Rockaway Tiki Bar — Restaurant in New York

While biking along the beach with my son, we got hungry and were heading toward Subway — he wasn’t sure we could find anything tastier or healthier nearby. That’s when we spotted this cozy little sushi café-bar. We decided to take a chance — and wow, what a discovery!

We sat outside to keep an eye on our bikes and picked a few items at random: gyoza, a poke bowl, a roll, and French fries. And honestly, everything exceeded our expectations — fresh, flavorful, and super satisfying.

Let me take a moment to rave about the fries — they were pure perfection: crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. I don’t think I’ll be able to enjoy fries anywhere else after this. I swear, they’ve either got a secret seasoning… or a bit of kitchen magic going on.

The poke bowl was beautifully balanced and fresh. Instead of the usual beans, it had green peas — I usually prefer beans, but I suspect they were out and made a thoughtful substitution. It still worked!

A special shoutout to the staff: even though we didn’t order drinks, they brought us cold water with ice on a hot day — a simple gesture that made a big difference.

I’m definitely coming back with my whole family. If you’re in the area — don’t pass this place by. It’s a hidden gem that knows how to make you feel welcome...

This place is an absolute gem and I almost don't want to give it away but I'm not a gatekeeper 🌉 My friend left her beach chair here (that was my first visit) and so I went back the next day to get it. And I stayed, because the food was so delicious and well-priced and the staff so welcoming and attentive the day before - and wouldn't you know it, I ordered different food and had different servers and it was all still glorious And again, priced super well, which means you can leave a really great tip because the staff is awesome and STILL not break the bank. Great to share with friends, great to eat alone (recommend doing so at the bar), and the vegetarian options looked so good I have to try them next time (but when I ask for a menu choice opinion and I get as enthusiastic of a response about an item, I take it - so yeah for sure get the...

Decent vegan options here! We visited and got two kinds of Bao buns - a mushroom one & the marinated tofu one (the mushroom was better than the tofu) We also got the tofu poke bowl which was delicious! Lots of toppings and lots of flavor.

None of the sliders could be made vegan bc of the Hawaiian rolls and the dumplings also couldn’t be made vegan, but there were some other vegan appetizers - the corn nuggets for sure.

Service was great - the waitress was vegetarian and allergic to eggs (if I remember correctly) so she was knowledgeable and very helpful!

Overall, I wish they would put in a little more effort to make things more...