Just after noon on a Wednesday in early June, nearly every table was taken inside the restaurant of the iconic Central Park Boathouse, which overlooks the lake in the heart of the sprawling 843-acre greenspace.
About a year and a half into its new era, now run by global merchandising company Legends Hospitality, the storied venue sees a constant stream of diners.
Over time the boathouse has become a fashionable backdrop for milestone celebrations, including weddings, baby showers, and bar and bat mitzvahs, as well as a popular tourist destination. It’s been featured in a number of film and TV productions, such as the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally and the HBO series Sex and the City.
In its newest iteration, however, Adam Fiscus, executive chef at the boathouse, told Crain’s that this summer the boathouse is focused on welcoming more New Yorkers and casual diners in addition to the steady rush of tourists. The goal is to attract customers who are as likely to pop in for a bite to eat during lunch as they are to host a grand event. The strategy could be advantageous if the current drop in international visitors to the city persists.
“We want to become that go-to place, once or twice a week, you can go to after work or before you go to a show,” he said. “Definitely one of our goals [is] to etch our way into the city to become that local spot.”
A bit of history
The original boathouse, a wooden Victorian structure designed by Calvert Vaux, opened in 1873. It was replaced in 1954 by the existing brick-and-limestone building, with its large white columns, then named the Loeb, in honor of its benefactors, Carl and Adeline Loeb.
More recently, the Central Park Boathouse was run by restaurateur Dean Poll from 2000 until it closed in 2022, due to what Poll reportedly said at the time were rising costs. It reopened in the spring of 2024 under its new ownership, Legends — the firm behind One World Observatory in the Financial District and the View from the Shard in London, among other hotspots.
Tucked at the end of a circuitous path on the east side of the park near 72nd Street, the boathouse is known as much for its swanky dining scene as for its 100 boat rentals, which are available April through October, weather depending.
Since Legend’s takeover, the boathouse has undergone $3.5 million worth of renovations to upgrade its indoor and outdoor dining spaces and completely overhaul its HVAC system. Its fireside room seats about 50 to 60 people, the main dining room seats 175, and 60 patrons can dine dockside.
Despite the renovations, the team has worked carefully to maintain its historic charm. It still looks and feels like — and the fare still has the flavor of — old New York, said Fiscus.
“We have had many people tell us that the service has been enhanced from a front-of-house perspective and that the food has definitely seen a facelift,” he said. “We just made [it] more light, more current, more fresh.”
The boathouse isn’t the only part of the park to have recently undergone major changes. About 2 miles north, the Davis Center at the Harlem Meer reopened at the end of April after a $160 million renovation that broke ground in 2021. What was once considered the park’s biggest eyesore, the new Davis Center, near 110th Street, now features an Olympic-size swimming pool that converts into an ice rink in the winter and a public green, called the Harlem Oval, the rest of the time. The Davis Center’s previous Lasker Pool and Rink was open only half the year.
Plans for summer 2025
As the dog days of summer get underway, Katerina Avila, the boathouse’s general manager, said the team is busy putting the final touches on its new seasonal menu, expected to launch later this month. The boathouse will also again offer its weekly jazz series, beginning in July, and expand live music performances in the main dining room, she said.
The 55-person kitchen staff is smack in the middle of its peak season. Fiscus told Crain’s that as of early June, he and beverage director Jamie Boss have already hosted at least 10 weddings, with another 10 or so on the books. The venue typically hosts more than 100 events each year and is eager for even more, Fiscus said.
Avila declined to share the boathouse’s revenue from last year, but said the venue has experienced year-over-year growth since the reopening. Lunch menu prices Monday through Saturday range from $22 for mussels to $28 for the house-blend burger to $32 for chicken Milanese. Cocktails, such as a Clearly Cosmopolitan, start at $16.
Although the staff insists the focus on attracting locals is not in response to recent tourism trends, the strategy comes at a good time. New York City is expected to see a drop in international tourists in the coming months in the wake of the impending trade tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump that could affect economies worldwide and some of his administration’s more controversial policies, such as those concerning immigration. The city as a whole could see 17% fewer international tourists this year, welcoming just 12.1 million visitors from abroad in 2025, down from the 14.6 million that was originally forecast last year, according to a recent report from the city’s tourism agency.
Avila hopes more everyday New Yorkers think of the venue when seeking a brief respite from the chaos of daily life.
“While the boathouse is a must-visit for tourists, we’re equally dedicated to making sure that New Yorkers feel at home,” she said. “The boathouse offers a true New York experience for everyone.”
