The Maidstone

This place had a lot of buzz over the summer, so we were happy to get a reservation for a celebratory dinner last night. We live nearby and it's always exciting when a new place comes to town. We were particularly looking forward to LDV because we love Scarpetta Beach in Montauk (same ownership), but it's a bit of a haul from East Hampton. Unfortunately, the whole experience left us flat. The room itself was lovely and our corner table was intimate and romantic. We started with a cocktail and the complementary bread basket was amazing. Our first course was a kale salad an a burrata with grilled peaches. The salad was great, if a little basic. The buratta itself was fine, but the peaches were rock-hard unripe and uncooked; and whole thing sat in a dessert sweet peach reduction. I'd had salad with delicious ripe peaches at Elaia Estiatorio in Bridgehampton just a few days earlier, so perhaps the comparison made it worse. This may be the first dish I've sent back in ten years. This is where things took a weird turn. Our server, while apologetic, seemed more concerned with having me try something else than with the dish being displeasing. A few minutes later, a gentleman in a suit appeared at our table and asked about the dish. He never introduced himself so I have no idea who he was, but he was completely unapologetic and vaguely confrontational...he did say he'd 'tell the kitchen' and it was taken off the bill. My main course was a squid ink linguine with crabmeat and urchin. The seafood was delicious, but the pasta was a homemade fettuccine (not linguine) that was so overcooked it was not 'twirlable.' My wife's dover sole was also slightly overcooked. Also a little strange that this place is walking distance to the Atlantic Ocean but all of the seafood appears to be flown in ‍. To be fair, we did not complain about our mains because we were having a nice evening and wanted to avoid any further conflict. And they weren't bad, just not particularly good. Dessert was delicious, a lemon granita (described as a sorbetto on the menu) with bits of lemon custard served in a hollow frozen lemon. This said, we got the distinct impression that our server was trying to talk us into a second dessert even after we told him we wanted to share one. I might even have considered it, but it involved fresh strawberries...after the peaches I was sceptical about any other fruit selected by the chef. We dine regularly at Saint Ambroeus just a mile or so down the road and tried this place for a change. Next time we are in the mood for la dolce vita in East Hampton we'll skip LDV and stick with our go-to. I'd have likely given it three stars were it not for the weird and unapologetic interaction around the burrata.

Summer pop up restaurants come and go every Summer in the Hamptons. I was tempted to think this was another as "Scarpetta" made the trek out East to establish "LDV" in the iconic location of the Maidstone Inn. I expected it to be noisy, serving average food and full of staff, there for just a Summer and not focused on customers. Wrong ! Upon entry, one is greeted by Chloe at from desk who charming and welcoming. The ceiling is low over the bar but the pre-dinner drinks were were swiftly prepared and excellent. Our Server (Katey), while a Summer student was very knowledgeable and explained the menu. The food is excellent - The Yellowtail Crudi is light and delicious as were the oysters. Spanish octopus was a delicious appetizer too. Pastas as an intermediate course were all beautifully prepared. Particularly recommendable was the Spring lamb cavatelli. Portion sizes reasonable. The whole branizino for two was amazing and again perfect for two people. Indeed the size of the portions (ie not too large) facilitates the diner to peruse the menu and try multiple dishes. Best of all was the Sommelier Sergio, charming and delivered recommendations that were good value and very drinkable. Really good. Indeed, the food is brilliant but the service is better. Despite having just opened, this is the best dining experience in East Hampton

I have stayed here about 6 times a year for 3 years. The place has been taken over and was hoping for better management. My room -998 a night - was so noisy with noise from the yard and the restaurant. I always book a room far from the noise but they don’t do that anymore. Management said they were booked and maybe they are but no explanation about why I could not choose a room 2 months ago. Again the place is fine but for this price point I expect better management. I don’t think it’s worth the money and they aren’t very caring about customers summary: Management still sub par and care about money not customers

For $1000 per night, you can get: -Access to a minuscule room by a very difficult and dangerously staircase. -No minibar/ No slippers/ Very small closet with 2 hangers, without shelves or drawers. -Very old bathroom/ Plastic curtain at the uncomfortable bathtub. Regarding the very poor breakfast: -No eggs, toasts, or espresso. Friendly staff, but sometimes unskilled. THE WORST VALUE FOR MONEY HOTEL l HAVE EVER STAYED IN,

Hotel claims to offer unparalleled luxury and hospitality: absolute rubbish. The triple room was neither comfortable or elegant, service was terrible and the nightly rate of over 2k- offensive! AVOID.