We came to watch the waves from Hurrican Erin and stopped in for lunch. Very nice, beachy vibe & decor with a bar alongside the hotel's pool. Service was quic=k and attentive despite the lunch rush (a couple of corporate events, it appeared). The Garden Margarita was a tasty, "healthy" alternative to a standard margarita; the frozen mojito was a nice drink option too. The grilled chicken sandwich was very tender and juicy, with a delicious slaw on top. The Beach Hot Dog was served with kimchi slaw, but the dog (a Pat LaFrieda dog, no less) was sadly a bit mealy. Perhaps a little more time on the grill was needed. Overall, a decent meal in a beautiful beachy setting a block from Rockaway Beach. read more

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Best day ever. Highly recommend. Pool could have been a little warmer but we enjoyed it.

Awesome atmosphere at the pool house. Came here on a Friday afternoon to lounge around. I had the frozen mojito while my wife had a margarita. Drinks were great! They had three beers on draft and plenty of wines to choose from. After a bit, we ordered some food. We shared the guac & chips, oysters, and tuna poke bowl. I was pretty happy with the food. As the day carried on, they had musician playing some summer friendly classics keeping the atmosphere fun. Service was attentive and very kind. They have communal gendered restrooms which are shared with the pool area. read more

Came her for a music/fall fest event and had brunch at the pool house restaurant. It was a fairly warm day but there were still heating lights just in case. I had the tater tot breakfast. Lots of taters with eggs any style. One sausage and a few strips of bacon. It was perfect A friend had a burger which she said was delicious and the tuna poke bowl which another said was also fantastic. Good service. Nice atmosphere clean restrooms. I'd go back. read more

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The 2 stars are for ambiance. You really don't feel like you're in Rockaway anymore once you step inside the restaurant. It's a beautiful beachy vibe. The food was alright. Very overpriced. Our oysters and shrimp cocktail were fine. Tuna crispy rice was tasty as well as the roasted salmon. The lobster roll was a complete and total miss. $30 and the bun was twice the size of the portion of lobster...even the fries were skimpy. Total rip-off. The lobster roll truck down the street had better flavor, better portions and a better value. I can get over food not hitting the mark if the service is great, but we were ignored from the moment we sat down. One server greeted us, told us the specials and didn't return. A completely different server came over and took our entire order and then we didn't see her again until after we had finished our starters and were waiting for mains. Once our mains landed, she told us she was leaving and another server would be taking care of us. She did not. She did a fly-by and asked us how we were doing, but she didn't stop to hear our answer and just walked away. I had to ask a busser for the check. That same lazy server came by and threw our check on the table without a word and walked away again even though we had our card out. I had to get up again to ask the front desk if they would run our payment. The attitude was that she didn't want to be there and that she didn't care if we were there spending money or not. Won't return to the hotel dining establishments. It's not worth the pretty penny. Shoot for the boardwalk & the wharf instead. read more

The Pool House - Sad $30 lobster roll - New American Near Me - Queens, New York

This is a new location in Rockaway Beach my hometown. A few blocks from my high school. My brother took me and our parents for brunch at the new Rockaway Hotel! The location is prime a block from the beach. You can either drive and park on the surrounding streets or take the New York City Ferry to Beach Channel Drive and walk a few blocks down. The Pool House is located inside the new Rockaway Hotel and was quite busy when we entered. The staff was super friendly and helpful The bar seating is comfortable and accessible for most people. The bar was stocked well and had great service as well. The tables were comfortably situated so that you didn't feel like you were on top of another party. I loved the furniture and decor. Whoever was the buyer and/or designer did a fantastic job from the light fixtures to the variety of chairs and tables it was inviting and artistic. The poolside is beautiful as well, but was crowded that morning, but I guess that is to be expected on a holiday weekend that had absolutely gorgeous weather. Our meals were good but not great. I found the brunch menu to be lacking and I hope it evolves with time. My dad ordered the fried fish sandwich with fries which he said he enjoyed but was a bit over-fried. I got the smoked salmon and it was okay, but at the end of the day, it was bagel and lox that I could have gotten at the bagel shop. It was served on a small plate that didn't leave room to eat it properly without making a mess. I had to ask for an additional plate. My Mom got the Margie's Tater Tot breakfast which was two eggs (she got scrambled) maple sausage, smoked bacon tater tots, and heirloom tomatoes. It was served in a bowl which made it difficult to eat but she said she enjoyed it. My brother got eggs any style on toast with bacon and he said he enjoyed it. They need to consider rethinking the dishes that they serve the brunch meals on because they just were not conducive to eating the meal. I will definitely be back to try out dinner. I hope they update the brunch menu read more

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The hotel is beautiful, doesn't feel like Rockaway I used to know pre Sandy. Upscale & hard to get room reservations. The restaurant is by the pool. (Which is only open for guest. ) We had passion fruit Margarita pitcher $80 bc it was suppose to serve 6 drinks. it was like juice n ice no alcohol! I should have complained, I dont know why I didnt. The green kale salad is delicious. Chicken club was ok. It's my 2nd time here n I'm done coming back for this year. Service is missing n disorganized. 3 different servers came to take our order. The great part is the valley parking. $20 for 4 hours. Park yr car there n after lunch go to the beach. Street parking on weekends is extremely hard to find. read more

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The Pool House is located in the lobby of the Rockaway Hotel which is the only one of its kind in the Rockaways. I like what they are doing, but it's quite obvious they don't have a professional chef and plating has not been fully thought out. I had the eggs on toast - it wasn't even worth taking a picture of. What looks like 4 scrambled eggs on a slice of toast with a handful of bacon served in a shallow salad bowl. Seriously, this kind of plating will turn off your customers. My son had the Açaí Bowl - this was perfectly served however the only Açaí Berry was the flavor in the yogurt. My son called it a yogurt parfait. This place is lacking creativity in its brunch department. Now for the good stuff - There is valet parking offered however we found street parking and didn't need to take advantage of the valet. Both of the maître d's were perfect at what they do - pleasant, extended friendly gestures and work to get us a table that was pleasing for our called in reservation. The Pool House has a beautiful, full stocked, open-air bar. The music for Sunday brunch was on point, a bit of Caribbean flare which works well with the beachy atmosphere. Our waiter was not warm and friendly but we have a number of employees, which includes an older gentleman who stopped at our table to make sure that everything was ok. Why would I return, if one may ask. It's simple - I wouldn't mind trying dishes from their lunch and dinner menu and I would definitely like to take advantage of the bar and enjoying that beachy atmosphere. When someone decides to create something this nice for the public to enjoy, it's the public's responsibility to support and keep it alive. That's an obligation I impose on myself, hoping they will improve as the summer season 2021 ages. While I would love to give this restaurant a 4 star, I can't because of the creativity and plating of the food. Good luck to the owners and I shall be back. read more

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The cafe had great ambiance, but the food just didn't hit the spot. After getting a spa treatment with a few friends we decided to stop by the Pool House Cafe. The whole hotel itself is absolutely gorgeous. Great location, great venue, great service in general. The cafe though, did not meet my expectations. The service was slow, but the food was just not worth waiting for. You can basically skip anything with tater tots, because I'm pretty sure they came out of a bag, frozen. My grilled chicken sandwich was dripping with grease. The poke bowl needed salt and a good squeeze of lime. And the breakfast bowls were so sad. What's with the side of an entire sliced beefsteak tomato? The brunch didn't have any finesse and didn't match the ambiance of the hotel at all. Come for the stay, leave for the food. read more

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Rockaway is one of the best kept secrets of New York. It's a beach town, easily accessible from the city, and the surfing can be surprisingly good. The vibe is friendly and it's not expensive by NYC standards. But it is usually rough around the edges. That's where Pool House comes in and raises the bar. This place is like Miami or Malibu. Had a ceviche at lunch which was delicious and oysters later on that were so very fresh. Music was great with a DJ setting down cool tracks. I'll definitely be back this summer, and all the following ones. See you there. read more

The atmosphere is nice but that is sadly about all we enjoyed. From the get go, we felt completely ignored. It took 10 min to be greeted, drinks took another 15-20 min, and then after ordering the waitress came back and asked us 3 times... "what was it you ordered again?" (I wish I was joking). Then we see her directing the food runner with our food to the table next to us, much to their surprise!! (after asking us 3 times!!). The food was fine, not bad but definitely not worth the price. I asked the waitress for ketchup, she never brought it. Waited another 20 min to pay. Finally we get the bill, and find that we were up-charged to add fries to the burger even though she ASKED us do we want chips or fries with that (turns out... chips come with the meal but fries cost extra, not disclosed to us). Again not a big deal but all these things added up and made it an overall unpleasant experience. We never said anything because the young waitress seemed overwhelmed, but we did overhear multiple other tables around us complaining about similar problems and one table canceling their order and leaving because their food took too long. You're much better off walking a little further to the tucked away Wharf grill which is gorgeous and has a peaceful vibe, good food/drinks, amazing views etc!! read more

Wonderful place after a walk on the beach...delicious fare...starting with fresh oysters I loved my ahi tuna poke bowl The atmosphere and service was great! I will definitely return!!! read more

The Pool House - Tuna poke bowl - New American Near Me - Queens, New York

All staff were polite and very attentive. Especially Tom and Kayla. We had a good time!

Terrific atmosphere whether the rooftop or the Pool House. More attentive service on the rooftop - my two experiences. Food is fantastic, whether the specials or the regular menu. The Tuna Poke bowl is amazzzzing. Clean and staff wear mask. read more

The Pool House - Appetizer platter, raw oysters and mozzarella special. - New American Near Me - Queens, New York

Service is sweet but a little slow. I am patient but this one is sometimes extra - where you actually lift your head like a lemur and wonder - did they see me? Is that my food? I've been here a couple of times so let me tell ya what's meh and what's fun. The poke bowl has little poke - tasty but forgettable. My wild rice was also underdone and super crunchy. So maybe that's why I didn't love it. You want poke- go to the poke spot or pokeworks. Chicken club is good. Prep your jaw because it's a tall bite. The bread is good and the classic club w its blt. The charcuterie plate w pita and chunks of feta and veggies w tziki and hummus is fun. Not enough pita- so they bring you some if you run out. They had a Napa cabbage special - it was really good! Like really good. Their version of esquites is good (but tacombi does it better) Burgers and fries is your classic good. Wings are good. Buffalo style - normal. The hemmingway is a good app for three people or four. But it's a fun app. I REALLY enjoyed the clams. I don't think I've had good clams like these in ... ever.... You get the same poke here- it's good when it's solo. The brownie sundae is good and what stands out is the roasted pecans that take the sundae to the next level. Banana split is normal. Shark bite drink was normal. Overall- you won't leave hungry. Food is good. They got the classics. read more

The Pool at The Rockaway Hotel is really amazing. Menu, location, staff and ambiance are all the reasons why I enjoy this place. They got a spectacular menu as well. All of the staff are super helpful - you most certainly feel welcome and looked after. The Pool at The Rockaway Hotel = Awesome. read more

I stayed here back in August after I heard about their opening. What a unique find in the city. In a city as large as New York, it's rare to find a pool at hotel that has food service as well as access to day beds and cabanas. The food was also surprisingly great for pool side. The staff was super friendly. It seemed like it was kid friendly although most of the guests were adults. I'm looking forward to visiting this hotel again on my next trip to the city. read more