Riverpark

Other restaurants should sit up and take notice — this is how you do restaurant week. You don’t «dumb down» the menu by offering small portions or dishes that you wouldn’t normally serve because they are cheaper options. You do restaurant week to win over customers and show them what you offer. And they offer the entire menu with several dishes having a nominal upcharge if you want them. The food does not disappoint — our favorite app was the gulf shrimp with couscous ($ 5 upcharge) and we both enjoyed our entrees of the pork loin — and the branzino. I do not know how they get the outside of the pork loin crispy and the inside still soft and delicious.
We could barely eat our desserts. That’s how filling the entrees were. We liked the lemon tart the best of the two.
We’ve been before and we will return.

I came for Restaurant Week Lunch, but I have to say I’m a little disappointed with the overall experience. The location and design of the restaurant are really nice; the décor is pretty spot on: classy and modern. The waitstaff is professional, but I found the service very slow and a little cold. It may be because we were a group of college freshman, but for a restaurant of this caliber, I expected non-​discriminatory service. We’re paying customers too.
Also, there is no Royal Sea Bass on the actual menu; the fish changed to Branzino, and that was super disappointing (online menu shows that there is bass).
[FOOD]
Bread & Butter: I saw someone review it and compliment it, but the bread was incredibly salty, and the butter (though soft) was decent at best.
Baby Lettuces and Greens: Very rarely do I leave food on my plate, but I left almost half of the portion. You get a mountain of vegetables of all types. There is so much going on that every bite tastes different, and the flavors conflict rather than go together. It was also hard to taste the vinaigrette. This starter was definitely disappointing. Only plus for me was that the ingredients tasted and looked extremely fresh.
Braised Chicken Leg: I was expecting something special, but it tasted like a fancier rotisserie chicken in that the meat was extremely tender and the skin was crispy, but the taste was a little bland and unoriginal. The side ingredients did taste quite nice though; the freekeh was good, the squash was surprisingly great, and the mushrooms had a nice earthiness. Unfortunately, overall dish was a letdown.
Cereal and Milk ($ 5 Supplement): This was supposed to be the saving grace of my experience here. At a premium and raved about, the dessert seemed like something amazing. Sadly, I was disappointed again. You crack open the shell by hitting it with the blunt end of the spoon, and the «milk» flows out. The «milk» is a very good creamy vanilla flavor (kind of like melted ice cream but without the grossness of it). The chocolate shell was overly sweet if eaten by itself, and the ganache cake was thick and heavy but not rich at all. The rice puffs are more or less rice crispies.
[OVERALL]
I paid $ 36 for the meal after tip and tax. That’s a lot for lunch, even if it’s at such a nice place. The food was a little better than okay, but there was nothing special. I wouldn’t come back for what I ate, but I might for other menu items. On another note, the view is nice.

One of the few restaurants in Restaurant Week that actually has a wide array of tantalizing options for customers. This is the main reason why I will be coming back.
Riverpark is next to the gorgeous East River, a refreshing skyline and the beautiful Alexandria building, and it rightly deserves to be amongst this beauty because everything was impeccable.
Unlike Kenneth below, I enjoyed the bread. It was warm and had some salt encrusted on the top like a pretzel, but it wasn’t too salty (you can always scrape it off if you don’t like salt).
The oysters were fresh and delicious although I didn’t care much for the cocktail sauce. My friend got this beautifully constructed Octopus Carpaccio, which tasted just as good as it looks (see pictures). It’s sprinkled with individual pomegranate seeds that provided a bright, sweet contrast to the soft, flavorful octopus.
For entrees, I got the Merluza. Hold on– the Merluza got me. A perfectly crisp skin surrounded this succulent and tender piece of fish and with that fresh tart green sauce it was just magic. It was a great bite. There were some potatoes and chorizo within the green medley that I only noticed afterwards since the Merluza was mesmerizing. I wanted to take a picture but I ate it.
My friend got the Royal Sea bass. After her first bite, she said, «Omg, this is SO tender.» Nuff sa.
Lastly, I got my new favorite dessert, the White Chocolate Namelaka. I can’t even… It was this peculiar harmony of dulce de leche sauce, blood orange sorbet, some dark gingerbread crumble, supremes of rich blood orange, little balls of Mandarin caviar and this CREAMY sweetened white chocolate ganache thing that was… Sorry I just passed out thinking about it. It’s like the vanilla Icing from Dunkaroos but wayy creamier and lighter. Anyway my friend said her Lemon Tart was actually a little tart (hm) and really good.
The inside is lovely and modern, my waitress was very proper and extremely attentive. The attention to is no joke, all-​star service.
Recommended: Octopus Carpaccio, Merluza, White Chocolate Namelaka

Location: If you’re going to über/​taxi/​lyft– don’t put in the restaurant’s address. you’ll end up getting dropped off literally right off the FDR lol Rather, have them drop you off at 1^st Ave and East 29^th St. You’ll walk through a gated archway and veer right toward the Alexandria. Once you’re inside, the signs will clearly guide you to the restaurant. Bathrooms are outside of the restaurant by the front desk.
So glad I finally made it here for restaurant week! Although we had requested a table by the window, they were unfortunately all full when we arrived and ended up seated at a table by the bar.
Baby Lettuces & Greens– it may sound simple, but you have to get this. Riverpark sources their ingredients on site at the Alexandria center for life sciences. Also from Brooklyn Grange too. Nothing like fresh greens, locally sourced, for that perfect farm-​to-​table experience.
Spice Brûléed Hamachi– I’m a big fan of Hamachi, so this was a must get. Solid. We approve + recommend!
Berkshire Pork Chop– This is what they’re KNOWN for. Must get– It was tender and wonderfully flavorful.
Roasted Merluza– Interesting and unique only because I don’t believe I’ve had merluza before. Light and crisp flavors. Good balance with the Pork Chops.
Dessert:
CEREAL AND MILK! GET THIS! The idea of vanilla malt in a a chocolate ball you have to open to release the yumminess all over the rice krispies is a fun idea. And so good!
Lemon Tart– a bit to tart for me. lol I’ve definitely had better, but I’ll eat anything citrusy.
Service– Absolutely wonderful. Server was knowledgable with wine and food recommendations, also very sweet and down to earth. Big fan.
I’d love to come back for a window table next time– perhaps for brunch (look forward to an updated review!)
Even without the table view, we walked out and crossed the «danger» tape they put up post-​blizzard of 2016… assuming to avoid falling/​melting snow from the roof. We were cautious but on a better day, definitely explore the premises. Take in the view over the FDR and East River. Sooo lovely.

Went here for Restaurant Week a week or so ago and it was one of the best RW experiences I’ve ever had. My friend says flat out it is her best experience.
I normally wouldn’t review a place based solely on their RW menu since it’s not a true reflection on what they can do, plus service is usually slower. But this place pretty much offered their entire menu, which is impressive in of itself.
For our entrees, we shared a pasta dish (the one with lamb sausage) and the octopus carpaccio. The pasta was good but very salty and a bit too heavy for a starter. But we thought the octopus carpaccio was heavenly and worth the whole meal alone: perfectly light and refreshing and served with pomegranate seeds.
We had the pork chop and braised lamb for our entrees, both of which came in huge portions that we had to take half home. The pork chop was served with an apple hash which added the perfect amount of sweetness. I’m usually not a fan of pork chops and I can say that this was the best I’ve ever had.
We shared the Meyer lemon tart and their signature «Cereal and Milk» for dessert for an extra supplement. I’m a bit lactose intolerant so I didn’t like how strong the mascarpone was in the tart, but we both loved «Cereal and Milk.» So creative and beautiful with so many characteristics of a great dessert: the amazing crunch and texture of the rice cereal and chocolate dome, the smooth creaminess of the vanilla malt, and the decadent richness of the chocolate brownie cake on the bottom. It’s the most memorable high end restaurant dessert I’ve ever had.
We are definitely coming back here again. And I imagine when the weather gets warmer it would be so beautiful to hang out by the river before or after the meal.

One of the best food I have ever had in New York. Love the environment ., staff and food was amazing. You will not regret it …

I tried Riverpark for Restaurant Week and was so impressed with the amount of options they offered for their RW menu compared to other restaurants. The space is beautifully designed, and I wish we had dined during the day to take advantage of the view.
Highlights of the meal were the cocoa spaccatelli, pork chop, and lemon tart. The burratini was pretty small and the red wine farroto was sort of bland — not to mention, we unfortunately found a long strand of hair in it! Other than that, the service was great and we really enjoyed our dinner. I’d love to return for brunch!

Hard to find place
Great indoor décor
Top notch service, very observant
¹⁰⁄₁₀ bread
Would go again for bread. Wish they would sell the bread though

Restaurant week review.
The service was good. The view is nice and the décor is modern. The food was pretty yummy and the restaurant week price was right =) I love the farm to table concept. The bathroom is out in the lobby so a little inconvenient. And the location of the restaurant is also a little way out of the way.
Between me and my husband we had the following:
Starters
East & West Coast Oysters On the Half Shell
— fresh, general portion (4 oysters)
Tuscan Kale Salad with Pears, Pecans, Pecorino, Sherry Vinaigrette
— also big portion, my husband said that it tastes like the kale salad that I made. I do make pretty good food =)
Entrees
Royal Sea Bass with Broccoli Rabe, Oven-​Roasted Tomatoes, Olives, Israeli Couscous
— it tastes a little asian, in a good way. Fish was done well. Crispy skin. Good with the broccoli rabe. The couscous was really good. My husband prefer mine.
Lamb Merguez Sausage with Chickpeas, Tuscan Kale, Carrots, Cilantro, Lebna
— I love lamb and this is very very yummy. I prefer his dish.
Dessert
Meyer Lemon Tart (Macaron, Mascarpone Cream, Earl Grey, Candied Kumquats, Meyer Lemon Sorbet)
–This is my favorite part of the meal. I love the tart and sorbet but the candied kumquats is done to perfection. Surprisingly good.
White Chocolate Namesake (Dulce de Leche, Mandarin Caviar, Gingerbread Crisp, Blood Orange Sorbet)
— My husband loves the sorbet, but thought the white chocolate namesake was so-​so.

Came here the other night for Restaurant Week ’16. The location was a little out there — I was a little worried about not finding the place since we had to go through this gate security area and multiple buildings. The view, though, was fabulous. It would be great during the spring/​summer when we could sit outside and enjoy the water view.
We all ordered a variety of food. I had the burrata to start, the short ribs and the cereal and milk dessert. The burrata was nice — I was a little surprised there was no toast or something with it since I’m used to eating it with carbs or at least a salad to accompany it. Instead, I had these minute spheres of pear that had this tangy/​sour taste to it instead of sweet. I’m assuming this was because they were not 100% ripe and not really in season. Not sure if I would recommend this dish since the others got the octopus (they said it was delicious) and the quail (she said it was pretty good) and they both looked a little better than mine.
The short ribs were very good. The meat was falling apart tender but still had a bite to it — as if it was cooked for an extra few minutes. The rice on the bottom was my least favorite part of the dish — it was very bland. I didn’t think the red wine sauce was enough for the rice. It wasn’t bad — just not great. Others had: pork chops (he said it was fantastic), merluza (he said it was good) and this other fish that I forget (she said it was delicious). I think if I went back, I would try the pork chops since it looked a lot better than what normal pork chops looked like. It still had the bone in.
The dessert was fantastic. Most of us got the cereal and milk which is their signature dessert and one of us got the lemon tart. He’s a fan of lemon tarts so he loved it. The cereal and milk is extremely sweet especially with the dense chocolate cake. Thankfully the actual chocolate on top was not that sweet — more of that bittersweet chocolate used for baking so it complemented nicely with the sweetness.
Overall, great meal. I would definitely try to go back for the brunch service since I saw a lot of nice reviews of the food.

This is a nice restaurant with a beautiful view over the East River. Located inside the Alexandria Center, by the FDR Drive. I rarely adventure myself in that area, but I really wanted to try this restaurant.
I came here during the New York Restaurant Week:
Celery Root Soup: five-​spiced apples, hazelnuts, trout roe. The waiter pour the soup at the table. I liked the pieces of poached apples in the soup.
Altantic Salmon: roasted beets, celery root, horseradish, parsley. The salmon has a crispy skin, very flaky. A colorful plate with the root vegetables.
House-​Made Fries: homemade dijonnaise mustard, ketchup.
Meyer Lemon Tart: macaron, mascarpone cream, earl grey, candied kumquats, meyer lemon sorbet. It’s gluten-​free since the macaron is made with almond flour. It’s citrusy and fresh, but the macaron is very sweet and dense.
The dishes are beautifully presented and looks delicate like a piece of art. Sitting at a table by the window makes it even more enjoyable. It’s a wonderful experience to eat here and the service is nice. The restrooms are located outside of the restaurant, near by the lobby desk of the building.

Excellent excellent food. I came here for a work-​related dinner and the servers were excellent. They accommodated my vegan dietary restrictions with no questions.
I know the chef is great because he/​she took simple vegetables/​grains and flavored them perfectly. The simple green salad was SO tasty– I don’t know what was in it but one of the better salads I’ve had– and as a vegan I’ve had a gazillion salads. Everything was fresh & delicious!
I also had a barley mushroom dish for my entrée– so tasty! The barley was perfectly cooked– a little «crunchy» (nice bite to it) and not mushy at all. I’ve never had barley cooked like this– now I know what I’ve been missing out on!
I ended the meal with a refreshing grape sorbet.
Overall, a good experience. There aren’t obvious vegan options but I know that they will be able to accommodate people with dietary restrictions well! I believe they had gluten-​free options as well. Very appealing plating of all the dishes as well.
Nice ambience and space with a pretty view of the East river.

What a fantastic experience! We came here for a friend’s surprise birthday brunch on Sunday around 12:30pm. We were a party of 5 (remember that show?) with a vegan and a nut free allergy on board.
Let’s start with the parking situation. If you find yourself driving in NYC, this is a wonderful
place to journey to. For start, there’s a valet lot underneath the restaurant which is in a gorgeous building with sleek modern décor, right on the water called The Alexandria. If you eat at the restaurant they will validate your ticket and it will cost you a mere $ 5!!! Say what?! Incredible!
Everyone went above and beyond to make our visit a memorable one. From the parking attendant, security guard, hostess, coat check girl, waitress and busser. That’s a lot of people making your meal and experience truly great. They were all incredibly sweet and all worth mentioning.
We were seating in the gorgeous dining room and served cold carafes of water. The waitress came
over in seconds, greeted us and took drink orders. Mimosas with cognac ($ 11), Bloody Mary’s with pickles carrots ($ 11) and I had the green lemonade ($ 7) which was cucumber, lemon and mint. So refreshing and clean.
Apps & Sides: The waitress suggested the roasted radishes in anchovy butter ($ 8). They sounded delish but are obviously not vegan. She immediately went to kitchen and came back with a few vegan menu options for me including a way to make these without the butter. They were absolutely fantastic! I could’ve eaten the entire plate myself. The hash browns ($ 6) with thyme, pepper and onions were s great selection as well. Fabulous taste and perfectly crispy. A friend ordered the burrata which was beautifully plated.
For entrees the orders were grilled flatiron steak and eggs ($ 27), burgers ($ 18) with BBQ pickles, chicken and waffles (which apparently another house specialty-​$ 22) with bourbon maple syrup and I had the braised chicken dish ($ 22) with acorn squash, roasted mushrooms, sage, pomegranate and freekeh which is a heartier grain like a farro. They so kindly substituted the chicken for grilled mushrooms!!! The special attention I was given was incredible.
We were too full for dessert but they brought out one of their sorbets with a candle for the birthday girl.
I would absolutely eat here again and highly recommend it.
**only gripe was that the outdoor was closed off. I know it was January but I still wanted to take a look. We did however sit and watch the boats go by through the floor to ceiling Windows which was lovely. I will be back in warmer weather for sure!

5: atmosphere and views
4: food and service
Ordered cinnamon French toast and burger for entrée and «cereal and milk» dessert. French toast paired very well with the sour berry sauce. Burger was good but definitely didn’t come as rare as I ordered it. LOVED the garlic aioli sauce! Dessert was a very pleasing display of art but tasted slightly too sweet to my liking.

Riverpark is an excellent restaurant with a one of a kind location. The service is great, the food comes out quick and most of all the food is both fresh and delicious.
Would I come back? Probably not, especially for brunch. The restaurant is beautiful but has a cold atmosphere. Additionally, the crowd is not the kind that you want to bring a group around.
Tom Colicchio has really made his mark in NYC but for now I’ll stick to his other places.

4.0
Riverpark is a beautiful restaurant on the East River side. The interior itself is beautiful with the large windows and the little lights dotting the ceiling. There is a large patio to take in the view as well.
We started with the prawns and the avocado hamachi. Both dishes were excellent but the portion size was disappointingly small. The flavors in both dishes were well thought out and delicious. Unfortunately, the prawns numbered only two, they were on the small side and the avocado hamachi was just a dab. At our table of 4, we only got a bite of each.
For dinner, I went with the berkshire pork chop. I’m not usually a pork chop person but since this is one of the signature dishes, I had to try it. This pork chop was perfectly cooked. It had just the right amount of fat and the little crunchiness on the edges was great. The chop was well sized and everything I hoped it would be.
Service, while friendly, was lacking for this caliber restaurant. We sat for about 20 – 25 minutes with menus closed hungrily waiting to place our order. Our server was also no where to be found during the meal. These lulls in service were disappointing and were distracting to the dinner.
I want to try another Colicchio restaurant but hope it will deliver more as a whole!

We had gone for my aunt’s birthday and we were happily surprised to find out it was restaurant week. Unfortunately, we were seated in the middle, rather than by the window area but because we were a large group, we didn’t ask to change our table location. Another interesting thing we observed throughout the night was that only Asian people were seated in our area. A quick glance to the other side and observation throughout the night confirmed our theory as well.
Overall the food was very good (we had a handful of appetizers and ordered several entrees) and drinks (specialty cocktails, Old-​fashioned, dirty martini) were made nicely.
Great place to come for a nice meal with a view.

The view of the river was AMAZING. And I love the food! It was the perfect portion too. I had the Fluke Crudo, I love the spice and favors that went with it. I had the hanger steak and bone marrow, not really a fan. The steak was hard and I expect to see something different with the bone marrow. We also had the Chatham Cod, LOVE IT!
On a side note, the coffee there was pretty good too. Remember to ask for outside seating when weather is nice!

RW Lunch 12:00pm
Riverpark was magnifique with my finger in the air.
Everything was perfect including the service.
Food was brought out on time and water was refilled every so often.
They also have a wonderful view.
:Starter: Buffalo’s Milk Burrata — 5 STARS I am glad I gave this a try. I typically hate cheese but this was amazing. I did confirm with the server and made sure that this tasted nothing like goat cheese before ordering it. (contains tomatoes, small pieces of peach, and best of all the burrataaaaa) The burrata was fresh and soft. Taste similar to mozzarella but burrata is way better. I poked it right in the middle and the liquid cheese in the middle came spilling out.
: Entrée: Sea Bream 5 STARS (contains arugula and one of my favorites — zucchini) The sea bream was excellent. No bones. It was on point and moist. Skin was crisp. The grilled zucchini and arugula was flavored well.
: Dessert: Cereal & Milk 5 STARS ($ 5 supplement — worth it) Like the burrata the chocolate encasing the milk came rushing out when I poked into with my fork. I was sort of a surprised and excited at the same time. The chocolate case tastes similar to the chocolate in the haagen daz ice cream bars. I like that this dessert was not super sweet but just right. On the bottom of the chocolate case is a brownie like thing which also tasted very good.
Tom Colicchio, you outdid yourself!
I’ll definitely be coming back soon.
Note: Great for bringing a date or for any special occasion!

4.5 Stars
The trek to get here was a bit intense, especially in the current ridiculous NY weather, but it was worth it. The restaurant itself is beautiful, inside and out – simple and classy. We were seated right by the large windows so we had a great (?) view of the river. Host was welcoming and we were promptly seated
Now, the important part, food:
Squid Ink Chitarra: Good flavors. The seafood was delicious and the noodles/​pasta was perfect in texture.
Spiced Pekin Duck Breast: Amazing. The meat was a perfect medium rare. It was juicy, moist, flavorful, delicious. I really like the poached pears and what I think was some sort of cranberry sauce. The subtle sweetness from the fruits really went well with the duck. The lentils were cooked just right; tasted good, but nothing extraordinary.
Mascarpone Cheesecake: Simple yet luxurious. It has a slightly stronger cheese taste than other cheesecakes I’ve had, but it was wonderful. I have to say, the pistachios with the cheesecake, created this amazing flavor. The salty and sweet combination is usually good, but this was beyond that. Really profound memorable taste.
I’d love to return here again and again.

Einrichtung sehr gelungen, Ausblick keineswegs so spektakulär wie die Internetkritiken glauben lassen. Im Sommer sitzt man draußen und es rauscht eine Etage tiefer der Verkehr auf dem FDR Drive vorbei und oberhalb ist ein Krankenhaus. Größtes Problem bei unserem Besuch: fast jedes Gericht (selbst ein Dessert!) kam mit Raucharomen daher, die alles zudeckten wohl als Ersatz für die ansonsten rauchentwöhnten Einheimischen. Wenn ich an einem Aschenbecher lecken möchte, kann ich das preiswerter haben!