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Its chef is rarely photographed flanked by Tuleh-wearing lovelies in Gotham magazine. It hasn’t had a major redo in 25 years. And it’s routinely dismissed as a place for tourists wanting a room with a view. But when was the last time you tried it? Even allowing for Mayor Bloomberg’s misguided extinguishing of the necklaces of lights spanning the East River crossings, the panorama from under the Brooklyn Bridge produces a blasé-busting, hyperventilating rush of civic pride. Dining on the comfortably lounge-lit floating barge, simply decorated to defer to the obvious visual splendor, with a pianist who cannily plinks instead of plunders, is like living in a Woody Allen movie—one of the wonderful ones, with all the Gershwin, and the specter of looming lechery replaced by the possibility of a happy ending. — Hal Rubenstein

Three-course dinner, $95; Brunch, $45

Weddings
Couples who book this local institution will enjoy the bohemian romance of Brooklyn without sacrificing a glorious city backdrop. The Terrace Room at the River Café is festooned in abundant greenery, boasts a water-stream entrance, and opens up to an expansive view of the East River and Manhattan’s skyline. The intimate room can hold 100 guests (80 with a dance floor). Prices vary.

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New York Magazine Reviews

• Hal Rubenstein's Full Review (9/22/03)

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