Restaurant Review: South Edison, Montauk

Fresh fish is the best in the summer. I spent the past weekend eating some seriously fresh fish out in Montauk – Fluke, Scallops, Tuna, Sea Bass, Salmon, Octopus, Clams, Oysters. I rarely go out to restaurants while in Montauk, but this past weekend I went to South Edison, one of Montauk’s best fish restaurant.  South Edison also has an equally delicious sister restaurant in NYC’s Midtown East: Crave Fishbar. I’ve also been to Crave and also love it there.  South Edison is right in the middle of town. It’s a pretty small restaurant but has 2 cool bars. It’s everything you want in a beach town restaurant – causal, laid-back, bright decor, and is just 2 blocks from the ocean.

Here were the highlights:

Oysters – Fresh, creamy, delicious. If you’re in MTK, you should probably order some oysters.

Their Famous Carrot & Clam Chowder with Littleneck clams – So good and creative. Light and perfectly salty/sweet.  A little lacking on the clams, but I was happy enough with the Carrot Chowder alone.

Carrot & Clam Chowder

Olive Oil Braised Baby Octopus Tacos – Mushroom, pickled red onion, cream, queso cotija, tomatillo salsa, serrano chile

I thought these sounded unreal and I think my expectations were a bit too high. They were good, but nothing to go crazy over.  For tacos, they were a bit bland, and the octopus itself lacked flavor and texture. I obviously still ate the entire thing.

Olive Oil Braised Baby Octopus Tacos

Scallop Tartar – Bean sprout, apricot puree, beet chip, blood orange and dill vinaigrette. Loved this a lot. The scallops were melt in your mouth.  

Scallop Tartar

Seared Yellowfin Tuna – Harissa cauliflower puree, heirloom bean, cilantro, wheatberry, castelvetrano oil

The tuna itself was perfectly cooked and delicious. I loved the sides and flavors of everything that it came with, but the puree/bean/wheatberry flavors were a little overpowering with the fresh tuna. I also found beans and tuna to be an odd pairing.  I liked everything on the plate a lot – I just preferred to eat the tuna on its own. I would still recommend this though.  

Seared Yellowfin Tuna

Sea Bass – My favorite of the dinner. Order this if it’s on the menu. Ate it too quickly to snap a photo. It was served over black rice with cherry tomatoes and a light glaze - don't remember much other than it being delish. 

Street Corn – Sunflower aioli, lime, ancho chili, cotija. Yup. Don’t order this if you want a ‘vegetable’ by any means.

Street Corn (somewhere under there is actual corn)

When I go back I definitely want to try their desserts. Both tables next to us got the 5 Year Anniversary Sundae - This is 5 scoops of Stracciatella Ice Cream, a Chocolate Chip Blondie, Caramel Chocolate Sauce, and Chantilly Cream. It was huge and looked just as heavenly as it sounds. They also have a pretty great cocktail menu that I'd like to hit up. Highly recommend South Edison if you're looking for a fresh and local spot in Montauk.