Eddie's Bistro and Bar opens in Oyster Bay
The spaghettoni, fresh pasta with shrimp and arugula, at Eddie's Bistro & Bar in Oyster Bay. Credit: Newsday/Marie Elena Martinez
There’s a new guy in Oyster Bay — joining Teddy, Del, Taby and Audrey — and his name is Eddie. Eddie’s Bistro & Bar has opened with an accessible menu and buzzing front bar.
The restaurant, owned by mother-daughter team Michelle and Elizabeth Reilly, honors their late family patriarch Edmund "Eddie," who died in 2014. Born and raised in Scotland, Eddie moved to London, met Michelle, moved to Canada, had three children, and the rest is, well, Oyster Bay history.
Bistro classics include starters like stracciatella with tomato and basil with sourdough crostini ($16) and lamb meatballs with whipped ricotta ($17). Generous pizzas include a Margherita ($16) and Mo’s mushroom truffle ($22), while green salads range from a lightly grilled baby gem Caesar ($17) to a harvest option with endive, arugula, seasonal fruit, Gorgonzola and candied walnut. Intricate pastas like blue crab torchio ($32) with Calabrian chiles offset a simple a cheese agnolotti ($29). There is a daily catch plus a more casual roster of sandwiches, ranging from steak ($28) to crispy chicken ($24) to cheeseburger ($23).
Soccer ball-inspired light fixtures at Eddie's Bistro & Bar in Oyster Bay. Credit: Newsday/Marie Elena Martinez
The space is light and bright by day, turning cozy after the sun begins to set. Elizabeth said her father was "a beloved soccer coach in the community" which explains the soccer ball-shaped light fixtures hanging from the ceiling and the vibrant green banquettes and bar tiles — the color of Eddie’s kilt — that accent the white-walled dining room. There are map murals of London and Glasgow (where Eddie's extended family still resides) and the wallpaper is decorated with thistle, the national flower of Scotland. Eddie’s logo is his signature, which not only graces the restaurant’s exterior, but also the jerseys of the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Soccer Club, which the new bistro sponsors.
Elizabeth, a volunteer firefighter, said she dreamed of owning a restaurant by the age of 25, a dream she has now realized with the help of Michelle, "who is responsible for all the thoughtful decor." Formerly Taco Bay, Eddie's is full of families on the earlier side of the day, shifting to couples and groups as evening sets in. "Exactly," Elizabeth said, "how we envisioned it."
Eddie’s Bistro & Bar, 80 South St., Oyster Bay, 516-460-8300; eddiesbistroandbar.com; Open Wednesday 4 to 10 p.m., Thursday and Friday 4 p.m. to midnight, Saturday noon to midnight and Sunday noon to 10 p.m. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.
