Chef Profile: Noah Schwartz

If you met Noah Schwartz outside his restaurant, you probably wouldn’t peg him as a chef. His thin frame, horn-rimmed glasses and modest demeanor make him look more like a serious graduate student than a successful chef. But successful he is. At the tender age of 33, he is not only the executive chef but the owner of his namesake restaurant,in Greenport.

At 21, Noah knew that he wanted to become a chef. He left college in Plattsburgh, N.Y. for formal culinary training at the Northeast Culinary Institute in Vermont and then at Sonoma County, Calif. He had the good fortune to work with chef Mark Starr, whose four California restaurants had become icons of the fabled “California cuisine.”

Eight years later this influence shows up in chef Noah’s menu. The fresh flavors of local produce, a light touch with Mediterranean influences and a seafood centric emphasis has Noah’s food sensibility written all over it.

Noah’s first North Fork stint was as executive chef at the Seafood Barge in Southold. He considered taking over that restaurant when the owners decided to sell it, but the restaurant gods had other plans for him. He met with Dennis McDermott of and Frisky Oyster Bar in Greenport and on a whim asked about buying Frisky Oyster Bar. As it turns out, although Frisky Oyster Bar was a big success, Dennis was willing to sell because it was taking business away from the original restaurant.

Noah says that he “couldn’t ask for more" at Noah's. Like “Baby Bear,” chef Noah feels the location, size and decor of his restaurant are “just right."

"I love the vibe in Greenport  — this is a dream location," he said. "We seem to appeal to a young and hip clientele."

And he’s delighted with being able to create a menu based on the foods he loves. Noah is one happy chef.