LOOKING FOR A ROMANTIC MEAL ON VALENTINE’S DAY? DINE IN A QUEENS IGLOO!

BY QEDC IT'S IN QUEENS

There’s romantic…very romantic…extremely romantic…and F. Ottomanelli

By The Water

romantic.

Longtime Woodside butcher Frank Ottomanelli and his daughter, Tatiani, run the eponymous outdoor café by the waterfront in Hunters Point South Park. They’re offering an outdoor Valentine’s Day dining experience with awe-inspiring views of the East River and the Manhattan Skyline.

The menu features a four-course meal with Prime Angus Filet Mignon, Pan-Seared Salmon, Veggie Burger, and South African Lobster options to go with salad, meatballs, sides, wine, cheesecake, and coffee

Patrons dine among Valentine’s Day-inspired art in cozy, heated igloos which are currently spaced across the roughly 2,000-square-foot area near the East River Ferry Terminal. The price is $250, and the two-hour shifts are available from Feb. 10 at 2 pm to Feb. 14 at 10 pm.

It doesn’t get more romantic than that! Click here for an igloo tour.

Frank and Tatiana come from a famous family of New York City butchers. Frank’s grandfather, Gennaro, left Italy’s Bari to seek the American Dream by selling meat from a Greenwich Village pushcart in the early 1900s. Later, Gennaro and his sons – including Frank’s father Salvatore – founded several Ottomanelli’s butcher shops in Manhattan. Salvatore opened Ottomanelli’s Prime Meat and Wild Game at 61-05 Woodside Ave. in Woodside in 1960. Frank literally grew up in the store, and in 2001, he launched F. Ottomanelli Burger & Belgian Fries, a storefront restaurant about one block away at 60-15 Woodside Ave. (He later incorporated the butcher shop into the restaurant.)

Frank and Tatiani got the concession award from NYC Parks in 2022 and opened F. Ottomanelli By The Water that Memorial Day Weekend. Open seven days a week, the venue sells the famous burgers and other items, such as hot dogs and chicken tenders with vegetarian options. The address is at 52-10 Center Blvd.