Kennedy’s Restaurant

Kennedy’s is a lovely space to walk into because it feels like Cape Cod in your backyard. The food was good, and the wait staff was well mannered. This is my third and last time I will be going to Kennedy’s because I can’t shake the feeling of being duped by this restaurant. The food is good but nothing on the menu makes me say, «you gotta go to Kennedy’s and try their… whatever.» In fact, I warn people that while the restaurant has wonderful ambiance and a polite wait staff, they consider themselves fine dining and set their prices accordingly so bring your wallet. Brunch for two people cost over $ 100, and dinner for four came to $ 400 this past weekend. I’m not shy about spending money on a good time, great drinks and good food. Personally, I feel like if you set those prices then the wait staff should not comprise of teenagers (although they are sweet), include an owner or manager saying hello at the table at some point in your meal asking how things are going, fresh flowers or candlelight as centerpieces (so at least I know what justifies my $ 30 pasta), and some stand out menu items that only Kennedy’s pulls off. If they readjust their prices to fit the personality of the restaurant which is still lovely, I’d be more than happy to attend there regularly and they might find that on a holiday like Father’s Day, they will be a packed house which was not necessarily the case last Sunday. My hopes are that they redefine themselves as a place you want to frequent, not hold your breath when the check comes. They have too much potential to be a hidden gem.

This place is a favorite for the locals of Breezy (because it is basically the only restaurant in the town) and for outsiders (because it is located directly on the beach.
It is beautifully furnished inside with open glass skylights and wooden pillars, light blue painted walls and nautical accents. The classical music that blares as you wait for your meal is excruciating to listen to.
The food is good, but it is slightly pricey for portions on the smaller side. It also closes down for certain hours of the day in order to prepare for the oncoming dinner session.

A year ago I went to Kennedys for my birthday and was a little disappointed. This year I decide to give it another try and I was glad I did. The service was superb. The waitress was very attentive and friendly and the food was delicious! Looking forward to going back

I had Easter dinner there with my family. As I have most of our holiday meals there. The menu was much better than the Thanksgiving menu. Everything was fine till we got the bill. They are now adding an 18% gratuity on the bill. My mom always prefers to tip in cash. Not a big deal. I understand why. My mom was also set to pay the bill and my father couldn’t understand why it was so much. Well we were charged for four dinners not three! They fixed that.
My daughter had pasta with butter. All I have to say is $ 22 for a side order of pasta with butter is ridiculous. I understand it’s a holiday… but really?
The place is gorgeous. The service is fine. The food is fine. But fine shouldn’t sum up a meal of four people at $ 350.

Wonderful place! They have fantastic lamb chops. The staff is always nice and accommodating. Great ambience. I love going to Kennedy’s!

Ok it’s early Sunday and I don’t want to cook after a looong Thanksgiving weekend
The waitress Rita comes right over and asks what I would like to drink. I ask her to recommend a popular red wine and she suggests a delightful blend, which is delicious.
She mentions the specials, sesame crusted sword fish, strip steak and a NY sirloin. Nothing hits me.
It’s chilly out so I order the onion soup and it is good. I must confess better than Gotham Grill which I went to Friday night.
There’s a subdued crowd here tonight, a bit unusual for Kennedy’s, but I guess people are in a post-​Thanksgiving food coma and home watching the games?
For my entrée I decide to get the pork medallions with braised red cabbage and butternut squash. It is just wonderful. Cooked juicy and a generous portion
The red cabbage is done perfectly as is the squash.
Rita has been back four times, checking to see if everything is ok.
Well Kennedy’s, I’m happy to report, is right on point tonight!

This is always going to be a good evening when we go to Kennedys. The food and atmosphere is perfect!

My boyfriend and I love Kennedy’s. We always sit at the bar when we go in for lunch or dinner. Not only is the restaurant stunning, but the food is always consistently good. The scallop appetizer with the shrimp and chorizo risotto is hands down my favorite thing on the menu, followed by the baked clams as a close second. It’s great to be able to go out to a nice dinner without having to travel across the bridge, and can you really beat the view?

I’ve eaten from here about once a week since they’ve opened.
Ambiance — 4 stars. There’s wonderful view of Manhattan across Jamaica Bay, and they have some nice fireplaces to cozy up the room. It can get rather dark, though. And, while the upstairs eating area is nice, it’s off-​limits to anyone who can’t walk up the stairs.
Service — 3 stars. Service is OK. The restaurants tries to act upscale (based on the ambiance and décor), but you’d think you were at a run-​of-​the-​mill diner by the way the waitstaff behave. They tend to rush you, and most never seem to remember the specials. They also tend to bicker in front of the quests, which is unpleasant. However, most of them are very friendly and accommodating to their tables.
Food — 2 stars. The food here doesn’t taste very different or special from foods I’ve already had. I’m glad that they have more diverse ingredients (e.g., pomegranate reduction) in their foods, but their sauces can be disgustingly heavy and salty, and they tend to drench their veggies in butter or oil. Definitely ask for the sauce on the side or for steamed vegetables if you want healthier versions of their food. Their salads are pretty yummy though. I particularly like the beet salad.

Nice ambience and the place looks as good as ever after rebuilding from hurricane sandy. Service is decent and the food is average at best and somewhat pricey. I would not recommend getting steak here — seafood is exponentially better

Great restaurant and great views. Loved it. Would definitely go again.

So I was particularly excited about going to check this place out since the last time I went to Breezy Point was to check out the full scope of the damage from hurricane Sandy. I must admit that when I looked the place up on Unilocal I was not excited but a friend picked the place so I went along…
When I arrived I found the restaurant to be fresh, nicely decorated and there was a crowd. I sincerely think that the pictures of the interior on Unilocal do not do the place justice. We were given a table with a view of the bay which was wonderful. We were given one menu because apparently they were low… It went downhill from there.
I ordered a coke which was flat… I knew that I wasn’t going to be happy. We ordered the beet salad which had way too much dressing and the beets lacked crunch. We got clams… They were tasteless and oily. The Thai chicken dumpling were not good as well.
I went with a burger because no one messes up a burger right? Wrong! The burger was flavorless and the bun was not fresh. One of my friends had the tuna sandwich which looked dry… My other friend had the Cubano which was also mediocre.
So I gave two stars because the location and setting are great if not for that I would have given one star. The service was slow but the waitress was attentive and cheerful. The food was bad especially for the prices they want. Needless to say I will not be returning again. I would need to hear that there is a different chef to return. I am told that this is the only place to go and eat in the area hence I think the mediocre food may not go away as patrons have no other options hence business has no pressure to change.
Pack a lunch if you are in the area and enjoy your lunch on the beach.

I will give them 5 stars for décor — the space is lovely. The service was friendly. But the food! Come on guys! My red snapper was horribly overcooked. The lemon butter sauce was non-​existant. Potatoes and vegetables were very good. My husband’s Prime Rib was flavorless. He asked for it medium rare — it was medium. I told him not to send it back. But it was a real disappointment. My daughter had the chicken en croute and she kept saying «MOM there’s no chicken!» there actually was but there was an awful lot of puff pastry to get through before she could find the actual chicken. I though her dish was the tastiest of all. Desserts were uninspired… my daughter ordered the brownie sundae. It was just ok. I will probably give them another try — maybe not on a busy weekend — this place could be a contender but the food just misses the mark.

This establishes bayside restaurant doesn’t try nearly as hard as you might expect. While the new restaurant is lovely with much improved décor and the breathtaking view, the service and food remain wanting. We patiently waited for our server then agonized with hunger waiting for our meal. Our server only can by twice in 1.5 hour for a bar order. This was bad business, we wanted much more to drink, and we became unhappy closer to 2 hours. It was a Saturday night we had reservation but still had to wait 15 – 20 mins for our table. I’m not sure we will be back to Kennedys but we love it anyways.

My mom and I stopped by Kennedy’s for a couple of cocktails after being in Breezy for the day. This my my first time back since they rebuilt it after hurricane sandy. It’s beautiful in there, such a great atmosphere, and the totally glass windows all around gives a great view of the beach/​bay. The upstairs room is beautiful, I definitely want to plan a party up there one day soon.
We only say at the bar and had some drinks. The bartender was nice, and all the servers who walked around would offer a smile. I can’t wait to go back to eat!

My family and I had been here a handful of times before and after Hurricane Sandy. I had went there for Mother’s day with a few member’s of my family.
I had ordered the filet mignon, which was delicious (you could cut it with a butter knife). Besides the food being very good, the service was good until we got questioned about our tips we had left for the waitress (we doubled our tax). We had paid our checks, and thought we had left a suitable tip for our waitress, but apparently the General Manager (who I assumed to be the GM, I am not 100% what his role was) had thought differently. My aunt and I had gone to use the restroom and the «GM» was actually waiting for us outside the bathroom door to question our tip that we had left the waitress. He didn’t even have the common courtesy to pull us to the side to ask us why we didn’t leave a better tip he had asked us in front of a FULL dining room. After he had bombarded us with questions on why we didn’t leave more for the waitress, he had insisted on making my Aunt and I wait there for 5 minutes so he could get the waitress. The waitress finally came down, and started to question or tip leaving ability as well. After being bluntly question for about tens minutes from each the «GM» and waitress we had left.
My Aunt had felt so embarrassed she got into her car and was about to leave, but her being the amazing women she is, she had decided to go back inside and give her an EXTRA $ 50 tip.
I was so remarkably embarrassed by the way they had treated us, that I highly doubt I will be returning anytime soon.
Other then the service falling short, the establishment had a gorgeous renovation since Hurricane Sandy and the views of Jamaica Bay are outstanding.

My friends and I have made our annual trip here for years. Since Sandy we felt deprived of our spring outing. Not only have they come back after two long years, they are back with a vengeance! The place looks magnificent, all dark blue and wood. Not sure if they have a new chef but the menu has been revamped and everything looks wonderful.
We arrived for lunch on a Friday and found the place packed, good for them, not so good for us. The hostess showed us to one of the high tables but we had to decline. Neither one of us are able to get into the chairs. My friend walks with a cane and my legs get too numb when they dangle. She kindly showed us to a table originally for four and we were very happy. Given that the place was crowded she could have made us wait but she was extremely kind to allow us to take up that table.
We couldn’t decide what to have and had a aha moment. We ended up ordering all four of the appetizers, buffalo chicken wings, baked clams, baked brie, and chicken dumplings. What a wonderful choice! Flavors exploded in our mouths with each item we shared. The best part? Having only appetizers left us room for desert! We shared the salted caramel cheese cake and believe it or not, the bacon sundae.
No matter where you live you have to get here, wonderful food, beautiful location and well worth the drive from Woodside. We will be back.

I am a small business owner who has just moved to Rockaway Park. I heard great things about this place before Sandy so when I heard they were open for business I wanted to support.
Beautiful atmosphere, but it stopped there. They kept trying to serve me somebody else brunch order. My first choice was not available. When my order came it was wrong waited to long just for coffee a basic, never saw the coffee cake and coffee again waited almost 30 min for a second cup of just coffee. Just a real epic fail. Place was packed and from other reviews it seems to always be like that then why not pay attention to small details like good service… I want to give it one more chance in all fairness but who wants hit and miss service. Not me…

Great Dining Experience.
The rebuild was done right on the mark. Enlarged bar area with split level dining capitalizing on the views. Compliments to the architect and designer.
The kitchen was quick and produced four top notch meals. Excellent salads, Angus steak, pork, sword fish and Red Snapper. The service was efficient and very friendly.

Was there Saturday night for the second time since it’s re-​opening
We had 7:30 reservations and sat at 7:45 I didn’t feel that was too bad at all. Sat upstairs which doesn’t have the great view like downstairs but was not as bad as I thought it would be
Service was extremely slow. Waited 40 minutes for our first drink. I understand that it was extremely crowded at the bar and our waitress was very sweet but there was only four of us and 40 minutes is a very long time to Waite! Had to ask for water, bread and then sat and waited and waited and waited for our entrees and another drink
The food is good, the place is pretty but make sure you have set aside an extra hour or even two for your dining experience
And have your patience ready and willing to use