Prime Dining, Prime Location: Ottomanelli By The Water Delivers Old-School Flavor with World-Class Views
F. Ottomanelli’s By The Water (Photo Credit: James Edstrom)
Frank Ottomanelli, Owner Ottomanelli’s By The Water (Photo Credit: James Edstrom)
Atmosphere (Photo Credit: Jaclyn Blair)
For owner Frank Ottomanelli, the waterfront café is more than a restaurant; it’s the evolution of a family legacy more than 120 years in the making. His family’s butcher shops have been a New York institution since the early 1900s, synonymous with impeccable cuts of beef, pork, poultry, and game. That old-world dedication to quality is now paired with one of the most extraordinary dining backdrops in the city.
“Today, I’m still working with some of the same vendors my father did in the 1940s,” says Ottomanelli. “That kind of relationship means I can offer my customers the very best — fresh, never frozen, and without preservatives — right here by the water.”
Hunters Point South Park, designed by acclaimed landscape architect Tom Balsley, has transformed Queens’ East River shoreline into a model of resilient, community-driven design. Its sweeping lawns, heritage gardens, and active waterfront have become a magnet for residents and visitors alike. Ottomanelli By The Water sits in the heart of it all, drawing in park-goers for leisurely lunches, romantic dinners, and post-stroll cocktails with a front-row seat to the city skyline.
The park’s blend of green space, cultural programming, and urban design has been celebrated internationally. But for many locals, Ottomanelli’s café is where memories are made — whether it is families enjoying burgers after a soccer match on the great lawn or friends gathering for steak sandwiches before watching the sun dip behind the Empire State Building.
New York City’s iconic skyline offers views encompassing landmarks such as the United Nations, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and One World Trade. This is why Hunters Point South Park is one of the prime locations for proposals and weddings as well as the millions of visitors who visit the park every year. Being a 3-minute ferry ride across the river from 34th street in Manhattan, makes it incredibly accessible and makes this is one of the busiest tourist locations in New York City where visitors dine and take stunning photos of their New York adventures.
In addition to serving park visitors, Ottomanelli’s reputation for excellence extends far beyond the Hunters Point shoreline. Through Ottomanelli.com, Frank personally delivers prime meats across New York City and out to the Hamptons, ensuring that the same cuts served at the waterfront café can be enjoyed at home.
The location’s appeal goes beyond its menu. The café offers an uninterrupted view stretching from the Chrysler Building to the Freedom Tower, with the shimmering East River in between. Seasonal specials and classic staples cater to every appetite, while the open-air setting invites guests to linger long after the plates are cleared.
Whether it’s part of a weekend stroll through one of the city’s most innovative parks or the main event of an evening out, Ottomanelli By The Water blends heritage, hospitality, and horizon-line beauty into an experience that is unmistakably New York.
About Frank Ottomanelli:
Frank Ottomanelli is the owner of the beautiful concession F. Ottomanelli By The Water located in Hunters Point South Park. Frank Ottomanelli's family has owned the oldest butcher shops in New York City for over 120 years with his current location at 60-15 Woodside Ave, Woodside, NY 11377 as well as the famed Cafe in Hunters Point South Park located right inside the park right on the water at 52-10 Center Blvd.
During their 120 years in business, the S. Ottomanelli name has become synonymous with the best dry-aged steaks, pork, poultry, and wild game meats money can buy. Frank Ottomanelli continues that tradition today, cherry picking the best meats from the best dealers in the business and delivering it anywhere in the New York City area and Hamptons.
“Today, I am dealing with some of the same vendors that my father dealt with in the 1940s,” says Ottomanelli. “We have been doing this for so long that we have relationships going back four or five generations and that means that we get to select the best quality to offer our customers.” The old school approach to business is even carried through into the digital age through their website Ottomanelli.com.
F. Ottomanelli By The Water has something no other business can say, everything is made right in the butcher shop. Never frozen and never any preservatives. This approach is what has made F. Ottomanelli By The Water a huge must visit location to the millions of visitors that visit the park every year.
About Hunters Point Parks Conservancy:
The Hunters Point Parks Conservancy (HPPC) is a community-based non-profit organization whose mission is to enrich the quality of life in Hunters Point, Long Island City by preserving and enhancing its parks, green spaces, and waterfront in partnership with the community. Formed in 1998 as Friends of Gantry Plaza State Park, the organization expanded its mission and scope in 2013 with the opening of Hunter’s Point South Park and has been operating as HPPC since. In 2024, HPPC-run volunteer groups removed 1,485 bags of weeds from Hunter’s Point South Park.
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