Winter on the East End doesn’t mean the fun is over…in fact, it just means LESS TRAFFIC on 25A and Sound Ave!

A fire department installation dinner in Riverhead may not sound like the best idea in the world (when the department in question is located in Western Suffolk), but let me tell you…waking up the next morning ALREADY out East?? Win. No traffic to get through. No time wasted, we simply drove the 10 minutes to The Riverhead Ciderhouse which was literally waiting for us with doors wide open.

I’ve been trying to get here for a while…since they opened actually because I LOVE hard cider! Unlike craft beers that taste like dirt and tree bark (not sorry for my opinion!) ciders have all the great flavors of juice…with ALCOHOL. So I follow their Facebook page and thought I had a pretty good idea of what we were in for, but I was blown away! Sheer size was way bigger than what I was expecting…their photos on their website and social media posts do not do this place justice. It is a WAREHOUSE. Beautifully decorated so that you almost forget that the space you’re in is so massive. Everywhere you look there are kitschy touches, from the old trucks, to the murals of apple orchards painted on the walls. The place was packed, and less than an hour after it opened, but we were able to find a table right away. Drinks are served up at the loooooooong bar that extends down most of the right hand side of space, so after securing our table, I went to check out the offerings.

The options are many, and are not just cider. In addition to 12 ciders on tap that are made in-house, they also have beer from local breweries such as Long Ireland, Blue Point, and Great South Bay. Don’t like beer OR cider?? Well you’re in luck, they also have wines from nearby vineyards like Martha Clara, and Lieb Cellars. All these options MAY give you pause when deciding what to order, so quick advice…don’t take up valuable bar space just STARING at the menu. It makes those around you HATE you and the bartender really doesn’t have time for your ummmming either.

Typical cider flight allows you to choose 4 tastings, but I couldn’t narrow it down that much, so for $3 more I got 5 flavors of cider: Razzmatazz (raspberry), Strawberry Patch, Rose, Crannie (cranberry), and Blush Bomb (berry blend). The Crannie and the Razzmatazz were my standouts; each tasted like their respective fruit, but without the sickeningly sweetness that sometimes comes with hard ciders. In fact I like those two so much that I ordered more of each….and then mixed them together because you know what goes great with cranberry? RAZZZberry! Strawberry patch and Blush Bomb were good, but too sweet for me. The Rose cider was excellent, and to a long-time drinker of Wolffer rose cider, it tasted like an improvement on perfection!

For the men in the room, like I said, this is not just a cider drinkers dream come true..the local breweries offerings were also delightful.

You can really work up an appetite sampling different drinks, so the Ciderhouse has thought of that..unlike many tasting rooms, their cafe menu is not cheese plates and bagged chips, OH NO! We enjoyed personal pizzas and made to order guacamole while we drank, and honestly I could have eaten more from their extensive menu!

All in all, this can be your whole day destination. On top of so many food and drink offerings to try, they have a gift shop with bottled wine from local vineyards, funny (punny even) t-shirts, and other “east end” souvenirs the prove that you made it out there. They have private rooms for parties, they have more games than a toy store…and YES they are kids friendly! Live music accompanied our entire visit starting with a pianist who played a LOT of Lady Gaga and followed by a solo singer who played guitar beautifully. Now, would I go back, YES, 10/10 recommend this and will return. I can only hope that next time, I can continue to avoid the traffic and crowds 🙂