Seafood Grille offers a full-service restaurant experience beside the Patchogue River in Patchogue.

Best East End Waterfront Restaurants

The East End contains some of Long Island’s most destination-oriented waterfront restaurants. Claudio’s provides an active harbor experience in Greenport, The Halyard overlooks Long Island Sound, Little Fish offers contemporary coastal dining in Southold, and Inlet Seafood provides seafood and sunsets beside Montauk Harbor.

These restaurants can be incorporated into trips through the North Fork, South Fork, Hamptons, and Montauk.

Waterfront Restaurants Accessible by Boat

Several Long Island waterfront restaurants accommodate guests arriving by boat, but dock access varies by location and season. Boaters should confirm transient slips, vessel-size limits, docking fees, time limits, marina procedures, and current availability before departing.

The Waterfront Restaurants directory and interactive map includes a boat-access filter that makes it easier to identify restaurants where dock-and-dine may be possible.

Outdoor and Seasonal Waterfront Dining

Outdoor waterfront dining is most popular from late spring through early fall, but patios and decks may close because of rain, wind, storms, high tides, staffing, or colder temperatures. Some restaurants operate throughout the year with indoor water views, while others reduce their hours or close during parts of the winter.

Reservations are often recommended for sunset dining, weekend evenings, holidays, and special events. Restaurants that do not accept reservations may have long waits during peak periods, particularly when outdoor tables are in high demand.

How to Choose a Waterfront Restaurant

Begin by deciding whether the priority is a memorable view, a specific cuisine, a formal dinner, a casual afternoon, live music, boat access, or sunset. Visitors should also consider whether the restaurant offers indoor water views when the weather is poor, whether outdoor tables can be reserved, and whether the menu provides enough choices for everyone in the group.

Parking can be limited in waterfront villages and marina districts. During summer, allowing additional travel time is particularly important in Greenport, Montauk, the Hamptons, Point Lookout, and other heavily visited coastal communities.

How These Restaurants Were Selected

The restaurants featured on this page were selected independently based on waterfront setting, food and beverage offerings, local reputation, longevity, atmosphere, distinctive character, community significance, and geographic balance. Because waterfront dining is highly subjective, the recommendations should be viewed as a starting point rather than a definitive ranking.

For the broader directory rather than a short list of recommendations, see Waterfront Restaurants on Long Island, which includes the interactive map and additional dining options across Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Continue Exploring

Additional dining options can be found in the complete Long Island Restaurants Guide. Visitors can also explore waterfront communities such as Port Washington, Huntington, Point Lookout, Patchogue, Southold, Greenport, and Montauk.

The Long Island Points of Interest guide and Long Island Events Calendar can help visitors combine waterfront dining with beaches, parks, marinas, ferry trips, shopping, concerts, festivals, and other coastal attractions.

Editorial Note: Recommendations on this page are selected independently by the LongIslandGuide.com editorial team based on waterfront setting, food and beverage offerings, local reputation, longevity, atmosphere, distinctive character, community significance, and geographic variety. Featured businesses do not pay for placement. Restaurant hours, menus, ownership, seasonal schedules, reservation policies, docking arrangements, and operating status can change, so readers should verify current information before visiting.

Long Island’s waterfront restaurants range from polished harbor dining rooms in Huntington and Port Washington to casual channel-side decks in Point Lookout, riverfront restaurants in Patchogue, and destination dining beside the water in Greenport, Southold, and Montauk. For the widest selection, use the Waterfront Restaurants directory and interactive map to compare locations by region, style, outdoor seating, boat access, and sunset views.