Celestine

Eat in enough restaurants and they can start to blend together. You remember you had roast chicken, but was it at the place with a chalkboard menu and natural wines, or at the dimly-lit spot with an open kitchen playing The Smiths? Both, probably. But there’s only one place that feels like it was picked up from a quiet side street and transported to a prime waterfront location in Dumbo. That place is Celestine.

Celestine is located about 50 feet from the East River, and it has a big outdoor patio with panoramic views of the city, the Manhattan Bridge, and all the wedding parties in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The Eastern Mediterranean menu isn't quite as memorable as the view, but, oddly, that doesn't make us mad. We like how you can always get a last-minute reservation here, and we're pretty sure that if the food were anything other than nice and pleasant this place would be impossible to get into.

The next time you forget to book a table for your friend's birthday or an important meal with your in-laws, come to Celestine. Your dining companions will fixate on the impressive view while they occupy their hands and mouths with some solid hummus and crudités. Get a mezze platter to share with the table, try the textbook vegan caesar, and if there's trout on the menu, order it. (The kitchen knows how to cook a fish.)

Celestine has a view worthy of prom night, but it's a place where you don't have to wear a tie or propose to someone—and you shouldn't have trouble booking a day or three in advance. There is, of course, roast chicken on the menu, but you definitely won’t confuse this place for that spot in your neighborhood that's next to the 24-hour laundromat.