The Bayhouse

From purely a location standpoint The Bayhouse has the formula to be an iconic casual water-​front dining spot. Unfortunately it misses the mark in almost every major category.
Prior to Hurricane Sandy they offered dinner year-​round — sans the picturesque sunsets and upstart predominately college-​aged female waitstaff, the offerings were a small step above pathetic. Frozen Tysen’s chicken wings and stale discount rack burger buns made even the simplest «how can they possibly mess this up» order an adventure. That, coupled with a few no-​name out of town female bartenders with Irish brogues and no inkling of what a buy-​back is made the place an «avoid at all costs» location among 20 and 30 somethings who reside within the confines of Breezy Point.
It could be said that the institution was pursuing an elder demographic but I am not quite sure my next of kin would appreciate the chewy calamari and downright inedible Fettuccine Alfredo that I became familiar with in my few visits. Let’s be clear — this is an evaluation of the Bayhouse pre-​Sandy. For the past three summers it has offered a temporary tent-​type structure and a small menu amid a charming homemade wooden bar. Miraculously, the food has seen marginal improvement from it’s days as an actual building with the chef seeming to only have a gas grill, microwave, and toaster oven at his disposal. That says all you need to know about the place when it pawned itself off as family restaurant.
The lone bright spot of this haunt (and the bread winner in the family for my above listed 2-​star rating) is the billing of frequent live music it offers. The entertainment is presented to its customers on an outdoor patio during the summer months in sight of Jamaica Bay’s cavernous waterfront. Tip: Bring a small cooler and post up on the basketball court across the way from the Bayhouse’s deck. It is the norm for small crowds to gather there with drink in hand and well within earshot of the facility sound system. If anyone asks, tell them you are protesting ownership’s frugal mindset toward giving away a beer or two on the house.
Hopefully the new restaurant (rebuild expected to be complete by spring 2016) will adhere to basic common sense by changing their menu to strictly pub food and oh, I don’t know, do a good job of actually presenting it. Maybe they will develop a more diverse clientele and provide residents with a casual dining spot North of the Blarney but South of Kennedy’s.

Three adults ate here last night. First, we were told there were no tables outside (beautiful view of the water and planes taking off) though there were several that had nobody sitting at them and remained empty for the whole time we were there. We were ushered inside to a dingy, noisy bar, only two menus and two set ups. They came to take our drink orders and since only one of us drank i think they just wrote us off. Other people were coming inside and being ushered to the bar in spite of the fact that there were available tables. we heard them ask for tables. After a long period of time a waitress came and took our order. it was ¾ of an hour until we got some food. no bread to hold us. The food was fair. Steamed clams were rubbery, salmon was good, stuffed flounder? okay. we needed more water, napkins and another set up. We waited and waited. We were in the restaurant for 3 hours before we got our check trying to flag down someone who would give it to us. They said only the waitress can do that. She was busy with a large table outside and avoided eye contact each time she flew by.
We would go back for a weeknight dinner probably but i dont recommend this place. The first time we went there we sat outside we liked it but just walking from the car last night it was very buggy.

A friend and I stopped by in the fall while paddle boarding. When we politely asked if they were willing to serve us in our paddling gear (we were clean and dry), the server pointed us to a remote location around the back, away from the other patrons. It was immediately clear that while our money might be welcome, we were not. We watched as other patrons received friendly service. We had to pick up our own order, which took much longer to arrive than the orders of those who arrived after us. The server overcharged us by 25% without giving us an actual check. I felt like I was in a bad movie or a time machine, 50 years ago in the deep south, eating out back, treated with disdain. For no reason other than not being from the community and being in paddling gear, two polite, professional middle class people with money to spend were treated like personas non grata. It left a bad taste in my mouth to be treated so rudely and overcharged for a so-​so sandwich. There is absolutely no reason to treat anyone the way we were treated. Needless to say, I would not go back.

I have spent many of days and nights drinking here. We even had our end of the year party here. Once Sandy hit it pretty much wiped the place out. They are trying to rebuild it. For now it’s a nice place to grab a beer and relax.

The view is great, and I recommend if you want a beer on the beach. But when the waiter/​cook/​possible owner says «we have a special today, beer battered shrimp», I expect just that. What I got is the frozen stuff served at the Wharf, the very reason I never order food at the Wharf any more. AND charged me $ 14 for the 5 small-​medium shrimp served over a salad! REALLY. My son’s medium cheeseburger was well done. My daughters grilled chicken sandwich had a pocket of fat on it, because it wasn’t properly cleaned and trimmed! I applaud them for the rebound after Sandy, and I fully support local businesses, always, but I can’t let any of my friends go there without knowing what to expect. My wife enjoyed here Caeser salad with grilled chicken. Oh, and the wings, were «wing dings», the same served at many fast food type road stop joints, which are fine, but to charge $ 10 for an order of 6 – 7 is just wrong. You can go to any respectable restaurant in the area and get real chicken wings, large sections of fresh or frozen, but tasty and juicy, for $ 8 an order. Suffice it to say, I will not be returning for the food, although if I’m in the immediate area and thirsty, its a nice view and there were girls in bikinis on the beach and walking about. I expect this level of food from a place that is in a more mainstream location that caters to the non resident, down for the day type people, but everyone that is eating here is local, so I expected and we all should expect better. The beer was cold.

The aesthetics may be lacking, but the love and care of the owner certainly shows. Two years ago was okay. Then Hurricane Sandy completely destroyed (i.e. leveled) the building. The owner hand-​built what looks like a shack with a tarp for a roof. The atmosphere has changed for the better! They had some really good bands the weekend I was there. I ate my yummy pulled pork sandwich & salad with a cocktail on an adirondack chair on the beach — heavenly!

Okay so I came across this place cause I was at the nearby beach Jacob riis beach. to get here is like a maze. We just kept uturning because we couldn’t find the location. You must go through security around bredford, and let them know you are going here to get a token to get into the community.
When we finally arrived the waitresses were very nice and sweet. There is no menu for the drinks. But I think the bartender can whip you up just about any drink you know of. their menu is limited. I’ve tried their hamburger because nothing else really caught my appetite. The burger was good. What was better was my bf entrée that I wanted for myself ! Mussels. $ 13 for appetizer, $ 17 for the entrée (just comes with linguine for the extra $ 4) the sauce was delicious! White vine garlic sauce. By the way mussels is not on the menu they give you. The fish taco and ravioli was not quite the best. Oh and their crab cake was good. $ 11 for two patty of it.
Because we were lost, we missed the sunset but seriously it’s a nice view to eat in. and can stroll on the sand. It’s something out of the ordinary for new york city.
Overall I give it 3 stars because not everyone in my group enjoyed their food. But everyone who ordered the mussels did :).

great view and friendly service. The menu could use with some updating. Way too many greasy fried foods. Make sure to secure a spot on the deck to watch the sunset and listen to the local bands. I like it here, just wish the food was better.

The Bayhouse is another place in Breezy Point with excellent views. It is more of a laid back environment than Kennedy’s but it is still quite nice. I’ve only been here twice. Once was at night when a live band was playing, which was quite fun and the other time was on a Sunday afternoon for lunch outside on the deck. The food is alright — the menu does not offer a wide selection of food, but if you’re looking for a chicken sandwich or a burger this is a great spot.

This place is hard to find! It’s located on the border of Queens and Five Towns, Nassau County near JFK Airport. It’s on a dead end overlooking the water (part of the Jamaica Bay? Not sure).
Looks like it gets some of its business from the airport workers. somewhat of a dive bar/​restaurant. The food was pretty dam good though. My group had the appetizer sampler. It was a generous portion of wings, mozzarella sticks, zucchini sticks and potato skins. The serving was enough for four people. I had the steak sandwich. It was on garlic bread with melted mozzarella. The meat was excellent, not tough and cooked perfectly. My friend had the burger. This was a fresh hand formed burger that was cooked perfectly… nice and juicy.
Definitely a nice place to stop if your in the area… if you can find it.

Ok so I didn’t actually eat here, long story… But just looking at the food you can tell it looked great.
In addition as I have often said there are a lot of places with good food. What makes a place is atmosphere and character.
Bayhouse is cozy tucked away on the shore if Breezy Point. The staff was friendly and witty. I had a couple of pints and had a great conversation, about everything, with a guy named Sean; I latter found out was the owner. I left there thinking I wished this place was a local spot for me. Being from eastern Suffolk I may not go often, but I WIll return; for eats next time.

I thought the musical guests were great, especially the singer’s «The Groove» had with them. As far as the venue goes, while the location/​view was good, the food was just not up to par with other restaurants with similar features and the service was overall not so great. Even if you want to hang at the bar you may end up getting some saucy served attitude with your food or cocktail. This place does have a great deck to chill on and a pier for boat access which are great redeeming features.

Great atmosphere, good food, good prices. Great for a casual meal on a nice evening!

I fell in LOVE with The Bayhouse last summer. Margaritas on the rocks and mussels with garlic sauce won me over! It’s a great little hideaway to enjoy a summer evening. I look forward to spending some Summer ’11 nights here.
The staff is great, fellow patrons are friendly. I love it here. :-)

I’ve only been to Breezy once before, dinner at Kennedy’s. I loved
this place more… first it’s on the beach and you can eat on the patio
The watress we had was very sweet… the food: I had chicken
franchiase and instead of the three thin slices for $ 18 – 22 in a city
restaurant…it was three thick well herbed without being heavy on
garlic pieces with more mashed potatos then I could finish… for
about $ 14.00. I was with someone who had the burger and she
couldn’t finish it because there was so much… then the sun set.
we left and walked down the pier which was right in front. the
beach and dunes to my right… what a location… what a find. But.
if you don’t have a car, I don’t know how you will get there.

The food is simply terrible. Bread that tastes like something you’d bring on a 2 week long camping trip, odiously sweet supermarket salad dressing, frozen french fries… You get the drift. That said, if you’re in the area, it’s worth a stop — both because the Jamaica Bay beach-​side location is stunning, and because you likely never got to experience apartheid-​era South Africa first hand. Eavesdropping recommended! Seriously, for all kinds of reasons, you really can’t believe you’re in New York. (If you do decide to go, you have to stop at the security checkpoint on the way into town and tell the guard where you’re going so you can get a parking pass, directions, and a token to open up the security barrier…)

Geez, what a find. Tucked away in a industrial area, this small house on the bay, had a beautiful view of the water, and more important, the planes coming in to JFK.
The food was plentiful and fresh. We had the appetizer sampler with all your favorites — skins, fried mozzarella, wings. Plenty for the 5 of us.
My filet of sole was hot and delicious, the sandwiches are huge and the pasta is great.
Definitely check it out

This restaurant has the worst location ever. It’s a house off the bay, but getting to it is very very confusing. If you take a cab, make sure to get their phone number, because it will be hard for other cabbies to find you.
The food on the other hand was plentiful. My french onion soup was delicious, but my chicken wasn’t very flavorful. It was alright.

Love the Bayhouse… even though I only go once a year. Every August a few friends of mine get together and we do our annual end of summer pub crawl. Bayhouse is along the route between Breezy Point and Rockaway Beach. This place is probably only known to the locals since it is in the coop community of Breezy Point and is not seen from the street. You need to drive down a long road to get to it. Like its name its simple… its on the bay in the shadow of the marine park bridge and its a big house… of beer and good food. The place is complete summer time getaway type of place with cold beers, good pub food (never had the actual lunch or dinner items) and a view to die for. You can walk onto the sand and then walk out on the long pier and enjoy views of the water. Great place to get away from the craziest that is New York and enjoy a quiet and booze filled good day.

Water View, on JFK Airport Boundry, Excellent Food and Drink. Outside Deck. Bar and resturant. Modest prices, large portions, nice service. Fish, burgers, wings, dinner menu. Your father’s kind of bar. Suitable for casual dining, professional and amateur drinkers. More fun than keeping a fifth under the front seat.