The Southampton Inn Introduces New Restaurant Claude's

Chef James Carpenter is experienced on the East End restaurant scene, the latest of his ventures being Claude’s, a new Southampton Village restaurant attached to the Southampton Inn on Hill Street.

Mr. Carpenter has been at the helm of many other popular Hamptons restaurants—such as The Living Room at The Maidstone in East Hampton Village and East Hampton Point in Springs—though he began his Hamptons career in Southampton at a since-closed restaurant called Savannah’s.

After a brief stint in Pennsylvania, he returned to East Hampton, preferring the restaurant scene on Long Island to PA.

Mr. Carpenter’s love of cooking began when he was a child and he and his brother had to decide who would do which chores when they arrived home from school. They had to choose between starting dinner or chopping wood in the backyard. “I opted for the dinner starting and my brother, who is actually now a lumberjack, he found his calling,” he said.

He arrived at Claude’s through a mutual friend of his and the owner of the Southampton Inn, Dede Moan.

“I was absolutely excited to have met somebody that I knew of and about,” Ms. Moan said of the beginning of her and Mr. Carpenter’s partnership.

The restaurant space now occupied by Claude’s has been there for years, changing names and chefs with new summers. First opening in 2007, it was called Oso because of the cat that lived in the inn.

The name was later changed to Clyde’s because of a new cat, but issues with a nationwide restaurant that had that same name trademarked caused them to again change the name of the restaurant to Klyde’s.

That name also did not stick, and so the restaurant became Claude’s and the cat was renamed. “He didn’t mind,” Mr. Carpenter said of the cat.

On differentiating this new restaurant among the older, more established restaurants in Southampton Village, both Mr. Carpenter and Ms. Moan seemed very excited about the atmosphere. “The courtyard and the poolside dining will be extremely attractive, especially to the summer crowd,” Mr. Carpenter said.

The restaurant offers both indoor and outdoor dining, with the latter being more casual.

The food is locally sourced, and Mr. Carpenter’s relationships with Long Island suppliers have helped him secure fresh ingredients for his farm-to-table dishes. He describes the food as essentially American due to the location and local farmers.

The Southampton Inn also has its own garden where tomatoes and string beans are grown—families can pick those vegetables when in season and give them to Chef Carpenter to prepare for their meals.

The menu features a variety of options, from seafood to steak to salads. Ms. Moan discussed how the restaurant plans to make the menu accessible to everyone by including vegetarian and gluten-free items, and Mr. Carpenter added that the restaurant can update the menu in house, so as to keep up with “what is beautiful and fresh and what is in season.”

Starting on June 21, Thursday nights will become “Claude’s Cabaret,” featuring resident musician Konstantin Soukhovetski playing the grand piano in the indoor restaurant. This event will feature a prix fixe dinner for $75, which includes dinner and the show, or a ticket for $30 includes a drink and the show.

Claude’s plans to be open seven days a week for the entirety of the summer season, as well as continuing into the year. Mr. Carpenter and Ms. Moan hope the restaurant will attract a local crowd as well as a seasonal one. “Knowing that a lot of places close in the wintertime out here … I think we have a pull from East Hampton to Westhampton to come here,” Mr. Carpenter said.

For more information on events and reservations, visit southamptoninn.com/dining.