Coche Comedor, one of the first Long Island restaurants to serve authentic, regional Mexican food in a swank, upscale setting, is closing its doors after dinner on Sept. 27. The Amagansett eatery was opened in 2019 by Honest Man Hospitality, the East End restaurant group that also owns Nick & Toni’s in East Hampton, Townline BBQ in Sagaponack and Rowdy Hall and La Fondita in Amagansett. (The latter, a casual taqueria that shares a parking lot with Coche Comedor, will remain open.)
The company released a statement saying that “running a seasonal business, especially a restaurant in the Hamptons, has grown increasingly difficult … Unfortunately there wasn’t enough volume to keep going.”
Coche Comedor is slated to close in Amagansett. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
Coche Comedor is Spanish for “dining car,” a reference to the vintage diner that was transformed, with bold tile and colorful tabletops, into the retro-chic restaurant. While the usual visual signifiers of Mexican culture (Frida Kahlo prints, Day of the Dead imagery, lots of cacti) were absent, the food evoked the spirit of Mexico.
Juarez, who departed more than two years ago, told Newsday in 2021, “Mexican food is complex but delicate. A salsa verde needs garlic, but too much garlic, and you kill the flavor. You have to have that taste that you learn from your mother and grandmother.”
While always aiming for Mexican flavors, Coche Comedor also made use of local produce: Nick & Toni’s one-acre farm provided tomatillos and jicama, pasilla and ají amarillo chili peppers, cilantro and epazote and more.
Honest Man Hospitality owns the building but has no immediate plans for its future.
Erica Marcus, a passionate but skeptical omnivore, has been reporting and opining on the Long Island food scene since 1998.
Dining and Cooking