Montauk Drama: Is Este the New Surf Lodge?
Mischievous local news by Rory Satran: Uproar over the intentions of a multilevel restaurant; a Goldilocks crime mystery in Sag; a weird 2-scoop lobster roll.
Marley Dominguez, who is contending with townspeople over his upcoming Montauk restaurant Este, told me that some of his best memories were made at spots like Surf Lodge and Crow’s Nest at the beginning of the 2010s. He first started coming to the beach town while he was living in Dubai and was instantly charmed.
“Even on a global scale Montauk was one of my favorite places,” said Dominguez, the Dallas-based managing director of Enduring Hospitality Group, which also owns the Offshore Montauk hotel near Este off Montauk Highway. “I really wanted to create a venue that was the backdrop for other people creating memories. The same way when you listen to a song, it creates a memory, and it makes you smile.”
So far, the reaction to Este has been more like a grimace.
Although the restaurant, which is under construction, was fully permitted by the East Hampton Planning Board in November 2025, a series of events has created discord in the town. An anonymous party dropped off an early brand packet at the East Hampton Star which described Este as more of a party spot than a low-key restaurant (Dominguez said the deck, given to an early potential investor, was outdated and inaccurate). At a May 20 Planning Board meeting, and another meeting this week at the Montauk Library, there was much discussion over details including the number of parking spots and bathroom stalls at the restaurant. A change.org petition calling for the town to “revoke all permits and approvals” currently has over 500 signatures (Dominguez disputes multiple details on the petition, such as the number of parking spots listed).
The controversy boils down to the question of whether Este is a chill restaurant or a raucous club. Dominguez defends it as the former; townspeople fear it’s the latter. This is a familiar battle in Montauk, which has morphed from sleepy surf town to renowned party spot in the past few decades. Places that began as family-friendly restaurants, like Ruschmeyers, became noise-complaint magnets. Dominguez said his reference was the Surf Lodge of 15 years ago, not the packed Surf Lodge of today.
In 2013, my extended family—including grannies and infants—gathered at Surf Lodge in pashminas to celebrate my rehearsal dinner; in 2025 rapper Waka Flocka Flame got into a heated exchange with security at the same venue.
“Montauk doesn’t need another drug-fueled day club,” said Mike D. Hunt, who works in the fishing and hunting industries and has been in Montauk since 1977. “It would appear this isn’t going to be a reading club or bible study.”
Dominguez maintains that Este, which will be open year-round, is not a club. The two-floor space, plus a rooftop area, has bar, eating, and fireplace areas. “We created a variety of spaces, because I think depending on the time of year, depending on the time of day, there’s a variety of experiences that I think people are looking for,” he said.
When asked whether there would be dancing, Dominguez got philosophical: “In a restaurant, a 5-year-old child could dance around. Is that dancing? You know, like: What is dancing?” He continued, “We’re not going to have a dance club. We’re not going to have a dance floor.” There would, however, be a DJ occasionally. But he said, “We have a hotel right next door, and we want to make sure that our guests are not inundated with noise.”
As townspeople rage on Montauk’s online forums and at the beach, construction continues on Este. Dominguez thinks it will be done sometime this winter, and be fully operational next summer, if all goes according to plan.
When I pressed Dominguez for more details on the kind of place he was going for, he cited Shelter Island’s Sunset Beach. André Balazs’s summer-only spot offers dining, drinks, and weekend dancing on banquettes for boat-in jetsetter types. “I like the semi-European vibe,” said Dominguez. “I think the Mediterranean in the summer is one of the best experiences on the planet.”
Goldilocks is on the loose in Sag Harbor.
Ally Shapiro, daughter of former Real Housewife of New York Jill Zarin, said on TikTok that a squatter had recently entered the Zarin family’s Hamptons home, slept in their beds, and used their toothbrushes. This Goldilocks was a bit of a party girl: Zarin said wine bottles and a martini shaker were also discovered. The Zarins’ house manager called the Sag Harbor police, who noted that security cameras had been deactivated. Nothing was reported stolen.
Squatting in the Hamptons, where homeowners are often away from their properties, is fairly common. In 2013, a man was arrested who had taken up residence in Jennifer Lopez’s Water Mill pool house.
In a second video, Zarin said, “My gut feeling is that it’s someone close to us—someone we know.” Hamptons bears, lock up your porridge.
Hamptons Facebook groups have become the latest Uncanny Valley. What appear to be scam posters are infiltrating local forums with weird, generic posts about famous spots. The above poster, “Ririk Pamilut,” has been sharing photos such as the above with captions like, “Why do you love Montauk so much?” The photo at left is a creepy approximation of Duryea’s $100 lobster Cobb salad, and the one at the right is a suspiciously scooped version of the Gosman’s lobster roll. Posters like this are often hoping to gain trust or traction in groups before roping them into phishing scams. Ririk Pamilut did not respond to requests for comment.
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