Rumba: East End's piece of the Caribbean

David and Rachel Hersh had a plan.

They were going to move to Dominica, a small landmass just north of Martinique, and open up a bar while enjoying island life. But an unexpected pregnancy re-charted the couple’s course.

“We decided to do the next best thing and bring the islands to us,” said Mr. Hersh, 29, chef and co-owner, along with Mrs. Hersh, of Rumba, the latest restaurant to sprout up on Canoe Place Road in Hampton Bays.

Although the couple relocated their vision from the Caribbean to the banks of the Shinnecock Bay, the tiki torches, large paddle fans and selection of island drinks and reggae music help set the mood in this compact bungalow set in a residential neighborhood. The restaurant offers 62 types of rum, the largest selection on Long Island, according to Mr. Hersh. The two-page drink menu includes $10 mojitos, a $9 “Dark and Stormy,” and a $10 prickly pear margarita.

Rumba offers a “friendly and laid-back” atmosphere and is “priced for the local clientele,” according to Mr. Hersh.

Appetizers range from $6 onion straws to $12 seared ahi tuna. Entrées include the $16 jerk chicken platter; smothered pulled rib tacos at $4 apiece; $26 jumbo crab cakes; $26 “Mampie Mahi,” grilled mahi topped with fried shrimp and a Creole reduction sauce; $22 jumbo diver scallops; and the “Wailer” center cut filet for $28.

Desserts are $8 and include a tres leches cake, hot fudge sundae and “David’s famous” key lime pie—a recipe that won second place out of 215 entered in a Florida contest.

In mid-July, Rumba will offer a take-out and shuttle service for boats and jet skis so that patrons can either dock to pick up their take-out or have it delivered to their vessel. “Call us up, we’ll figure out a way to get it there,” said Mr. Hersh.

Mr. Hersh has been cooking for 15 years and has worked as a chef in Orlando and Miami in 
Florida, California, Arizona and France. He also owned and operated three restaurants in New Orleans that ranged from traditional American cuisine to dessert beignets and other New Orleans favorites.

In keeping with the idea of having tropical accents for the food he serves, Rumba uses region-centric ingredients to create the “island theme” by adding mango and papaya to dress up a scallop salad and a Creole white wine reduction sauce to spice up mahi with fried shrimp.

According to Mr. Hersh, the island drinks are also treated with the same care. Some days bartenders arrive at noon to squeeze juices for the 5 p.m. opening. “We have great margaritas made with fresh juices, not store-bought ones,” Mr. Hersh said proudly, glancing at the back of the neutral toned restaurant with its wide, wrap-around deck overlooking Shinnecock Bay.

On chilly nights guests may want to bring a jacket because the front and back doors are usually open. “It can be hot, it can be cold, it’s the feel like if you were on an island just in a little rum bar having a good time,” said Mr. Hersh as he watched his 15-month-old son Jude play in a flower bed.