Boat Bars Are Back For The Season

It's time to drink and eat on the water again. Restaurants and bars on barges and boats are slowly reopening for the season. Already, The Frying Pan at Pier 66 in Chelsea has been open for a couple weeks. North River Lobster Company in Hell's Kitchen, which first debuted a couple years ago, has also started sailing and serving its lobster rolls and fish tacos. People looking for a more upscale experience can try out the lobster company's new floating restaurant Fish Bar, a three-story project on a yacht with a home base at Pier 81. The restaurant will sail several times a day and opens on Sunday.

Further south, boat lovers can soon go back to Grand Banks at Hudson River Park's Pier 25. The restaurant and bar on a boat did a soft open run earlier this month and will offer its full menu of oysters, caviar, and ceviche starting next Tuesday. Chef Kerry Heffernan, an Eleven Madison Park alum, has added an oyster pan roast to the menu this year — an import from Heffernan's menu of a new Ace Hotel restaurant in New Orleans. Profits at the restaurant and bar help support the non-profit Maritime Foundation.

Grand Banks

The crowd on Grand Banks earlier this month

And in Greenpoint, The Brooklyn Barge Bar struggled to open for the season in 2015 due to liquor license issues but managed to eke out a few weeks of drinking on the water in the fall. This year, the bar says it will be reopening in May.