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Sunset on Rockaway Beach, Queens in New York City
A sunset at Rockaway Beach.
Photo by Karla Ann Cote/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Everything to Eat in the Rockaways This Summer

Arepas, ceviche, tacos, and more beachside food and drink

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A sunset at Rockaway Beach.
|Photo by Karla Ann Cote/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Summer is around the corner, and New Yorkers are ready to stretch their legs and leave their cramped apartments for sunnier shores. For many, the Rockaways is as close as it gets to to a beach vacation. Luckily, there’s no need to book a plane ticket or embark on aroad tripwhen the subway, ferry, or even a bike ride brings visitors to the seashore. While a certain taco shop has been a draw for many beach-goers, the Queens shoreline has so much more to offer. On this map of Rockaway food favorites, find everything from Venezuelan street fare to Uzbek dumplings and West African bowls — all delicious reasons to plan a day trip or weekend getaway.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it also poses a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

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The Bungalow Bar

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Come for a seat on the waterfront deck with panoramic views, stay for comforting dishes like a fried cod sandwich on brioche, mussels with marinara, and fried calamari. The year-round hangout frequently hosts live music, and serves brunch on the weekends.

A blue and white sign reads Bungalow bar.
The entrance to Bungalow Bar.
Bungalow Bar

Rockaway Beach Surf Club (aka Tacoway Beach)

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One of the city’s best taco shops is located at Rockaway Beach Surf Club: a hybrid bar, surf shack, and restaurant. The move at Tacoway Beach is definitely the fried fish taco — there’s two to an order — that come topped with purple cabbage slaw, lime, and aioli (if that’s not saucy, add the salsa verde). Several vegetarian tacos, like a tofu version, are also available, while sides include elote or chips and guac. Wash it all down with a fresh pineapple mint juice.

Two fried fish tacos topped with purple cabbage and a lime sit in a paper tray with a side container of green salsa.
The fish tacos at Tacoway Beach.
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

Rockaway Beach Bakery

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Pastry chef Tracy Obolsky (an alum of Esca, North End Grill, Cookshop) has her own year-round bakery, where the sticky buns reign supreme. It’s the right stop before hitting the beach or for mid-morning snacks like scones, croissants, guava-cheese danishes, cookies, and quiche.

A pastry with cheese and guava jam on parchment paper.
The guava-cheese danish.
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

Sayra's Wine Bar

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Sayra’s is a lovely place for some drinks and snacks, whether sitting inside this Rockaway wine bar or out on the patio. The small plates menu includes items like spicy meatballs crostini, a cheese plate, and warm pretzels with mustard. Not to mention, there’s an extensive wine list, with bottles that usually don’t go above $40.

Uma's

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The warm hospitality and quirkiness at this Uzbek restaurant is backed up by a menu of lagman, borscht, beef goulash, and two types of dumplings (manti and pelmeni). As a sit-down experience, Uma’s doesn’t boast sprawling patios, like some other establishments on this list, but it does make it an ideal respite from the rain or during a heatwave; it’s also worth the visit during the off-season for the Rockaways. That said, when ordered to-go, compact and portable pelmeni make for a fun beach food alternative — or a snack to eat on the hood of your car, as pictured here, on the way home from a long, sandy day.

A metal round takeout container features pelmeni dumplings garnished with dill.
Could pelmeni be summer 2022’s best beach food?
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

TheCradleNYC

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Whatstarted outas a beachside food cart selling West African food blossomed into a brick-and-mortar restaurant during the pandemic. The Cradle sells West African bowls like efo riro with stewed chicken and pounded yam, alongside a menu of smoothies with ingredients like dragon fruit — with plenty of bang for your buck. Owners Babajide Alao and Pesy Sikyala also run a nearby farm in collaboration with Edgemere Farm, where they source ingredients for their cooking.

A black takeout container holds a spinach-based stew, pictured next to a pink smoothie, and a clear plastic container holding a ball of pounded white yam.
Efo riro with pounded yam and a strawberry-dragonfruit smoothie.
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

Whit's End

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For a slightly pricier Rockaways date-night option, this BYOB Italian restaurantannouncesunusual daily menu specials on its Instagram, so there’s something new to try each visit. Dishes here run the gamut from shrimp scampi with kumquats and ramp pesto to baked clams with seaweed butter — all spins on more classic fare. Whit’s End is especially known for its wood-fired pizzas.

A burger oozing with orange and red cheese sits on a white oval plate with a side salad garnished with pink radishes, thinly sliced.
The menu is often changing at Whit’s End.
Whit’s End

Rippers

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進一步東86街的木板路,跑ers is serving always-great burgers including one called the Hard Body, a double patty with double cheese. Other Americana beach snacks on the menu include hot dogs, a fish sandwich, and soft serve. This burger favorite is set to reopen for the season on Friday, May 20.

Connolly's

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據報道,康諾利的被賣給new owners, panic ensued amongst longtime fans of the Irish pub, which had been open since 1962. Everyone seemingly had one question in mind: What would happen to the bar’s legendary frozen drinks? Fear not, though: According toGrub Street, Mike Reinhardt and Mike Kololyan, owners of a local surf school, got the original recipe for the bar’s beloved frozen pina colada, garnished with a maraschino cherry, as part of the package deal in taking over the iconic Queens spot. Connolly’s is officially relaunching Memorial Day weekend.

A red awning on a wood-laden building front says the Connolly’s name and also boasts an extending American flag.
Connolly’s will retain its beloved frozen drinks.
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

La Cevicheria

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Cool down with marinated raw seafood atLa Cevicheria,a stand that’s one of several beachside concessions at 97th Street, now runby new operators. The ceviches here make for tart and portable, refreshing beach bites that don’t weigh you down when you’re spending the day surfing or splish-splashing around in the water. La Cevicheria and other 97th Street concessions are reopening Memorial Day weekend.

The Rooftop and Margie’s at the Rockaway Hotel + Spa

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Whether you’re spending a weekend getaway staying overnight at this new hotel and spa or just stopping by for the day, the property boasts a rooftop bar, restaurant, and coffee shop — just a bit further away from the bustling boardwalk traffic. Margie’s, the hotel’s restaurant, has lunch, brunch, and dinner service that includes a raw bar, New England claw chowder, and salads. Meanwhile, the rooftop bar features panoramic views with a side of tacos. On the ground-level, Greenhouse sells pastries and coffee.

An empty dining room with tables, chairs, a blue banquette, and walled filled with artwork.
Margie’s is a newcomer to the Rockaways dining scene.
The Rockaway Hotel

Caracas Arepa Bar

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New Yorkersfamiliar with Caracaswill find solace at this Rockaway location, which thankfully has remained despite fearssurrounding its potential closureafter new owners took over the concession stands in the Rockaways last year. The waterfront stand offers arepas, maduros, and more. It’s slated to reopen on Friday, May 20.

An open face sandwich in a Venezuelan bread called arepa sits on a wooden platform next to a steel cup with some yellow sauce in it called Salsa Caracas
Arepas are the move here.
Caracas Arepa Bar

Pickles & Pies Food Market & Deli

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When a sandwich is needed after a day drinking underneath the Rockaway sun, this super simple deli is the answer. Pickles & Pies is open 24 hours, too, should you be staying past dusk for a beach party.

The Bungalow Bar

Come for a seat on the waterfront deck with panoramic views, stay for comforting dishes like a fried cod sandwich on brioche, mussels with marinara, and fried calamari. The year-round hangout frequently hosts live music, and serves brunch on the weekends.

A blue and white sign reads Bungalow bar.
The entrance to Bungalow Bar.
Bungalow Bar

Rockaway Beach Surf Club (aka Tacoway Beach)

One of the city’s best taco shops is located at Rockaway Beach Surf Club: a hybrid bar, surf shack, and restaurant. The move at Tacoway Beach is definitely the fried fish taco — there’s two to an order — that come topped with purple cabbage slaw, lime, and aioli (if that’s not saucy, add the salsa verde). Several vegetarian tacos, like a tofu version, are also available, while sides include elote or chips and guac. Wash it all down with a fresh pineapple mint juice.

Two fried fish tacos topped with purple cabbage and a lime sit in a paper tray with a side container of green salsa.
The fish tacos at Tacoway Beach.
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

Rockaway Beach Bakery

Pastry chef Tracy Obolsky (an alum of Esca, North End Grill, Cookshop) has her own year-round bakery, where the sticky buns reign supreme. It’s the right stop before hitting the beach or for mid-morning snacks like scones, croissants, guava-cheese danishes, cookies, and quiche.

A pastry with cheese and guava jam on parchment paper.
The guava-cheese danish.
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

Sayra's Wine Bar

Sayra’s is a lovely place for some drinks and snacks, whether sitting inside this Rockaway wine bar or out on the patio. The small plates menu includes items like spicy meatballs crostini, a cheese plate, and warm pretzels with mustard. Not to mention, there’s an extensive wine list, with bottles that usually don’t go above $40.

Uma's

The warm hospitality and quirkiness at this Uzbek restaurant is backed up by a menu of lagman, borscht, beef goulash, and two types of dumplings (manti and pelmeni). As a sit-down experience, Uma’s doesn’t boast sprawling patios, like some other establishments on this list, but it does make it an ideal respite from the rain or during a heatwave; it’s also worth the visit during the off-season for the Rockaways. That said, when ordered to-go, compact and portable pelmeni make for a fun beach food alternative — or a snack to eat on the hood of your car, as pictured here, on the way home from a long, sandy day.

A metal round takeout container features pelmeni dumplings garnished with dill.
Could pelmeni be summer 2022’s best beach food?
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

TheCradleNYC

Whatstarted outas a beachside food cart selling West African food blossomed into a brick-and-mortar restaurant during the pandemic. The Cradle sells West African bowls like efo riro with stewed chicken and pounded yam, alongside a menu of smoothies with ingredients like dragon fruit — with plenty of bang for your buck. Owners Babajide Alao and Pesy Sikyala also run a nearby farm in collaboration with Edgemere Farm, where they source ingredients for their cooking.

A black takeout container holds a spinach-based stew, pictured next to a pink smoothie, and a clear plastic container holding a ball of pounded white yam.
Efo riro with pounded yam and a strawberry-dragonfruit smoothie.
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

Whit's End

For a slightly pricier Rockaways date-night option, this BYOB Italian restaurantannouncesunusual daily menu specials on its Instagram, so there’s something new to try each visit. Dishes here run the gamut from shrimp scampi with kumquats and ramp pesto to baked clams with seaweed butter — all spins on more classic fare. Whit’s End is especially known for its wood-fired pizzas.

A burger oozing with orange and red cheese sits on a white oval plate with a side salad garnished with pink radishes, thinly sliced.
The menu is often changing at Whit’s End.
Whit’s End

Rippers

進一步東86街的木板路,跑ers is serving always-great burgers including one called the Hard Body, a double patty with double cheese. Other Americana beach snacks on the menu include hot dogs, a fish sandwich, and soft serve. This burger favorite is set to reopen for the season on Friday, May 20.

Connolly's

據報道,康諾利的被賣給new owners, panic ensued amongst longtime fans of the Irish pub, which had been open since 1962. Everyone seemingly had one question in mind: What would happen to the bar’s legendary frozen drinks? Fear not, though: According toGrub Street, Mike Reinhardt and Mike Kololyan, owners of a local surf school, got the original recipe for the bar’s beloved frozen pina colada, garnished with a maraschino cherry, as part of the package deal in taking over the iconic Queens spot. Connolly’s is officially relaunching Memorial Day weekend.

A red awning on a wood-laden building front says the Connolly’s name and also boasts an extending American flag.
Connolly’s will retain its beloved frozen drinks.
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

La Cevicheria

Cool down with marinated raw seafood atLa Cevicheria,a stand that’s one of several beachside concessions at 97th Street, now runby new operators. The ceviches here make for tart and portable, refreshing beach bites that don’t weigh you down when you’re spending the day surfing or splish-splashing around in the water. La Cevicheria and other 97th Street concessions are reopening Memorial Day weekend.

The Rooftop and Margie’s at the Rockaway Hotel + Spa

Whether you’re spending a weekend getaway staying overnight at this new hotel and spa or just stopping by for the day, the property boasts a rooftop bar, restaurant, and coffee shop — just a bit further away from the bustling boardwalk traffic. Margie’s, the hotel’s restaurant, has lunch, brunch, and dinner service that includes a raw bar, New England claw chowder, and salads. Meanwhile, the rooftop bar features panoramic views with a side of tacos. On the ground-level, Greenhouse sells pastries and coffee.

An empty dining room with tables, chairs, a blue banquette, and walled filled with artwork.
Margie’s is a newcomer to the Rockaways dining scene.
The Rockaway Hotel

Caracas Arepa Bar

New Yorkersfamiliar with Caracaswill find solace at this Rockaway location, which thankfully has remained despite fearssurrounding its potential closureafter new owners took over the concession stands in the Rockaways last year. The waterfront stand offers arepas, maduros, and more. It’s slated to reopen on Friday, May 20.

An open face sandwich in a Venezuelan bread called arepa sits on a wooden platform next to a steel cup with some yellow sauce in it called Salsa Caracas
Arepas are the move here.
Caracas Arepa Bar

Pickles & Pies Food Market & Deli

When a sandwich is needed after a day drinking underneath the Rockaway sun, this super simple deli is the answer. Pickles & Pies is open 24 hours, too, should you be staying past dusk for a beach party.

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