New York’s Biggest Food Weekend Moves to the Rooftop: What to Know Before the Wine & Food Festival

Some food festivals ask you to pick a lane. New York’s asks you to pick a night.

A burger bash on a rooftop or a seat at a one-night-only chef dinner? That is where planning a night at the New York City Wine & Food Festival gets interesting. Before deciding what to eat, decide what kind of evening you want.

Returning Oct. 15 to 18 for its 19th year, the Food Network festival brings more than 50 events and 300 culinary stars to a schedule centered on Lower Manhattan’s Seaport. The new rooftop setting at Pier 17 gives familiar favorites a change of scenery, while Kwame Onwuachi’s New York After Dark adds a late-night option.

With tastings, cookouts, and restaurant dinners spread across four days, there is plenty to sort through. Here is what to know before choosing your spot.

Close-up of an upside-down wineglass on a table with bokeh lights in the background. — Photo by Bayram Yalçın/Pixels

Four days, one waterfront

The festival runs Thursday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 18, according to the organizer’s official site. Its home base is the Seaport in Lower Manhattan. The festival calls the setting the Invesco QQQ Festival Campus.

New this year is the Rooftop at Pier 17. The festival describes it as the new home for its signature events, with waterfront views of the skyline.

The organizer counts more than 50 events and more than 300 chefs, winemakers, mixologists and culinary stars. The format is wide: walk-around tastings, intimate dinners, cocktail parties, brunches, master classes and FoodieCon. Some chef events also happen at restaurants across the city.

The rooftop gets a lineup

The Seaport’s own event listing offers the clearest preview of the new rooftop. It names a slate billed as the Norwegian Cruise Line Rooftop Series:

Steak & Whiskey, hosted by Bryan and Michael Voltaggio

Morning Buzz, hosted by mgk of 27 Club Coffee

Blue Moon Burger Bash, presented by Pat LaFrieda Meats and hosted by Rachael Ray and Bert Kreischer.

New York After Dark, hosted by Kwame Onwuachi

The same listing also highlights Oyster Bash, presented by Modelo and hosted by Andrew Zimmern.

The range is the point. A morning session, a steak-and-whiskey night, a burger showdown, and a late-night party all share one series. The Seaport frames the festival as four days featuring chefs, mixologists, winemakers, culinary creators and celebrities.

Familiar favorites, fresh nights

Cozy dinner party atmosphere featuring red wine, snacks, and blurred social gathering. — Photo by Helena Lopes/Pixels

The Downtown Alliance, which covers Lower Manhattan, sorts the lineup into returning events and newcomers.

Returning favorites include the Blue Moon Burger Bash, Steak & Whiskey and the Cookout. The Cookout is hosted by JJ Johnson and Angela Yee and celebrates Black cuisine and culture.

Among the newcomers is Onwuachi’s late-night New York After Dark. The Alliance also points to culinary experiences hosted by Nobu Matsuhisa, Maneet Chauhan, Vijay Kumar, Jonathan Waxman and Keith Hernandez, “to name a few.”

Then there are the dinners. The Alliance says dozens of intimate, one-night-only chef dinners round out the weekend, with names including Rocco DiSpirito and Andrew Carmellini. It notes that both chefs are from Lower Manhattan.

The festival’s Grand Tasting, which features culinary demonstrations, also returns to the Seaport campus.

The wine half of the name

Wine is part of the title, and the festival’s own talking points name its exclusive wine and spirits provider: Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits.

The same document says the festival works with more than 200 partners and draws roughly 35,000 attendees in an average year. That scale is part of why the schedule runs from morning sessions to late-night events.

What the ticket money does

Net proceeds benefit the Event Zero Foundation and the James Beard Foundation, according to the Downtown Alliance. The festival says it has raised more than $15 million for its charitable partners to date.

How to plan your weekend

Tickets are sold event by event. The festival’s site lets visitors browse by day (Thursday through Sunday) and category. Categories include dining experiences, cocktail parties, brunches and lunches, walk-around tastings and the Grand Tasting. Times, venues and availability vary by event. Check each listing before you commit, because ticket availability can change.

The festival’s own pitch is that the weekend spotlights the energy of New York’s food scene. With dinners at restaurants and parties on a pier, it is a fair description.

The rooftop is the big change this year, but the weekend extends well beyond Pier 17. A burger showdown, a late-night gathering, and an intimate chef dinner offer very different ways to spend an evening.

Because tickets are sold by event, start with the experience that interests you most, then check its time, location, and availability. You do not need to squeeze the whole festival into one weekend. Start by choosing one event that suits your appetite and schedule.

If you had just one night in New York this festival weekend, would you spend it at a chef’s table, on a rooftop above the water, or somewhere in between?