Blackwell's Changes Course to Pub-Style Menu, Atmosphere

After years as a high-end steakhouse, and about a year in between as more of an "eat local" destination, Blackwell's Pub at Great Rock in Wading River has decided to shift gears and offer a more casual atmosphere, embracing a pub-style menu and widening its offerings of craft beers at their bar.

Located at Great Rock Golf Course on Sound Avenue, the restaurant for years was known as a classic steak house, with bills typically coming in at $45 per $50 per person, said general manager Brian Curtis. While a change of course last season saw more of a focus on farm-to-table cuisine, Curtis said the foray still ended up costing the restaurant, and customers, more than they would have liked.

The pub-style menu now finishes with per person bills in the $20-25 range, a more suitable number for golfers coming off the 18th green.

"We have 25,000 golfers here each season, so to capture that captive audience and keep them here, that's what we want to do," Curtis said. While the restaurant caught some golfers coming off the course, Curtis recalled one instance where a jazz band in the lobby proved to be too disruptive for some diners hoping for an even more calm ambiance.

Beyond holding the foursomes at the 19th hole, the bar now offers more social events such as beer tastings – the pub hosted Long Ireland on Friday night along with WEHM – and their first comedy night is around the corner, on July 17. Curtis noted that he wanted draw a weekday crowd as well, making prices more affordable for a night out without spending $100-plus.

High-top bar tables have been placed in an area that once held white linen tabelcloths, and glass separating the bar area from the dining room was taken out, lending an extension of the social atmosphere the bar offers. In addition, the hardware at the bar was upgraded from a 10-tap system to a 14-tap system, with another five taps coming in the fall. Hoping to capture an ever-popular craft beer crowd, Blackwell's prides itself on its microbrew offerings, and even boasts a beer battered Long Ireland Fish & Chips ($17).

Other menu items include a good old fashioned black angus burger ($12), chicken sandwich ($11), and shepherd's pie ($12). Those who embraced the steaks can still drop by and find it on the menu, though, with a skirt steak for $24 and ribeye for $26.