From Jesse, of Sen restaurant, Sag Harbor, NY:

A Story in Every Bite 

At Sen, every ingredient has a story, every dish a sense of place.

Seafood comes straight from Gosman’s Dock, with kelp and seaweed sourced from Maine, Japan, and the Hamptons. The local produce is from Balsam Farms, Amber Waves, and Sang Lee Farms. There is also Koppert Cress microgreenery on the North Fork. The meats? From trusted vendors like Baldor.

I used to drive to Montauk every day to pick out the fish. Now they know exactly the quality that we accept and we get the freshest catch delivered to us every day.

Our Space

We’ve built different experiences into the restaurant – outdoor patio dining on Main Street, a Zen Garden in the back for summer nights, a sushi bar where you can talk to the chefs, and a bar area where we mix things up.

The Best Job in the World

The kitchen operates like a tasting lab, where eleven different soy sauces are on hand, each component – out of thousands – carefully selected, balanced, and refined. With over 100 menu items, the goal is always the same: flavor, texture, and tradition, all dialed in.

And I have the best job in the world. Quality control is critical to me, and that means tasting little bits of everything - a smorgasbord of delights every day.

Field Trips to Local Vendors

Some menus are built behind closed doors. At Sen, it’s about collaboration – about knowing where the ingredients come from and bringing that story to the table.

For example, we closed the restaurant and took the whole staff for a team-building field trip to the Hudson Valley – visiting local vendors, tasting at the source, seeing firsthand the passion behind the ingredients. Because it’s not just about what’s served – it’s about understanding why it matters.

Monthly Chef’s Tables

That same philosophy carries over into Sen’s monthly Chef’s Dinners. We recently hosted sake maker Dassai Blue Brewery and duck farmer Hudson Valley Farms – so they can share their talents and stories with our guests. 

Our hope? When guests leave, they should leave as ambassadors for these companies, carrying their stories forward – because great food and drink aren’t just about what’s on the plate, but the people, values and passions behind them.

Inside Tip 🪄

The next Chef's Dinner will be in October. Get on our mailing list to be in the know.

Don't want to wait? We can also bring our Chef's Dinner to you. Just let us know and we will design a special Chef's Dinner to be held in the comfort of your home.

Contact

🌐 Sen Restaurant

About Jesse

This card is by Jesse Matsuoka, a Hamptons resident of over 25 years. Jesse is a sake sommelier, Tip Top Hospitality partner, and co-owner of Sen, a legendary Japanese restaurant in Sag Harbor. Jesse was born in Manhattan, grew up in Tokyo, Hawaii, and Sag Harbor, and is now married to a third-generation Montauker.

Lead-in Image

Sen Restaurant / Official Site