Feel the breeze at NYC's 20 best waterside restaurants and bars (2024)

Somewhat understated, Pilot is one of the most fashionable boat bars in Brooklyn or beyond. Its wooden finishes and navy color scheme have pops of gloss with the occasional varnished surface and one cheery splash overhead in the white and yellow awning shading the bar. But even a 147-foot schooner crowds pretty quick once people start filing in for oysters, soft-shell crabs and co*cktails, so go before sunset to beat the crowds.

Lawn games, barrels of seafood, buckets of beer, frozen margarita fishbowls and 250 seats span three stories at one of Red Hook's most popular summer haunts. Brooklyn Crab strongly resembles a massive ramshackle ship with much drier Instagram opportunities, plus several separate seating configurations and room for groups.

Though Panorama Room won't put you as close to the waves as some waterside spots, it has one of the most beautiful views your dedicateddining outdollars can buy. Its brief menu is mostly seafood-centric, and a full complement of drinks is available.

We love bivalves on land, but they’re even better at sea. Take the $2 ferry from Brooklyn or Manhattan to Governors Island and tip back a few sustainable oysters and craft suds at this casually stunning seasonal walk-in spot.

For “meet me tonight in Atlantic City” vibes without having to get on the turnpike, Tatiana is the Boss. The Brighton Beach boardwalk spot handily leans on its natural beach scene for decor and sports red and green borscht, potato vareniki and all manner of sea fare on its menu.

Gaze upon thelower Manhattan skyline and Statue of Liberty from the deck of this historic schooner turned oyster bar docked at Pier 25 in Hudson River Park. Grand Banks, a ringer for Pilot, as they're owned by the same group,affords a maritime escape without having to pay those pesky yacht club fees.

Said to be the oldest bar on the Coney Island boardwalk, Ruby’s has character for miles. Beyond its fire engine red exterior, weathered sepia prints line the walls, burgers, dogs, clams and fried shrimp populate and menu, and boozy slushies and beer slosh precariously to the edge of plastic cups.

This sprawling Little Paris on the Hudson has al fresco dining on its the terrace along Battery Park City esplanade, where you can sip French wine and watch yachts set sail out of North Cove Marina. You can also stroll the adjacent market space for a little taste of the City of Light right in lower Manhattan.

A sparkling riverside Mediterranean-influencedrestaurant in the shadow of the handsome Manhattan Bridge, Celestine is close enough to the water to hear the waves dancing with the shore. Its terrace frames all that in its tableau, plus a nice wide expanse of the Manhattan skyline.

Another Seaport spot, Industry Kitchen has room for 300 along the East River. Spy the Williamsburg and Brooklyn Bridges from your seat on the patio outside, and choose from seafood starters like crab cakes and ahi tuna nachos and duck confit risotto, New York strip steak and lobster ravioli mains. In addition to the expected co*cktails, wine and beer, Industry Kitchen also has frozen drinks for the season.

This restaurant in Riverside Park at West 105th Street reopenedlast yearin its familiar old space with tons of outside seats and a wide-ranging menu that’s great for groups. Sip a Lillet spritz withserviceable pizza, sandwiches burgers and dogs amid the trees and in view of the Hudson River.

Previously the world’s smallest aircraft carrier, Baylander Steel Beach is now stationed at the West Harlem Piers in Upper Manhattan off 125th Street. Hit the 4,000-square-foot spot for loosely-themed co*cktails like the Captain’s Colada and rummy pirates punch with torpedo dogs, pilot wings and stealth tacos. Or just get the guac.

Approaching a century old, this 133-foot lightship (like a lighthouse of the seas) has had a lot of lives. The former service ship was eventually decommissioned, abandoned and sank before the late 1980s restoration that turned it into the west side’s watery party destination by the end of that decade. We should all be so lucky.

Cruise the Hudson in hour increments on this former Florida gambling ship that seems paradoxically just as well-suited to first dates as post-work team-building sessions. With its time limit, lobster rolls, co*cktail pitchers and SHOTS! (caps and punctuation theirs), we bet you won’t tire of this brief voyage. North River alsooperates a similar taco boat.

Have a co*cktail high above the city and take in spectacular views at one of the best rooftop bars NYC has to offer