Sandpiper Restaurant: Lobster rolls and Sound views on Cosey Beach

On Cosey Beach Avenue, across from the sand and the Sound, Sandpiper Restaurant has been the easy answer for East Haven locals who want lobster, fried shrimp and a table with a water view. The patio fills when the weather cooperates. The kitchen keeps turning out the same shoreline plates people drive to Momauguin for.

The restaurant at 161 Cosey Beach Ave. calls itself “the hidden treasure of the shoreline.” Its own site lists Maine lobster, clams, hot lobster rolls, Sandpiper’s famous shrimp, pizza, steak, pasta and ice cream — and a waterfront patio overlooking Long Island Sound.

From a beach stand to a year-round room

Sandpiper is not a brand-new story. Coverage in the New Haven Register when the business changed hands in 2023 said the restaurant opened about 35 years earlier and became a draw for locals and summer visitors in part because it sits on the town beach in Momauguin.

For decades, the face of the place was Haralambos “Bobby” Bertsos. His November 2023 obituary, published by Celentano Funeral Home, says he built Sandpiper “from a small beach stand to a popular dine-in seafood restaurant in East Haven,” and that he remained its proud owner until the spring before he died.

Bertsos, who was born in Makrisia, Greece, and immigrated to the United States in 1968, sold the restaurant in March 2023 for personal reasons, according to the Register’s interview with the buyer. He died that November at 69.

Chris D’Agostino keeps the menu, stretches the calendar

The new owner is Chris D’Agostino, a Rhode Island restaurateur. In a May 2023 New Haven Register story, he said customers kept telling him the room and the menu felt the same — and that was the point. He promised not to make major changes, saying he wanted a turnkey seafood spot with a dedicated staff already in place.

What he did change, he told the Register, was the schedule. Sandpiper would open a half-hour earlier, close an hour later, and stay open year-round after winters when it had closed. The restaurant’s current website lists lunch-and-dinner hours seven days a week, including Sunday, which matches that year-round pitch.

D’Agostino also brought catering into the pitch. The Sandpiper site invites parties and events to book the same lobster, shrimp platters, pasta and steak the dining room serves, and it pushes online ordering for pickup or delivery.

What the patio is for

Ask regulars what they like and the water comes up as often as the food. Ron R., in a five-star Google review featured on Sandpiper’s website, wrote that the restaurant sits “directly across the street from the beach,” with a covered outdoor area you can use even in the rain, and called the staff “amazing.”

Richard L., in another review the restaurant highlights, praised the fried shrimp portion and fries, the ocean view from outside seating, friendly staff and quick service. Connie W. said her party sat outside, liked the wait staff and menu range, and called the scallops, stuffed shrimp and broiled scrod excellent.

Valerie O. wrote that she and her husband stopped in on a road trip and ordered fish tacos and lobster rolls — her first lobster rolls, she said — and rated the visit a 10 out of 10. Those are the kinds of plates the official menu still puts front and center.

What locals say

The reviews Sandpiper chooses to display are not a scientific survey, but they rhyme with what Cosey Beach restaurants live or die on: fresh seafood, a view and people who remember your table.

Valerie O. singled out the fish tacos as “extremely fresh, light and flavorful” and said the lobster rolls would be “hard to beat.” Richard L. called the fried shrimp “very good” with a generous portion. Connie W. recommended the place on price as well as cooking, noting salads and baked potatoes done right.

None of that replaces a visit. It does match the restaurant’s own marketing: come for the lobster and shrimp, stay for the patio.

What to order

Here is a starter list based on Sandpiper’s published menu and the dishes guests keep naming.

Hot lobster roll

The menu describes a toasted roll filled with warm, buttery lobster meat. It is market price, served with fries and coleslaw on the seafood-roll list. Valerie O.’s review on the restaurant’s site is essentially a lobster-roll billboard.

Succulent fried shrimp

Sandpiper’s fried shrimp plate is a house signature — a full plate with fries and coleslaw on the fresh-fried seafood section. Richard L. called out the portion size. If you want variety, the menu also lists a triple shrimp sampler with coconut, buffalo and fried shrimp.

Chilled jumbo shrimp cocktail

Jumbo shrimp hooked over a glass of greens and lemon is one of the appetizers the kitchen photographs most. On the menu it is listed among the starters; it also shows up in the raw-bar sampler with clams and oysters.

Baked stuffed clams

Three pieces come stuffed with the restaurant’s homemade clam stuffing, per the menu. They are a classic Cosey Beach opener before a lobster or fried platter.

Lobster pizza

Sandpiper runs a full pizza list alongside the seafood. Specialty pies include the Piper Seafood Combo (white, with clams, shrimp, scallops and garlic) and a clam casino pie. The kitchen’s own photos lean hard on lobster-topped white pies for catering and patio spreads.

Lobster bisque

The chowder list includes New England and Rhode Island styles plus lobster bisque by the cup or bowl. On a cool shoreline evening, it is the warm-up before a stuffed shrimp or scrod dinner.

If you go

Where: 161 Cosey Beach Ave., East Haven
Phone: 203-469-7544
Hours, per the restaurant’s website: Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Call ahead to confirm.
Also offered: Patio dining, takeout, delivery, catering and private celebrations
Online: sandpiper-easthaven.com, Instagram and Facebook