Inside 3 of Ina Garten’s Favorite Hamptons Farm Stands: Photos, Prices

So, on my most recent trip, I visited three of her favorite farm stands: Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett, Round Swamp Farm in Bridgehampton, and Green Thumb Organic Farm in Water Mill.

During a 2022 segment on her Food Network show, Garten took her friend and fellow chef Marcus Samuelsson to Amber Waves, calling it “a wonderful place.”

“I love to come here,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”

Amber Waves also has a small store in the town of East Hampton, but that location is essentially a coffee shop.

When I pulled up on a Tuesday afternoon, it was quite crowded. Many of the outdoor seats were taken.

It’s also CSA-based (community-supported agriculture), which means that locals can subscribe to pick up a box of fresh produce from Amber Waves weekly. Garten herself has said she was a member.

I felt like I was entering a Pinterest board from 2012.

To compare, I could get a pound of non-GMO kale from a Fairway in New York City for $4.43 and one bunch of organic radishes for $3.32.

A pint of blueberries at Fairway would set me back $6.65.

Everything tends to be expensive out here for a few reasons.

First, with a concentration of affluent residents and visitors, businesses can simply charge that much, and people will pay. Second, produce is mainly grown out here, and organic fruits and vegetables generally cost more to produce, due to higher labor demands and the costs of organic materials, among other factors. Third, goods need to be priced high so businesses earn enough of a profit to pay employees a livable wage in the area.

The Agency Hamptons, a local real estate agency, reported that the cost of living in the Hamptons is 47.1% higher than the national average, and the average income is $125,861.

In fact, almost everything was Amber Waves-branded.

The packages also had helpful instructions on how to cook the dishes.

In addition to pre-made foods, Amber Waves is also a café with a full menu with breakfast foods, tacos, coffee, smoothies, and more.

I snagged a chocolate chip cookie for $4. It was delicious.

Long Island is known for its wines, most of which are on the North Fork. The Hamptons are located on the South Fork.

Amber Waves has become something of a tourist spot over the last few years, with attention from Garten and The New York Times. What better way to prove you’ve been shopping at the same place as Ina Garten than with a branded tote?

There were also Amber Waves candles for $35.

The flowers, of all things, would cost me the same (if not more) in Manhattan.

This is a huge piece of property for its location on Amagansett’s Main Street, and it made visiting the store feel more like an experience.

I saw kids enjoying a set of swings, and there was even a spot for anyone who wanted to relax and read a book, complete with a rug and a little library. I could’ve sat there and lounged for an hour or two.

There was someone sitting at a desk to make sure people were following the rules of the farm — for example, you could only pick your own bouquets if you had paid the $8 entry fee.

A large part of Amber Waves’ mission is to combat four issues facing Americans and their food supply: farm apprenticeship, children’s education, food insecurity, and public access.

Signs at the farm noted the average age of an American farmer is 57 years old, and as such, Amber Waves offers farm apprenticeship programs.

It also hosts over 6,000 kids annually at its Outdoor Classroom to help them become familiar with food, gardening, and healthy habits.

In terms of food insecurity, Amber Waves says it grows an “extra 20,000 pounds of fresh produce” to donate to local food banks, as 10% of homes in East Hampton are food insecure.

Their final issue, public access, is to combat American loneliness. Amber Waves, in its own words, wants the farm to act as a “public resource” like a park or library — in other words, a “third place” that “friends and neighbors [can] meet, share meals, relax, and build community.”

I went to Round Swamp’s larger East Hampton location in 2023. There’s also a stand in Montauk, which opened in 2019.

On Instagram, Garten once wrote that Round Swamp “has the best produce, prepared foods, and baked goods. I don’t know how they make so many things so delicious, but they do!”

Outlets like The Daily Mail have reported on Round Swamp, writing about influencers who have flocked there to highlight its prices.

In fact, as I was taking photos, an employee approached me to ask if I was there to write about how expensive things were. They also told me how influencers have crowded the store, annoying some locals.

In a comment to Business Insider, Round Swamp said they are “grateful for all of the customers who choose to support our family-run business, including influencers,” and “are fortunate they choose to display what we work hard to create in front of their fans.”

They also added that they “respect the hard work that goes into creating content, acquiring followers, and achieving success on the internet.”

Lobster is expensive — the day before this trip, I went to Montauk institution Duryea’s and paid $97 for a lobster cobb salad.

To compare to Fairway once again, a pound of green beans could be as cheap as $5.54 per pound. Plums, however, were almost the same price at $4.43 per pound.

My Fairway didn’t have any shishito peppers.

Round Swamp is also known for its chicken salad and its chicken fingers.

Round Swamp makes the baked goods every morning from scratch and doesn’t use any artificial ingredients, per its website.

The Snyder family has owned Round Swamp for over 50 years, meaning they have baking down to a science.

There were homemade muffins, brownies, cookies, pies, and cakes. Four muffins cost $20. There were also cinnamon rolls that were still hot and smelled amazing.

Like at Amber Waves, there were many things that were Round Swamp-branded.

In fact, I spotted the olive oil I used: Graza.

Yes, I really did say that. The tomatoes were juicy, the bread was light and fluffy, and I wish I could eat it every single day.

Back in 2023, it cost $24, and I thought it was “worth every penny.” Now, in 2025, it’s gone down to $20.

If I thought the East Hampton location was small, the Bridgehampton one was about half its size. It didn’t have as much of a selection as Amber Waves or the East Hampton one; it was mainly a spot to buy baked goods, a smaller selection of produce, or one of Round Swamp’s many prepared salads or sandwiches.

The East Hampton location felt more like a grocery store, with sections for meat and fish and a larger inventory overall.

This is the only location of Green Thumb, as the farm itself is right out back.

Garten hasn’t said anything recently about Green Thumb, but it was a frequent stop on “Barefoot Contessa,” as one private chef noted on Hamptons.com.

After visiting two crowded places, it was nice to have some breathing room.

Green Thumb was clearly intended to sell produce first and foremost. Almost everything I saw came directly from the crops outside.

Round Swamp is a working farm, too, but not at the location I visited in Bridgehampton.

I felt like I was inside a barn.

Overall, this was slightly cheaper than the other two stands, but still more expensive than what I could get at my local grocery store in Manhattan.

The cookbook was written by the Halsey family, which has owned Green Thumb for 300 years, per the website.

The website also notes that Green Thumb pays its workers “a living wage above the national and regional farm workers’ average.”

This was the only one of the three farm stands that offered fresh seafood, as far as I could see.

This was just lobster meat, though, not lobster salad.

Amber Waves, in addition to being a good spot for groceries, is also a café that’s built to be a meeting place and gives back to the community.

Round Swamp has some of the best prepared foods I’ve seen — and, of course, I love the sandwiches — and also has delicious baked goods.

Green Thumb is the most low-key of the three, with friendly employees. I appreciate that prices are transparently marked and that there is a seafood section.

I would recommend all three of these farm stands to anyone visiting the Hamptons in the future, and it doesn’t have to be summer: Amber Waves is open year-round, while Round Swamp and Green Thumb are open through November.

As usual, the Barefoot Contessa did not steer me wrong.