Seaport Cafe

Good place to visit for Frozen Margarita. Its a nice location with great shops in the mall. Service was OK. Overall experience was good. Love the Margherita with BEER HORNS Lol! Exploring NYC is overall a fun thing after exploring BOSTON!

The short story: tourist trap.
The long: The soup is from a Campbell soup can at best. The pastrami is dry and New Yorkers should be ashamed that this place even dares to label as a New York pastrami. The chicken pramagana is over fried which cut the roof of your mouth. They also put oversized triple portion in front of the store to trap people. Does that sound like it was worth the $ 33 check we had to shell out? Trust me when I say that you are better off going to the food court in the mall, do not go in here. I hope this review will save you the money lost and anger from eating here.

Touristy, expensive, and provides plastic utensils. Nice outdoor seating though.

My wife and I ate here this afternoon. We both ordered the fish & chips.
It took a long time for the waiter to come to take our order, then a long time for the food.
The fish & chips were ok. Not bad, but not even close to the best I’ve had. I wish they’d given us metal knifes and forks for cutting the fish, though, instead of the cheap plastic stuff.
The price was a bit high for the food and service, though. Quite overpriced. And they automatically tacked on a 15% gratuity, even though it was just two of us eating. If I’d had a choice in the matter, I probably would’ve given only a 10% tip, since the service was below average.
While not horrible, we probably won’t eat there again, we’ll find other options that are better at the same price, or cheaper at the same quality.

Came here Saturday morning for breakfast; what a mistake. The chairs and tables were sticky. We had the Western Omelette, which came with bread — I think they may have shown it to the toaster. As ‘toast’ was advertised, we sent it back and eventually got some, but had to request the butter. The potatoes were made in a kind of indian style and the omelette was overcooked. In fact it was such a horrible meal that I felt like I wanted to be sick afterwards. Service was not particularly friendly either. Don’t come here; wish I had read one or two of the other reviews on Unilocal before I walked in the place.

Let’s be realistic: this is a total tourist trap in the middle of a tourist-​filled stretch. So if you go here with the notion that it should be on the level of Per Se or Daniel, it’s clearly not going to live up to your expectation. To be honest, I kind of hated myself for going, but my friends wanted food and we were all waiting for the free Veronica Falls show. Also, it was a beautiful evening and we were able to sit outside and take in the view and the music from the comfort of a shaded table.
The drinks were very reminiscent of the stuff from Caliente or Blockheads, but slightly cheaper. My friends first had some sort of slushy drink, which they immediately deemed a waste because there was barely any alcohol in it. They then split a few of the $ 12 Corona-​ritas, which were basically oversized frozen «margaritas» with two upside-​down Coronas seeping inside. It was pretty awful as I expected, but they didn’t seem to mind. I went with the Sam Summer Ale, one of the few beer choices that wasn’t totally reprehensible. At $ 4, it was a steal.
I didn’t order anything off the menu myself, but picked at a few of the apps my friends got. It was all standard frozen seafood, thrown into a mega-​fryulator and then tossed on a plate. The calamari was all breading and the wings were served with a cup of Frank’s Red Hot, which our server told my friend before she ordered. I suppose this sort of thing is to be expected though. The prices are typical of the area, leaning a little on the pricier side for items you can get way cheaper and way better elsewhere.
Our server, contrary to what other reviewers have said, was actually pretty cool. She was attentive and super friendly.
Going to the bathroom can be a bitch here because you have to enter through the adjacent mall and upstairs, so don’t wait if you have to go.
In short, Seaport Café will get the job done if you need a quick fix and like to people-​watch. But the food and drink options leave much to be desired. It’s evident it gets by on tourist ignorance (I hate using that word but it is true) and thoughts that they’re doing something that’s really «New York.» One star for the service, another for the convenience of sitting outside for the River to River fest.

I can fully understand why the ratings are so low.
This is the worst restaurant I have ever been to. I felt so embarassed to have brought my guests from Toronto to have lunch here.
The Fish and Chips were absolutley TRASH!!! The Pastrami sandwich was CRAP! This place thrives on tourists who won’t be back to complain.
This restaurant has no business being in Manhattan!
The service was horrible! There was no one on staff worthy of working in a Manhattan restaurant!
What a shame!

Walking around the Seaport — early on a Sunday morning — and not much was open. So I was happy to find the Seaport Café. All the seating is outdoors. Plenty of umbrellas.
Service was okay, not too annoying. I ordered my usual diner food — corned beef hash and eggs. Eggs were OK, hash was a small portion, home fries were OK. Came to about $ 12. Go here for the convenience, not for the food.

I came here with some friends to enjoy some drinks after work. Boy were we happy to hear that they have $ 5 frozen drinks ALL NIGHT LONG! It includes pina coladas, daiquiris and margaritas. They aren’t too weak either. I’m not sure how the food is here because I didn’t have any. My friends had the nachos and the wings. No complaints from them. I will definitely come here again to enjoy their Happy Hour drink special! :D

This place just plain sucked

I wouldn’t come here for the food. It’s not bad but obviously overpriced per the location. The steak sandwich was decent I suppose. The fries were good. They had a decent happy from 4 to 8pm of 5 dollar margaritas. That was a plus. The pasta (lobster ravioli or something like that) a friend ordered was actually really good.

Used to eat here after being in city all day.
Very much a tourist trap but decent food.
Not reallyan authentic New York spot but its not bad in a pinch

Today is the most perfect day of the year, so obviously going to South Street Seaport for lunch was a no brainer decision for my coworker and I. We wandered aimlessly and debated going to the Beekman Beer Garden, but we knew we didn’t have the strength within us to not get completely loaded and not return to work, thus resulting in our jobs being at stake. So we decided to hit up the Seaport Café, because it looked pretty decent upon first glance.
WORST DECISION EVER. First of all, why do I feel like I’m on a cruise ship minus the ship and destination? Ohhh because the employees all barely speak a lick of English and are probably making stipends. Their salads were no better than something prepackaged from the produce section at the supermarket and you will pay $ 15 for it. Oh, let’s not forget to mention that we did not receive salad dressing and then after asking three times, the guy brought the wrong ones and then someone mysteriously brought a third one. I am not sure if they were giving us a salad dressing sampler?
The bill was $ 46 and change (including tip, because they tack on 15% automatically) for two salads with grilled chicken and two diet cokes. Seems pretty obscene for such a craphole.
Avoid like the plague.

This terrible excuse for a restaurant doesn’t deserve a coherent review.
— We all start with drinks. Friend gets a mango margarita. Waiter comes out with a water and says «mango margarita… oh wait…» and doesn’t bother to bring one out.
— Another friend orders a lamb gyro, waiter thinks he says «clam chowder» and brings out a cup of what appears to be water mixed with milk and chalk.
— I order a lobster club with onion rings (one of the 3 side options), and it comes out with a side of fries, 25 minutes after everyone else’s food. At least the sandwich is passable; bacon can even make garbage taste decent.
— Two peoples’ salads have no dressing on them. None.
— Friend orders «Pasta fra diavolo» (spicy seafood pasta). His $ 22 dish looks like a scoop of Chef Boyardee with a few tiny shrimp thrown in.
— The waiter wraps it up by trying to charge me for the onion rings.
— 15% mandatory gratuity for 4+ people
Wtf. The only thing that was even mediocre was the $ 5 piña colada.

This is a complete tourist spot, but I enjoyed it cause it was my first time there and it was a nice day outside. Because it is touristy, the price is too much for the quality of the food. Also, everything is plastic. Plastic plates, cups, utensils come in that plastic wrapped thing with the little packets of salt. yeah. How un-​environmental friendly.
I got the calamari and spaghetti al gambheri (I forget what it’s exactly called) were nothing special. Paid too much for it. It’s good to come once.
If you come on a nice day then it’s really fun. The big boats on the dock, outdoor seating, music, fun.
But I don’t think I’d go here again. It’s a one-​time thing.

Why I even try places without checking Unilocal first anymore is mind boggling. Every time I do it, I hate myself.
It was a beautiful day, and we decided what the hell, let’s give this place a shot since it’s right on the harbor and we can eat and gaze at Brooklyn across the river at the same time.
Big mistake. Should have seen the obvious signs — filled with tourists, bad initial service (he gave us one menu for the two of us), and everything seemed to be made of paper or plastic — chairs, tables, utensils, plates, and cups.
Despite all that, we stupidly ordered food. Fish and chips looked safe, and it was the first thing listed on the menu. We decided to split that in case it sucked. It did. It was served on a plastic plate with plastic utensils, and anything we tried placing down on the table flew away with the gusting wind. (Sorry people sitting next to us, we didn’t mean for our empty paper coffee cups to fly into your faces. It was the wind.) The fish tasted worse than the frozen breaded fish fillets you can buy at a local drug store. The 10 fries that came with tasted marginally better than the fish. Even the tartar sauce came in packets. The real catch — it cost $ 16. Filet-​o-​fish meal at McD’s: $ 5 and so much better.
Then the best surprise came at the end — a built in 15% gratuity for bad service and horrible food. All in all our bill for fish ‘n chips and two coffees came to $ 26. Definitely learned my lesson.

Came here one Saturday afternoon in search for a nice cheap place to drink. We ordered two frozen strawberry margaritas. They were pretty decent sized and the alcohol content was definitely to my liking. It induced a nice little buzz, which was perfect for people watching as we had requested outdoor seating.
It’s a nice location at South Street Seaport. Very relaxed atmosphere. Haven’t tried the food here and from what I’ve seen of the reviews, I don’t think I will be anytime soon. But it definitely got the job done in terms of what we came here for.

This is where disappointment lives. No, wait. This is where Disappointment lives. If Disappointment was an entity like in Stephen King’s «IT» that fed off of the depression of diners and staff alike. I mean, it is on the Seaport. It’s entirely possible that a giant spider creature could be living under the docks, salivating everytime someone places an order with expectations of decent service and/​or food.
The first thing to notice is that you will be looked at strangely for wanting to eat here in the first place. The dueling hostesses stared at me for a moment, silently questioning my desire for a table at their temple to the Beast of Disappointment.
Upon being seated, in the empty outdoor seating area, my waitress walked by several times, waiting roughly 15 minutes before taking my order of pancakes with a side of bacon. Then, with the restaurant still empty, my order took another 20 minutes. When it finally came out, I had to request syrup. For pancakes. I thought it was a fairly standard combination, but not here.
My total came to around $ 10ish, but I left a ten and a five because I didn’t want to wait an hour for change and feed the monster under the docks any longer. My change probably would have come back as a mix of foreign currency, Monopoly money, and Chanukah gelt.

I wanted to give this place zero stars, but the great patio view was the only thing keeping me from gagging and immediately leaving once the food arrived. We went for breakfast on Sunday morning, and there was no wait for a table for four.
As we perused the menu, a group at a nearby table heard us discussing what we would order, and said that their food was terrible, then laughed off their comment and said the pancakes were ‘okay.‘
The prices were reasonable… if the food had been edible. My parents ordered the pancakes with scrambled eggs and bacon. The pancakes (by far the best thing on the plate) were burnt, at not at all ‘light and fluffy’ as described on the menu. The scrambled eggs were nothing like I had ever seen. It looked and smelled like they had scraped off the leftovers burnt onto the flat top grill and from others’ plates and threw it on top of the pancakes. The eggs were way overcooked, and definitely not ‘scrambled,’ my mom described it as ‘dumpster’ food. Their bacon literally was raw strips of fat, even though they asked for it well-​done. My dad asked if they could get new bacon that was actually cooked. The waiter brought over a new plate without hesitation, but the bacon was still awful strips of inedible fat.
My boyfriend got 3 eggs over easy with bacon and whole-​wheat toast. His bacon was just as bad. Somehow, his eggs were also overcooked, yet runny and mucus-​y on the inside… and I don’t just mean the yolk, you know when there is still the clear membrane liquid visable? That’s exactly what it was like. AND for all 3 eggs he received ONE piece of what looked like rye bread… not whole wheat and not toasted… ridiculous.
I ordered the omelet wrap with ‘fries’ on the side, as mentioned in the menu. The table next to us said the potatoes were terrible, so I was happy I could still order something with a different side option.
Of course my wrap came with potatoes, and when I questioned it he said that even though the menu said fries, they don’t serve them at breakfast.
Since I couldn’t see everything in my wrap because it was tucked inside the tortilla, I wearily took a bite and immediately wanted to gag. The eggs were seriously burnt and the bacon was chewy and raw. I’m not sure if they put in the cheese or onions I requested but I was too disgusted to care at that point. There was no way I was eating that.
Note, we drove into the city from central Jersey, and were all completely famished by the time our food came. Our waiter was no where to be found, so while we sat and discussed the messes on our plates I ate the tortilla my eggs were wrapped in, and my boyfriend soaked his eggs in ketchup and ate a good amount of them, even though I told him I was worried about him getting salmonella or something.
My parents ate their pancakes, because at that point they were about ready to eat their own arms. The longer I sat at the table the more disgusted I got so finally I got up and said I had to go sit on a bench by the water because the hideousness of the food served was too much to bear. I couldn’t believe they could actually plate that.
My mom followed me out and my dad went to pay/​speak to the manager about the condition of our food. Our waiter argued that since we ate some of it, it couldn’t have been that bad and we shouldn’t get any sort of discount. The manager ended up giving my dad $ 5 off. Great…$ 40 for garbage eggs and charred pancakes. At least in our huff we got the attention of a table near us, and after hearing us complain decided to leave before they were subjected to the breakfast from hell.
We were all in agreement that never in our lives had any of us had a worse meal. It’s eggs and pancakes… come on. You have to TRY to screw something so easy up so tragically.
I didn’t expect to go on such a tirade, but everyone needs to be aware at the atrociousness of the Seaport Café.

Like most of the restaurants in the Seaport: overpriced, overcrowded, slow service, HORRIBLE food.
Nothing more to say. This might be one of the worst in the area.