Dining at a coveted window seat in the luminous River Café, which rests on a former coffee barge in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, even the most jaundiced New Yorkers have to concede that the magic endures.

This beloved nautical institution — it is not really floating, but sits atop an underwater pier — was conceived in one of New York City’s bleakest hours, and its startling success infused life, and hope, into a decaying waterfront bereft of both. In the years since, it has weathered storms, recessions and other perils of a fickle town and a flood-prone setting.

This summer the River Café turns 40. For any restaurant in the city to achieve middle age is no small triumph. Yet the cafe, with its mesmerizing views of the churning East River and Lower Manhattan, is noteworthy on other fronts.

Owned by an Irish-American perfectionist named Michael O’Keeffe (better known as Buzzy), the restaurant has employed just six chefs, all of whom arrived virtually unknown and went on to national prominence: Larry Forgione, Charlie Palmer, David Burke, Rick Moonen, Rick Laakkonen and the current chef of 17 years, Brad Steelman.