North River Lobster Company
Permanently Closed
Seafood & cocktails on a boat sailing the Hudson River
Seafood & cocktails on a boat sailing the Hudson River
"Despite being surrounded by (dirty, dirty) water, Manhattan doesn’t have much in the way of boardwalks or the kind of no frills seafood restaurants that normally populate them. Well, now we have one. North River Lobster Co. opened up this summer at Pier 81 - on a boat, on the water, in Manhattan - right below 42nd Street on the West Side. Even though it’s in the middle of fart-tastic touristville, we applaud the effort here. Honestly, the last time I was on a boat in Manhattan I was seven, it was the Intrepid, and I was crying because I was scared. Here’s what you need to know about North River Lobster Co. As we discussed, it’s on a boat, and no, you can’t hashtag that anymore. The boat docks at Pier 81 and is there from 12:30pm-10pm daily, and then sets “sail” for a quick half-hour tour of the Hudson at designated times throughout the day. The crowd is what you’d expect from the location - more fanny packs than fedoras. There are numerous seating situation, both indoors and out. Order on the second floor, grab a table in one of numerous indoor or outdoor seating situations, and then wait for your light-up lobster to blink and vibrate. Then prepare to enjoy numbingly average seafood. The shrimp po boy is mostly bread, the lobster roll is just sort of there, and their oyster prep needs help. That’s OK though, we don’t need the food on this boat to be awesome. Just drive us around on the water. Food Rundown Oysters Simple prep, nothing fancy, just fresh oysters over ice with some tartare and some overly sweet mignonette. The raw bar folks could pay a little closer attention to detail though, as a couple of the shucks were sloppy, leaving shell fragments inside the oysters. Fish Tacos Exactly what you’d expect to get if you stopped into a random restaurant on the Jersey Shore boardwalk and ordered fish tacos. Who knows what’s inside, but they taste pretty good. Lobster Roll $18 is a decent deal for a sizable lobster roll with plenty of meat. We happily took this bad boy down, but for some reason the lobster salad itself didn’t taste like much. They could have punched up the flavor a bit more with butter or herbs to bring it to life. Shrimp Po Boy Lots of little fried shrimp, way, way, way too much bread. Thankfully there was plenty of cole slaw involved, marrying the two. This would have been infinitely better on a toasted plain burger bun, instead of a thick hoagie." - Andrew Steinthal
"A very large boat with three different levels, North River Lobster Co. is like a crowded amusement park ride with shellfish and alcohol. You’ll find this thing docked at Pier 81 near West 41st Street, although every 90 minutes or so it takes off for a short sail around the Hudson. A ticket will run you between $10-$25, and for another $32 you can get a lobster roll that does a decent imitation of a better lobster roll. This is actually the sister boat to the next entry on this list, although it’s a bit smaller and draws a bigger crowd, which makes for a more festive atmosphere. North River is definitely gimmicky, but it’s also kind of fun." - bryan kim
"There’s still time for anyone who promised themselves they’d yell “starboard” on a ship this summer to follow through. North River Lobster Co, a three-level boat docked at Pier 81 near West 41st Street that takes a short sail around the Hudson every hour, is running Thursday through Sunday. The whole thing feels like an amusement park ride with shellfish and alcohol. Ten dollars gets you a day pass that allows for unlimited rides, and, for roughly $23, you can get a decent lobster roll. Buy a pass here." - hannah albertine
"North River Lobster Co. is a restaurant on a boat that leaves from a pier near 41st Street on the west side of Manhattan. Being on a boat doesn't prevent you from having conversations, but mostly you'll be walking around saying things like "Look, there's that bridge" to each other. You can get lobster rolls, beer battered fish and chips, and oysters on board, and the whole trip only takes an hour. Once you disembark, you'll be back where you started (i.e., in a place with nothing else to do), so going your separate ways will be the most logical next step." - kenny yang
"Unless you sneak into some hedge fund manager’s yacht party, North River Lobster Co may be your best bet for drinking cocktails and eating lobster while sailing around the city. This boat takes off from Pier 81 around 42nd Street on the Hudson every 90 minutes until 11pm, and has three floors of bars and seating where you can hang out as long as you’d like (after you pay $10 to get on board)." - matt tervooren
