There is a particular quality to the light in Port Jefferson Village at dusk. It arrives amber and salted, bending around the masts at Harborfront Park and settling into the exposed brick and reclaimed wood of the restaurants that line Wynn Lane. It is the kind of light that flatters honest materials—wood, iron, leather, stone—and it is the kind of light that greets you when you step into Old Fields of Port Jefferson, a restaurant that has, over the past decade, become one of the North Shore’s most essential dining destinations. Awarded four stars and a “Don’t Miss” designation by The New York Times and named to Newsday’s prestigious Top 100 Restaurants list, Old Fields has achieved something increasingly rare in the American restaurant landscape: it has earned critical acclaim without ever abandoning its fundamental identity as a neighborhood gathering place (The New York Times, 2015; Newsday, 2016).
From my vantage point at The Heritage Diner, just a few miles east along Route 25A in Mount Sinai, I have watched Port Jefferson’s culinary scene evolve over more than two decades. Restaurants rise and vanish like weather systems on the Sound. But Old Fields has endured, and endured with distinction, because its founder David Tunney understands something that the National Restaurant Association’s 2024 State of the Industry report confirms with hard data: the restaurants that survive are the ones that make people feel like they belong.
The Man Behind the Brand: David Tunney’s North Shore Roots
David Tunney did not parachute into Port Jefferson from Manhattan with a brand deck and a venture capital fund. He grew up in Setauket, graduated from Ward Melville High School, and got his first job as a dishwasher at the old Dining Car 1890 on Route 25A and Nicolls Road. His mother, Marilyn, worked for TBR News Media for twenty-five years. His brother John taught him the hospitality trade. These are not the biographical details of a celebrity restaurateur—they are the credentials of a man whose understanding of the North Shore’s rhythms is cellular, not theoretical (TBR News Media, 2019).
Before Old Fields, Tunney cut his teeth managing operations at Oheka Castle, one of Long Island’s grandest estates, and co-founded the Besito Restaurant Group with his brother, building acclaimed Mexican restaurants in Huntington and Roslyn. He later launched Honu Kitchen and Cocktails in Huntington—a venture that proved his instinct for combining approachable warmth with culinary precision. When he acquired the original Old Fields Inn in Greenlawn in 2011, a landmark steakhouse that had been operating since 1956 under founder Frank Le Pera, Tunney did not strip it for parts. He modernized, energized, and honored the legacy simultaneously. He kept the famous 1956 marinade. He kept the fireplace. He kept the soul (Long Islander News, 2014).
The Port Jefferson location, which replaced the former Paces Steakhouse on Wynn Lane, opened around 2014 and immediately established itself as the flagship of what has become a quietly impressive restaurant empire that now spans multiple North Shore locations.
The Culinary Philosophy: Comfort Elevated, Never Compromised
The menu at Old Fields Port Jefferson operates on a principle I recognize from my own quarter-century running The Heritage Diner: respect the ingredient, honor the technique, and never insult your guest’s intelligence. Executive Chef Israel Castro, who has been with Tunney since the early Greenlawn days and built the Port Jefferson kitchen from the ground up, leads a team that treats fundamental techniques—proper searing, patient braising, precise seasoning—as non-negotiable foundations rather than optional flourishes (Greater Long Island, 2020).
The signature steaks, still prepared with the legendary 1956 marinade that Frank Le Pera created during the Eisenhower administration, arrive with mashed potatoes and sautéed asparagus. The Marinated New York Strip and Marinated Skirt Steak carry hints of citrus and hoisin that have delighted diners for nearly seven decades. The 10-ounce Filet Mignon and the formidable 22-ounce Bone-In Ribeye with hotel butter represent the steakhouse tradition at its most disciplined. These are not steaks that hide behind compound butters and truffle oils. They are steaks that trust their own provenance.
Beyond the steaks, the menu reveals a kitchen with range and ambition. The Braised Short Rib Pappardelle speaks to a kitchen comfortable with Italian technique. The Crab Cakes, consistently cited in reviews as a standout, arrive with generous lump crab and a light remoulade. The Short Rib Risotto—fork-tender protein atop a bright, herbed rice—is the kind of dish that rewards patience, both from the kitchen that prepares it and the guest who orders it. For those seeking something more casual, The Old Fields Burger—consistently the number-one ordered item on delivery platforms—is a reminder that greatness and simplicity are not mutually exclusive.
What strikes me, as someone who has spent twenty-five years perfecting a burger of my own at The Heritage Diner, is how Old Fields manages to be simultaneously a serious steakhouse, an accomplished comfort-food kitchen, and a genuine neighborhood restaurant. That triangulation is extraordinarily difficult to sustain. Most restaurants that attempt it default to mediocrity in at least one dimension. Old Fields does not.
The Space: Rustic Vintage With Intention
Walk through the entrance on Wynn Lane and you enter a room that understands the difference between “decorated” and “designed.” Exposed brick. Wooden beams. Warm, low lighting that somehow manages to be flattering without being dim. The rustic-vintage aesthetic is intentional but never costumey—it reads as a space that has been lived in rather than staged. This is the same design philosophy I see in the finest bespoke leather goods at Marcellino NY: materials that tell you their history without being asked.
The restaurant offers multiple environments for different occasions. The main dining room, which seats approximately sixty-five, carries the energy of a full house on a Saturday evening while maintaining enough acoustic separation that conversation remains possible. The private PDR Room accommodates up to twenty-four guests behind glass doors that can be opened or closed, making it ideal for business meetings, pharmaceutical dinners, and rehearsal dinners. The Bar Room, seating up to thirty-five, occupies a semi-private space that can be reserved for cocktail-style events or seated dinners. In warmer months, the outdoor patio becomes one of the most coveted seats in Port Jefferson, while the winter fire pit—where guests toast marshmallows under the North Shore sky—transforms the restaurant into something approaching a lodge experience.
The bar itself deserves particular attention. Old Fields stocks over one hundred unique whiskeys alongside a rotating selection of craft beers and wines. The craft cocktail program reflects a bartending culture that values precision—as one reviewer noted, the staff can explain why they make their bourbon cocktails with cube ice rather than spheres, a level of knowledge that distinguishes a genuine bar program from one that merely follows trends.
A Harbor Village Institution: Community and Resilience
Port Jefferson’s identity as a walkable harbor village—one of the North Shore’s top destinations for boaters arriving from across the northeast and from Connecticut via the Bridgeport–Port Jefferson Steamboat Company—gives Old Fields a unique position in Long Island’s dining ecosystem. The restaurant sits within easy walking distance of Theatre Three, Harborfront Park, the Long Island Explorium, and the boutique shopping that lines Main Street. It benefits from the seasonal tourist influx, certainly, but its year-round viability depends on something deeper: the loyalty of North Shore locals who return week after week because the experience is reliable, warm, and consistently excellent.
That loyalty was tested dramatically in September of a recent year when a catastrophic rainstorm dumped more than four inches of water on Port Jefferson Village in roughly an hour—what village trustee Bruce D’Abramo memorably described as a “200-year storm.” Old Fields sustained significant flood damage that night. The Port Jefferson Fire Department had to assist patrons in evacuating the restaurant. David Tunney responded with characteristic pragmatism and humor: when a staff member asked if they needed more rags, Tunney reportedly said, “No, get some tequila.” A crew of approximately thirty people worked around the clock to clean and sanitize the restaurant, and Old Fields reopened within days. The incident revealed something that matters more than any Yelp rating: when a restaurant’s team treats the business as their home, they rebuild it like one (TBR News Media, 2024).
The Old Fields Universe: An Expanding North Shore Presence
One of the more remarkable aspects of the Old Fields story is how Tunney, alongside his longtime partner and manager Rory Van Nostrand—who started as a busboy at Honu in 2006 and has been with Tunney ever since—has expanded the brand without diluting it. The original Old Fields in Greenlawn continues to operate as a beloved neighborhood steakhouse. Old Fields Barbecue locations in Huntington and Setauket—the latter rebranded as Old Fields Tavern to accommodate a broader American menu—offer a different but related experience built on authentic smoked meats that Tunney, Van Nostrand, and Castro developed after a research pilgrimage through Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida, stopping at legendary spots like Franklin Barbecue and at unnamed roadside joints recommended by locals.
More recently, Tunney opened Ella’s in Huntington and announced plans for a Modern Italian concept in Stony Brook Village Center, promising freshly made pasta in a completely different register from the American fare that built the Old Fields reputation. The expansion trajectory is notable because it mirrors a pattern I have observed across the most durable small-business empires on Long Island: the founder does not franchise; he builds adjacent concepts that share operational DNA—sourcing standards, hospitality philosophy, team development—while allowing each location its own identity.
As someone preparing to launch Maison Pawli, a boutique real estate venture with my wife Paola here in Mount Sinai in 2026, I find Tunney’s expansion strategy instructive. The discipline required to grow without losing provenance is the same whether you are opening a restaurant, crafting a briefcase from English bridle leather, or curating properties on the North Shore. The principle is identical: every extension of the brand must feel inevitable, not opportunistic.
Private Events and Special Occasions
Old Fields Port Jefferson has developed a robust private events program that merits attention for anyone planning celebrations, corporate gatherings, or milestone dinners on the North Shore. The PDR Room, Bar Room, and Main Dining Room each offer different capacities and configurations. Private event spaces are available Sunday through Thursday all day, and Saturday and Sunday between noon and 4:00 PM. Reservations require a deposit of twenty percent of the estimated food cost, and the restaurant’s event coordinator, Alexa, has earned consistent praise in reviews for her attentiveness and flexibility—including accommodating dietary restrictions and allergies with customized menus.
For bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, birthday celebrations, and pharmaceutical dinners, Old Fields provides AV equipment, flexible room configurations, and a seasonal menu process that requires confirmation two weeks prior to the event. Multiple reviewers on The Knot have highlighted the restaurant’s willingness to allow custom decoration—centerpieces, balloon arches, candy tables, gift staging areas—without nickel-and-diming hosts on logistics. This is hospitality in its truest form: making the guest’s vision the priority rather than the house rules.
Essential Information
Address: 318 Wynn Lane, Port Jefferson, NY 11777
Telephone: (631) 331-9200
Website: oldfieldspj.com
Old Fields Brand Website: of1956.com
Reservations: Available via Resy for parties up to 12 guests. Larger groups should call the restaurant directly.
Delivery: Available via DoorDash and Grubhub
Hours of Operation:
- Monday through Saturday: 5:00 PM – 9:30 PM
- Sunday: 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Happy Hour at the bar during the first hour of service, every day
Cuisine: New American, Steakhouse, Seafood
Price Range: $31–$50 per entrée
Dress Code: Smart Casual
Payment: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover
Parking: Public pay-per-space lot adjacent to the restaurant
Accessibility: Indoor fireplace, outdoor patio dining, heated seasonal seating, full bar
Ratings and Accolades:
- The New York Times: 4 Stars, “Don’t Miss”
- Newsday: Top 100 Restaurants
- TripAdvisor: Ranked #10 among 46 restaurants in Port Jefferson; Travellers’ Choice Award
- Yelp: 4+ stars across 341 reviews with 445 photos
- DoorDash: 4.5 stars across 100+ ratings
Social Media: Active presence on Instagram and TikTok (@oldfieldspj)
Private Events Contact: Call (631) 331-9200 and ask for Alexa
There is a line I return to often, attributed to the Stoic tradition but applicable to anyone who builds things meant to last: we are what we repeatedly do; excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. David Tunney, Rory Van Nostrand, Israel Castro, and the entire Old Fields team have spent over a decade repeatedly doing the unglamorous work of hospitality—sourcing honestly, cooking precisely, serving warmly, and rebuilding when the floodwaters rise. The result is not merely a restaurant. It is a proof of concept for what the North Shore’s dining culture can be at its best: rooted in place, rigorous in craft, and generous in spirit. If you are heading down to Port Jefferson for an evening on the harbor—whether by car from Mount Sinai, by train to the LIRR station, or by ferry from Connecticut—Old Fields is not just a recommendation. It is a destination.
Written for The Heritage Diner Blog — heritagediner.com/blog
Peter has owned and operated The Heritage Diner at 275 Route 25A in Mount Sinai, New York, since 2000. He is the founder of Marcellino NY, a bespoke leather atelier, and is preparing to launch Maison Pawli, a boutique real estate venture with his wife Paola, in 2026.
