The Crow’s Nest

On a beautiful day, the Crows Nest is a great way to escape New York, while taking in pretty views of the East River, Queens, Brooklyn, and uptown Manhattan.
There’s a jolly vibe, and the crowd is a mix of families and the classic Murray Hill bar goer. It was almost full, on a nice Sunday in June, and seats were easily available (tables were available with a short wait).
The food was decent — the lobster roll was very good, and the burger was fine. Service is spotty, so you might need to flag down a waitress or head to the bar.
Overall, it’s great for what it is: a friendly outdoor bar with great views. The food is nothing special, but the experience is worthwhile given the unique ambiance.

The Crow’s Nest is an ideal summer spot for cocktails and to catch a breeze off of the East River. It’s located on the rooftop of the Water Club, and I came here with my family for some drinks before dinner. I had the sangria and the rosé, which were delicious and refreshing. Cocktails are $ 14 and most wines go for about $ 12, but there is a list of beers that can get as low as $ 6.50.
They don’t take reservations, which made me nervous. It’s first come first served, and when we first arrived, there were no tables available, as I had expected. However, we were lucky that within five minutes, one party cleared and the five of us were seated in a prime spot.
The area is small and a little crammed, but well worth the views. It truly feels like you’re in a beach town. I will say though that service was incredibly slow. After we got our first drinks, our waitress didn’t come back for another 45 minutes, and only because we flagged her down. This wasn’t just our table though — she seemed to disappear from the whole area. Other tables looked very irritated as well.
Regardless of the service, you should definitely seek this place out at least once. It’s a very unique experience that you don’t typically find in NYC!

They didn’t let me in because I had a tank top.
For girls this is ok, but not for guys.
Gender equality ftw!

Beautiful views but terrible service and a terrible burger (I can’t believe they advertise that the New York Times voted it as one of the city’s best burgers). Go only for drinks and only if you have time to kill!

Not a great view since it’s looking over the east river from Manhattan. We came late and just got our food before the kitchen closed. Which the kitchen is actually open and the guy cooks right on the deck. Expensive drinks and not that great. Music that didn’t make sense and was at all kinds of volumes. Would not come back.

One of the best restaurants in the Hamptons. The dinner pastas and seafood are all amazing — even though they’re pricey, they’re definitely worth it! The restaurant has an amazing ambiance as well and there’s 2 outside lounges with lights hung up on top. It’s a beautiful and always busy place for a nice dinner and hangout. There’s even a bar down the hill with lounge chairs and couches. It’s very beautiful.

Incredible views of the East River and the 34^th street heliport from this roof top bar. But incredibly snooty crowd and WAY expensive drinks/​food. Worth a stop if you’re walking along the east side. Otherwise I wouldn’t go out of my way for this place.

Love this place! So much fun in the summer to grab a drink and enjoy the view. Fun drink menu and the chicken quesadillas were delicious!

Great views, pricey drinks, decent appetizers, and dessert. I came here with a group of friends at the end of summer. Right on the East River upstairs portion of the Water Club. You can get there by car or cab. If you are walking, enter at 34^th or 23^rd St as you will not be able to cross the FDR on 30^th. The strawberry daiquiri was pricey, tasteless, so I do not recommend that. Wine or beer is the safer option. The sliders were pretty good, I must admit. Everyone in our party of 6 ordered the strawberry shortcake dessert at some point during the night. All of my friends loved it. I thought it was okay. The biscuit/​shortbread was too doughy and starchy for me, but I liked they attempted to make real strawberry shortcake. I mostly likely will come back as this rooftop is conducive to good convo, fun, and the view is pretty sweet.

Just went here for a few drinks at the end of the night a few Sundays ago so not much to write about, hence just 3 stars. However the drinks were good, the views were amazing, and overall a very chill crowd which is just what we were looking for. The only drawback would be it’s a little tricky to get to due to some construction. I would definitely go back here really soon before the weather gets too cold though! Side note this a GREAT alternative if you don’t feel like dealing with the lines and crowd of the Frying Pan!!!

The Crow’s Nest is on 30^th and the East River and is a nice place to go if you are in this part of town and want a cool riverside drink.
It is what you would expect from a rooftop outdoor bar: uncomfortable red plastic chairs, artificial turf, sun tarps overhead, and loud boat/​helicopter traffic.
What you wouldn’t expect is paying 6.50 for a cheap beer, 16 for a Cocktail or $ 5 for a single slider.
Getting here is a challenge… there is no way to cross the FDR on 30^th, so you either have to walk up to 34^th and back down, or to 25^th and back up. Pretty inconvenient by foot, but you could always taxi there.
So a bad value and inconvenient to get to, balanced with great views of the East River make the Crow’s nest a 3-​star joint

The Frying Pan of the East! Kind of… it’s a little bit smaller, less crowded, and not as fratty (yet) — but The Crow’s Nest is a solid place to get a cold beverage and a water view. Came here for a drink one evening before eating at The Water Club down below and loved it. It was EMPTY when we went, so got a prime seat right along the water. Service was quick and friendly and once it got dark, the skyline looked beautiful!

This has been and still will be my go to summer hangout gem of a spot. This is a place where I would walk through the door and the peeps would welcome me and say, ‘Norm!!!’. (An old Cheers reference. If you don’t know, now you know!). Well actually they don’t say that, but I come here so often that in my mind that’s what they should be saying.
So what does The Crow’s Nest offer:
Views of the water… check!
Views of crazy jet skiers showing off. check!
Views of Seaplanes landing… check!
Views of Helicopters landing and taking off… check!
To me, The Crow’s Nest has almost all of the elements that a NYC rooftop, water view restaurant should embody. This place is an awesome seasonal hangout with semi-​decent bar food, good drinks and great music.
The music is low and mellow and generally R&B, non-​explicit hip hop, reggae, alternative and rock & roll mixed playlists set-​up by one of the waiters iPods. I had to give an honorable mention aka props to the self-​proclaimed resident DJ, he knows who he is.
I recall being at TCN on a few occasions where the manager/​owner would come out of his squirrel hole downstairs at the Water Club and ask DJ Waiter Boy to change to elevator music to appease himself and his S&P croonies… what a party pooper! We’d both always laugh about it, but this would happen like clock work once the sun started to set and the S&P crowd were starting to feel the vibes. ‘We’ll have none of THAT here young lad!!!’ But it’s all good, ’cause this place is not for partying it’s for chillin’ and enjoying the beautiful view.
Anywho, the prices here can be a bit steep, but well worth it for the atmospheric view and you know how I feel about water views. This is one of those gems that I’ve only introduced a few people to as it has that, you have to be in the know feel in order to come here, but I don’t mind sharing. Please don’t all of you come here at once, as seating can at times be limited.
The –1 star goes towards the food. Ever so often, they tweak the menu but the main staples are variations of hot dogs, burgers/​sliders, fries and seafood items. You know, bar food stuff; there’s been nothing really compelling that I’ve tried here throughout the seasons. I’m hoping they’ve tweaked the menu again this summer and I’ll have a food raving moment to talk about… We’ll see.
Getting here isn’t difficult if you drive or take a cab. There’s valet service, plus easy on/​off access to the FDR. You could walk, but some areas aren’t as pedestrian friendly as they are located right off of the FDR.
So to summarize, The Crow’s Nest is an overall 5 star spot with less than stellar food, but worth a visit nonetheless.

What a hidden treasure! Amazing views, very attentive and friendly staff. We went for drinks, but seeing other people’s food, made us stay and eat. Good decision… pretty good burger, sliders, and Queso“s.
Short walk from PCV.

Good thing about crow’s nest is its little far from subway and that makes it less crowded. It’s not a good place for groups so you might manna come with your date here. We came here after office on Friday and I must say this place is really good. Relaxed music, good alcoholic drinks, great skyline and water view and cool breeze. Drinks were not that expensive $ 6.5 for beer and $ 10-​$ 14 for well drinks.
Tip: if you are coming here via subway though it is on 30^th street drop off at 34^th street and then walk, because there is not any direct way from 30^th street.

A barge on the water with great views. The waitstaff desperately needs 6 months of intensive training in holding a tray and carrying drinks. My martini was spilled on me TWICE. Our table of 7 people continuously ordered drinks and tolerated horrid service from servers who just could not carry drinks on their trays.
The unbelievable limited menu consists of hot dogs and mini sliders. Really? The only dessert option is Strawberry Shortcake. We couldn’t flag our server down half the evening or we would have spent double the amount we did which was already upwards of $ 500 just for drinks and a few apps.
Looks like a cruise ship in disrepair. Needs a total re-​think, a menu change and some servers who know what the hell they are doing. Oh… and a DJ who has heard a new song since the Bee-​Gees.

I’m almost wary to review this place… because it hasn’t been «discoved.»
Definitely an over 50-​year-​old sort of vibe but wasn’t at all crowded on a Saturday evening. Drinks were great and fairly priced for Manhattan, the view is great (right on the water), and the appetizers were quite good. I’m definitely heading back. This is the type of place to go with a few friends for drinks, or to take visiting friends/​family who want a laid back evening with a nice view of Long Island.

On a pleasant summer evening, we trekked all the way east to check out the crow’s nest. Being fairly new, I think not many ppl know about it. As a result there were many vacant tables on a saturday evening around 7 pm. The view is fabulous!
The downside is that its not too much of a lively spot, the food and drink options are limited. I would prefer the frying pan to the crow’s nest.

There aren’t a lot of Manhattan side east river facing venues that I know of. So Crow’s Nest is a real hidden gem.
Upon entering it feels like you are at an old-​world boat club, complete with various wall hangings that feel rather antiquated. But no matter, just head on through to the back area and you’ll find the Crow’s Nest bar.
Nestled around the bar are some really nice seating areas that are totally open air. I wouldn’t recommend it on a rainy day, but on a hot sunny Saturday it could be a perfect date spot. Feel like you’re hanging in the Hamptons but still be moored on the island!
I remember the Unilocal party that was hosted here last year and I was pleasantly surprised by the place. You will be too!

I went back. for the view of course.
But there wasn’t much to see nor a place to be seen. The atmosphere on a nice Summer Friday was an older crowd. Sure the view was still there, but clouded from the salt & pepper whisps of hair and over laden blush and eye shadow.
We tried the guacamole & chips. Oysters and several Mai tai’s. They were strong, so very strong. We finished our drinks and snacks and headed elsewhere.
I’ll attempt again, on another day perhaps their HH days.