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Local guide

The Lobster Roll

SeafoodRoadsideDate nightOpen thru Sept
You don’t go to the Lobster Roll for the roll. You go for the parking lot, the picnic table, the late afternoon. The roll is incidental.
Long Island Today · local guide

The Lobster Roll — the roadside spot with the big LUNCH sign you’ve passed a hundred times on Montauk Highway — has been serving the same split-top roll since 1965.

The roll is fine. Maybe more than fine. A split-top, butter-toasted, mayo-dressed lobster sandwich, the meat tossed in just enough sauce to glue it to the bun. They’ve done it the same way since 1965.

But the point of the Lobster Roll isn’t the roll. The point is the parking lot — raked oyster shells, sea grass on the edges, the back deck visible from your front seat.

The point is the half hour before lunch, the half hour after. You drove out here. You ate the roll. You’re not in a rush.

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