Canal Cafe

I absolutely love the view. Get there early to avoid waiting for a table. The lobster roll in my opinion is perfect. Toasted Ciabatta bread with a good portion of lobster, and not much mayo.

Our go-​to seafood spot whenever we are out east! Canal Café is a little unassuming spot hidden in a boatyard on the canal that serves top notch food on paper plates. How un-​Hamptons, right?! But it gets better. The lobster roll is one of the best I’ve ever had, ever. It’s served on this delicious ciabatta bread and not on a flimsy store bought hot dog roll like most places. The lobster salad is chunky and has the perfect amount of mayo. It’s truly stellar. Other consistent winners — the Soft Shell Crab BLT, the Grilled Mahi Sandwich, their Crab Cakes, and their clam chowder. Definitely check this place our if you’re looking for good seafood without the pretentious Hamptons scene.

Hidden gem. We drove for 2 hours to try their world famous lobster rolls and we were not disappointed. Their giant lobster rolls were rich (a ton of lobster– which is rare in NY) and absolutely delicious.

Great lobster roll!
Went for lunch on a fabulous fall day. Canal view is terrific. We had gazpacho which had just the right amount of garlic and seasoning.
Lobster roll came on a warm roll. My wife is hard to please and she was quite happy. Much lobster and just the right amount of mayo not too much. I had the grilled chicken sandwich which was so fresh. The fries are also delicious. Would come back.

I agree with those who: take exception to paper plates, plastic utensils, etc. .. and popularity during Summer can be annoying…BUT Great Places have Survival Ground Rules!
1] go really early
2] sit outside for the great view
3] have one of the great Bloody Marys: it will calm you down
a wee bit pricey, however the Lobster Rolls are as great as everyone says (big enough to take away half for ‘seconds’ later). .. and Fried Oysters are Fab!

I really don’t see why people like this place. The place is very small and the food is average at best. The thing that really bothers me is the price and how they serve you with plastic forks and knives. If you’re just as expensive as every other restaurant, please serve me with adult utensils!!!

Best lobster roll ive ever had. The awesome bread has a lot to do with it. And the awesome fries. Best 28 bucks I ever spent on food.

Views were beautiful and the food was good but I have one major complaint and will never go back. My family and I finished our meals, paid the $ 250 bill, and we’re finishing our drinks when a rude staff member came over to tell us we have to go because people were waiting for our table. I understand that people are waiting but we just paid $ 250 for lunch and didn’t even finish our drinks yet…
If we pulled up in a million dollar boat instead of a Chevy would he have still made us leave before finishing???

Would be 5 stars if they had more of a non-​seafood selection. Food is good, service is pretty good. Need more options on menu

Have not been there yet– going tomorrow night –but was excited to learn that they allow dogs outside. I am a new dog owner and have searched for affordable places in the Hamptons area that are not too posh and our both kid and dog friendly. Hooray for Canal Café.

Let me start by saying this is 5 stars for me, but I had to make it 4 stars simply because the wait was much longer than quoted and the staff could be smarter. Without getting into that let me just say the food is INCREDIBLE! Best lobster roll I have ever had… Even beating out Maine’s finest!
Started with the ponzu tuna which was amazing! And onto the lobster roll of course. Went with a group of 5 people and we all shared in this love for the meal! The ambiance was gorgeous to top it off. I would DEFINITELY return, in fact, I can’t wait to!

My family and I were visiting and wanted to get some good fresh seafood. We definitely found that at Canal Café. It started with a nice ambiance right on the water. You could sit outside in the water or inside. We chose inside because it was ridiculously hot.
I had the appetizer seafood salad. It has fresh shrimp, scallops, & calamari with red onions & tomatoes over a bit of lettuce. It was yummy, but even with a squeeze of lemon, it didn’t have a lot of flavor. It needed some salt or marinade or a sauce or something.
Now for lunch, my son and I split a lobster roll. Now that was the highlight of the me. The bread was a ciabatta and amazing! The lobster, omg it was freakin delish! The fries were also very yummy too! $ 28 was a bit steep for lunch, but it was packed with delicious lobster.
My other kids shared the fish and chips. It was super fresh fish too, but still lacked a little flavor. I don’t think the fish and chips was worth the $ 20 price point.
My son and his cousins had the Caesar salad. It was ok. Nothing special.
My husband had the gazpacho soup for appetizer (tasty) & crab cakes for appetizer (3 small ones). The crab cakes were super fresh and definitely not all breaking.
All in all it was a nice place with super fresh seafood. My only complaint was the prices were a little high. 5 kids and 2 adults cost $ 150 after taxes and tips, for lunch. I wish we would have had the kids order the grilled cheese or chicken strips kids meals (not on the menu).

So glad our friend told us about this place! Great service, relaxed and fun atmosphere, and AMAZING food. Two of us shared the fried oysters, ponzu tuna and the lobster roll — it was plenty of food! Definitely try the Gardiner’s Lemonade for a refreshing cocktail!

One of our favorite places in the Hamptons. While other places have gotten more «trendy» this location has stayed true to its roots. Great seafood options. Tuna dishes are exceptional but the lobster roll is the best.

Perfect place to sit by the water and chill. Had the fried shrimp sandwich and it was killer delicious. Each time I have been there the food is fresh and cooked perfectly… not frozen and over fried. especially the lobster salad sandwich and their mussels. Can’t go wrong stopping here.

Overpriced and not that good. The lobster roll was the most expensive one I’ve seen in the Hamptons so far — $ 28 with a tiny cup of coleslaw and some so-​so tasting fries.
I was expecting a great lobster roll — while the lobster roll had plenty of chewy lobster pieces, it also had too much mayonnaise in the dressing, not enough crunch in it from celery or other ingredients. It was leaning towards a bit soggy in the lobster filling.
The Kahlua flan was a dense pudding with plenty of caramel sauce over it (barely a taste of Kahlua). It was overpriced too.

What great place. The staff was terrific brought a big bowl of water for my Boxer, and served me a Lobster Roll that I couldn’t finish in one seating even if I wanted too. Will be back for sure real soon !!! Thanks #zephyrjets #flyprivate #global #charter #emptyleg #RMQ

I grabbed take out from tonight and it was hot and fresh. They aren’t too busy yet so it is a good time to get your lobster roll fix! The roll is expensive but packed with delicious lobster chunks and claws. It isn’t loaded with mayo so you get a great lobster taste as well! I have not tried their other food but most of it is pretty expensive.

Excellent service, reasonable prices, and great food. Awesome location and gorgeous bartenders!!!
Cocktails are a little high, considering they use well liquor.

The dockside location is easy on the eyes, but it’s not exactly the best seafood joint around. Luckily, their lobster roll is ridiculously good, and that’s why people come here. Shoot, I’m not even that into lobster, but THIS was worth going back for over and over again. And even worth the evil sunburn I endured while sitting on the deck. Their famous lobster roll comes on fresh, toasted, chewy ciabatta bread and they don’t skimp on the meat like most chintsy seafood places. It’s tossed in just the right amount of mayo, seasonings and possibly a hint of crack.
The mussels app comes in a super generous portion, and almost burned my entire tongue off. Not spicy, just about a million degrees fahrenheit. The white wine, butter and garlic sauce was not too shabby, especially with a nice toasty piece of bread to soak it all up.
Crab cakes= Blah. Soggy, bready and a little sad.
Fried shrimp= Blaaaaah. Crappy batter. Very sad.
BLT– lots of fatty delicious bacon, decent sandwich choice.
New England clam chowder– good!
Bananas foster cheesecake– didn’t sound very appealing, but pretty awesome!
They have a pretty big menu and a chalk board with a long list of specials, but don’t get distracted. The lobster roll is obviously where it’s at. Keep your eye on the prize and you’ll be happy you did (deathly sunburnt skin aside!)