Bridge Cafe

Came here in March and the food was amazing. Everything tasted great.
The mac n cheese was probably THE best I’ve ever had. The location is kind of hidden, but its definiely a gem.
Will go there again. Can’t wait until they re-​open. Super cool vibe and interesting history behind the building. So excited to take my husband who is a history buff. Loved it.

You won’t have a bad dinner here, sometimes great but mostly good. The history and location are what I love about this place – you feel like you’re in another era.
Loved the gnocchi the first time I tried it, not so much the second time. Steak and scallops have always been solid.

I never knew that brussels sprouts could be that tasty.
I stopped by here on a crisp Autumn evening in hopes of catching glimpse of the ghost. Alas I didn’t see any specters however I did have a spectacular dinner. I had the polenta (sans cheese) and several side dishes, including the aforementioned brussels sprouts. Each dish was delicious and very memorable, but the brussels sprouts were so surprisingly delicious, I’d have to say it was the best dish there.
Yes, it is a bit pricey, but well worth it and nice to bring a date on a romantic evening out.

Just ok.
Neat atmosphere, but lots of construction on the outside going on. The food was just ok, service just ok. My wife ordered the chicken it was fried and overcooked. I had the buffalo burger, which was good but nothing amazing. Thought it was a bit pricy but being out of town I’m not sure how it compares.

I’ve been traveling for over two weeks, have covered 4600 miles, and have been in 5 major cities, and the dinner I had last night beat every meal hands down. The Parmesan crusted chicken was delicious, especially when paired with the gnocchi, and the polenta that came with the scallop dish was amazing. I was stuffed, but couldn’t turn down a chance at one dessert, the banana chocolate chip bread pudding. It was worth the discomfort! Being in a building so old with so much history was a treat, too.
Definitely on the expensive side … but worth every penny. (Entrees were in the $ 20 range, but side dishes, salads, and appetizers really add up.)

I met up with friends for brunch at the Bridge Café near the South Side Seaport. The café is part of a building that has been around since 1794 which adds a cozy history to the place. It’s agreed to be the oldest drinking establishment in New York City (older than McSorley’s). However, the «establishment» has changed names and purposes from bar to porter house to brothel to café.
You can order the Bridge Café brunch for $ 24 which includes an alcoholic drink (Bloody Mary, Mimosa, etc), an appetizer and an entrée. It’s way too much food. I ordered the corn & red onion fritters which were to carb-​y for me but the jalapeño cheddar sauce they came in was tasty although not spicy enough.
Since I’d gone savory with the appetizer I opted for the honey glazed fruit crepes with sweet peppered apple wood smoked bacon and over roasted potatoes and onions. I was already full but the crepes were still well done. The bacon was WAY too sweet and the texture was moist and honestly disgusting. The potatoes were mushy and cold. I was not impressed. The Bloody Mary was overly salted and didn’t come with any vegetables — LAME.
While it was cool to eat in a historical landmark I can’t say it will last long with this menu.

We came for drinks and ended up staying for dinner. Sitting at the 150-​year old bar while the owner gives you whiskey/​scotch suggestions was a very nice introduction.
The food was pretty good. I got the almond crusted chicken and he got a hangar steak. Good portions and the crab fondue was tasty too. We’re on a low (ish) carb diet so we couldn’t indulge in all the other tasty food items, but they all sounded great!

There’s no fucking ghost here.
My friend Dylan and I were both completely shitfaced, having just spent a good two hours in a nasty-​ass little AWESOME rock bar in Wall Street, listening to Rammstein and Danzig and gulping down whiskeys. We got hungry, so we left. The Korean chicken spot was just a block away and totally in plain sight when we stumbled out onto the sidewalk, but I knew we were very close to a restaurant that had been on my list of must-​tries for a while.
It was no easy task, getting Dylan to skip the chicken some consider crack and instead walk seven extra blocks to a pricey spot. But under the pretense that there was a certified ghost roaming the confines of this little restaurant/​bar underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, I somehow got him to go.
He was in a bad mood about it the whole way there, the whole time we were there, and most of the way back to the Korean chicken spot we inevitably ended up at anyways. (I don’t have the best luck picking dining partners; see my Fatty Crab review.) His gripe was the price. I told him I wasn’t going to really sit down and have an expensive full three-​course meal. All I wanted was to sit there for a while and see if there was a ghost.
We sat at the bar and waited. No ghost. We had to order something, so I got the calamari and a martini, he got another whiskey, and we waited some more. No ghost. I looked around the dining room, staring at glasses and silverware, trying to see if anything would move on its own. Nothing moved. No ghost. I took some photos with my EVO phone. No orbs. No ghost. (And my phone can’t catch something 3 feet away in plain sight and good light, let alone a ghostly ball of energy). I decided to go take a piss and see if the ghost maybe was haunting the toilet. No ghost. I even taunted the ghost a bit, the failproof way to get your shit touched by a ghost, but still … No ghost.
I came back to the bar, Dylan was sweating profusely and fidgeting, so I knew it was time to leave so we could get him some Korean chicken.
So much for the ghost!
(The calamari was pretty good, pretty ok, hence the 3 stars.)

Bridge Café is a fancy lunch time option just north of the South Street Seaport with good food. I found it on Unilocal today and checked it out.
I ordered had the baked mac & cheese and the goat cheese veggie lasagna. Both were good.
According to The History Channel, Bridge Café is NYC’s oldest bar. The building has been around since 1794 and was opened as a porter house in 1847.

I liked the food.
A little bit noisy, but it was ok.
I actually went there because they say its a «ghost» in the ladies room ;-) well, havent seen it, but will come back there, maybe next time)

Visited this Café a few weeks ago. Sorry it took me a minute to write this, I misplaced the card. But I just have to tell you, the place is quint and charming. The service was impeccable and the food was off the chart. «That means gr8». The desserts were to die for! Anyway, I would definitely recommend this establishment. Bar none! PS the Manager Alycia is a sweetheart!
Zuri
Fort Greene, Bklyn

Love this place. It’s near the base of the Brooklyn Bridge so as we walked to the restaurant it seemed kinda shady but it really wasn’t and don’t let that stop you! I was a bit hesitant about this place because it looked like it could only fit 5 – 6 tables (we were a large group) but it’s a bit bigger in person than in the pictures. If you look at their website, I think their pictures are more accurate.
I came here for dinner with a bunch of friends and we all enjoyed our meals. The waitress was extremely nice and accommodating… Of the things that I tried:
SOFT SHELL CRABS
only tried a piece but it was great, the way soft shell crabs so be and flavorful
SEAFOOD SANDWICH SPECIAL (don’t remember what it was really called)
had a tiny kick of spiciness to it but what was what made the sandwich + the perfect crispy seafood!
BREADED/​CRUSTED CHICKEN
so. good. perfect. served with mash potatoes. The chicken was not too thin, was juicy, and was perfectly breaded/​crispy. yum!
SCALLOPS W/​RISOTTO
I expected my friend to get 3 pieces of scallops but she got 5 big ones. the risotto was cooked perfectly. there was so much flavor but not in an overwhelming way… in a delicious way!

Bridge Café had me at «There’s a poltergeist, possibly in the ladies room.» But there’s so much here to love.
Straightforward, delicious American cuisine in an under-​the-​radar historic building hard by the Brooklyn Bridge. Pressed tin ceiling, wooden floors, a million kinds of scotch/​bourbon/​rye pouring forth from the ancient and very welcoming bar. Totally unpretentious and totally professional service.
If you don’t go for liquor, have a look at the beers on tap; some interesting choices here, including a smooth choice from Syracuse. The bread basket is worthy of your attention, especially the raisin bread. Thick and flavorful vegetarian split pea soup was a comfort on a cold, rainy day. The goat cheese salad could have used more goat cheese, but it was dressed perfectly.
The veggie burger was probably the best I’ve ever eaten – a little crumbly, but quite meaty in taste. It came with homemade ketchup (get it on the side, as it’s a bit acidic), plantain chips, half a ripe avocado, and a salad. (Unsurprisingly, I had to take half of everything home.) A special pasta with chicken in a slightly spicy sauce was a nice combination of flavors.
Creamy pumpkin flan finished us off nicely, but all the desserts sounded great. We left already planning our next meal here. I hear the steak is amazing, and I really want to commune with that ghost.

What a delicious place! I really enjoyed this place, the 1950’s gangerster-​like ambiance (to me anyway), the service (very attentive and friendly!) and most importantly– the food! The food was absolutely delicious! I had the veggie burger which was so good… so good. I also managed to sample a bit of the mashed potatoes which were also super awesome– very light and fluffly with a great taste of garlic that wasn’t over powering. Their portion sizes are quite generous, so don’t feel ashamed in sharing (unless you’re very hungry).
The desserts were good too. We had the pumpkin flan, peanut butter pie and cannoli cheesecake. All of them were good but as a group, we tended to lean toward the pumpkin flan and pb pie the most.
My only two cons were that I wasn’t too fond of how the drinks were made (and how small they were) and how the food and check took a while to come.
All-​in-​all, I would come here again! I look forward to coming back!
UPDATE: 4÷22÷12
I’d like to mention that it’s been several months since my visit here and lately I have been craving like crazy their veggie burger. I’m not even vegetarian but that veggie burger was sincerely amazing and I have not been able to find any veggie burger that can hold a candle to it. I must have that burger again. It was so, so good. I was hoping to find it on their menu online in hopes that I could read what was in it and replicate it. I normally dislike veggie burgers but now this burger has become the object of my palate’s affection… I want it so bad.

Disappointing. That is the word I would use for this restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, the food was good but nowhere near what we expected.
We started with the artichoke crab dip which was probably the biggest disappointment. It was very fishy, which is odd because crab usually isn’t fishy — unless it wasn’t crab… I had the diver scallops with the cheddar grits. The scallops were very good; tender and not overcooked. The grits needed a lot of salt. The hubby had the duck which was very fatty — I know, duck is a fatty bird but this was REALLY fatty. It did taste pretty good though. We finished with the cannoli cheesecake, which was tasty but the consistency was very dry.
The service was pretty good and the bathrooms were reasonably clean. i don’t think we would make the trek downtown for this restaurant again any time soon.

Visiting with some friends who have lived in New York all their lives. Know the city intimately so is a real treat «see» a New York that only locals can find. And for dinner on December 4^th we went to the Bridge Café, located at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Small and cozy this is a charming restaurant that has been here for years. A heavy wood bar runs the length of the dining room and the interior feels like it was at one time someone’s house.
A very limited menu which is always changing and there were at least four items I was interested in eating. That is a great feeling v. trying to find «something» to eat.
I had the cod, another the skirt steak and the other had a nice looking beet salad.
Everything was good, the service superior and it was a wonderfully relaxing evening.

This restaurant’s dishes are either major hits or sorely disappointing. Unfortunately, at their price point, that makes for some expensive gambling. For example, their «signature» item, soft-​shell crab, was literally drowned in butter to the point where the delicate flavor and texture of the crab was completely lost. With the high praise of the wait staff, at $ 17, which got a single crab and a few potato chips, I expected more. On the other hand, the pies are some of the best you’ll find anywhere. We tried the chocolate peanut butter pie, which rivaled anything from grandma’s kitchen. Or the Corn and Red Onion Fritters, served in a cheddar jalapeño sauce, which were light and savory.
With a wealth of restaurants just a stone’s throw away, my recommendation is to try dinner elsewhere, and save Bridge Café for dessert. And, if you’re a whiskey buff, you might stop in for a night cap. Their list is impressive.

Came here with 4 others for lunch on a raining Friday.
It is really cool that this place has been opened since 1794, and the owner maintained the restaurant’s history.
However, I was not impressed with my Veggie Burger or my friend’s Beef Burger. The fries were also soggy…
Good thing they give out good portions, so I was able to subsititute quality with quantity.

This was/​is supposedly one of Ed Koch’s favorite restaurants in the city. Reason enough to try it, as he has been to a lot of restaurants. Also it is the oldest drinking establishment in NYC! The structure was built almost 100 years before the Brooklyn Bridge was constructed. And the place used to be a brothel! What more can you ask for?
So I have been living in the area for about 3 years and always wanted to try Bridge Café but for whatever reason never made it there until tonight. Some previous Unilocaler said that this place has a quiet, undiscovered charm… I agree. Nice cozy vibe, quality/​thoughtful dishes, large portions, lots of history/​character.
Menu has so many great sounding items, was hard to pick. I will definitely be back to try more. The one side dish that I thought was great, but not nearly as amazing as some reviewers have said was the mac and cheese… it was very good, but not amazing or even close to the best I have had.

I love places with history and this place has a lot of it. It was Ed Koch’s favorite establishment when he was Mayor. The food is 5 stars for sure. The wine list is excellent (all American wines) and 30% off on Mondays. Their whisky selection is massive and offers tastes for relatively cheap.
The Bridge Café people know what they’re doing and they do it well.