Day Drink in Central Park
Tavern on the Green and the Boathouse are open for your pleasure
June might be the best time to be in New York City: The spring showers are (mostly) gone, 90-degree days are still on the horizon, and the city doesn’t smell like hot garbage yet.
It’s days like these that call for one of the city’s greatest pleasures — taking a long walk with no destination in mind before stopping somewhere for some refreshments. Since New York may be one of the greatest walking cities in the world (except, maybe, for Rome), it’s easy to meander in any one of the city’s wonderful neighborhoods: gallery hopping in Soho, strolling the Highline, lustfully eyeing real estate on the Upper East Side.
There’s one place in New York that takes the cake when it comes to an afternoon stroll.
Since 1876, Central Park has provided recreation, greenery, and sanity to New Yorkers who use the park for play, exercise, and social activities. Although it’s a major tourist attraction, according to the Central Park Conservancy, 70 percent of the people who visit Central Park are locals.
The park has many places to grab a snack or a beverage, but if you want to drink in some New York tradition, you’ve got two great choices.
Originally built as a home for the sheep that grazed at Sheep Meadow, Tavern on the Green was once known for its spendid decor and mediocre food. You know — the kind of place to celebrate graduations and birthdays with grandparents. That iteration of Tavern on the Green closed in 2009. It reopened in 2014 (and closed again during COVID) and reopened once more in April 2021.
This new iteration of Tavern on the Green feels much lighter and democratic. No longer relegated to dreaded family gatherings, Tavern on the Green now offers weekend brunch and a late-night happy hour from 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. The place to be, however, is at the outdoor bar, which transforms into a beer garden when the weather’s warm. Grab a beer (there are always a few local selections on draft), get comfortable on the insanely tall bar stools that always feel like you’ll fall off them after a few sips, and strike up a conversation with some new people. Last time I was there, I discussed “Oh, Mary” with the couple on my left and talked craft beer with the people on my right — all while the sun shone. A splendid afternoon, indeed.
Like Tavern on the Green, the Boathouse also experienced an extended closure, reopening last spring with a new operator that also provides food for Yankee Stadium. We’re not talking about food, though…we’re here for the drinks.
The Boathouse is light and airy, and romantic. It somehow resembles a piece of New England in Manhattan — Block Island or Provincetown, perhaps. That could be the reason why you’ll spot a lot of cardigans and Ralph Lauren. But who could forget the time Big and Carrie met for lunch at the Boathouse and fell into the lake?
It’s not summer in the city until that first gin and tonic at the Central Park Boathouse. If, however, you want to recreate your Big/Carrie adventure (sans swim), the bar makes a great take on a Cosmo. The Clearly Cosmopolitan is made with vodka, white cranberry juice, triple sec, lime juice, and a twist. It’s a lovely sipper.
But who says you have to choose? Start at the Boathouse and walk to Tavern. It’s the perfect way to get those steps in.