MATT TAYLOR-GROSS

Step Inside Julian Medina’s Hamptons Home

When he’s not at one of his New York City restaurants, the chef escapes to a retreat in Quogue, Long Island

Published on September 23, 2015

Born in Mexico City, chef Julian Medina hasn't always called New York City home. But, with eight restaurants in the city, including three locations of his upscale Mexican bistro Toloache, two locations of the pan-Latin Yerba Buena, his Cuban bistro Coppelia, and the casual taqueria Tacuba in Astoria (and he'll be opening a new outpost of Tacuba in Manhattan this fall), it doesn't seem as if he'll be leaving anytime soon.

He currently resides on the Upper East Side with his wife Annie and daughter Olivia, but on the weekends, they like to escape the city for their home in the Hamptons. Since they bought it two years ago, the family has been visiting every weekend. To see everything from Medina's impressive Argentinian parilla grill to the handwoven textiles he has imported from Mexico City, let Medina show you around his vacation home in the gallery above.

Medina and his family.

When Julian and Annie purchased this house in Quogue, about a mile-and-a-half from the beach, they completed a gut renovation and expanded the house by 1,000 feet. They chose this location to be near Annie’s family and because it’s an easy hour-and-a-half commute from the city.

"I wanted to have something that's rustic but easy to manage," Medina says. "I use the brick oven a lot for vegetables, suckling pig, porchetta, you name it. On the other side, I put an Argentinian parilla for grilling meat. I left a gas burner in the middle. It's very functional and I can interact with people when I host parties." Brick ovens from $1,500 at grillsnovens.com

ADVERTISEMENTAD

In the garden, Medina grows heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, kale, lettuce, chives, cilantro, lemongrass, fennel, and cucumbers. He and Annie supplement their bounty with fresh produce, fish, shrimp, and meat from the farmers' market in West Hampton. “Everything is local from Long Island,” Medina says.

“The tomatoes bloom in the garden, and if you don’t use them, they go to waste. So I make salsas and tacos,” Medina says.

The Medinas recently visited Paris and Barcelona. Just outside the city, they stayed in the guesthouse of the Raventós family, one of Spain’s oldest producers of sparkling wine, and brought this bottle of sparkling rosé back with them. The stemless champagne flutes and tray they use for serving were housewarming gifts. Raventós i Blanc Cava Rosé de Nit, $22.99 at astorwines.com. Stemless champagne flutes, $29.50 for a set of 2 at riedelusa.net. Acrylic tray, from $34 at westelm.com.

Medina often travels to Mexico City. On one of his trips, he brought back these colorful hand-woven textiles, which he drapes over the chairs and sofa and uses as table runners to add a festive touch. Hand-woven Mexican table runners, from $110 at etsy.com.

Medina had several of these midcentury Acapulco chairs shipped from Mexico, then scattered them around the backyard and the porch to provide extra seating. “You can just sit back and look at the moon,” Medina says. Acapulco outdoor lounge chair, $269 at cb2.com

ADVERTISEMENTAD

Medina brought this Corona tray back from Mexico. At home, he uses it as a cheese platter. Servers at Tacuba use them for the raw bar and ceviche. The knife is a Laguiole, which are still hand-forged by artisans in the Aveyron department of France. Corona Extra beer tray, $29.15 for a set of two at amazon.com. Laguiole cheese knife 3-piece set, $39.95 at crateandbarrel.com.

When the Medinas expanded the house, they made room for this clean, functional kitchen. The stove is a 6-burner Viking range. The countertops are silestone, which is very easy to maintain. To keep the look neutral, they chose subway tiles for the backsplash. There’s a farmhouse sink in the island. The barstools are by Xavier Pachaud for Tolix. Viking range, price available upon request at pcrichard.com. Tolix Marais barstool, $335 each at dwr.com.

The purple KitchenAid stand mixer was a wedding gift. They brew coffee using this Keurig machine. The knives are by Korin. Artisan series 5-quart tilt-head stand mixer, $429.99 at kitchenaid.com. Keurig brewing system, from $109.99 at keurig.com. Korin Japanese knives, from $138 at korin.com.

They bought this spice rack on their recent trip to France and filled it with tubes of pink peppercorns, green peppercorns, yellow curry, and herbes de Provence. Test tube spice rack made with salvaged wood, $39 at etsy.com.

When it’s too cold to dine outside, the Medinas host dinner parties here. The table can extend to seat 12 people. They celebrate the Jewish holidays with Mexican-Jewish fusion cuisine, like tacos with brisket, which Julian also serves at Toloache. Cross Extension table by Matthew Hilton for Case, from $3,645 at dwr.com. Masters chairs by Philippe Starck and Eugeni Quitllet for Kartell, $300 each at dwr.com.

ADVERTISEMENTAD

The light fixture is a Midcentury-inspired design by Jonathan Adler. Meurice rectangle chandelier, $1,595 at jonathanadler.com.

Medina’s go-to drink is a margarita, and he has an impressive collection of tequila and mezcal. The handmade Waterford crystal decanter from Ireland is a family heirloom, passed down from Annie’s aunt. Lismore ships decanter, $495 at waterford.com. Moscow Mule copper mugs, from $19.95 at surlatable.com.

On a visit to the Casa Herradura distillery in Amatitán, Mexico, Medina bottled his own double-barrel reposado tequila. Herradura reposado tequila, $39.99 at astorwines.com.