Grand Banks Opens a Floating Seafood Bar In Brooklyn Bridge Park

Ever felt the urge to wine and dine on the deck of a 93-year-old ship with good ol’ Lower Manhattan rising behind your glass every time you toast to the beauty of the setting sun? Well, check out Pilot, a new schooner-bar that opened today at Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Built in 1924 to be the fastest in international sailing competitions, the ship ended up doing service as a “pilot” – a ferry that brings people to larger boats offshore. After having served in World War II, Pilot circumvented the world with marine scientists like Jacques Cousteau, said owner Alex Pincus, who dug up the wooden vessel a year ago in a shipyard in Boston.

After sailing the schooner down to New York, Alex and his brother Miles worked for a year to get the ship in perfect shape for New York’s seafood-loving crowd, who were acquainted with the brothers through their other floating oyster-bar: Grand Banks in Tribeca.

Pilot’s menu is similar to that of its sister boat and offers oysters, soft-shell crab and squid alongside cocktails with names like Life at Sea and Spirit Animal.

Although the ship is still seafaring, Pilot can be found waiting patiently at Pier 6 everyday of the week until approximately October. She opens at 3pm throughout the week and at noon in the weekends and closes at midnight.