Tastefully-Delicious!: River Cafe: Fine Dining in Every Way!

I have wanted to go to the River Cafe (1 Water St., Brooklyn, NY) for years! I always thought this would be a great place for a small intimate wedding because of how beautiful the setting and the grounds are. It is so beautiful and romantic! I was sad when it was ruined by Hurricane Sandy and was closed for a very long time. Finally, this year, for my birthday, my fiancé (now Husband) promised to take me there since it was fully booked when we tried to make reservations for Valentine's Day there.

Beautiful Gardens Leading up to The River Cafe

There are beautiful gardens that lead up to the River Cafe that are a great place for photos before and after dinner. Also great for wedding photography!

Beautiful Flowers on the Table

As we were sat in the dining room, I noticed the beautiful display of flowers on our table. They were so elegant and added such a nice touch to the already fancy and classy ambiance that River Cafe has.

Lamp Brings Old Fashion Charm to the Table

The lamps on each table added a whole new level of elegance and charm to the restaurant. I felt like I was taken back to the days of Titanic where the world was a much more wholesome place.

Beautiful View of the Hudson and Manhattan

The views at River Cafe are breathtaking! Even from our table we could see panoramic views of lower Manhattan. Because the main restaurant portion of River Cafe is set on a barge with no obstacles in the way, the diners are given the best view.

River Cafe Fine China

Even the fine china that they used was exquisite. The dishes had their name imprinted on them with a gorgeous green rim, and were absolutely stunning.

Debossed River Cafe Napkin

Even the napkins were personalized with the River Cafe logo on them! This place did not cut any corners anywhere. Everything they displayed, everything they did, and everything they said was perfect in all the right ways. It was formal, but not stuffy. It really made Ben and I feel extremely happy to be dining there, and made us even more excited about what would come out of the kitchen! We were already impressed in just the finer details of the ambiance and setting!

My Fiancé in His Jacket :)

One of the things that Ben did not love about the idea of coming to the River Cafe is that he was required to wear a sports jacket. We are a pretty casual couple (him more than me), but sometimes it is exciting to have an excuse to dress up and go all out! This place certainly felt special and I didn't mind the dress code because it made the experience that much more special! I would do it every night if I could afford it :)

Amuse Bouche

The amuse bouche was simple, but so tasty! It was gazpacho accompanied by a melon medallion with shaved feta and mint on top. Since it was the end of May, this was a perfect summertime treat! It was refreshing and tangy as gazpacho should be. The feta was sprinkled lightly on the plate, and not really a main part of the amuse bouche, but definitely helped add come creaminess to the otherwise very refreshing flavors.

Crunchy Roll

The bread was served by a waitress coming around and serving one roll at a time based on patron selection. Based on the type of place the River Cafe is, Ben and I were very surprised that the bread wasn't warm and fresh out of the oven. It was more of a cold crunchy baguette style roll. It was still very tasty, but not as fresh as all the food we had all night.

Our Beautiful Table

The menu at River Cafe for dinner is fixed pricing for $120. It includes an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert per person. There is also an option for a six course chef's tasting menu for $150. We decided based on the options we would do the regular fixed pricing menu because there were certain dishes and appetizers we could not live without and wanted to guarantee that we would get them! Also, what we were served in the three courses was more than enough food that it didn't warrant spending an additional $30 per person to have 3 additional courses. Also, Ben and I share all our food, we didn't need to have the same 6 courses each, when we can share 4 different items together at larger portions than the tasting menu.

Wild Shrimp -
"Oscar Style" Pacific Blue Shrimp, King Crabmeat, white asparagus, citrus Maltaise sauce

The Wild Shrimp appetizer was highly suggested by our waiter. When we asked him to compare it to the special of the day, which was oysters done two ways, he said we should definitely order the shrimp, and I am so glad we did! It was served "Oscar Style," which is topped with asparagus, crab, and Maltaise sauce. The shrimp were large and meaty and acted as a great base to soak up the extra citrusy Maltaise sauce. The crab meat added so much flavor to this dish and was an extra added bonus to a shrimp dish. The white asparagus was very unique to this dish; since it was the first time I had had asparagus that was white. It was lighter in flavor than green asparagus and kept the dish very light and summery.

Octopus -
Char-grilled Portuguese octopus, warm Yukon potatoes, radish, fresh herb chimichurri sauce

The Octopus appetizer was delicious! The octopus was char-grilled with the edges being nice and crispy, while the inside was meaty and tender. The octopus pieces were served atop Yukon potato slices with fresh radishes and a light chimichurri sauce. The octopus was so flavorful that it didn't need to be dipped into the chimichurri sauce, which was great because we got to save the sauce for all the vegetables on the plate! The vegetables went very well with the chimichurri sauce and added a delicious herbal tangy flavor to each bite.

Lobster- Poached Nova Scotia lobster, squid ink cavatelli pasta, lobster infused marinara, lobster claw and spinach gratin

The Lobster entree was to die for! This dish was the item on the menu I was most excited for, and which I could not have lived without. I think I may have died and gone to heaven when I took a bite of this dish. It was much for filling than it appeared in size, and it was so full of flavor that each bite was worth a million. It was served in the most unique way I have ever seen lobster served where the tail and the claw of the lobster were served in two very different preparations. The lobster tail was served over squid ink cavatelli pasta with lobster infused marinara, while the claw was cut up and prepared spinach gratin style and stuffed back inside part of the lobster shell. The lobster tail was so meaty and fresh, while the lobster claw was creamy and cheesy. I loved being able to taste both styles and compare them. I really enjoyed the top layer of the lobster spinach gratin because it was nice and crispy. The squid ink cavatelli pasta was homemade, most likely by hand, cooked perfectly and great for soaking up the lobster infused marinara, which had a nice slightly spicy but sweet and tangy flavor!

Lamb - Colorado rack of lamb, grilled Merguez sausage, fondant potatoes, mint and mustard seed glaze

The Lamb entree was an equally as impressive dish. The portion of this dish was huge with 2 slices of lamb with 2 ribs each which were extra meaty and tender. The lamb was cooked to perfection with a beautiful pink center. It was oozing with flavor and was so moist. The lamb was served atop a portion of fondant potatoes, which were extra crispy on the edges and nice and soft in the center. The mint sauce on the dish was extra light and added a hint of freshness to the otherwise very savory dish :)

Milk Chocolate Soufflé - toasted marshmallow, Tahitian vanilla bean ice milk

The milk chocolate shuffle was extra gooey and creamy as can be! It was light and fluffy and reminded me of a s'more! The cream on the side was definitely homemade, whipped in-house! However, I wouldn't have minded if the dish was a touch more chocolatey, since it was milk chocolate versus dark chocolate! Although, I can't complain, because it was pretty amazing!

Milk Chocolate Soufflé -
toasted marshmallow, Tahitian vanilla bean ice milk

Chocolate Brooklyn Bridge -
milk chocolate Marquise, raspberry sorbet, vanilla ice cream, crisp meringue, dark chocolate glaze

The Chocolate Brooklyn Bridge was the highlight of the desserts! It was beautiful, rich, and amazing! It was almost too beautiful to eat! This dessert was ultra chocolatey! I loved that there was ice cream, sorbet, and meringue to satisfy my sweet tooth, and also my need for textural interest, with there being creamy and crunchy textures! I also loved the sweet and tartness of the raspberry paired with the richness of the chocolate and the creaminess of the ice cream!