Cabana Seaport
- Nearest Transit:
Fulton St-Broadway-Nassau (2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J, M, Z)
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 a.m.-11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 11:30 a.m.-3:00 a.m.
Sun 11:30 a.m.-11:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
22 Reviews for Cabana Seaport
Great sangria!!!
Good food...good portions.
The food is well priced.
I think the best part about this place is the view you get of the river. This is my go-to place for dinner in the South Street area. It's the best place I have been to around there.
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I frequented Cabana Seaport several times in the summer...Aside from the spectacular views, and the sun drenched seating area, the staff is usually very polite, some of the waiters very cute, and the food is absolutely delicious! If you don't plan on kissing anyone after dinner, I suggest the Pollo al Ajillo. Only con is that they are on the pricey end, but the portions definitely make up for it...and you won't be able to finish your whole plate. Their drinks are also delicious, try the Strawberry Mojito, the Sangria, or Daiquiris...all of them are great. If you're not feeling hungry, walk to the back of the restaurant and snag a table outside...you can drink in the sun with a fabulous view of the water. Also great for lunch!
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Yep...I've got to give this wonderful place 5 friggin stars, I really really love their menu...at ANY time of the day, I love it during the summer here you can sit out on the deck, I love the food here a great great choice for seafood (even though i hate it) AND regular meats. I love their appetizer with the empanadas..they are so good and the staff is refreshingly bright and happy...but be warned they talk um...pretty fast lol. It is WORTH listening to them speak though, as Cabana at the Seaport's "Specials" which are rapidly thrown off your servers tongue....are actually very GOOD specials.
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i went to this place for a friend's birthday and i probably won't go back. the inside was hot (why wasn't the AC blasting?) .. the place was packed so the waiters were hard to get ahold of.. we had to constantly ask for water refills and to order drinks.. we were so glad we didn't sit outside, because it began to pour - so all these people had to run inside. it was a disaster.
the food itself was just decent. i got the arroz con pollo and it was LOADED with cilantro. i get it - cilantro is used in alot of these dishes.. but there was so much in there that it basically overpowered all the other flavors. we had the coconut brownie for dessert and it was OK - nothing special.
the place was OK for what it was - but for what they charge for food/drinks, i really can't see what's so special here.
Good food. Good Location (huge). Great View of the city.
Drinks were good, I had the coco-mojito.
Price was great for 3 people.
Would definetely return to this place.
1 complaint: You have to wait a long time to get drinks! They dont have enough bartenders.
This place is pretty good . The cuban sandwiches on the lunch are great as are the fried plantain chips. They have a perfect view of the river and Brooklyn and during the summer it's a great place to relax and chill with a nice margarita or mojito. The prices aren't crazy and the staff is always nice and friendly.
It's not easy finding quality eats in the South Street Seaport area as most of the establishments there are expensive, touristy, and overrated above all. However, this doesn't apply to Cabana Seaport where tasty upscale Latin American can be had in big portions and semi-reasonable prices.
My first time here was marred by the fact I didn't actually have any food, but instead I had a shot with about 20 others at a very vacant bar yet incredibly full restaurant. The aroma of the food was so alluring and the ambiance was so festive that I knew I wouldn't be able to stay away too long.
Most of the entrees are within the $20+ range, with the Paella Marinera taking the most popular vote. The Paella can be had with lobster tail as well and makes for an awesome seafood mix of deliciousness. The arepas con queso (or mozzarepas in the street fairs) are fantastic, with just enough fluff and the cheese was super gooey. The Tostones Relleno was served Ropa Vieja, which had just enough sauce and very tender shreds above the plantains.
Service was very good and accommodating for the most part. The bathrooms are very clean and extremely tidy. I wish all of the restaurants in the area were similar to this place, but that may be asking for too much for an area like South Street Seaport. Besides, its the present situation that makes Cabana stand out amongst the rest.
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The food here is great! I love Latin food and i want to try everything and I'm sure it would be awesome. Drinks are good as well. Try the mojito comes with a sugar car which is great for sucking on while you're drinking it. Came here for a group dinner. Ambiance is great. Waiter staff friendly...could not ask for much more.
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I ate here July 4th 2003 with the guy I was going out with at the time. The food was delicious. Although so much time has passed since I first and last ate here, I cannot remember what I ordered. It was most likely paella and lobster. It must have been delicious enough because I remembered the name years later! So Cabana Cafe located at South Street Seaport gets a positive review from me. I will definitely eat here again. We ate in the outdoor seating section. The weather was beautiful that day as well. We wanted to take the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge after our meal but due to the holiday the pedestrian walkway was closed.
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There are a lot of restaurants at the Seaport and along Fulton St. Most are mediocre and over-priced at best. I'm not sure Cabana Seaport is worth writing home about, but after a trip here, I think it's a little better than a lot of its competition.
The menu was fairly extensive and the food was good. It's large and decorated nicely on the inside as well as has an outdoor seating area. This being on the 3rd floor of the Seaport, it's got a really nice view and is insulated from the noise some of the 1st floor Seaport joints have to deal with.
I can't say I would go out of my way for a trip back to Cabana Seaport, but if I were looking for a place to eat around the Seaport area, it would definitely be near the top of my list.
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The food here has never disappointed and I've been a handful of times. I've gone with large parties and never had trouble with getting a table--the place is huge. The downfall is that it is within the mall which is kind of a crappy feeling but it does have a pretty decent view.
The ropa viejja is my favorite dish (so damn good) and the arepas con queso are real tasty too. The portions are generous and everyone usually has left over on their plates.
Went here for dinner on many occasions. This restaurant resides on the top floor at the South Street Seaport. There's also a view facing South so you can somewhat see a slight glimpse of the Statue of Liberty and the Wall Street financial area. Place many of the ships docked at the pier.
Dinner was pretty good. The plates were pretty big and filled with food.
We ordered the bocadillios which was a sampler. Pretty tasty. The empanadas were great. The paella marinara was great. It came with a huge pot filled with rice and seafood. I also had the churrasco which was a flat skirt steak served on a sizzling hot plate. My only gripe was since it's on a hot plate, the steak started to cook more so it came out to medium. I'm more of a medium rare person but that's just my preference. the steak was JUICY! Just be careful when carving this sucker up because you might get splashed by the juices. Also had the pomegranate mojito. It's pretty strong but you can barely taste the alcohol.
This is one of my favorite places to go. Nice to take a date to as well. After dinner you can stroll along the pier to check out the view of Manhattan's bridges.
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They don't take reservations...even for a party of 15...even when you offer them a credit card.
Calling on Mon and Tues to confirm that we were in fact coming and wanted to see that if around 7 on a Wednesday night if 15 people showed up what sort of wait we would have. Waitress told us to come in, no problem, wont' be that busy tomorrow night.
We all show up last night...the place is closed for a private party.
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Wife and I had dinner there last week before the Thanksgiving holiday. She had the chicken curry dish and I had the flat iron steak. The steak was sitting on so much juice I felt like it was going to ruin my dress shirt any minute. So I ate so damn carefully I could not really enjoy the beef, which was cut way too thin.
It seems like weekday evenings are really dead, so this may be a good place if you want to avoid the dinner crowd.
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I've been going here for years. I love the restaurant and the wait staff, but I hate that it's in the middle of a huge, ugly mall. How dare they. Anyway, the vegetarian-ish dishes and fish are wonderful, but it has that mass-produced tastiness. This is not a tiny kitchen, but a chain, so don't expect to be blown away. Fish cakes, salmon dishes, and anything fried is good to go. The desserts are also wonderful.
I was close to giving up trying to find reasonably priced and good restaurants in the Seaport area, which in my experience are often touristy and middle of the road. I was pleasantly surprised when I stopped by Cabana for a casual dinner on Sunday night. The place is large and can accomodate big groups, and the semi-circular booths seem fun for groups of 2-4. The restaurant offers an excellent view of the water from the third floor of the Seaport Mall - great for that visitor from out of town. There aren't that many places in the city that can offer that (particularly in the winter!). Everyone enjoyed the paella marinera (only $23), which was big enough for 3 to share. I would return -
1) for the view/outdoor seating during the summer
2) for the paella
2) to try the other appetizers/entrees and sangria
3) for a big group gathering
Two Seaport jaunts, that I like, in one weekend! I think I might have to hang out around my digs more.
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Went here with the girlfriend and another couple. The food was extremely good. The aroma coming from the kitchen was so pleasant. The menu doesn't have anything that will catch your attention right away but whatever everyone ordered was amazing. The portions were also just right or a little more than enough. The price was decent, like any other place in the city. But its definitely worth it. The tostones (appetizer, fried plantains) were amazing.
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Started the day by playing hooky with this cool date... as the day wore on we were just snapping pics at things all over the place. Well, we got hungry and the night was coming. As we strolled down South St, went to the Seaport and took some pics of the Brooklyn bridge and so on, and walked by Cabana... As i was recalling it seemed to me it was Havana... but well.
The place itself is decorated with tropical colors but not in the stereotypical Latin/Hispanic way. Its tastefully put together in a trendy warm way. Booths line up the wall that faces the port. Glass windows give you a panoramic view of the piers to the east. You ask me, it doesn't get much more romantic than that! We sat in the U shaped booth and snuggled up while looking out. Its a really beautiful setup... more so for a date. If its not too crowded.
Food wise. You cant help but smelling the meats being prepped at the kitchen, and seeing the wonderfully put together platters at the next table. Then you question if yours will be as good looking as that. We started our orders with some ceviche and bacalaitos. Both nicely flavored and tasty. The ceviche was very fresh which is important for this type of dish. The bacalaitos could have had a bit more salted cod in them, as i fondly remember from back home (pr). The batter was a bit too thick for my taste, but it was flavorful none the less. We had some drinks with our order which were fairly well put together. Mojitos for that matter, Cuban place, you have to have a mojito. So we ate and shared our starters, feeding each other as the ambiance added to the romantic setting and mood... our main dishes were due.
Here comes rolling in a Parrillada. By the sound of it, very tasty and fulfilling. I am a meat lover after all. It came in full of beautifully grilled cuts, chicken breast, skirt steak, morcilla, sausages. It was all nice and tasty. A bit chewy on the steak, the chicken was very nice, with a delicious flavor on the grill marks. The sausage was not much to write about, and the morcilla didn't have the consistency i usually like, it was too fat and had no rice filling that sometimes adds to the flavor. As for my date... that lovely lady had some shrimp on a bed of rice with a beautiful and tasty sauce around. That platter was very tasty. I have been looking for it on recent menus and i don't see, it so i suppose it was a special for that night. I will keep you posted.
Prices will bot break you, but you will have to shell out about 75.00 to 85.00 for a fair meal for two. It was a great experience that is worth repeating. The food was good, but not overly great. Nothing on the menu screamed at us, but the aromas coming from the kitchen easily draw you in. The view is great more so on a clear day, a sunset ... you get the picture... So, if you need a nice place to go with your sweetheart... this is a good place for it.
Don't get the 3 star rating wrong. Its a good place to eat, but i am very critical about any "Hispanic" food place. If it weren't for that it might have gathered 4 starts. ;-)
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Took a co-worker who's leaving the company here tonight with some friends. Located on the 3rd floor of the Sea Port, it has a great view of Brooklyn and Governor's island and most of eastern downtown. The food is great, average cost per person would be about 30 bucks. There's not a lot of choices on the menu but the desserts are great! I've been here a few times before, I can't believe no one rated it yet. A must visit if you've got visiting friends or relatives. Busy during the work week and nights and right above Sequoia in case you'd like to continue drinking, but it's bar isn't bad either, pretty large place if you plan to have a party. Minus 1 star because parking sucks. But it's a few blocks from the 2,3,A,C,J,M,Z trains (Fulton Street).
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I think it is a great place to take clients out to lunch, or come out with friends for some awesome Sangrias. The food is excellent, if you are into healthy eating. It is not crazy expensive $$ per person with drinks.
And even though it is packed during lunch time, there is plenty of sitting arrangements both inside and outside.
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It's always a pleasure to come here for dinner. The drinks are always nicely made and they have one of the best mojitos I've ever had to date! Their skirt steak and chimmichurri sauce are always done to perfection. You also can't beat the view you get from the seaport. I was there when they had one of their fireworks shows and had a great seat to watch the show. If you're looking for some good Cuban food head to Cabana.
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Sometimes, I have bad ideas. Deep, deep down inside I recognize them as such. But an inkling feeling in the subconscious flagging an idea as "bad" is not enough to stop me. Once an idea enters my brain it's like a "runaway train never coming back, wrong way on a one way track". More often than not I will go through with it. This is especially true when it comes to purchases: it explains some of my questionable shoe choices, the purse fiasco of 2003 and my first apartment.
Usually my restaurant choices are impeccable. And yet I still have "bad ideas" when it comes to restaurants. Occasionally. Rarely. Once in a blue moon, really. Last Friday.
Idea - to have diner in the South Street Seaport (SSS) area. It is a walking distance from where I work, and I thought it might be a nice change from our usual village exploits.
The SSS has been developed/renovated in the last several years. On one of my lunch walks I passed by Fulton Street and found it to be a quaint cobble stone street dotted with outside cafes and restaurants. So in my mind I constructed an idea of SSS as the newest place for culinary adventures. Somehow I thought, it has thrown off its touristy past to become a decent place to hang out.
Consulting my Zagat guide, I found a decently rated place located in South Street Seaport called Cabana, and decided it's where we're going to eat on Friday.
We met at the cross of Fulton and Water streets and started walking toward Pier 17 of SSS. Passing by those sidewalk cafes and restaurants, that have impressed me earlier, I was now becoming less and less impressed. One of them was Heartland Brewery - a dead giveaway that you have entered tourist hell. Reaching Pier 17 building we saw names like Pizzeria Uno and Haagen Dazs and our hearts sank. It was now perfectly clear to us that SSS has become not less, but more, a lot more touristy and cheesy. But it was too late to turn back. We have voluntarily walked into a tourist trap and it shut behind us. Now, to find a decent place to eat would require a train ride out of here, but we were already tired and hungry.
We walked into Pier 17 and realized that our intended destination is on the same floor as the food court. Food court! In a mall! Suddenly I was in the middle of my worst nightmare - to be complete the mall would have to be in the mid-west and deep-fried cheesecake would be involved.
The escalator of doom slowly brought us to the third floor where we walked through the entire food court to find our restaurant (which wasn't actually part of the food court). Before the entrance we paused. I was willing to go home hungry. At this point I have fully realized the complete and total "badness" of my idea, was willing to admit it and pay the price. My boyfriend, however, is of optimistic persuasion. He was ready to brave it and go in, giving me arguments like "how awful can it be?", "hey, we ate in Venice, we can digest anything!" and "at least they have alcohol". And so after a few minutes deliberation we went in.
The place is huge. As the name suggests it is Cuban. There is an outside terrace with the view of the port with the docked ships. The view is also available on the inside as all the doors to the terrace are glass and were open. We were seated promptly. "Prompt" was to be the key word of our dining experience. Our order was taken promptly. Our food came promptly. Our plates were cleared promptly. Our bill was prompt to arrive and we promptly paid it, after which we were prompt to leave.
Was it bad? Not really. But then again, our expectations were so low that not getting poisoned was a happy surprise.
For drinks we got their famous mojitos. I found them too sweet and not nearly alcoholic enough. We skipped appetizers and went straight for entrees. I went with a safe choice - empanadas (cuban version of our pirozhki). I got a trio of them stuffed with: beef picadillo, chicken, and shrimp creole, respectively. They weren't bad. They were, dare I say it?, good. They were also hideously overpriced. Slightly better empanadas can be found in Havana Pies (219 E 23RD St) for $2 a pop. Cabana's were $5. But hey, they came with a view! My boyfriend got Pollo con Camarones: boneless chicken breast and jumbo shrimp, sauted with garlic, white wine and fresh herbs. Both chicken and shrimp were drowned in the sauce, which was good since they didn't have much flavor of their own. The shrimp was especially overcooked and rubbery.
The "move 'em in, move 'em out" service, lack of freebies (like chips and salsa for the table), inflated prices for simple, uninspired dishes all combine to put this place "off the list". Oh, and lack of decent dessert also didn't help.
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