Hamptons' Nightlife: What's New And What's Back For Summer 2011

There have been some major changes out East over the cold wintry months, which leaves us wondering: which New York City players will win the hearts of the Hamptons' crowd this summer? Will it be reigning champ of Montauk, Surf Lodge? Or round 2 for Navy Beach? Maybe Crow's Nest? Or another NYC newcomer possibly!? Take a look at what to expect from our Hamptons summer Tag Teams...

[Photo via Rob Rich]

1. The Capri gets a face lift -  will include a Cynthia Rowley pop-up shop, a Nobu restaurant and The Bathing Club outdoors!

Cynthia Rowley will be “popping up” at the Capri in Southampton. Cynthia Rowley at the Capri is the retail component of the renovated Capri Hotel, which will compliment the other new aspects, a new Nobu restaurant and The Bathing Club outdoors. Rowley will even be curating the art in the hotel’s rooms and designing the graphic on the swimming pool floor. The hotel most recently housed the Day & Night brunch party, but is also known for it's Pink Elephant days back in '08. Owner Steven Kamali has made it clear that the new Capri will have nothing to do with it's clubbing glory days - but instead will offer a scene reminiscent of the south of France, with a relaxed vibe.

Also, The Atlantic and The Bentley - the two other hotels in the chain will also receive a more high-end image make over.

[The Atlantic and Bentley's new management]

[The Pink Elephant, back in 2008]

2. The Surf Lodge is taking over Second House!

The prep's favorite place to catch a late-night concert, The Surf Lodge, is taking over Second House, one of Montauk's oldest restaurant/hotels. The concept is still under wraps but we have a feeling this will be incredible.

[Enjoying Chef Sam Talbot's cuisine at the Surf Lodge]

3. Hamptons nightlife staple, Dune, is leaving!?

Update: AXE Lounge is 1000000% open this summer. They're going to have a brand new redesign of the entire interior and have a huge music and event program lined up throughout the summer and kicking off Memorial Day Weekend. The venue is still run by Paige Management (owned by Matt Shendell), and this will be AXE Lounge's 3rd summer in the space and the 6th summer that Paige has run the 1181 North Sea Road venue.

4. The newcomer - SL East!

EMM Group partners Mark Birnbaum and Eugene Remm (think NYC hot spots like Abe and Arthur's and Tenjune) are replacing the dried-up Lily Pond space with an outpost of their Meatpacking club SL, called SL East. We're excited to see how this works out. A summer without Lily Pond also, weird right? [via]

[Jessica Szohr and Jessica Stam at SL... will their celebrity partiers follow SL out east?]

5. Goodbye to Exile, hello to Tremont in the West Village.

Randy Lerner's Exile (a restaurant that gets so packed and rowdy that it feels like you are in a New York City club while eating) in Amagansett has closed. His other heavy-hitter spot, The Meetinghouse, will stay open however and Lerner has plans to open a new place in the West Village called Tremont.

[Dining at Exile]

6. Navy Beach proved it's worthy, and is sticking around for another summer.

Last year's newbie Navy Beach in Montauk proved they got the stuff to stick it out in the Hamptons - the restaurant re-opened April 29th for weekends. Navy Beach also worked on it's menu and drink specials for the summer season, including a new "#WINNING!" cocktail crafted daily by in-house warlocks and goddesses. Local bands are scheduled to play this summer, expect good vibes and good food once for Navy Beach round 2.

7. Hamptons hot spot Georgica is back again! And guess what? They are throwing an awesome pop-up party Saturday, June 4th with us! Come join! More details to coming soon...

[Fact: We are so excited!]

8. Tavern owners search to re-brand with another partner.

Well, whaddaya know? The crew behind Meatpacking restaurant RDV won't bring their party to Tavern restaurant in Southampton this summer. The Tavern owners are looking to re-brand the place with another partner, however.

9. Has Della Femina been sold?

After much deliberation of "is it? is it not?" Della Femina has officially been sold! The Hillstone Restaurant group (think Palm Beach Grill, Rutherford Grill, Houston's, Gulfstream, R+D Kitchen) purchased the spot and will name it East Hampton Grill.

[Photo via]

10. Bridgehampton Polo almost left us forever, but now is back in full swing (literally).

Rumors spread in March that the Bridgehampton Polo events would be leaving Two Trees Farm because the owner of the property wanted to focus on selling it. However, a spokesperson for the event finally spoke up, confirming the event is on per usual. The only difference this year will be the absence of Mercedes-Benz as the main sponsor. [via]

[The Bush women at Bridgehampton Polo]

11. French bistro favorite Almond has a new home!

Once located on Montauk Highway, the famed restaurant is moving to One Ocean Road in Bridgehampton. The new space will now be able to seat over 120, and will include outdoor, sidewalk seating. Outfitted with 100 year old tin ceilings and a hand carved back bar, the owners plan to keep the integrity of the original historic space.

12. And to top it all off? Whispers have been heard that the guys of the West Village French bistro The Spotted Pig will be opening up a spot in the Hamptons this summer. We hope this is true!