GREAT NEWS - East River Waterfront Dining Finally Coming To Roosevelt Island With July Opening Of Pier NYC

Image of Roosevelt Island Pier NYC Waterfront Restaurant Space To Open In July

More great news for Roosevelt Island. Earlier today, we learned that an ice cream shop was going to open on Main Street. To double the pleasure, Roosevelt Island subway pier waterfront restaurant will open in a few weeks.

Way back in April I asked:

Will East River waterfront dining be coming to Roosevelt Island's Subway Pier this summer? Imagine being able to sit, relax and eat some good food right next to the East River with these stunning NYC Skyline, Waterfront and Queensboro Bridge views in the evening.

You Tube Video of NYC Waterfront Skyline at Night

The answer to that question is yes and it will happen as soon as the middle of July, if not earlier now that a liquor license for the area has been approved. As reported in this previous post, the Roosevelt Island waterfront food concession at the subway pier was awarded by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) for this summer season to the owners of the Riverwalk Bar & Grill. Co-Owner Sal Hoo reported on some of their initial preliminary plans several weeks ago:

... We thought it would be a great idea to use the space as a waterfront cafe and call it The Pier NYC, serving great food and summery drinks. We are working in collaboration with John Brown Smokehouse and Chef David Santos formerly of PerSe and Bouley to give the residents of the island new food options that they have been desiring. Earlier this year, John Brown Smokehouse was named best brisket in NYC and we will bring that along with other great BBQ menu items. Chef David Santos will bring his expertise of seafood to The Pier NYC and we will be serving items such as raw oysters, shrimp cocktail and lobster rolls. The exact menu is not yet set in stone, but these are the types of things residents can expect from us in this new venture. Being a resident myself I know this can be a great addition and look forward to further serving Roosevelt Island....

Image of Roosevelt Island Pier NYC Waterfront Restaurant Space To Open In July

The subway pier area was an ugly mess and looked like this as recently as a few weeks ago.

Mr. Hoo and his partners have spent the last several weeks cleaning up the pier, scraping off as much rust from the railings as they could and giving it a fresh coat of paint

as well as cleaning up the graffiti on the barrier wall.

Wonder what can be done to get rid of the pigeons though?

The subject of the waterfront restaurant arose during the June 25 RIOC Operations Committee meeting with the announcement of the liquor license approval as well as a discussion regarding the jurisdiction of Community Board 8 to approve a liquor license for Roosevelt Island since Roosevelt Island is under the jurisdiction on NY State and not NY City. Here an excerpt of the discussion.



The waterfront restaurant subject also came up during the June Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) meeting.



I am certainly looking forward to sitting out by the pier with some John Brown Smokehouse BBQ and think it will be great. Bring it on!!

UPDATE 6/30 - Here's an aerial view of the Pier NYC with tables, chairs and umbrellas set up.

Image From Judy Berdy

UPDATE 7/3 - Gael Greene Tweets:

Wish I cud go in a boat. New Pier NYC opens on Roosevelt Island July 6, 11 am to 9 pm with BBQ,seafood & Manhattan vu. Take the tramway. #fb
— Gael Greene (@GaelGreene) July 3, 2012

and Grub Street adds:

Roosevelt Island Gets Waterside Boozing and Barbecue With Pier NYC

Here's the menu and hours of operation from Pier NYC's Press Release:

BBQ MENU

BBQ Sandwiches

Pulled Pork $8

Pork Belly $8

Rib Tips $8

Lamb Sausage $8

Beef Brisket $9

Burnt Ends $10.50

Smoked Turkey $12

Home Cured Pastrami $12

###

SANTOS SEAFOOD SHACK

Raw Bar Selections

Served with cocktail sauce, lemon, and housemade Tabasco

Oysters

Naked Cowboy

Long Island

Hama Hama

Washington State

$2 each

Oyster of the Day

$MP

Cherry Stone Clams (East Coast)

$1 each

Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail (four shrimp)

$12

Other Seafood Selections

Rock Shrimp Roll $12

Chilled rock shrimp, celery, onion, charred scallion, aioli, toasted potato roll

Crispy Crab Cake $10

Lump crab, lettuce, tomato, onion, old bay aioli, toasted potato roll

Wild Striped Bass Ceviche $10

Ecuadorian style ceviche, house made tortilla chips

Spanish Gazpacho $8

Tomato and lobster salad, smoked paprika oil

Daily Addition $MP

###

DESSERTS BY ALLYCAKES

Baked with love and fresh ingredients; no preservatives

Specialty Cookies

Mudslides

Classic Chocolate Chip

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal

$2.25 each

Bars

Chocolate Toffee Fudge Brownies

Macadamia Nut Bar

$3.25 each

Pier NYC Exclusives

Red Velvet Whoopie Pie

Rooseland Munch

$3 each

###

BEVERAGES

Assorted Sodas $2 – 3

Assorted Snapple $3

Assorted Bottled Water $2 – 5

Fresh Squeezed Grey Goose Screwdriver 10

Fresh Squeezed Prosecco Mimosa 8

Frozen Patron Margarita $10

Frozen Bacardi Daiquiri $10

FLASQ Wines: Chardonnay, Merlot & Cuvée Blanc $12

Heineken $8

Heineken Light $8

Corona $8

Corona Light $8

Pabst Blue Ribbon $5

Budweiser $6

Bud Light $6

IPA (YTD) $7

Summer Ale $7

Amstel Light $8

and:

... Pier NYC (www.piernyc.com), that is set to open on Friday, July 6th....

... Pier NYC will be open from 11am to 9pm through October 31st, weather permitting....

Credit Cards: American Express, MasterCard, Visa

Reservations: No

Delivery/Take Out: No

Private Events: Yes, after 9pm