Being from Connecticut, and having spent most of my adult life living in New York City, you can say I have east coast roots. One of the things I miss most about the east coast are summers in the Hamptons, and specifically Montauk, which is on the tip of Long Island.
I spent many a summer in my 20's and 30's "out east" as they say, living in share houses, and playing tennis in backyards all over the Hamptons, from Quogue to East Hampton, and all the way out to Montauk. Coming back for the first time this summer since before the pandemic, it is great to see that tennis is still very much alive and doing quite well. Like a lot of the courts in the north east, tennis in the Hamptons is mostly played on Har-Tru courts. After playing on exclusively hard courts these past few years in Los Angeles, the Har Tru was a nice change for me...I'd say a bit easier on the joints and a slightly slower game.
In this blog, I'll take you on a guided tour of the Hamptons, hitting up some great courts, delicious après tennis eats and awesome places to shop.
Where We Played:
Hither Hills Racquet Club: Driving east towards Montauk and past the Village of Amagansett, you will hit Hither Hills Racquet Club. There, you will be greeted by club owner Molly Hayden and her precious baby, Farah. HHRC has 5 great, outdoor Har-Tru courts.
HHRC has both membership and non-membership options. We played in a Friday morning clinic with Long Island native tennis coach, Garrett Mallave. Unlike Los Angeles, where clubs predominately play Liveball, HHRC runs a lot of "105", which in our opinion, is an equally as good cardio tennis game. The object of the game is to get your team to 105 points. Winning points = 1 point. Ground stroke winners = 5 points. Volley winners = 10 points and overhead winners = 20 points. So be aggressive, and get to the net!
The overall vibe at the club is super chill, laid back and very much Cali vibes. Montauk and Cali definitely share a similar vibe in general. Molly and team also run tennis operations up the road at Montauk Yacht Club . Definitely go check them out and hit some balls!
Owner, Molly Hayden, with her new born cutie, Farah.
Chief Stringer and coach Sophia Folgia, and head coach, Garrett Malave.
East Hampton Indoor Tennis aka EHIT, is a year-round tennis club holding 20 outdoor courts and 6 indoor courts. You guessed it, all Har-Tru. The club has both membership and non-membership options, a great snack bar, pro shop and even bowling lanes.
The vibes here are also very laid back, and is an amazing facility in the heart of East Hampton.
Where We Ate:
The Hamptons and Montauk are of course filled with great eats, from fine dining to more casual beach side clam bars. We wanted to mix it up by revisiting some places we hadn't been to in a while, and also tried out some new spots.
For pre-tennis coffee, we hit up both Hamptons Coffee Company and The Golden Pear. The both have multiple locations out east. We fell in love with the super fresh coffee at Hamptons Coffee Co. The yogurt parfait and coffee cake are delicious! The Golden Pear has been in the Hamptons for 35 years. Everything is divine here and in our opinion, a must go-to when out east. We shared a "Spa Wrap" at the East Hampton location.
Post Tennis Brunch at Goldberg's Bagels. You don't have to go very far to come across a Goldberg's location, as they have planted their everything bagel seeds in every town across the Hamptons. Goldberg's is famous for their "flagel", a flat bagel. We'd recommend getting the famous "Spicy Hobo Breakfast", which includes 2 eggs, bacon on a bagel of your choice. You may see Katie Couric or other Hamptons celebs noshing.
Lunch: Bostwick's Chowder House is another Hampton's institution. Get there early as this place gets very busy on the weekends. We thoroughly enjoyed our picks of New England Clam Chowder and Ahi Poke Tacos...which by the way, are no longer on the menu, but we asked for them, and they delivered!
Dinner: South Edison has been a popular Montauk eatery for a long time now, with heavy crowds on the weekends. Since we were visiting during the week, we were able to get right in for dinner. Everything we ate was delicious and an explosion of new flavors to our palettes.
Late Night Eats: John's Drive-In in Montauk has been around for nearly 50 years. John's is a slice of 1960's Americana, serving up beachside treats like ice cream, chicken fingers and amazing burgers.
Where We Shopped:
Tennis Shops: There are two main tennis shops in the Hamptons- Tennis East in Southampton and Set Point Tennis in East Hampton. Both shops are upscale, carrying all the major brands as well as serving your racket stringing needs.
Some notable specialty boutiques:
We loved Bontemps and Mainstay in Montauk. Both shops carry Montauk and Hampton-themed clothing and accessories, but in different ways.
Specialty Boutiques, Blue & Cream and Xanadu carry some great brands such as Free City, Mother and Sundry.
So, if you are heading out east this summer, we hope you get some great tennis, eating and shopping in. Although we have amazing beaches in Los Angeles, we do miss the gorgeous beaches of the Hamptons and Montauk. We'll be back soon!