Tom Colicchio Opens New Restaurant, Topping Rose House, in Bridgehampton

Images: Gordon M. Grant

Top Chef judge and successful restaurateur Tom Colicchio opened his newest restaurant, Topping Rose House, in Bridgehampton on September 15. Located in a restored 1842 Greek revival mansion, the restaurant seats 50 and is just one component of a boutique hotel complex that will eventually include 22 guests rooms and a spa.

Showcasing the bounty of Long Island’s East End farms and featuring its own 1-acre vegetable plot. Topping Rose House is located at the intersection of Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike and Montauk Highway. Owned by financier Bill Campbell and luxury-goods executive Simon Critchell, the facility is managed by Colicchio’s company, Craft Restaurants.

“It’s so great being here in the middle of farms,” said Colicchio. Topping Rose House’s main courses list the vegetables before the meat and there will be much less protein on each place than vegetables. “We’ll serve about five ounces of meat. People are moving in that direction. I know I am.”

The property was purchased by Campbell and Critchell in 2005 and construction started in 2011 after obtaining all of the necessary permits.

“We opened as soon as we could,” Colicchio noted.

The facility with an opulent inn and adjoining cottages and suites will begin accepting guests early in 2013.

The dining room is outfitted in crisp white linen with earth-toned upholstery. There are large windows allowing late-summer light to flood in. There is an adjoining lounge with a bar and porch area.

Menu items include roasted peppers and eggplant with grilled lamb loin ($40) and sugar snap peas, wax beans and truffles with striped bass ($38).

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