Central Park Boathouse is Ready for Summer and Special Events!

Since the Central Park Boathouse reopened last year, the entire space has been renovated; starting with the more casual offering on the one side of the restaurant, to the main dining room, event space, and dock area. The new upgrades will help usher the space in to welcome in the next generation of diners, thanks to the help of Legends Hospitality. The changes are current, while still paying homage to the history of the location. The current culinary Team and menu offerings are also reflective of the timelessness of this landmark venue. Over the past month I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy not only a brunch at the Central Park Boathouse, but also experience their revamped event space.

For any meal you have in the main dining room, it always comes with the complimentary relish tray, which is a nice touch and something to snack on while you make the difficult decision of what to order since you can’t possibly eat everything on the menu in one sitting. For starters, we opted for the hidden fjord salmon crudo, which was super bright thanks to the Meyer lemon and the other end of the spectrum, the stuffed mushrooms, which was a hearty combination of Ritz crackers and gruyere cheese.

For mains, on a Sunday brunch following the Kentucky Derby, you can’t go wrong with the house blend burger. Our server asked if I was hungry and he was not kidding. The burger is filling, cooked perfectly with fries and slaw, a perfect pickle spear and all the sauce. Another solid option is the jumbo lump crab cake benedict. Yokes were oozy, hollandaise what what it creamy, no complaints. Well, maybe only complaint was that we were too full to order dessert. You’ll see in the revamped space that the bar has great seating options all with vantage points of a water view and that the way the venue is split makes you feel like you’ve stumbled into someone’s lakehouse, super inviting and approachable while still feeling like an elevated experience. And if it’s too fancy, the cafe is still an option. There is really something for everyone.

For the unveiling of the revamped event space, Executive Chef Adam Fiscus explained that he chose the menu to be classic like the Boathouse and incorporating seasonal ingredients, which is what the restaurant is known for integrating into their dishes. This included freshly made focaccia, a buffalo mozzarella salad with heirloom tomatoes, ricotta ravioli made on site with seasonal asparagus and ended with a trio of popular desserts, a lemon meringue tart, chocolate pot de creme and canele. The experience felt like a greatest hits of what the Central Park Boathouse could do for an event, with custom cocktails, a string duo in the corner for entertainment and of course the lake as the backdrop.

For more information on boat rentals (we’re heading into summer, the perfect time to be on the water!), Cafe (open daily; no reservations), Dockside Dining (open for the season with a separate menu; walk up only; first come first serve), or to make dinner reservations, visit https://centralparkboathouse.com/ or to inquire about hosting an event of your own, visit https://centralparkboathouse.com/event-spaces/.