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Weddings

About

The River Café is a stunning and well-known restaurant located in Brooklyn, New York that can host a couple’s wedding ceremony and reception. Located under the Brooklyn Bridge, this restaurant boasts stunning views of the New York skyline and serves delicious classic New American foods. The River Café is a Michelin-star restaurant that can transform its space into any couple’s dream wedding venue. From their glass-enclosed pavilion to their outdoor space, couples have a number of facilities to choose from that all have breathtaking views of the city. This waterfront location provides tons of ideal photo backgrounds for couples and their guests and can cater to parties of all sizes.

Facilities and Capacity
The Terrace Room, depending on if you want a dance floor or not, can hold a maximum capacity of 100 wedding guests. Their staff can assist with floor plan designs and help set up rectangular or round tables. Whether you want an indoor ceremony or an outdoor celebration, their staff will use their eye for design and event planning experience to provide you with the ideal setup. The Terrace Room gives a private and exclusive feel to any event and comes complete with uncomplicated planning and an exquisitely designed space.

Services Offered
This restaurant’s services include chairs, setup, cleanup, event planning, tables, all-inclusive packages, bar and catering services, lighting, sound, and more This historic building’s staff has experience with hosting and coordinating ceremonies, receptions, rehearsal dinners, and engagement parties. They also offer an in-house florist to craft all floral arrangements and a talented pastry team to bake a one-of-a-kind wedding cake that is both equally delicious and visually appealing. While they can provide a variety of vendor services, The River Café can also provide couples with a list of trusted vendors, from photography to music. Other services include:

  • Parking
  • Valet
  • Linens
  • Tents
  • Tent accessories
  • Dance floor

Cuisine
This restaurant offers four-course dinners that comes complete with an appetizer, a fish course, a meat course, and dessert. Butler-style hors d’oeuvres are served and include mushroom truffles, house smoked fish, foie gras, and more.

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Frequently asked questions

Do you have a site fee for wedding receptions at your venue?

No

Do you have a site fee for wedding ceremonies at your venue?

Yes

What is the starting site fee for wedding ceremonies during peak season?

$2,500

What is the starting site fee for wedding ceremonies during off-peak season?

$2,500

Which of the following are included in the starting site fee?

Chairs
China
Clean Up
Event Planning
Flatware
Glassware
Linens
Set Up
Tables

Which of the following are included in the cost of wedding catering?

Dessert

Which of the following are included in the starting price for bar service?

Bartender(s)
Premium Liquor
Signature Drink

Reviews of The River Cafe

Sara
Sara Sent on 08/12/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Exceptional service and value for intimate weddings

The River Cafe is a Michelin star restaurant, and the professionalism and service you expect from such a restaurant extends to their weddings. Our guests were treated like royalty by their staff. We chose to host a black tie affair (which River Cafe excels at), but other couples have done more casual weddings that are equally as beautiful. With the Manhattan skyline, the restaurant's large floral budget, and their charming garden space, you do not need much to make this venue look beautiful. In fact, I think less is more in this space. The River Cafe has close relationships with some vendors (e.g. Alex Edge for DJ) who come highly recommended for good reason, which adds to the family-like team behind River Cafe weddings.

Most of all, we appreciated how seamless it was to work with Alyson Pike. She is responsive, professional, and accommodating. I was pleasantly surprised at how flexible they are about certain things (such as bringing in my own cake) given the formality of the restaurant. She was able to help us adapt to unexpected rain on the day of our wedding, and made everything just work.

Would do my wedding at the River Cafe again if I could!
E
Erin Sent on 12/28/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Wedding of our dreams

Deciding to have our wedding at The River Cafe was undoubtedly the best decision we made when planning our wedding. The views, atmosphere, food, service, and entire experience are unmatched. Both our local friends and our out of town family who wanted a New York experience had the most amazing night. We had the most gorgeous sunset on the river which transformed into a stunning night view of the city line. Thank you to Alyson and the staff for the best wedding we could’ve asked for!
A
Ashley Sent on 09/14/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Dreamy Wedding

What an incredible venue! We felt very fortunate to start our marriage at the River Café. The view and the facilities are world-class and speak for themselves. The food exceeded the hype, which is difficult to do because we had high expectations. And perhaps most importantly, the River Café team was responsive, diligent, and professional. They did everything to make sure that we had an unforgettable experience. Alyson in particular was a wonderful host.
Tina
Tina Sent on 11/08/2021
5 out of 5 rating

A wedding out of a dream

We recently had our wedding reception at River Cafe and had the best day of our lives! Alyson and the team were so easy to work with and worked great with my wedding planner as well. They were so responsive and attentive and made sure our special day was perfect. We received compliments all evening on the beautiful location, skyline, food, garden, and the highest quality service. We had a wedding of 80 people and had plenty of room for a dancefloor. It was a magical night, and friends of ours were saying the location was out of a movie. We will never forget our wedding at the River Cafe!!
A
Allie Sent on 10/06/2021
5 out of 5 rating

The Best Venue & Team

We cannot recommend The River Cafe, Alyson, and the entire team highly enough! We had a small, intimate wedding there this September and every detail and team member truly went above and beyond.

Location: If you’re torn between a city or a garden venue, The River Cafe delivers on both! We had our ceremony in the garden, which feels like an oasis in the heart of Brooklyn, the cocktail hour on the terrace, and the reception in the terrace room, both with spectacular views of Manhattan. You may hear the ferry, cars going over the Brooklyn Bridge, and even helicopters overhead, but that made our wedding even more special — we like to say NYC was an invited guest.

Coordinator: We are so grateful to Alyson for making our wedding and the entire planning process seamless. We live close to the venue and Alyson was so accommodating in having us pop by to tour the venue or just to ask questions as we got closer to the date. When we first met Alyson, we told her we were hoping to get married on the eight-year anniversary of when we met, and she immediately checked that the date was available for us and penciled us in. She is incredibly responsive, organized, and will take care of every detail — not to mention she’s also a wonderful and kind person who stays optimistic for her COVID couples.

Food: The River Cafe is a Michelin-starred restaurant and the food was delicious. Guests don’t have to choose between a meat and a fish course — they get both in a four-course meal. (We recommend the iconic Marquis Brooklyn Bridge cake for dessert.)

Service: We were personally served throughout the evening by a lovely gentleman named King who: brought us glasses of champagne immediately after our ceremony, saved us a plate of hors d’oeuvres when we joined our cocktail hour for just the last ten minutes, put a dish over our entrees to keep them warm while we were visiting guest tables, and more. The service was top-tier!

We are so excited to celebrate our anniversaries with dinner at The River Cafe in the future. Thank you so much Alyson and team, you made our dream wedding come true!
E
Ew Sent on 11/08/2020
5 out of 5 rating

A Magical Night

The River Cafe was an amazing venue that my wife & I found once our original venue shuttered due to Covid. Alyson & the entire staff at River Cafe made this night unforgettable. The food is beyond anything you will ever have at a wedding. The views & garden are unmatched to anything in the Tri-State Area.
D
Darina Sent on 09/03/2020
5 out of 5 rating

A Dream Come True

This is a love letter to The River Cafe. A place that helped us make the wedding of our dreams happen just 3 weeks to our date. After spending months dealing with a horrible venue in Jersey, we came back home to Brooklyn and found the most perfect venue that's been right in front of us all along. It wasn't easy to make our pandemic wedding happen in 3 weeks, but Alyson worked tirelessly to make it seem as though we've been planning for months. She was INCREDIBLE and if you have your wedding here you will be oh so lucky to work with such a talented, professional and understanding coordinator who MADE. THINGS. HAPPEN. The River Cafe, with it's exquisite 4 course dinner, stunning NYC views and elegant space was nothing short of a dream. We are so lucky our dream wedding came true during a global pandemic at a venue comprised of a team that cares. Don't even think twice. Thank you so much River Cafe
Sarah
Sarah Sent on 10/03/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Stunning venue, exquisite food

The River cafe is the most beautiful, classic Brooklyn venue. The attention and care that goes into their special events was noticeable: The food was incredible -- from every perfectly composed hors d'oeuvre to the 4 course meal and wine. We chose the chocolate cake in their Brooklyn Bridge dessert for our wedding cake, and perhaps we were simply elated, but it seemed to taste even better than each time we had dined at the restaurant. The service was exemplary, and communication with the team was very easy. Additionally, their preferred vendors for florals and music were exceptional. Highly recommend this venue if you are seeking an intimate and elegant wedding, or any romantic anniversary, date night, celebration etc.
M
Mandy Sent on 11/29/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Wedding of our dreams

We recently had our dream wedding and reception at The River Café! Everyone there is so wonderful to work with, especially Luke. The whole day went so smoothly and they handled all the details perfectly. All our guests raved to us not only about the incredible location, but also the service and the food! While it isn't the cheapest option, you truly get a top notch wedding! We couldn't be happier we chose The River Café!
B
Blake Sent on 09/02/2016
5 out of 5 rating
beautiful! had our ceremony in the garden and managed to fit everyone comfortably as well as decorate the garden with 1000 paper cranes. :) they were able to accommodate all special food requests with a michelin star meal (especially the veg choices)! luke is the best -- we left all of the table settings to their design and they were perfect... magical day! easy planning! loved our wedding there!
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Awards

22
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2017 Winner

Professional Network & Endorsements

1 Endorsement
Alexa Gallo weddings Alexa Gallo weddings Wedding Photographers

The River Cafe is one of my favorite NYC locations to shoot.... It's always inspiring!

Map

The River Cafe frequently asked questions

The River Cafe includes the following items and services for wedding events in its starting site fee:
  • Chairs
  • China
  • Clean Up
  • Event Planning
  • Flatware
  • Glassware
  • Linens
  • Set Up
  • Tables
The River Cafe includes the following items and services in its wedding catering costs:
  • Dessert
The bar service starting price at The River Cafe includes:
  • Bartender(s)
  • Premium Liquor
  • Signature Drink
The River Cafe is recommended by 97% of couples who have used their services. Their overall rating is 4.9 out of 5 with the following breakdown: 5 in quality of service, 5 in average response time, 5 in professionalism, 4.7 in flexibility and 4.7 in value.
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