The best boat bars in NYC for water-top sips and snacks

Funnily enough, this enormous West Harlem piers venue was previously the world’s smallest aircraft carrier. Choose from its long list shareables like guacamole and chips, saucy chicken wings and firecracker calamari, and mains like lobster rolls, Cuban sandwiches and foot-long hot dogs, plus all manner of drinks.

In 1929, this very structure was constructed as a lightship—like a lighthouse with one obvious difference. It was stationed off the coast of North Carolina until 1965. It was eventually abandoned and even sank before it was raised once more and repurposed as the Frying Pan as we know it in 1989. Its 2024 menu includes all the expected boat bar bites and plenty of sips to pair them with. 

Crew hospitality group’s original boat bar is a darling schooner, docked in Tribeca on the Hudson River. Beckoning guests with the cheery yellow and white over its long, U-shaped bar, the vessel offers oysters, seafood-focused entrees like lobster rolls and soft-shell crab, a $75 caviar service and fittingly nautical cocktails, as well as wine and beer. Crew also runs other maritime-themed spots on land and sea elsewhere around town.  

Although its technical address is in New Jersey, who is to say what truly lies where, once water whirls beneath? The Manhattan Yacht Club's "floating clubhouse" can be reached by rail, road and ferry, in any case. Seatings are timed and advance tickets are recommended, as the space's capacity is a firm 149. Guests are welcome to pack picnics, but drinks must be purchased on board. 

One of the area’s few boat bars that actually moves, North River is a crustacean cruise on the Hudson. First decide on a one or two-hour block, then choose from five types of lobster rolls—including the Insta-famous, 28-inch The Shelley sandwich—as many raw bar items, snacks derived from land and oodles of booze. 

Docked near the southern end of Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pilot’s as romantic as postcards between sweethearts, impromptu slow dances and amicable prenups. The 147-foot, 1920s schooner looks out on the East River and lower Manhattan skyline, with a seafood-forward menu and color scheme that's similar to its sibling vessel, Grand Banks.