How the Porters on the Lane lobster roll became a Bellport tradition

There are certain places that simply feel like summer on Long Island.

Maybe it’s the sound of bicycles rolling by. Families strolling toward the marina. Kids carrying melting ice cream cones.

Or the unmistakable sight of diners lingering on a shaded front porch long after lunch has ended.

At Porters on the Lane, tucked into the heart of Bellport Village, all of those moments come together over one of the restaurant’s signature dishes: a lobster roll that has become a summertime tradition for locals and visitors alike.

*Every lobster roll at Porters contains 6.5 ounces of lobster meat. That’s roughly the yield of an entire one-pound lobster. (Credit: GLI/Eric Micallef).*

Owner John Giannott wasn’t trying to create another lobster roll when he added one to the menu more than a decade ago.

He was trying to fix what he believed was wrong with most of them.

“I used to eat lobster rolls all the time before we had one on the menu, and they all kind of disappointed me,” Giannott said. “I told my chef I didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing.”

Instead of relying on frozen lobster meat served cold, Porters starts with fresh lobsters cooked daily.

The meat is gently reheated in warm butter, allowing it to absorb the richness before it’s piled onto a toasted New England split-top bun.

Lettuce, fresh tomato and a house-made dill mayonnaise finish the sandwich, while a full lobster claw crowns the top.

“The butter stays in the lobster instead of soaking into the bread,” Giannott said. “That’s what makes it work.”

Every lobster roll contains 6.5 ounces of lobster meat — roughly the yield of an entire one-pound lobster.

Available each year from spring through October, the lobster roll has quietly developed a loyal following, drawing diners who return season after season for what has become one of Bellport’s signature summer meals.

Of course, regulars will tell you the lobster roll is only part of the experience.

On warm afternoons and summer evenings, the restaurant’s iconic front porch transforms into one of the village’s most sought-after tables. Even with seating available inside, guests routinely choose to wait for the porch, where Bellport Lane provides a front-row seat to one of Long Island’s most charming downtowns.

Across the street, customers line up at the beloved Carla Marlas ice cream shop, also owned by the Giannott family, before wandering through the picturesque village.

“We can have an empty dining room inside, but people will wait 45 minutes just to sit on the porch,” he said. “It feels like you’re sitting on the front porch of your own home.”

The setting has even earned a little Hollywood attention.

A packed Porters porch was featured twice on the hit USA Network series Royal Pains, with television crews transforming Porters into a fictional restaurant while filming scenes throughout Bellport Village.

“It was pretty wild,” Giannott recalled. “There were 30 or 40 people running around with lights and cameras. The actors would come in, film their scenes and move on, but it was really cool seeing everything that goes on behind the scenes.”

The building itself has been welcoming guests for generations.

Dating back to the mid-1800s, the property originally served as the Bellport Hotel before evolving over the decades into the neighborhood gathering place it is today.

Giannott and his wife, Jenni, opened Porters in 2008, carrying on the tradition while putting their own stamp on it. Or, rather, that house-made dill mayonnaise.