Ellington in the Park — Restaurant in New York

If you have a dog and live in the UWS, odds are, you’ve probably found yourself hanging out at Ellington in the Park before or after a fun romp in the dog run. My husband and I LOVE coming here after taking our pup to the dog run across the way! We look forward every year to when Ellington’s “opens its doors” (aka opens the shutters on the upstairs bar) so that we can enjoy the delicious food and fun bevs there. I’m personally a fan of their iced tea, though it’s inconsistent what it’ll taste like each time haha. Sometimes it’s more like an Arnold Palmer. Other times it’s like a classic unsweet iced tea. Most recently, it tasted like raspberry lemon sweet tea. Either way, it’s refreshing and a good option when you aren’t ready for the booze yet. That said — I also enjoy getting the tea spiked with whiskey for those times when I do feel up for the booze! They have a great selection of liquors and a pretty good offering of wines. Beers are great even though I don’t drink beer much — my husband, however, loves the selection. The BEST thing this place makes, though, is their Turkey burger. Hands down the best Turkey burger I’ve had in NYC and that’s why this patio bar gets a solid 4 stars from me! It is SO good and I hope they never change it on the menu. This place is so fun. Go with your dog, your softball crew, friends,...

We were sitting at one of the MANY EMPTY picnic tables in Riverside Park on a calm Saturday morning, peacefully eating a bagel and enjoying the promenade from the shade, when staff from Ellington in the Park came over and told us we weren’t allowed to sit there with outside food, despite the tables being mostly deserted. We offered to BUY DRINKS just to stay and support them. A second staff member showed up to double down and literally said: “WE DON’T NEED YOUR BUSINESS.” That’s the attitude toward people trying to be civil and spend money at their so-called café.

This is a PUBLIC PARK. These are park tables. There is NO signage saying you can’t sit here. The area is wide open. We were surrounded by trees, bikers, families, and other people sitting around with nothing but water. Nobody else got harassed, just us, for eating a bagel. Are you MAD?!

Ellington in the Park is abusing their presence in Riverside Park. They’re treating public space like their private country club, making up rules on the spot, and intimidating people who are simply existing calmly in a shared space.

If they can’t understand what it means to operate in a NYC park, they shouldn’t be here. They’re just pushing people out. Total failure of hospitality and basic decency....

Here, you really are mostly just paying for the environment and atmosphere. Came here for the first time with a pal to watch the sunset and grab a beer. There were a lot of people, but finding a spot to sit was surprisingly easy on a beautiful Friday evening. The environment is gorgeous: they had cool lights, lively music, families with kids running around and looking happy, and groups of people sitting around and chatting. From our seat we watched people working out in the park and of course enjoyed the beautiful sunset on the Hudson.

As far as being a restaurant though...not all that much was great. Service took a long time and there didn’t seem to be much organization. Further (as you probably know from other reviews) the place is just too pricy. My friend and I each got a $5 hot dog and a $7 can of beer which were their cheapest options. If you venture further into the menu, you’ll be paying a lot more. Lucky though we weren’t too hungry and just wanted a nice spot to watch the sunset and have a beer, which this place provided. I’ll probably be back for special occasions but couldn’t...