Sea Cliff: Long Island's picturesque Victorian coastal getaway

There’s a new reason to stop in Sea Cliff, but coffee is only the beginning.

Salt & Honey Cafè opened last month and has quickly built a following for its "whip," a thick cold-foam topping (320 Sea Cliff Ave.). Most mornings, the line spills out the door.

The coffee craze is an easy introduction to Sea Cliff, a North Shore village tucked between Glen Cove and Glen Head. Beyond the cafe, you’ll find Victorian-era homes, a waterfront park overlooking Long Island Sound, a beach tucked below the bluffs and a collection of independent shops, galleries and restaurants that give the village its artsy feel.

A Victorian coastal village

Sea Cliff's Victorian character dates to the late 19th century, when a group of Methodists from Manhattan and Brooklyn bought roughly 150 acres on the bluff and turned it into a summer camp meeting ground, according to the National Park Service. A steamboat pier went up on Hempstead Harbor to ferry visitors in from the city, and though the pier is long gone, gingerbread-trimmed Victorians still line the village's narrow streets.  

The village now holds one of the best-preserved collections of late-Victorian architecture in the state, according to the National Park Service, with dozens of homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They're packed into 1 square mile, along with 16 parks. Visitors can learn more about the village's history and homes at the Sea Cliff Village Museum (95 10th Ave.; seacliffmuseum.org; 516-801-3401), open Wednesday and Saturday.

Spectacular 120-foot view

Walk down Sea Cliff Avenue, the village's main strip of stores and restaurants, and you'll reach Veteran's Memorial Park (77 Prospect Ave., seacliff-ny.gov; 516-570-9624). The grassy park is lined with benches and opens to sweeping views of the Sound, with the Connecticut shoreline visible across the water. It’s scenic any time of day but sunset is the time to go.

From there, head down Prospect Avenue and turn left on Cliff Way, where more sweeping water views open up as yachts dot the harbor below. Keep going and you'll reach 83 wooden steps leading from the bluff down to Sea Cliff Beach (56 The Blvd., seacliff-ny.gov; 516-570-9624). A 1,000 foot boardwalk lines the beach, featuring sailboat views, benches and a playground.

Browse Sea Cliff’s quirky shops

Sea Cliff Avenue is the village’s main strip, lined with small shops, creative studios and restaurants. Keep an eye out for Keep Sea Cliff Weird signs and merchandise along the way, an unofficial motto that refers to the village’s bohemian, eccentric character.

Frost Ceramics (256 Sea Cliff Ave.; frostceramics.com; 516-606-7156) owner Chris Frost built a wholesale ceramics business out of a backyard studio during the pandemic, supplying interior designers and restaurants as far as Denver and Michigan with handmade dishware. The shop also runs wheel-throwing classes Tuesday through Sunday, and Frost uses the 1979 Mini Cooper imported from Italy out front to deliver customers' holiday gifts.

"Sea Cliff is a sleepy town," Frost said of why many shops are only open Wednesday through Sunday. "But it has a lot of character and charm."

At Rock Paper Scissors (65 Roslyn Ave.; rpsseacliff.com; 516-277-1264), open Tuesday through Sunday, Wednesday nights turn into open stitch night, with knitters, crocheters and needlepointers dropping in with their own bottles of wine. Owner Claudine Weiler moved to Sea Cliff from Oyster Bay three years ago and built an artisan boutique around handmade, fair-trade goods sourced from local makers.

"It's a great place for people who like to be around other people who are creative," she said of the village, which she describes as more eclectic and tight-knit than most on the North Shore.

My Beautiful Mess (60 Roslyn Ave.; mybeautifulmess.shop; 516-399-2590), open Wednesday through Sunday, started in 2017 as a strictly antique and vintage shop. Owner Lisa Marchetti has let it evolve since.

"When we first opened, it was more strictly antique, vintage," Marchetti said. "As people came in, it's been morphing into what people need." She sources pieces from estate and consignment sales, sometimes going through a house herself when a family member has moved or died, and mixes them with candles, jewelry and repurposed artwork from local artisans.

Dreams West (359 Sea Cliff Ave.; dreamswestli.com; 516-200-5533) sells crystals, books and clothing alongside a psychic room, reiki sessions, yoga classes and a running art circle and book club. Record store and vintage shop Moonshot Emporium (212 Sea Cliff Ave.; moonshotemporium.com; 516- 806-2500) sells a wide variety of vinyl records and clothing.

Stay for a drink, dinner or something sweet

Sea Cliff's food and drink scene has the same offbeat charm as its shops.

While Salt & Honey (320 Sea Cliff Ave.) recently introduced its "whip" lattes to the village, Campground (208 Sea Cliff Ave.; campgroundbeer.com; 516-407-3153) has quietly been pouring its own lattes in a lounge-style space set among vintage arcade games like Pac-Man, pinball and foosball. The two-level hangout is best known for its beer fridge and rotating taps downstairs, with a seasonal outdoor space upstairs. A few hundred bottles and cans cycle through the fridge alongside about 10 taps pouring cult and hard-to-find brews, with glasses running $9 to $13.

For dinner, The Onion Tree (242 Sea Cliff Ave.; theoniontreeseacliff.com; 516-916-5353) brings together Italian and Indian influences in a cozy, moody setting. Husband-and-wife team Jay Jadeja and Raquel Wolf Jadeja run a Taco Tuesday special with takes like tandoori chicken tacos, two for $20, alongside a pizza menu best known for its chicken tikka masala pie ($26).

For something sweet, don't miss Sea Cliff Shave Ice (247 Sea Cliff Ave.; seacliffshaveice.com), known for its fluffy Hawaiian-style shave ice with vanilla ice cream inside.