Contraband whiskey once traveled by boat through Shinnecock Bay, up the dark waters of Weesuck Creek, and into a small cottage with moveable porches that could swing open under cover of night. The year was somewhere around 1920. The building was called the Ambassador Inn — a three-story Victorian perched on five acres of East Quogue land, and its secret was an open one among the locals who knew where to drink during Prohibition. More than a century later, that same building still pours for a devoted crowd, though the spirit inside has changed in every sense of the word. Today it is called Stone Creek Inn, and for nearly three decades it has operated as one of the most critically acclaimed fine-dining destinations on Long Island’s East End — a restaurant that does not chase trends, does not shout for attention, and does not need to. The food, the setting, and the extraordinary longevity of the people who run it speak with a quiet authority that no marketing campaign could replicate.
Chef Christian Mir and his wife Elaine DiGiacomo opened Stone Creek Inn in May of 1996 after discovering the abandoned Ambassador property through Elaine’s father, a general contractor with deep roots in the Westhampton Beach community (Southforker, 2024). What they built on that five-acre parcel has since earned two-star ratings from both The New York Times Long Island edition and Newsday in its very first year, a recurring Wine Spectator Award of Excellence since 2006, Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice designation, a 14/20 rating from GAYOT, and the kind of word-of-mouth reputation that money cannot buy (Stone Creek Inn, 2025; Wine Spectator, 2019). As the restaurant enters its 30th season, it does so as a living argument that fine dining is not dying — it is simply being refined by the few operators who understand what it actually requires.
A Victorian with a Criminal Past
The building at 405 Montauk Highway was originally constructed in 1910 as a private residence by Whitefield Terrell, the proprietor of the Tiana Beach Pavilion in Hampton Bays. It was later sold to Henry Frank, who converted it into the Ambassador Inn — a restaurant that doubled, during the Prohibition years, as a speakeasy (Yelp, 2024). The late Quogue historian Pat Shuttleworth documented notes from a 1982 conversation with Marie and Paul Villa — who took ownership in 1938 — describing how liquor was ferried by boat from Shinnecock Bay to Weesuck Creek and stored in the cottage behind the main building (Southforker, 2024). The porches were engineered to swing open when contraband arrived by car at night. It was resourceful, illegal, and entirely in keeping with the spirit of a building that has always existed at the intersection of hospitality and audacity.
After the Villas departed to open Villa Paul in Hampton Bays, ownership passed to Delphine Lecari, who maintained the restaurant for a time before the large space proved too much. The Ambassador shuttered, and the Victorian sat dormant for close to a decade. When DiGiacomo and Mir struck a deal with Lecari in 1995, they inherited not just a building but a century of narrative — walls that had absorbed the clink of bootleg glasses, the laughter of postwar diners, and the silence of abandonment. Their extensive renovations preserved the bones while reimagining the soul, renaming the space Stone Creek Inn after one of the two creeks running behind the property. The name was a deliberate choice: Mir and DiGiacomo felt a specifically French title might deter potential guests before they ever tasted the food (Northforker, 2019).
From Villemur to the Victorian
Christian Mir’s path to East Quogue began in the small town of Villemur, about thirty minutes north of Toulouse in Southwest France. He grew up inside his parents’ grocery store — a gourmet market and butcher shop that instilled in him an understanding of ingredients long before culinary school formalized his technique (Northforker, 2019). His professional career launched at Le Chapon Fin in Montauban, where he served as chef de partie. He moved to Eau De Folles in Toulouse, then ascended to executive sous chef at La Mavée Verte in the same city. His time as executive chef at Le Catellas in Collias earned him a notable 14 from the Gault Millau guide — a distinction that marked him as a talent worth watching on the international stage (Stone Creek Inn, 2025).
In 1991, Mir left France for New York City, arriving on December 29th unable to speak English. His first shift was New Year’s Eve at Tavern on the Green, the iconic 700-seat Central Park restaurant where chaos and cuisine collided nightly. He spent four years there as executive sous chef under Marc Poidevin, immersing himself in the rhythms of American fine dining. It was at the Tavern that he met Elaine DiGiacomo — a culinary school graduate working a paid stage on the Italian station. The origin story has become restaurant legend: Mir rushed to help DiGiacomo when she burned her hand on a hot sauté pan during her first night. They have been inseparable since (Southforker, 2024; Stone Creek Inn, 2025). After Tavern on the Green, Mir held positions at Café Centro and the Grand Tier at the Metropolitan Opera, both Restaurant Associates properties, before he and DiGiacomo made the decision to open their own place.
Cuisine du Marché on the East End
Mir’s cooking philosophy centers on a French concept called cuisine du marché — cooking dictated by whatever the local market offers on a given day. At Stone Creek, this translates to a menu rooted in French and Mediterranean traditions but liberated from rigid classification. The kitchen produces dishes that shift with the seasons and the availability of local ingredients: Long Island duck meatballs, crispy calamari salad with locally sourced squid and frisée, cheese ravioli nestled in mussel-and-chive broth perfumed with truffle, tripe alla romana finished with tomato and a whisper of heat, and the signature herb-and-mustard-crusted rack of lamb that has occupied the menu for most of the restaurant’s existence (GAYOT, 2025; Northforker, 2019).
The wine program, overseen by General Manager and Wine Director Gabrielle Walsh, has earned the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence annually since 2006. Walsh manages a collection of approximately 2,200 bottles across 350 labels, spanning French, Californian, Spanish, and Long Island vineyards, with price points ranging from accessible bottles under seventy-five dollars to serious selections in the one-hundred-fifty to two-hundred-dollar range (Wine Spectator, 2019). Each section of the list highlights what Walsh calls a “hidden gem” — a bottle that delivers disproportionate quality relative to its cost. The cocktail program has evolved in recent years to include a speakeasy-inspired selection that nods to the building’s Prohibition history, alongside a curated agave section highlighting tequila and mezcal, and a growing roster of nonalcoholic options for guests who want the ceremony of a cocktail without the alcohol.
The Staff That Stayed
One of the most remarkable dimensions of Stone Creek Inn is the extraordinary retention of its team — a fact that speaks volumes in an industry defined by turnover. Gabrielle Walsh has served as general manager for more than a decade. Assistant manager Maeghan Byrne has held her position for roughly fifteen years. Longtime bartender Phil Eberhardt retired in 2024 after twenty-five years behind the original 1920s speakeasy bar. And in the kitchen, Justina Napoles has been with Stone Creek since day one — she was the very first person Mir interviewed when the restaurant opened in 1996 (Southforker, 2024).
This is not accidental. Mir has spoken publicly about his management style, describing it as egalitarian and democratic. He treats the dishwasher with the same respect he extends to his sous chef, and he works to accommodate both his staff and his diners. DiGiacomo has articulated the philosophy even more directly: if your customers are telling you what they want and you refuse to listen, you are missing the opportunity to grow your business (Southforker, 2024). That willingness to listen — to guests, to staff, to the rhythms of the community — has produced a culture of loyalty that is exceedingly rare in the hospitality world. Anyone who has spent twenty-five years running a restaurant, as Peter from The Heritage Diner knows firsthand, understands that the dining room is only as good as the people who show up every day believing in what they are building.
The Room Itself
Stone Creek’s dining space occupies more than five thousand square feet across the three-story Victorian. Two light and airy dining rooms — dressed in tones of sand, cream, white, and natural wood — seat approximately 150 guests, with an additional twelve seats at the clubby bar that still carries the character of its speakeasy origins (Southforker, 2024). The atmosphere manages a difficult balance: opulent enough to honor the occasion, unpretentious enough to let the food remain the focus. Wall-to-wall windows flood the space with natural light during the earlier seatings, and the option to sit near the indoor fireplace gives winter evenings a warmth that extends beyond temperature.
Private dining is available in two rooms that can accommodate sixty or ninety guests, respectively, making Stone Creek a destination for milestone celebrations, corporate events, and wedding-related gatherings. Off-site and on-site catering is available through catering director Kory, reachable at Kory@stonecreekinn.com. The restaurant also features seasonal outdoor dining, including a covered tent option and patio seating with umbrellas — a practical concession to the Hamptons’ summer demands that does not compromise the experience.
The dress code is described on Stone Creek’s own website with characteristic ease: “Neat but casual — don’t be afraid to dress up and get romantic.” Valet parking and coat check add a layer of service that reinforces the fine-dining commitment without veering into formality for its own sake.
Reservations, Hours, and How to Get There
Stone Creek Inn operates a dinner-only format with hours that reflect its seasonal rhythms. Current hours are Monday, Wednesday through Sunday from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, closed Tuesdays. The restaurant closes for the month of January. Reservations are required and can be made through Resy or by calling the restaurant directly after 11:00 AM. Walk-ins are welcomed at the bar, which retains its original 1920s character and offers the full cocktail and food menu. A credit card guarantee is required for all reservations, with a twenty-five-dollar-per-person cancellation fee applied for cancellations made within twenty-four hours. Special holiday menus carry a cancellation fee of half the menu price (Stone Creek Inn FAQ, 2025).
For guests bringing a special bottle, the corkage fee is sixty-five dollars per 750ml bottle, with a maximum of two bottles per reservation. A children’s meal is available — organic chicken tenders, mac and cheese, and fresh fruit for twenty-six dollars. Dietary restrictions are handled daily, and the kitchen is happy to accommodate any requests (Stone Creek Inn FAQ, 2025).
Takeout is also available, and Yelp listings indicate the restaurant offers delivery service as well (Yelp, 2024). For online ordering, visit stonecreekinn.com.
Address: 405 Montauk Highway, East Quogue, NY 11942
Phone: (631) 653-6770
Website: stonecreekinn.com
Reservations: Resy — Stone Creek Inn
Instagram: @stonecreekinn
Catering Inquiries: Kory@stonecreekinn.com
Hours: Monday, Wednesday–Sunday: 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM | Closed Tuesday | Closed January
Few restaurants on Long Island can claim a history that stretches from Prohibition-era bootlegging to a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, from a Victorian farmhouse built in 1910 to a kitchen still helmed by the same chef who opened it nearly thirty years ago. Stone Creek Inn is not merely a restaurant that has survived — it is one that has deepened with time, the way a great wine evolves in the bottle or the way hand-stitched leather develops its character over decades of use. Christian Mir and Elaine DiGiacomo did not just open a restaurant in 1996. They made a wager that the East End deserved something built to last — a place where the china, the stemware, the sourcing, and the service were all executed at a level that most operators reserve for opening night and abandon by Labor Day. Three decades later, the wager has paid dividends that compound with every season. Stone Creek Inn is proof that in an era obsessed with the new, the establishments that endure are the ones that never stopped caring about the details you cannot see from the dining room.
Peter from The Heritage Diner writes about food, craftsmanship, and community from Mount Sinai, New York. The Heritage Diner has served the North Shore at 275 Route 25A since 2000. For bespoke English bridle leather goods, visit marcellinony.com. For apps and projects, visit x9m8.com.
