food and wine	« main articles
Updated: September 30, 2009, 3:16 pm	Share    Print    Email

The newly renovated facade and front dining room of The Driver's Seat in Southampton. Photos by Douglas Harrington

Southampton - The Driver's Seat (62 Jobs Lane, Southampton, 631-283-6606) is a true "Main Street" bar/restaurant. Located on Jobs Lane, this is a great people watching location for locals and visitors alike, particularly with its recent renovations.

Owner Irma Herzog (left) chats with patron John Wegorzewski and hostess Meryl Martin during Happy Hour.

Prior to becoming a restaurant in 1960, the storefront in this 19th century building was for decades a produce store. The original restaurant owner, Kingsley Moore, had a passion for auto racing and at the time the Bridgehampton racetrack was a favorite stop on the Grand Prix formula car racing circuit, hence the restaurant's name. For many years more of a gastro pub than a restaurant, several renovations after a 1976 ownership change, The Driver's Seat evolved into a full service restaurant.

Another change in its ownership in 2005 continued the location's evolution with major façade construction this past spring. The present proprietors have opened up the front of the restaurant and bar area to the street and it is now airy and more visually beautiful, both looking in and looking out. The food and service are nothing short of superior, attested to by the enormous popularity of this Southampton landmark, but this article is about the bar itself, so let's get to it.

All the structural requirements are Oak Bar evident in the foot rail and the dozen and a half black leather cushioned wooden bar stools. The bar is indeed oak with a wainscoted front and decorative lip. Just the right height, you can eat comfortably at the bar standing or sitting and the full menu is available. The back bar is mirrored with some subtly carved molding around the utilitarian shelves that hold the glasses, bottles and a large centerpiece wine rack. Tiffany styled hanging lamps give just the right lighting, and yes the local and national newspapers are available. Gorgeous specimens of conches and coral accent the back bar and a lovely vase of fresh flowers sits at the end of the bar. Two flat screens corner the back bar, so this is a great location for the baseball playoffs and football season.

Three decades behind the oak, The Driver's Seat barkeeper Tom Alexander.

There are plenty of wines by the glass and all the designer liquors necessary to make any season's toney cocktails. There is a nice selection of both draught and bottle beers, but the single malt scotch selection needs a little improvement.

The conviviality factor at this bar is off the charts from the owner straight through to the patrons, this is one of the friendliest water holes in the East End. Owner Irma Herzog is on hand and seems to know every customer by name, the floor staff is just as friendly, and barman Tom Alexander is almost iconic, having served up cocktails at this location for almost three decades. The patrons are just as friendly and familiar as the employees, little wonder that this bar is packed by 5 p.m. everyday for the 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Happy Hour with complimentary hors d'oeuvres.

Sunlit and airy, the interior bar and dining rooms of this neighborhood bistro are bright and beautiful. There is also an outdoor canopied bar and open air dining that can be accessed behind the restaurant with an entrance from inside or the municipal parking lot behind Jobs Lane, but we will save them for a spring article about alfresco drinking and dining in the Hamptons.

So if you are looking for that place "where everybody knows your name," stroll into The Driver's Seat. A great Hamptons classic that through several renovations has never lost its appeal of warm, friendly ambiance in an atmosphere that makes you want to return again and again.

The back bar of The Driver's Seat in Southampton.