Holly and I had always been interested checking out City Island because of the focus on seafood and it seemed like it could be a fun side trip from the city. So we hopped in her car and drove about 45 mins up to the Bronx and landed in City Island. Yes - it is actually an island and it's tiny, about 1 mile long. We went on kind of a rainy cloudy day, so there weren't a lot of people out. But I could see how it could be a cute place to visit as it's got a small community feel to it.
City Island is filled with seafood restaurants, so take our pick of places as they line the entire main street. We opted for the Lobster House which was right off the bridge when you come into the island. We got there around 1pm but it was eerily empty and quiet. Again, probably because of the rain as they have a nice outdoor patio that I'm sure would usually be full of people on a sunny afternoon. We sat down and before we could even order they start bringing out massive amounts of free appetizers. They bring out a huge side salad, cheese, olives, marinated mushrooms, blueberry muffin and huge loaf of garlic bread with a knife through it. It was hilarious because it was so unexpected and random. The menu is a long laundry list of every kind of seafood dish you can image: fish, shrimp, crab legs, and of course lobster. If you don't like seafood, they also have burgers, ribs and chicken but if you are a vegetarian/vegan, you are pretty much SOL.
As a seafood lover, it was so overwhelming but I decided on the scallops ($27) and Holly got the lobster roll ($21) because one of us had to get it. We also got the coconut shrimp ($17) to start. Before our food came out, I had to try all of these "free" appetizers we got. The salad was pretty basic - mixed greens with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing (it was a tad overdressed for my liking). he cheese and marinated mushroom plate was tasty and a nice touch. The garlic bread was a bit too crusty and could have used more garlic (ok, everything can always use more garlic) but I still managed to devour 3 pieces of it for no reason. If you're not hungry, these dishes more than make up for any appetizer you will order here.
Our food came out quickly and true to form here, the portions were huge. The coconut shrimp was 5 ginormous pieces but after taking a bite you realize that it was huge because of all the batter that was on the outside. It was way too thick and dry and you had to really peel off a lot of the breading to reach the actual shrimp part. It was kind of unappealing after 1-2 bites. As for the scallops, usually when you order scallops you get 4-5 pieces at best, there are at least 10-12 pretty decent sized pieces so that was a pleasant surprise. I ordered them to be broiled instead of fried (thank god), so they were served with a ton of butter and garlic on it. They were pretty good texture wise - although they could have used less butter (gasp!) and garlic to keep the flavors simpler and cleaner (although that's clearly not their style here) but overall it was a satisfying entree. The scallops came with a side of curly fries which are always yummy but a bit out of place as a seafood side but hey, you're in the Bronx. I had a bite of Holly's lobster roll and it definitely had good chunks of lobster in it but if you don't like mayo or celery, you won't like this roll very much.
I'm still glad we came to check out this part of NY - it's a throw back to what the city used to be and you can tell that it's still a tight knit working class community. I would recommend going when it's sunnier outside so that you can actually sit near the water and enjoy the views. Just don't come expecting high end super sophisticated seafood - instead expect really casual family friendly (re: lots of fried food) seafood fare. Total bill: $49/pp with tax and tip
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