Margarittaville Comes To Roosevelt Island - Pier NYC Waterfront Restaurant Opens This Weekend, Reviews Are In And They Are Good

Image Of Roosevelt Island Pier NYC

First full day of operations for Roosevelt Island's Pier NYC waterfront restaurant was yesterday. I went in the early evening, had a brisket sandwich from John Brown's Smokehouse and enjoyed the fantastic views, cool breeze and cold beer.

The brisket sandwich was good and I am looking forward to returning. Glad to see that more umbrellas were added covering the tables for protection from the brutally hot sun and the porta potties were moved away from the tables to the area closer to the subway vent shaft.

Here's what Pier NYC looked like last night



and some reviews from first day customers.

From Westviewer:

I just had a great crabcake there!

I was led to a table and was offered only the Santos Seafood Shack menu, which was okay with me this time, since I knew ahead of time what I wanted, but what if I also wanted some BBQ? Did I miss something? Is it possible to have, say, a half-dozen clams followed by some BBQ, served at the same table by the same person? Or, is it possible to just go up to the seafood prep area and order yourself? I know this is the first day and all of this will fall into place, but right now, it's a bit confusing. Is it one restaurant or two? What is the overlap?

and bakgwallo:

So, I will start this by saying it was overall -very- positive. Both my wife and I enjoyed the new place very much. However, I do want to give a fully objective review, so let's start it off.

Our first impressions were great - the greater/wait-staff (especially our waitress) were excellent. The environment/table setup/etc were top notch. The only detraction I might have from the atmosphere was the music - both of us actually liked the selection, but I could see where it might be too loud/new for an older crowd (note that I think it would be fine/perfect for after dark, though, if you are going for the kind of party/dance idea). Table was clean, views are great, the breeze off the water with the lovely umbrella thing really took away from the heat.

For food, we both got the BBQ. I had the pulled pork and she had the brisket. I would preface this and say that I like vinegar based pulled pork and not tomato based. However, I felt that the first half of my sandwich was good, but the latter half was mainly fat (again, some actually like that). We both also agreed that an option to either have it on a roll (as opposed to the white/wonder bread) would have been awesome. Also, perhaps allowing it to be on the side would also be good. The brisket was decent, but, as the better half said, it could be great if it was made with a little more 'love'. All of that said, I was a bit disappointed in the BBQ, although I have never found a really good BBQ place in Manhattan yet, as compared to Texas, Tennessee, Virgina, NC, and even my home town in Boston, so it seems to be a Manhattan thing, lol!

The drinks were pretty good. We originally started with Margaritas. I had a strawberry which was decent. My wife ordered a normal one which (she wanted me to point this out) was pretty bad. It seemed like something was missing in it. However, she switched to a mimosa, and then we both started on strawberry daiquiris which were amazing (note that it was about 100 degrees out and I was with the better half, so I do not feel so bad to order such a fruity drink). I did originally want a Mai Tai which is not served, so I would like to add that a Mai Tai would be -perfect- for the location on the river, lol. I would also like to add that Caipirinhas and Mojitos would be great additions, too.

We finished things off with a few deserts which were very good. In short, we started a bit disappointed but left very happy. Next time, I think we will try the crab cakes/items off the 'normal' menu, as I bet they are a bit better. The only real disappointment for me was the BBQ, which I again stress that I have not found really anywhere here anyways, and I believe it could be pretty easily improved with the above suggestions; my wife's was the Margarita, which is a really easy fix. Overall though, we really loved the place, atmosphere, drinks and desert and we plan on visiting often and left happy and impressed. So, thank you for giving us a nice lunch/afternoon date on the island! Also, hopefully after this we still have that invite for the roof top parties, lol!

Now, all that said - is there any plans on a happy hour ;)

Westviewer adds:

I can't comment on the barbecue, since I didn't have any, but I did think the music was too loud, although my opinion needs to be taken with a grain of salt, since I am one of the "older crowd", I guess)  and I've never liked music in restaurants, even when I was in my twenties.  I don't see why the happy babble of contented diners isn't enough background sound for any restaurant.  No music choice is going to please everyone, and you go to a restaurant to eat and presumably converse with your companions.  Music doesn't help with either goal, and if the music displeases, or is too loud for comfort, actually interferes with both.

Bakgwallo returned to Pier NYC Today for more. According to Bakgwallo:

As an update to my first review - went back today again. This time we tried the crab cake sandwich and it was really good... kind of want to have another one already, lol! Drink were good and service was good again, pretty impressed on the second go. Will try the BBQ again someday- but the crab cakes and the other menu are great for me.

Westviewer, my understanding is that for now, John Brown Smokehouse BBQ will not be on the Pier NYC paper menu but all you have to do is go to the carving area and order the BBQ. As for music, how about some atmospheric Margarittaville beach music from Jimmy Buffet



or just Sitting At The Dock Of The Bay with Otis Redding.



It's going to be a fun Roosevelt Island summer.