In the same way that Empire State Building, Central Park, and Broadway are such New York City’s institutions and landmarks, some other places in the city, like stores and restaurants, have almost the same reputation and importance in the city – they are known as some of the city’s institutions. And The River Café is indeed a New York institution as elegant as ever. Known as the most exclusive fine dining American restaurant on the water in NYC, this place has been on my list for a while – but it’s simply not the place you for some ordinary dinner – at least, not for me, lol.

The environment - The restaurant is located beneath the Brooklyn Bridge – nowadays, that’s a very busy area, but there is a beautiful garden at the entrance and when you arrive at the restaurant, it feels like you are in a very exclusive place – not in the middle of the busy Brooklyn Bridge Park. By the way, don’t skip the garden, it’s such a unique and photogenic scenario.

Dress code - be aware of The River Cafe dress code. According to their website, jackets and shirts with collars are required for gentlemen. Ties are preferred and casual footwear like sandals are not permitted. For reference, my husband didn’t wear a tie. Casual jeans and athletic attire are not allowed in the restaurant.

The food - The River Café features a classic American menu of “elegance and refinement” according to their website. And, in case you don’t know, it’s a Michelin-starred restaurant. They offer a fixed-price menu for $195 per person (plus taxes and tips). You can check the whole menu on their website.

This is what I had when I was there

For starters, Thiago had the Gnocchi and Truffles, with fresh Australian black truffles shaved tableside. I had the Softshell Crab – honestly, I didn’t know what to expect, but it was surprisingly delicious. Love the texture and the sauce. Thiago’s gnocchi was also delicious – melting.

For main, Thiago had the Beef – a char grilled Niman Ranch strip steak served with red wine braised prime beef short rib and marrow, smoked shallot Béarnaise. I had the Branzino and wowww, it was amazing. It had a wild shrimp crust – so so so good! – with lemon, olive oil and saffron nage, classic Romesco sauce, Romanesco cauliflower.

For dessert, Thiago had the Lemon Soufflé – this as probably the only thing we didn’t like it because it had a strong taste of eggs – and the Chocolate Brooklyn Bridge – a dark chocolate Marquise, passion fruit ice cream, banana~macadamia ganache, banana spuma. This dessert was divine, it had a mousse texture and the citric ice cream was a great match. We also had handmade chocolates and confections.

It’s good to remember that the chef also sent us some amuse bouche and other small plates – plus, they also serve warm bread with butter.

Now, let’s talk about drinks! The River Cafe has one of the most outstanding wine lists in the world – you can order wines by bottle, half bottle, and glass. They also offer craft cocktails. We had one cocktail each and we also got a half bottle of wine – because we were not planning to drink a whole bottle, lol. Their sommelier helped us to choose the best option. Regarding prices, you will spend, on average, between $20 and $30 on each drink (in case you order a glass of wine or a cocktail).

Final thoughts

So, answering the main question: is The River Café worth it? For us, yes. My husband and I love to have food experiences – we go from street food to fine dining, for us, it’s all about exploring flavors and, why not, the experiences. It was a special occasion and we like to spoil ourselves occasionally. It’s a whole package: the views, the environment, the service, the food. Of course, you can probably find great food in the city for less – but again, fine dining is not about JUST the food, it’s about the experience, it’s not about being frugal – it’s about indulging and allowing yourself. If you like that, you sure will love The River Café. Some people don’t care enough about it and would rather spend their money on other things – and that’s totally fine!