Fort Pond Bay holds a kind of gravity that most waterfront dining rooms can only approximate. The cove was once military infrastructure — a U.S. Navy seaplane and dirigible base during World War II — and two original Navy piers still punctuate the waterline like the bones of an older, more serious era. It is precisely here, on 200 feet of private beach where warships once anchored, that four partners from very different corners of the hospitality world decided to build something that would become one of Long Island’s most celebrated beachfront restaurants. Navy Beach opened in 2010, and in the years since, it has grown from a seasonal Montauk newcomer into an international brand with Caribbean outposts, a deep philanthropic record, and the kind of loyal following that includes both barefoot surfers and superyacht captains pulling into the bay for lunch.
Origins: Four Partners and a Former Saloon
The founding story of Navy Beach is rooted in the aftershock of the 2007–2008 financial crisis, a period when opportunity favored the prepared and the bold. Frank Davis — a Cornell University School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration graduate who had spent years in finance and business investment — and his wife Kristina Beatty Davis had been longtime East End visitors, renting in Wainscott and fishing the waters around Montauk, Sag Harbor, and Shelter Island for years. In 2009, through local contacts, they learned that the former Sunset Saloon space on Navy Road might become available (James Lane Post, 2021). They brought in Franklin Ferguson, who had sharpened his operational instincts at independent restaurants and major hotel groups across the country, and his wife Leyla Marchetto — whose hospitality pedigree runs deep. Leyla is the daughter of Silvano Marchetto, the legendary owner and chef of Da Silvano, the iconic Greenwich Village Tuscan restaurant that held court at Sixth Avenue and Houston Street from 1975 until its closure in 2016 (Hamptons.com, 2021). Martin Cabrera also joined as an early partner. The group’s collective experience in world travel, fine dining, finance, and brand-building created the DNA for what Navy Beach would become: a restaurant that treats casual beachfront dining with the operational rigor of a global hospitality brand.
The Setting: Where Military History Meets Montauk Magic
Navy Beach’s physical location is among the most distinctive of any restaurant on Long Island’s East End. The restaurant sits inside the Port Royal Private Community at the end of Navy Road — a street literally built by the U.S. Navy — on a sheltered stretch of Fort Pond Bay. The protected cove offers safe anchorage for vessels of all sizes, and the coordinates are published for boaters: 41° 02′ 45.11″N, 71° 57′ 44.88″W. Newsday has ranked it among the top five water-view dining spots on the East End (Newsday, cited on NavyBeach.com). The design, overseen by Kristina Davis as Creative Director, draws directly from the site’s wartime history. Vintage WWII-era naval propaganda posters line the walls. Reclaimed portholes from a boatyard run the length of the bar. Shadow-boxed vintage swimsuits and retro glamour photographs establish a mid-century yacht club atmosphere — as if you had walked into a private officers’ club from 1945, except someone replaced the rations with tuna crudo and a forty-bottle rosé list (KDHamptons, 2015). The result is a space that feels both historically grounded and effortlessly contemporary.
The Menu: Coastal Cuisine with Global Intuition
Navy Beach has never been a place that chases trends at the expense of what works. The New American-influenced menu emphasizes sustainable, locally sourced seafood and seasonal produce — a philosophy that aligns with Montauk’s deep commercial fishing heritage and the East End’s farm culture. Signature dishes have become institutions in their own right. The Buttermilk Fried Chicken, the Navy Burger, the Yunnan Ribs, the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, the Soy-Glazed Halibut, and the Truffled Mac have all earned permanent residency on the menu across multiple seasons. The Tuna Crudo and Crispy Calamari Salad round out a seafood-forward identity that never feels restrictive. Each season introduces thoughtful additions without abandoning the core. For the 2025 season — the restaurant’s sixteenth — new arrivals included Shrimp Tempura Hand Rolls, Tuna Crudo Lettuce Wraps, Mussels “Scampi-Style,” Everything Bagel Crusted Salmon, and a fan-favorite revival of the Bucatini Pomodoro with optional Lobster Tail (James Lane Post, 2025). The vegetarian program expanded with Roasted Cauliflower with Whipped Tofu and Chimichurri, and Asparagus with Miso Aioli and Toasted Sesame. The beverage program has also evolved, adding spirit-free and low-ABV options from Aplós, Wölffer, and Montauk Brew Co. alongside one of the Hamptons’ most extensive rosé selections. The “Torpedo” launch service — a complimentary boat shuttle running weekends from Memorial Day through Labor Day — adds a layer of yachting-world hospitality rarely found at a restaurant that still welcomes walk-ins for lunch.
Caribbean Expansion: From Fort Pond Bay to Yacht Haven Grande
What distinguishes Navy Beach from the vast majority of Hamptons-area restaurants is its ambition beyond the seasonal cycle. In 2019, the founding partners announced a strategic partnership with Island Global Yachting Ltd. (IGY), one of the world’s largest international marina companies, to expand the Navy Beach brand into the Caribbean (Caribbean Journal, 2019). Navy Beach St. Thomas opened at IGY’s Yacht Haven Grande with outdoor seating for over 100 guests and harbor views of Charlotte Amalie. A second location followed at the Yacht Club at Isle de Sol in Simpson Bay, St. Maarten, featuring a multi-million-dollar two-story venue with capacity for 250 guests. Two additional sister concepts — ISLA Cantina, a Mexican eatery, and Sylvette, a French-Mediterranean bistro — joined the Navy Beach family at Yacht Haven Grande. Once all three venues opened, the group operated nearly 10,000 square feet of dining space at the St. Thomas marina alone (27 East, 2019). The Caribbean menus blend Montauk signatures like the Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Navy Burger with island-inflected additions — Red Snapper Ceviche, blackened Mahi Mahi, and Grilled Caribbean Lobster. For the founding team, the expansion solved a practical challenge as well: offering year-round employment and career advancement for staff who had proven their loyalty during Montauk’s compressed summer seasons. The Navy Beach brand, as Frank Davis described it, had become a “nautical hospitality lifestyle” operation — one that could travel wherever the yachts traveled.
Philanthropy and Community
Navy Beach’s relationship with the Navy SEAL Foundation dates to 2013 and has become one of the most sustained charitable partnerships in the East End restaurant scene. Through its annual “dine + donate” program — which adds a minimum of $1 to each dining check from Memorial Day through Labor Day, with optional additional guest donations — and an annual fundraising cocktail event, the restaurant has raised over $200,000 for the Navy SEAL Foundation (NavyBeach.com, 2025). The Foundation, which provides ongoing support to the Naval Special Warfare community and their families, has awarded Navy Beach’s efforts alongside a track record that includes five consecutive four-star ratings from Charity Navigator. The connection between the restaurant’s name, its location on a road built by the Navy, and its support for active and retired SEALs is not manufactured branding — it is a genuine expression of place and purpose. Locally, Navy Beach has run an East Hampton High School scholarship program since 2021, awarding four $500 scholarships annually to graduating seniors. The restaurant’s commitment to hiring locally and supporting Montauk’s year-round community has been a defining principle since the earliest days.
Weddings, Events, and the Navy Beach Lifestyle
Navy Beach has become one of the most sought-after beachfront wedding venues in the Northeast. The combination of a private 200-foot beach, a nautically themed indoor dining room with walls of glass overlooking the sand and sea, a 35-foot bar, and the natural spectacle of Fort Pond Bay sunsets creates an environment that is simultaneously intimate and dramatic. The venue does not offer cookie-cutter wedding packages — every event is customized to the couple’s vision, preferences, and budget (NavyBeach.com Events). WeddingWire reviews consistently rate the venue at 4.9 out of 5, with particular praise for the hands-on coordination provided by Franklin Ferguson and the team. Beyond weddings, the restaurant hosts cocktail parties, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, corporate events, and private beach gatherings. Live entertainment has become a signature element of the summer season, with a rotating lineup of DJs and live acts including the Rum Punch Mafia Band, Bobby Murray, and themed “Riviera Weekend” events that channel the French Mediterranean coast with vintage attire, flowing rosé, and curated cocktails. In 2025, the restaurant launched its first Navy Beach Shop — a merchandise and lifestyle brand available online and on-site.
The Montauk Standard
Navy Beach operates seasonally, typically reopening in late April and running through early fall. The 2025 season opened on April 25 at 5 p.m., with weekend service through mid-May expanding to seven days a week by mid-June. Reservations are available through Resy or by phone, and walk-ins remain welcome — a democratic touch that reflects the restaurant’s founding philosophy of welcoming all walks of Montauk life. It is worth noting that the restaurant applies a 3.5% credit card processing fee to all transactions. For anyone making the drive east, the approach to Navy Beach is part of the experience: a left off Second House Road before reaching the town of Montauk, past the industrial stretch of Shore Road, over the train tracks, and a right onto Navy Road into Port Royal. As The Infatuation observed, you have to know where you are going to find it — which is, of course, part of the appeal (The Infatuation, 2024). Fifteen years after its founding, Navy Beach has earned what every restaurant owner understands but few achieve: the status of a place people return to not because it is convenient, but because it has become part of their personal geography. Every great restaurant eventually becomes a kind of landmark — not by decree, but by the accumulation of sunset cocktails, fried chicken platters, bare feet in the sand, and the quiet conviction that some places simply cannot be replicated. Navy Beach is that place for Montauk.
Contact & Information
Address: 16 Navy Road, Montauk, NY 11954
Phone: (631) 668-6868
Email: ahoy@navybeach.com
Website: navybeach.com
Reservations: Via Resy or by phone (up to two weeks in advance)
Instagram: @navybeachmontauk
Boater Coordinates: 41° 02′ 45.11″N, 71° 57′ 44.88″W (Fort Pond Bay)
Season: Typically late April through early October (check website for exact dates)
Weddings & Private Events: events.navybeach.com
Written by Peter, owner of The Heritage Diner in Mount Sinai, NY — where 25 years behind the griddle has taught him that the best restaurants are never just about the food. They are about the ground they stand on and the people who refuse to leave.
