New York City: Atlantic Grill (March 2016)

My spouse and I stopped at the Atlantic Grill for drinks on a Sunday morning in early March 2016. (We did not remember that New York City law forbids serving alcohol prior to 12:00 noon on Sundays, so we had to settle for non-alcoholic beverages.) We had reservations for lunch across the street/plaza at Lincoln Ristorante, but we were not due there until noon, and we had arrived in the city a tad early. The Atlantic Grill is open for lunch on weekdays, brunch on weekends, and dinner daily. Atlantic Grill has two NYC locations: Upper East Side and Lincoln Center. The Lincoln Center location, where we visited, opened in 1998 (previously, the huge space housed O’Neals). The Atlantic Grill is a member of the BR Guest group of restaurants (along with Blue Fin, Blue Water Grill, Dos Caminos, and other restaurants in the city). You can make a reservation via telephone or by using the Open Table reservation system.

The restaurant space is large, with a bar and waiting area in the front of the building, the main dining room in the middle, and the clubby back dining room towards the rear of the space. The bar area contains an L-shaped bar that probably seats 20+ people, and some high-top bar tables around it. In the main dining area, both curved red leather booths and regular tables are available, and a sushi bar sits off to one side. The walls are white-washed brick hung with black-and-white framed photographs, and the high ceilings seem to be covered with planks of dark wood. Restrooms are in the basement. Because I did not see an elevator, there must be a handicap-accessible restroom at the street level if you ask about it. Two private dining rooms that can hold 100 and 150 people, located facing 65^th Street and 64^th Street, respectively, as well as a 25 person private room on the basement level (which is also where the restrooms are located).

The restaurant specializes in seafood, raw bar, and sushi, although there are a few land-based proteins on the menu for those who do not enjoy seafood (but this really is not the place to go if you do not). Burgers, sandwiches, and salads are available at lunchtime, and breakfasty-items can be selected during weekend brunch (as well as traditional lunch items). As I said, we had stopped into Atlantic Grill for drinks only, so we cannot comment on the food unfortunately. But we were pleased enough with what we saw to make us consider returning under the right circumstances in the future.