The Green Room Bar: Sag Harbor's Best Kept Secret

“It’s a secret hideaway,” Deborah Lee, the bar manager of The Green Room at The Sag Harbor Cinema said on a recent Saturday evening while reading the bar for the Happy Hour crowd. “It’s not like anything else on Main Street.”

Lee came on board with the Sag Harbor Cinema after the reopening in 2021. The nonprofit cinema reopened after years of fundraising and rebuilding following a devastating fire that destroyed the beloved indie cinema in December 2016. The Sag Harbor Partnership, through local donations and state and county grants, were able to resurrect the iconic Main Street movie theater and reopen it with a modernized, state-of-the-art cinema with three screens, a new snack bar, and The Green Room.

The Green Room is on the third floor of the cinema and, thanks to Lee, is open every night and offers trivia nights, open mic nights, magic shows, live music, wine tastings and more. According to Lee, The Green Room is a take on the waiting lounge for actors — a room created for the actors and performers to escape and unwind every Sunday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight.

While located on a bustling Sag Harbor Main Street — where most bars and lounges are several feet deep with revelers and post-theater and dinner crowds on summer nights — The Green Room bar has an intimacy to it, favored by locals and visitors alike for its al fresco lounges and stunning views of the harbor. And, of course, its drinks.

“I am very happy to be here,” Lee said of Sag Harbor and The Green Room, adding that she designs all the cocktails and books all events. All of Lee’s drinks share themes with famous movies. Her favorite, “Toto, I’ve a Feeling We’re Not in Kentucky Anymore,” is made of Old Forester Bourbon, Canton ginger liqueur, agave and lemon. “The Maverick Margarita” “outsells every drink,” Lee said. Originally invented for a showing of “Top Gun: Maverick,” the drink became so popular that it was added to the curated list of year-round drinks available to sip while watching sunsets over Sag Harbor.

“Tuesday nights are slammed with magic and live music. We have a solid foundation of regulars that are locals,” Lee said, while tidying up the bar, as she is also the head bartender who works six nights a week. “It’s like the show ‘Cheers.’ Everyone knows your name. It’s a great group that comes here.”

Every Thursday, Allan Kronzek performs magic from 6 to 8 p.m. followed by live music from 8 to 10 p.m.

Other themed drinks include “The Color Purple” which is a mix of Conniption Kinship gin, St-Germain, rosemary, lemon and lavender bitters.

“Citizen Kane,” another popular cocktail on the menu, is made of Bacardi rum, lime, ginger liqueur and blood orange.

“May the Spritz Be With You” is made of AltaNeve Prosecco, Cointreau and Aperol. There is something for everyone. “My Cousin Vinny” features Michter’s rye, Cynar, and Campari.

Moviegoers and bar patrons can enjoy the sunset and water views from the The Green Room’s adjoining outdoor space, The François Truffaut Terrace. Also decorated with green stools, pillows, and plants, patrons are welcome to stop by before or after a film to enjoy a cocktail and rooftop views of the bay and village.

Originally from just outside of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Lee has been in the United States since 2007, living in Manhattan and managing a French Bistro in the Theater District. When her restaurant closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee took a visit to the Hamptons for a summer, found the cinema, which turned out to be a perfect fit, and has been here ever since.