Smuggler's Cove opens in Greenport
Peconic Gold oysters at Smuggler's Cove in Greenport. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
One of Greenport’s loveliest berths has a new occupant: Smuggler’s Cove has replaced Porto Bello (est. 1992) at the Safe Harbor Stirling marina.
Joseph Donagher, owner of the three-floor Beer Authority in Manhattan’s Times Square, took over Porto Bello’s lease and recruited his brother and sister-in-law, Southold residents Patrick and Roz Donagher, to run the place. Roz, a trained sommelier, manages the restaurant while Patrick, who owned the former Queens brewery Alewife Brewing and was a partner last year at Tucker’s Taproom & Taphouse in Mattituck, mans the bar.
Smuggler's Cove has taken over the old Porto Bello spot in Safe Harbor Stirling marina in Greenport. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
In the kitchen is chef Vincent Pomara, who cooked most recently at Seven Beach Lane in Westhampton Beach. His menu is a pleasing, seafood-centric blend of Italian and New American.
At dinner, starters ($14 to $25) include fried provolone with basil pesto and balsamic drizzle, New England clam chowder, confit Long Island duck wings and grilled octopus with fregola, tomatoes, olives and preserved lemons. Mains ($28 to $42) include grilled local striped bass with charred eggplant, a Wagyu burger with Guinness-caramelized onions and Gruyère (served with truffled Parmesan fries), Berkshire pork chop with parsnip puree and Swiss chard, linguine with clams and pinwheel lasagna Bolognese.
The weekend brunch menu features ($19 to $36) eggs Benedict (on sourdough toast instead of English muffin), sourdough French toast and an asparagus salad with hard-boiled eggs that can be boosted with shrimp, chicken, steak or anchovies. Right now you can get pristine local Peconic oysters on the half-shell ($34/dozen). A roof deck, with sweeping views of the marina, Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital and beyond, is almost ready to open and, when it does, there will be a proper raw bar menu with more oysters, clams and more.
Spring asparagus salad with shrimp at Smuggler's Cove in Greenport. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Patrick said that everyone on the team was a fan of Porto Bello and that they were looking to build on its success. The deck tables still have bright yellow shade umbrellas; inside, the dining room has been refreshed and brightened. The Donaghers do plan to extend the restaurant’s season, staying open, albeit with shorter hours, through the end of the year and reopening on St. Patrick’s Day.
Smuggler’s Cove, 1410 Manhanset Ave., Greenport, 631-477-6305, smugglerscovenofo.com. Open Wednesday to Friday 3 to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (A bar menu is available until 11 p.m. and the bar stays open at least until midnight.)
