Last week, the current owners of Claudio’s announced a new outpost of the iconic Greenport seafood spot in another iconic seafood spot: the Bahamas.
Opening in the 400-acre Atlantis Resort & Casino on Paradise Island by mid-May, the restaurant will serve Claudio’s classics with a Bahamian twist, like New England clam chowder made with Bahamian conch and Claudio’s signature lobster roll made with Caribbean spiny lobster.
“[The owners] want to expand the brand so people can know about the North Fork,” says Claudio’s general manager Juan Skinner, who is overseeing the staff training on the Atlantis project. “There’s so much on the North Fork that people have no idea about. It’s not the Hamptons. It’s very different.”
Replacing the space that once held the Virgil’s Real Barbecue, the sprawling spot is entered from the Coral hotel, where you’ll immediately find the Claudio’s sign in navy blue cursive hung on a white wall rimmed by turquoise tile.
High on the walls in the tented roof-capped dining spaces are black and white images of fisherman and waterside life in both the Bahamas and the East End. Beachy blonde-wood floors, tables and booths along with white and navy chairs fill the sweeping 378-seat capacity space, which also includes a nearly 40 seat bar.
“Our signature cocktails are all classic Caribbean cocktails — we call it ‘Drink through the Caribbean’,” says beverage director Sheila Dominelli, of bringing the rum-centric fun of the Bahamas to the cocktail program. Drinks like the Goombay Smash and the Pain Killer are also the names of the boats that hang from the ceiling.
“Fun fact is the boats are actually licensed so if you see them on the water, they’re the same names,” Dominelli says.
There will also be outdoor seating and an al fresco gazebo bar overlooking the Atlantis waterways, filled with stringrays, saw fish and hammerhead sharks, among the saltwater life that dwells here.
As for news of Claudio’s in Greenport, the owners continue to keep that under wraps, but stated that the dockside Claudio’s Waterfront will be open Easter weekend, Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20, for lunch, and that lunch dining hours will continue through mid-May.
According to a representatives for Claudio’s, Common Country East, a modern honkytonk-esque restaurant and lounge with coastal-themed vibes and food, will take over the dock space that held Crabby Jerry’s. They would not comment on plans for Claudio’s iconic main restaurant, except to say that a job posting that went up recently on Indeed citing several new hospitality projects in the Claudio’s spaces was incorrect. “Current ownership is partnering with Gansevoort Street Hospitality to reimagine the iconic Claudio’s complex,” says Laura Cocivera of Chapman Communications, the PR firm handling Claudio’s inquiries.
Meanwhile, work on Claudio’s Bahama location speeds along.
“It’s North Fork comes to the Bahamas,” says Skinner.
