First Taste: Day Boat Cafe in Irvington
I met my friend for a glass of wine and a couple of shared dishes at the bar at the Day Boat Cafe last week. My first impressions are very good. The staff was super-friendly, no one seemed harried or jittery about the first week of opening, and the food — granted I only tasted a little of it — was quite tasty.
The lobster roll:
Very delicious, and the fries were so crisp and addictive. Big chunks of sweet lobster with just the right amount of mayonnaise. One tiny complaint: I shared with my friend, and we each had 4 smallish bites. Maybe it was because I was sharing, I wasn’t satisfied, but I’d either like less lobster and a cheaper price, or, for the $25, a little more lobster.
To be fair, it is the most expensive item on the menu. Whole Grilled Sea Bream comes in a close second at $24, but otherwise, most entrees hover around $16. Fish tacos are $14; Grilled Atlantic Salmon with corn, mushrooms and tomatoes is $19; Fish Fillet Sandwich is $15.
Photos of the room, plus more great seafood, after the jump.
So we sat at the bar:
(The architectural detail in the corner there looks like the round of a ship.)
The bar is made of marble, and the trim is painted white. As you can see, they stripped the walls down to the brick, and the ceiling down to its original wood:
Nice lighting fixtures, too. Here are a few photos that Gus Panopoulos, one of the owners, sent me before the restaurant opened. The ceiling of the dining room is lined with oars, which makes it look like the hull of a ship:
(This coming from someone who knows. Yes, I’m still reading Moby Dick. I’m about 3/4 of the way done, if you’re keeping track, I started in December.) I digress. Here’s the very open division between bar and dining room:
And back to the food. The oysters were impeccably fresh. We got two beausoleils from Rhode Island and four each of the Fanny Bays and Hama Hamas from Washington:
Each one was a little gem.
And, for our final sampling of the night, we tried the fish tacos. (Sorry for the bad photo):
They were crispy and satisfying with just enough crunch from the cabbage, too.
All in all, a very nice introduction to a great addition to the area. Get there soon and tell me what you think!
I have the menu, and will scan it and add it to the post later. For now, here’s the 411 on Day Boat Cafe.
Photo Caption: lj030410dayboat07
That looks like a great lobster roll, but $25?? Wow, that is sort of outrageous.
hey liz nice article was it real lobster ? alot of places use frozen claw and knuckle meat.if it is fresh lobster it is very labor intensive to take all the meat out so 25.oo dollars might not be that out of line.imo pearl oyster bar has the best lobster rolls !!!
Oh yes, real lobster. That may explain it. I know that the lobster rolls can cost that much at Pearl and Mary’s Fish Camp and at my favorite place… Clam Bar at Nepeague!
$25?—oh, come now!
So I’m told by owner Gus Panopoulos that they use the meat of a 1 1/4-pound lobster for the roll. You know, it really is delicious….
I was going to ask about if “fish fillet sandwich” was how it actually written on the menu, but since you posted the PDF I was able to check and sure enough that is how it is listed with no additional description (same for fish tacos). I have a real problem with a fish restaurant putting something so generic on the menu. It seems to me that they should be telling you what kind of fish it is, even if it’s something like tilapia.
Oops, sorry about the poor wording on that last post.. I reworded some of it and forgot to redo the rest
. Just remove the word “about”.
Please, the restaurant owner needs to get real! Lobster wholesale prices are now about the lowest in history with fisherman getting under $3/lb. Now this guy gets $25 for a roll with less than a half-pound of meat (that means a 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb lobster). He is being very very greedy!
harpoon ipa and captain lawrence on tap is a good start in my book… lobster roll and fries look delish.
John,
As a restauranteur myself, I can assure you almost no one is getting lobster for less than $7.50 to $8 per pound. What you perceive as greed is the restaurant barely marking that lobster to where it should be, which is in the $26-$28 range.
Great restaurant in great location with great prices! Everything was delicious from start to finish. The service was impeccable and friendly. We will be back sooner rather than later!
Went here for dinner last Saturday with my boyfriend and another couple & we were very impressed. The service was very attentive & professional & we found the menu pricing to be very generous – after all, it is seafood! We all loved the presentation of the popcorn shrimp – how creative! My scallops were delicious! We’ll definitely be back.
spoke to a relible fishmonger and as of today march 11th 1and 1/4 lb hard shell lobsters are 6.95 per lb culls 6.50 per lb (culls typicaly have a claw missing) chicks which are a 1 lb are also 6.50. there are no lobstermen going out right now due to the weather and all lobsters are comming out of canada these are prices that most restaurants would pay give or take a few cents.the prices are what they are there is no getting around it.if you see them for less lets say in a supermarket or stews they most likley are new shell which probably have been in those tanks quite some time and are mostly water which by the way lends to the weight which in turn you pay for.so with that being said i believe that if they are using fresh lobster and they are giving you all the meat from it then 25.00 dollars is a fair price there are also things on that plate which also cost money!
Brian & Jeffery – I only read the newspapers so sorry I wrong. A quick google seach shows the price I quoted was TOO HIGH! Fortune Mag reports $2.25 /lb for whole lobster (not culls) at the dock last summer (Jul 30, 2009) and comments prices will remain that low through the winter as demand IS DOWN and projected to remain so. You are either getting cheated from your wholesaler or booking a great profit.
You know, I debated about whether to mention my thoughts on the price-to-value ratio of the lobster. I’m wishing I hadn’t now.
From here on out, let’s talk about the restaurant, its food, service and decor. I’m going to delete any more discussion on the price of lobster here. If you’d like to continue that conversation, please head on over to this post. I’ve started a new one:
http://lizjohnson.lohudblogs.com/2010/03/11/the-price-of-lobster-and-other-financial-matters/
Thanks.
Oops. I should have posted this on new thread. I can’t wait to try this place
Ms. Johnson – Many of you readers HAVE to take prices into consideration when making their dining out decisions. PLEASE do continue to inform us so we can decide if we can afford the restaurants we patronize. Unfortunately costs do matter to many of us.
John, if what you are claiming about lobster being dirt cheap was true, you’d be seeing it cheap on restaurants menus and in supermarkets everywhere. I am fairly sure that this is not the case. So I don’t see why you are just complaining about one restaurant.
Liz, I saw your other thread but no one posted there and John continued to post here, so I replied here.
The distance from Port Chester precludes this as an Ebb Tide alternative. Still, that picture of the lobster roll looks great. As for the $25 tag, I was at Ebb Tide right before it closed and paid $19 for a roll with a bag of potato chips. Of course that was a fish shack, not an upscale restaurant with tablecloths, tableware, and fresh made fries as a side.
Relpert, you’ll probably have to wait for that place in Rye to get redone, since the description sounds like it will be a clone of this place (although not on the water, but given that you can’t actually SEE the water from inside Day Boat Cafe, it’s probably not a big deal).
A few of my friends and I went to Day Boat last weekend and the food was great! I had a delicious meal and fantastic service. The friendly staff made things even better. Its good to see quality places opening around the area! This will be my new favorite spot! I thought the prices were reasonable and affordable. If cost is an issue for some,there are other local places like Red Lobster that serves the lobster cheaper! You get what you pay for!
Bill, which place in Rye?
Regarding the $25. price tag of that lobster roll at Day Boat, or any other place that serves it: Restaurants have a right charge whatever they wish; they have overhead to account for. The customer can choose to frequent the place or not.
As of last week though, Stew Leonard’s was getting $4.99 per lobster (8 lobsters per person max). Fairway was charging $5.99 per lobster 1 1/2-2 lb. average. Lobsters are currently less expensive than shrimp due to the Gulf oil spill. And another thought, lobsters are very easy to prepare…
my wife and I had dinner at the Day Boat last night, It was very good, dont miss the oyster po boy sliders ! a must !! I had the soft shell crab special one of the best meals i have ever had, too bad it is only seasonal, my wife had the tuna, we will definately be back