A new nexus for the East End, Silver Lining Diner is the epitome to which every great American diner has always aspired: an egalitarian place with friendly, welcoming and optimistic service where guests can have a well-crafted and delicious yet unpretentious meal whatever the occasion.
Occupying an iconic diner space, circa 1957, on Montauk Highway in Southampton, Silver Lining Diner is open year-round, serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, late-night, cocktails and take-out seven days a week. The restaurant’s guiding culinary principle is to capture the essence of all four seasons by showcasing the year-round bounty of the region’s agricultural economy, sourcing from local farmers, foragers and fishermen whenever possible. The moniker, Silver Lining Diner, is a reference to the “Sunrise Highway”, the original name of Montauk Highway (Route 27), because of its positioning in relationship to the sun rising in the East.
Silver Lining Diner brings together the collective vision and talent of five partners including Executive Chef Eric Miller, Operations & Events Director Marc Miller, financier Richard Silver, marketing and branding guru MT Carney, and world-renowned interior architecture and design firm Jeffrey Beers International.
From 2014-2018, Chef Eric Miller, General Manager Marc Miller and Richard Silver owned and operated the beloved Bay Kitchen Bar in East Hampton, the only restaurant on the East End to ever receive an “Excellent” rating from The New York Times.
Brothers Eric and Marc Miller both have close to four decades of experience working in fine dining establishments. Eric is considered a pioneering advocate of the dock-to-dish and farm-to-table movements in the Hamptons, while Marc is recognized for his wine acumen, warm hospitality and impeccable attention to detail.
Jeffrey Beers, Founder & President of Jeffrey Beers International, has been the go-to architect for top chefs and hoteliers worldwide for over 25 years, including Gordon Ramsay, Curtis Stone, Daniel Boulud and Jean-Georges, among others. A regular customer at Bay Kitchen Bar, Beers came to the project initially in a design capacity specifically and later joined as a partner.
The former President of Marketing for Walt Disney Studios, MT Carney is the co-founder of Plan A, an advertising-holding company that brings together a wide range of creative boutiques. Carney collaborated closely with Beers to re-imagine the diner’s interior space in addition to its overall identity, both visual and conceptual.
As Director of Operations & Events, Marc Miller oversees all logistics for Silver Lining Diner and its partnered companies Food & Co. and Hampton Clambake, the premier special events and on-beach caterers in the Hamptons.
“A diner has always been more than a restaurant; it’s a barometer where a seat at the counter or in a booth has offered a front row view of American life,” explains Carney. “There is nothing elitist about a diner; it’s a welcoming egalitarian place. We hope to recreate that experience at Silver Lining Diner, making it a staple for the community who live in the Hamptons and those who visit throughout the year.”
The 270-seat restaurant has been divided into a number of intimate spaces with a variety of seating options including booths, coffee counter and bar seating, square and round tables, banquettes, a communal table and an outdoor patio. The coffee section of the bar in the main dining room is shaped as a horseshoe, which is intended to induce communication and closeness among diners.
Beers’ design honors the classic American diner ethos without feeling retro or vintage. Utilizing a crisp, light, and happy color palate of sunshine yellow, warm whites, stainless steel, and light hued woods, the various spaces feel simultaneously contemporary, light and optimistic. Patio with outdoor seating for 40.
Chef Eric Miller applies a high level of sophistication, technique and artistry to his menus while maintaining an approachability with something for everyone at every price point (menu items range from $10 Burger to $58 24oz prime-aged NY Strip). Utilizing his decades-long relationships with farmers, foragers, producers, and fishermen on the North Fork and East End, Chef Miller sources ingredients locally and organically whenever possible.
“Our menu celebrates the abundance of seasonal ingredients that are locally available,” explains Miller. “We hope to offer something for everyone and anyone, for every occasion.”
At its core, Silver Lining Diner understands what its customers want to eat, rather than asking its customers to understand what they are offering.
Chef Miller’s lunch menu focuses on homemade soups (chicken vegetable matzoh ball, New England clam chowder), entréee Salads (lobster- salad, Steel-head Pink Trout Cobb, Chef’s Salad), cold and hot sandwiches (Freshly Shucked 1lb.Maine Lobster Roll, Triple Decker Turkey and Avocado Club, Montreal-Style House Cured Pastrami), local fish “From the Fryer” (Montauk fluke and Panko sea scallops), Detroit-style square pan pizzas, and half-pound burgers using Snake River Farms sustainable and natural Wagyu beef.
In addition to many of the items available at lunch, dinner allows Chef Miller more room to flex with a Raw Bar serving local oysters and clams (Montauk Pearls, Conscious Point) and a variety of entrees including pastas including (BKB’s popular seafood truffle pasta), local seafood (sourced within 100 miles whenever possible), local roasted free-range chicken, Snake River bone-in prime sirloin steaks (12-ounce and 24-ounce) and Long Island Crescent Duck, sourced from the last remaining duck farm on Long Island. Rotating weeknight specials will include the “Hampton Clam Bake,” a 1.-pound lobster, Amagansett steamers, mussels, tomatoes, corn-on-the-cob, all steamed in a bag, and opened at table.
The cocktail list ranges from vegetal and fruit forward to spirituous and refreshing. Selections include The Garden Party, meant to evoke the classic diner green juice (saline solution, cucumber, green pepper, simple syrup, with or without gin), the Total Flake, reminiscent of a strawberry-coconut lemonade (strawberry syrup, lemon juice, toasted coconut syrup, with or without vodka), while the Jumper Cable offers a caffeinated spirituous jolt the system (Mr. Black’s Cold Brew coffee liqueur, unaged rum, Rockey’s Milk Punch). For the ‘spirit-free’ version Miller developed a cold brew concentrate and a non-alcoholic house milk punch. Desserts include the classics with a modern twist, all baked in-house daily. Pies (seasonal berry, banana cream, lemon meringue), cakes (Brooklyn blackout, carrot) and cheesecakes (macadamia brittle cheese) are served individually and presented on Fenton cake stands.
Partnered companies Food & Co. and Hampton Clambake, overseen by Marc Miller operate out of the Silver Lining Diner kitchen. They offer catering all summer for those looking to capitalize on beach parties, at-home entertaining, weddings and private events.
Silver Lining Diner is located at Located at 32 Montauk Highway and is open seven days a week, from 7am till late. For more information, please call (631) 901-1800, visit their website, and follow on Instagram at @SilverLiningHamptons.
