If there’s a law of Long Island hospitality dictating that every restaurant space eventually becomes Italian, Bay Shore’s 150 E. Main St. is the latest example. Bar Lucy is the third concept Drew Dvorkin has launched since he and his partners bought the building in 2015.
“On Long Island, Italian is the most popular,” he said. “It gives us a bigger slice of the pie. With another, less popular concept, we might have to cut corners. We decided to go for it.”
Dvorkin knows that Bar Lucy is not the first, second, third or fourth Italian restaurant in the immediate area: The Pizzeria, Butera’s and ITA Kitchen are all within a short walk. But, he acknowledged, that’s the downside of choosing a popular concept.
In 2018, Dvorkin opened Fatwood Southern Kitchen, a barbecue-focused spot whose kitchen and pit were helmed by chef Marc Anthony Bynum. Fatwood closed less than six months later.
Undaunted, he and chef-partner Henry Freidanks recast the space in 2019 as The Linwood, named after a long-gone Bay Shore hotel (1888-1925) and decorated with Jazz Age glamour. A menu of modern, global gastropub fare was matched by the cocktails, both classic and creative. It closed in May.
“Going for it” did not merely entail throwing checked cloths on the table and Chianti on the wine list. A thorough redesign gave the room “boutiquey” feel that manages to be both old school (tin ceilings, red banquettes) and new-cool (sleek cafe tables, globe lights, brass fixtures).
Bar Lucy in Bay Shore is split between a bar and a dining room. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
There’s a sense of light flowing through both the bar and dining room, which is no accident. “Lucia” is an Italian name derived from “luce,” or “light,” a key concept for Dvorkin. “In hospitality,” he said, “it’s our job to send love and light to our guests using food and service.” He knew full well that the American name “Lucy” conjured a certain midcentury comedian, and that association was designed to bestow both nostalgia and whimsy on the operation.
Freidanks’ menu name-checks all the basics, from the traditional — baked clams, fried calamari, meatballs, Caesar salad, linguine vongole, chicken scarpariello, Parms and Milaneses — to the new classics — grilled octopus, burrata Caprese, grilled heritage pork chop, grilled branzino, baked snapper “acqua pazza.”
The eight pastas break more molds with preparations such as lemon fettuccine with grape tomatoes and asparagus, fusilli Gregorio (sausage, peas, ricotta salata in a pink sauce), spinach rotolo (fresh pasta with stracchino, béchamel and chorizo) and S.G.’s penne pizzaiola (filet mignon tips, mushrooms and tomato sauce). There are also seven 12-inch pizzettes. Most starters and pizzettes range from $14 to $18, pastas from $25 to $31, mains from $23 to $51.
As with all its previous incarnations, the bar delivers on cocktails, now with Italian twists such as Aperol spritz and negronis plus signature concoctions like Roman Holiday (Tequila, Amaretto, lime, blood orange, agave, ginger beer and a tomato-dust rim. The alcohol-free Carrie Bradshaw features Lyre’s Orange Sec, fresh lime and cranberry. Cocktails are $9 to $15. Beers (draft and bottles) are $7 to $8; wines by the glass top out at $14, most bottles are $62 and less.
Bar Lucy, 150 E. Main St., Bay Shore, 631-665-1256, bar-lucy-restaurant.com. Open Sunday to Thursday 4 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 4 to 11 p.m.
Erica Marcus, a passionate but skeptical omnivore, has been reporting and opining on the Long Island food scene since 1998.