TRs Restaurant: Bringing Traditional Dining to a Modern Time

There are changes taking place behind in Hampton Bays. and Bar opened earlier this month and chef owner, Tom Rutyna says he hopes the transformation will give local residents an upscale, traditional “Hamptonian” dining experience.

Hoping to get rid of that “tired, run down look,” Rutyna said he remodeled the interior with new wooden floors and freshly painted walls to create a nautical, lighthouse appearance. 

The Hamptons native said he was inspired by his mentor Pierre Franey to pursue a career in the restaurant business after realizing a career in professional football was no longer realistic.

Rutyna says he also shared a special bond with his late grandfather, who showed him the ways of the waters. 

At an early age Rutyna says he developed a connection to the sea and ocean — the aspiring chef spent one year in the Caribbean cooking on a diving boat during the day and in the evening he worked at a French restaurant to enhance his knowledge of fish and sharpen his palate.

His journey in the restaurant business took off when he returned back to the States and landed his first job at in Hampton Bays. But it was not until he moved on to Coast Grill in Southampton that he started making a name for himself.

“At that point I had gotten experience doing hundreds of dinners each night at Indian Cove, I knew how to handle the volume and I was up for the challenge,” he said.

Through the years, Rutyna said he established relationships with his clientele from both restaurants as well as with families who he cooked for privately in-between and had a vision of opening TR Restaurant and Bar to give people a taste of what “coming to the Hamptons really is.”

“Nothing is better than seeing the customers I haven’t seen in over a decade walk in to a restaurant that’s now mine,” he said.

Rutyna says hee hopes to give his customers a flavor from his childhood when he used to go out on the boat with his grandfather.

“To me, gourmet is sitting on the edge of a dock with my feet in the water eating freshly caught fish,” Rutyna said. “I guess I am trying to let people experience for themselves what it’s like, maybe without getting their feet wet.”

Rutyna says his extensive menu features a variety of dishes that best represents the Hamptons.

“I really want to try to stay away from nonindigenous ingredients,” he said. “You go to restaurants and see tilapia, salmon, halibut and if I had my choice, there wouldn’t be any of that just because it doesn’t represent the Hamptons to me.”

Rutyna says he has mastered the cooking technique with his oak grill, which gives him the right amount of control and the seafood and meat the rich smoky flavor.

As for his staff, Rutyna believes in tradition and takes pride in the management of the restaurant. Even though he will be there most of the time, he says it is important that customers can count on consistency in the food and the service.

“It isn’t just about cooking, it’s the management and having patience, being able to be hands on, keeping your ground,” he said.

As the matter of fact, Rutyna brought in many of his football friends from the Hampton Bays Baymen to help run the restaurant.

“My first cousin is my manager and the football boys are my right hand men; if you can’t trust the people closest to you, you can’t trust anybody,” he said proudly.

The man of many different hats takes pride in coaching when he's not in the kitchen.

“The kids can see me in a different life. They know I liked to cook but they didn’t know I was a chef,” he said. “When operating a restaurant sometimes it gets hectic, they get to see how I maintain my cool; I think it’s a good life lesson.”

Even though there will always been the small stressors to owning a restaurant, Rutyna says he has high expectations to find success in a long time dream.