Nautilus Cafe
46 Woodcleft Ave. Freeport, NY 516-379-2566
Nautilus can't bank on a waterside location like its neighbors on the Nautical Mile (it's across the street from the canal) and so it has to rely on its menu, doing so nicely with a selection of seafood backed by a number of beef-based choices. The room is nicely appointed, it white-tableclothed tables nicely spaced in a boat-shaped room that stirs up the feel of dining while on a cruise.
Hours: 12 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 12 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 12:30 p.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. Ambience: Good Reservations: Accepted Credit cards: AcceptedNautilus can't rely on a waterside location--it's across the street from the canal--and so it has to rely on its restaurant chops, and it does so quite successfully.
The dining room is nicely appointed with well-spaced tables covered in white tablecloths. The menu is grown-up too: starters include Chesapeake crab cakes with chipotle aioli, steamed mussels in a saffron-thyme broth and blackened sushi-grade tuna served with seaweed salad and mango coulis. Seafood entrees range from seared day-boat scallops and stuffed jumbo shrimp to almond-crusted tilapia, sole meuniere and sauteed brook trout with roasted pine nuts.
Land-lubbing mains are good too: skirt steak with caramelized onions, grilled veal chop, slow-roasted prime rib and roast Long Island duckling, to name a few.
Nautilus also boasts one of the Nautical Mile's most extensive wine lists, with more than 80 selections from Long Island, the West Coast, France and Italy. So popular is Nautilus's banana bread that you can take home a loaf for $4.95.
Lobster specials every day of the week
