Poll Brothers restaurant group buys former Jolly Fisherman in Roslyn
The Jolly Fisherman & Steak House in Roslyn closed in 2023. Credit: Bruce Gilbert
When Roslyn’s venerable Jolly Fisherman closed in 2023, local glutterati were half-hoping, half-expecting that the spot would be taken over by Gillis and George Poll, the brothers who operate Roslyn hot spots Hendrick’s Tavern and Bryant & Cooper. Instead, the building overlooking the village pond was sold for $6,200,000 to investors who then leased it to the Bruckman family, owners of Pietro’s, a 91-year-old Manhattan Italian restaurant.
Pietro’s Long Island opened but lasted only eight months. As soon as the restaurant closed, the speculation began anew: Now would the Poll brothers take over the space? Gillis Poll confirmed to Newsday that, yes, they had purchased the building and hoped to open this summer. They have not decided on a concept or a name.
Gillis and George Poll at their restaurant The Bryant in Huntington Station. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
"It’s right here in our wheelhouse," Poll said. "A nice-sized restaurant overlooking the pond. Even the kitchen is in good shape."
He conceded that, since they didn’t buy the restaurant directly from the Jolly owners when it went on the market, "we wound up paying more. But back then, we had a lot of things going on in Florida" — a Miami branch of their Manhasset spot, Toku, opened in 2023 — "but we decided, ‘let’s take it now.’ "
The Poll brothers own seven restaurants on Long Island. In addition to Hendricks Tavern, Bryant & Cooper and Toku, there’s Cipollini in Manhasset, Bar Frites in Greenvale, Major’s Steakhouse in East Meadow and The Bryant in Huntington Station.
Gone but not forgotten is Riverbay, a seafood restaurant that opened in Williston Park in 1980 as Pappas, changed its name to Riverbay in 1989 and served its last clam in 2013. Since then, legions of Poll groupies have called for a second coming of the Riverbay concept — simple, well-prepared seafood in an unpretentious but attractive setting.
This reporter put it to Gillis Poll: "You know what restaurant everyone wants you to open, right?" "Yes," he responded. "But that is probably not going to happen."
