Iavarone’s Prime View
37 Shore Rd.
Port Washington
516-767-0022
www.primeviewrestaurant.com
4 out of 4 stars
This one-time 19th-century Port Washington hotel, facing Manhasset Bay and Mill Pond, has had a half-dozen or so dining establishments come and go almost as quickly as overnight lodgers. But Iavarone’s Prime View is looking like it will be a permanent resident. It doesn’t hurt that the Iavarone Bros. name comes with instant Long Island street cred, amassed from years as a beloved Italian deli, butcher and grocer. It also doesn’t hurt that the proprietors already have experience operating Fratelli Iavarone Café, aka the Back Room Trattoria, in their pizzeria in Lake Success.
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But this is different, a big move up. The big beautiful space is a given. Large windows face water views everywhere you sit and the upstairs even has the outside deck, restored from its hotel days. So, all that’s left is food and service.
A lot of painstaking attention has been paid to the New American menu by executive chef George Levendis, who had the same gig at Blue Honu in Huntington. Each component on every plate we sampled seems to have been the recipient of an upgrade. An appetizer as ubiquitous as Crispy Zucchini ($9), for example, looks ordinary, with breaded spears piled high. But these are not the kind that are too thick and lose their jackets. They are incredibly light and come not just with the requisite marinara dipping sauce but with roasted red pepper hummus as well as tzatziki sauce. The gargantuan pile disappears under a three-fork attack from all sides. An irresistible trio of Meatball Sliders ($9), constructed on Gorgonzola puffs, sits on a foot-long rectangular plate, and the chef adds an extra dollop of tomato sauce on the end, knowing you’ll appreciate it as you work your way through. The Baby Spinach & Bacon Salad ($12) is another big hit, made special with warm bacon dressing, goat cheese and roasted walnuts. Even the bread basket with raisin-nut slices, mini-cornbread loaves and onion rolls gets extra attention.
Prices are reasonable, with all seafood entrees in the low $20s range. Sesame Encrusted Tuna ($24) is cooked to order, with a surfeit of seeds lining the edges. And even the usual throwaway bed of Napa cabbage gets a treatment of sesame seasoning, elevating it to memorable side dish status. Long Island Duck Duo ($27), by now an all-too-common sight, gets special treatment. The duck breast is tender and what you’ve come to expect, but the shredded duck confit is added to a warm fig and arugula salad, making for a spectacular second part. Here, the Linguine Alla Vongole ($19) is made with cockles (in the shell) and a distinctive garlic-infused sauce.
A dessert named Coffee and Doughnuts ($8) is impossible to pass up. Three large zeppole and a dipping mug of latte-flavored cream, like the fizz from the top of a cappuccino, is simple and delightful-likewise, an unusual Pignoli Tart ($8). If this place were still a hotel, I’d move in.
