I visited Ina Garten's favorite Hamptons shop where lobster salad costs $100 per pound, and it was a food lover's dream (2024)

Advertisem*nt

Ina Garten is the unofficial queen of the Hamptons.

While the celebrity chef and TV host often films in her East Hampton home, she was a local businesswoman before the fame.

Her "Barefoot Contessa" show got its name from her now-closed specialty-food store, and her present-day, laid-back, permanently-on-vacation vibe exudes casual wealth.

Advertisem*nt

She published a list of her must-hit spots out east for anyone visiting, and Loaves & Fishes in Sagaponack is on it.

While the icon first became known for her own store, Barefoot Contessa, she's touting other local businesses where she gets some of her recipe ingredients and hosting goodies.

On her Hamptons to-do list published to the Barefoot Contessa website, she lists Loaves & Fishes as a must-visit specialty-food store.

When I did a little research, I saw that Loaves & Fishes is located just south of Montauk Highway in the village of Sagaponack. According to Fortune, Sagaponack is the No. 3 most expensive zip code in the country, so I expected prices to be high.

Advertisem*nt

In an attempt to live like Garten while in the Hamptons, I went to the store in the late morning to see what it was like.

I wanted to get the full Garten experience while out east, so I visited Loaves & Fishes to see what all the hype was about.

When I arrived at around 11:45 a.m., there were a handful of other people in the store. As it got to be noon and then 12:30, there were lines out the door.

Advertisem*nt

I pulled into the small parking lot excited to walk into this tiny white hut.

The store is easy to miss if you're driving and you don't know what you're looking for. But if you're a regular, you'll know exactly where it is and how to park.

I was able to easily pull into a pebble-lined parking space and make my way in through the screen door.

Advertisem*nt

Inside, I first saw the cases of freshly prepared foods.

There were dishes of fresh salads, noodles, chili, crab cakes, pieces of fish and chicken, wraps, and more.

While everything really did look delicious, the ultimate item that caught my eye was the lobster salad.

Sometimes when you see prepared salads (think potato salad, seafood salad, bean and corn salad) they can look slightly congealed on top — after all, there's usually some wet component like mayonnaise and it's sitting in a case for an extended period of time. When I took a closer look at the lobster salad, which goes for $100 per pound, I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh it looked. There was no sign of it having sat there even a minute too long.

Advertisem*nt

Then the shelves that lined the walls came into view.

Along with freshly prepared foods, Loaves & Fishes sells a wide variety of dry goods. There were oils, canned and jarred fish, lots of crackers, seasonings, and even cookbooks on the shelves.

On the bottom shelf, I saw a bag of organic, brown Basmati rice that I had recently purchased for myself back home in New York City. I picked it up to check the price and was stunned — it was $19. I had just paid $4.

Advertisem*nt

Noticing the prices helped me come down from my euphoric state of being in food heaven.

I picked up more items, like a bag of Cape Cod chips, to check the other prices (the chips were $7).

Small, 3/4-pound packages of dried apricots were $22, single-serve portions of chocolate pudding in the refrigerator case were $14, and a quart-sized container of fresh orange juice was priced at $15.

Advertisem*nt

Since I hadn't eaten breakfast yet, I decided on what I thought looked like a toast situation, but the store called it a sandwich.

The open-face, single bread slice "sandwich" of roast beef, spinach, and horseradish cream cost me $12. I thought that was inexpensive considering the apricots and the lobster salad.

There was also a smoked salmon or hummus with veggies (all for the same $12), but the meat option looked like it would be the most filling.

Advertisem*nt

The sandwich — though not a sandwich, in my opinion —was delicious and gave me confidence in the rest of the prepared offerings.

I bit into the sandwich and was pleased with both the construction of it and the flavor profile.

It was definitely simple — just some red meat on top of a bed of raw spinach and seasoned with horseradish sauce — but the flavors and textures worked well together. The horseradish wasn't too strong, and the grain and seed-filled bread held up to the weight of everything on top of it. I also thought the spinach tasted like it had been seasoned with salt, which was a nice touch.

I was also impressed with how easy the meat was to bite into. Sometimes sliced beef can be tough to take a bite out of, but this was cooked well and perfectly fell apart in the right places.

This dish was definitely pricey, but I wasn't mad about it because I thought the quality was worth $12.

Advertisem*nt

Since Garten famously has a sweet tooth, I took a chocolatey opportunity to indulge in my own.

Garten has loads of dessert recipes for her followers, including her favorite chocolate cake. So I thought it was appropriate to lean into that love of desserts while at her favorite store.

On the back counter, I saw what looked like a tray of brownie batter — it was a dish called brownie pudding. The salesperson told me it was one of the most popular items at the store, so I ordered a small portion.

It cost me $20, and it was not small.

Advertisem*nt

After just one bite, I understood why this is such a popular item for shoppers.

I opened up the container, which was extremely heavy, and immediately got a whiff of the familiar fresh brownie scent.

When I tried it, I found it to be super rich, but not in a bad way. It really just tasted like a brownie had been half cooked and sloppily put into a dish where the top crust breaks apart and integrates itself into the raw batter. It was delicious and decadent.

I sat on the bench eating my breakfast dessert, watching as customer after customer made multiple trips to their cars carrying their lunchtime loot.

Advertisem*nt

Despite the high prices, there was a line out the door, and I was in awe at how much food people were buying.

Personally, I can comprehend heading to Loaves & Fishes for maybe one or two things that I crave and as a treat for myself or a loved one. Some things are just worth a splurge.

But I couldn't wrap my mind around these large orders that must have cost hundreds of dollars, if not close to $1,000.

After having tasted some of the food, though, I can understand the craze. And if I had the money, I'd probably shop here too.