By Carolyn Sackstein
It seems it was meant to be that Long Island restaurateur Terry Scarlatos and chef Scott Andriani would partner to open Revival by Toast at 242 E. Main St. in downtown Port Jefferson.
They met 16 years ago at a home in Rocky Point, during a men’s night get-together. Scarlatos took his young son, Braedan, and Andriani brought 16 carefully-prepared sauces to complement the bear meat burgers, ostrich and whole spit-roasted pig.
Someone stumbled into the table, upending the sauces. Scarlatos was impressed with Andriani’s unflappable cool, taking the loss of his hard work so calmly.
“With composure and grace, he handled it beautifully,” Scarlatos said, reflecting upon the long-ago incident. “I was like, that is the kind of guy I [want] to work with.”
Port Jefferson apart, Scarlatos opened additional Toast locations in Patchogue and Bay Shore, developing another Toast location in Long Beach scheduled to open this Memorial Day. Andriani, meanwhile, was working in Spain, touring and learning the cuisines of Europe. He returned to the U.S. as an executive chef for a large corporate restaurant group.
As fate would have it, Andriani was preparing to leave the corporate world as Scarlatos was exploring ideas for using the lease he held for 242 E. Main. The original Toast Coffeehouse, having opened there in 2002, had been a fixture of the village restaurant scene before relocating to Port Jefferson Station in September 2022.
Scarlatos sought to honor the old without repeating the same concept. With Andriani on board, a vision was born that paid homage to the previous Toast experience while offering patrons a new dining adventure.
The partners see Revival by Toast as an “upscale neighborhood restaurant,” an approachable venue that one can visit frequently.
Revival by Toast is set to feature produce at the peak of seasonal freshness with selective proteins. The majority of the ingredients will come from the tri-state area. Scarlatos and Andriani have sourced many of their ingredients from local purveyors, such as Indian Neck Farm, an organic, sustainable producer in Peconic on the North Fork.
In keeping with the practice of using sustainable purveyors, Andriani endeavors to make his kitchen “a zero-waste kitchen.” He has created vegan menu items, such as Spanish vegan paella, so everyone at the table can enjoy it.
Andriani sources the wagyu beef from Japan, Australia and specialty domestic herds in Texas. These ingredients are developed into both small-tasting dishes as well as full entrée plates.
The seven-to-eight-course sampling menu provides flexibility in ordering and pricing for the patron. Dishes are modifiable to accommodate food allergies and individual preferences.
Offerings rotate as often as every three days. Sunday brunch is lighter than the Toast menu diners are accustomed to ordering. The owners want to introduce the diner to food and beverage selections that are atypical of the current restaurant scene.
“You can come here with a date,” Andriani said. “You can spend a little more and get a little more. We take humble food and elevate it.”
Scarlatos and Andriani have stocked their boutique bar with an array of “thoughtfully sourced spirits” from small-batch vintners, brewers and distillers across the globe. The partners invite patrons to ask about their “hidden gems.”
Revival opens at 5 p.m. and closes at 11 p.m. from Wednesday through Saturday, serving brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays.
The official grand opening is scheduled for Wednesday, May 17, at 5:30 p.m., with Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and Village of Port Jefferson officials attending.
Revival by Toast suggests reservations be made a week in advance. Four tables are held to accommodate walk-ins.
