REVIEW

  We had a celebratory dinner here after my husband and I officially got married at city hall!

Hortus was extremely accommodating when I called a couple time to increase the... read more reservation size. The service was amazing - they set up a private area for us and were super attentive all night.

The food was delicious! We came during restaurant week and everyone ordered an appetizer, entree and dessert. My favorite appetizers were the King Crab Noodle and the Rose cream bacon pasta (it was also a lot of food so I was already pretty full after this). For entrees I think the best were the Truffle donabe with steak, and the uni donabe. The truffle donabe came in a sizzling hot clay pot so the rice got nice and crispy! For dessert, I got the black sesame ice cream sandwich and the Yuzu panna cotta - the black sesame flavor was very strong and the yuzu panna cotta was bright and citrusy.

Overall loved my experience here and would definitely come back!

  i was excited to try hortus, but on my recent visit, i (and my friend) left a bit underwhelmed. the space itself is very pretty, open, and clean - love... read more all the green in the decor. but the food is forgettable. my friend and i tried the yuzu bacon rose pasta, the king crab noodle, pork ribs, duck, and some other items (which, sadly, i can't even place...). the flavors didn't really come together for me, and the best thing on the plate was, sadly, some seasoned greens. i appreciate what they're trying to do here and perhaps we just ordered the wrong items, but the experience was just average.

  Visited Hortus for dinner during restaurant week. We were able to get reservations the morning of, and when we arrived we were seated right away. The restaurant week special includes... read more an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. I decided to order the Pear Affair cocktail a la carte, and it was light and fruity. For the special, I ordered the Yuzu Bacon Rose Pasta to start, the Pork Ribs for my main, and the green tea monaka for dessert. I'll start off by saying that everything was of great quality, and the special was really good value. They even included a complimentary amuse bouche dish (pictured).

The pasta was good, but I wish I ordered something a bit more unique. The pork ribs were tender and fell right off the bone - it would have been nice if they lightened up the dish with a fresh vegetable though. For the dessert, it may have been the best dessert I've ever had. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since! Overall, I recommend making a visit to Hortus, especially during restaurant week because the value is unbeatable.

  Food was okay. I had two issues with their check. First, they over charged the order for oysters, and the waitress corrected it without an apology. She was only willing... read more to fix it because we caught her mistake. Second, they charged tax for the gratuity, and the waitress refused to correct it because that is how their POS system is set, and she could not do anything about that.  Please make sure to audit the check before you pay.

  Host accepts guests with reservations only even though the restaurant is empty. There is no mention on the website stating walk ins are not welcome.

We made a reservation on the... read more spot for 1215. (We had gotten there at 1145 with no reservation and were not allowed. We had checked online the night before past midnight and saw that there were plenty reservation spots open and did not feel the need to make one).

Not sure if the"enclosed terrace" is the only dining area but that's where we are and it's small. Size is not unusual for a NYC restaurant. The area got very loud very quickly, for a noon brunch.

Food: aesthetically pleasing. Taste was ok, not bad but not yummy enough to warrant another visit.

  *Summer 2022 Restaurant Week review*

Decided to stop by to try out their restaurant week menu as I've been meaning to try their food anyways but the overall experience was just... read more ok. To start, I didn't like how quite a few items on their restaurant week menu had a decently high supplements, even for the dinner menu.

The restaurant week came with an amuse-bouche, which is a spicy tuna on a cone. It wasn't bad but the sweetness of the waffle cone threw me off a bit, not sure if that was the best pairing. For appetizers, I got the beef tartare and my friend got the king crab noodle. The beef tartare was pretty good, the meat was seasoned well and went well with the egg yolk cream. The tapioca chip was a bit stale though and I wished there was a bit more pear since that was sweet. The king crab noodle had very little crab but the flavor was good.

For entrées, I did decide to upgrade $10 to a hanger steak truffle donabe but my friend got the duck. My bowl looked very nice and the smelled great. I really liked the wild mushrooms in the bowl with the rice but I've definitely had better steak as it was a bit dry on the outside. The egg yolk was also not my favorite since the texture made it stick to my teeth. The duck is really good and tender but I personally just wasn't a fan of the orange hoisin sauce that came with it. The quinoa salad that came with the duck had a strong cucumber flavor and was not for me either.

For dessert, I chose the black sesame monaka ice cream and my friend got the green tea one. My ice cream sandwich was had already started to melt before it got to me so it definitely became soup as I was eating it. But I did enjoy the black sesame bits. We also did a yelp check in to get a free side dish and chose the side of shishito peppers, which were fine.

We opted for indoor seating cause it was so hot outside but unfortunately, it was not much cooler inside, as the thermostat was set to 82 degrees in a room full of people. However, the interior and setup was very nice.  Since it's very pricy, I'm not sure if it's worth for me to would return to try out their other menu items.

  Had Hortus bookmarked for the longest time and finally made it here for my anniversary last month! I made RSVP for 8pm and we were able to sit a little... read more earlier.

We got the Hortus Tasting Menu, which was 70/person. It came with a Royal Platter to share, an appetizer, main and dessert for both of us. The Royal Platter came with 1 chilled lobster tail, a small portion of salmon crudo, 4 shrimp cocktail, and 2 oysters.

For appetizers, we got the King Crab Noodle and the Crispy Octopus (+$4). The flavor of the noodles was really good! The octopus was sooo tender and went well with the corn and edamame hummus.

For entrees, we got the Ribeye (+$12) and the Seabass. I thought the Seabass wasn't that special, a little overcooked! The Ribeye......DELISH! Such a good portion size too compared to the smaller seabass. The miso chimichurri was freaking delicious. I've never tried that before and amazing!! The steak was cooked perfectly too. When I go back I neeed to try their sea urchin donabe.

For the desserts, we got the Matcha Tiramisu and Yuzu Panna Cotta. Honestly enjoyed both a lot. The Tiramisu was so light and comes with vanilla ice cream. The Panna Cotta was tart and refreshing, perfect way to end a meal.

Service was also A++! This was one of the best meals we had in a while (that wasn't Omakase!) Excited to come back one day and try a few new things.

  Came here on a Friday evening and ordered a small Royal Platter, Crispy Octopus, Sea Urchin Donabe, and Matcha Tiramisu.

I was happy with most items, but was so disappointed with... read more the Royal Platter that I can't give more than 3 stars. Simply put, for the price, I was expecting the seafood to taste much fresher and more delicious than it did. The oysters were good but everything else was mid-tier at best.

Besides that, the crispy octopus was okay and the sea urchin donabe delivered with a great mix of truffle and sea urchin flavor.

  We went there for restaurant week and the menus were amazing!
We had octopus/pastas as appetizers,  hanger steak/ sea urchin rice / ribeye as main menus. Desserts were also awesome-... read more not too sweet and yummy. Staffs were friendly and kind.

  Had a great experience during restaurant week. Especially love the king crab noodle and Sea urchin truffle, full with flavors and layers. Will definitely come back again.

  The  octopus is great. Slightly expensive even for New York. Large entrees. Salmon very good

  My wife and I dined here during a recent trip to New York.

In summary, this place was amazing. We walked in early - around 6:00pm without reservations. The hostess told... read more us she'd be happy to seat us right away as long as we could clear our table by 7:30 to accommodate the reservations later in the evening. We happily agreed.

We ordered the Hortus Royal Platter to start. The oysters were fresh and delightfully brined, served with a delicious assortment of sauces. The lobster was a tad overdone for my taste, so the texture was a bit rubbery - but a generous dunk in clarified butter fixed any reservations I might have had about the texture. The rest of the platter was amazing as well - everything was fresh and perfectly prepared.

My wife and I decided to share a lot of other dishes so we could efficiently work our way through the menu. The steak tartare was nicely seasoned, though I wish they served it alongside a more generous helping of crisps as we ran out of those well before we were done with the steak. We also had some pasta with bacon which was cooked to perfection - perfectly al dente and well balanced flavor-wise - the bacon and sauce were not too rich or overwhelming.

The star of the show was the Truffle Donnabe with sea urchin served over rice and with a generous helping of caviar. The uni was rich and creamy - a perfect contrast to the subtle crunch of the medley of fish eggs. The truffle gave the dish an amazing fragrance and richness and the rice pulled everything together and gave the dish a very satisfying mouth feel. This is one of those dishes I wished I could keep eating forever.

We ordered some ribeye, which was surprisingly my least favorite dish of the evening. It was a generous portion and was well seasoned and cooked, but there wasn't anything truly special about the steak itself. That said, it was served alongside some kind of miso sauce that did most of the heavy lifting in making this dish worthy of the establishment.

At this point, the hostess who checked us in let us know that she was able to move things around so we could stay in our seats as long as we wanted - a very nice touch that she remembered us and circled back over an hour into the meal. Great service.

We ended the evening with the matcha tiramisu - which was a flavor combo I wasn't sure about when we ordered it, but ended up working out beautifully.

Overall - a great place with some truly memorable menu items and excellent service.

  I came across this restaurant while I was browsing @opentable for a place to celebrate a birthday. Luckily, after digging into some options and doing some research, I found @hortusnyc.... read more When I say that this is a must eat restaurant, I don't know how else to convince you other than "Go to Opentable now!" and make your reservation before they blow up!

From the moment you walk into the restaurant, you're presented with a beautiful high ceiling with views into their 2nd floor dining area as well as the main floor, where they have an open kitchen. They have a beautifully decorated interior but also an outdoor patio, that you can also enjoy when the weather is nicer.
Onto the main reason you're here, food! We opted in for the Two Course Prix Fixe.

For appetizers, we ordered King Crab Noodle and Beef Tartare. The noodles were cooked to perfection with just the right amount of sauce and crab to complement every bite. The creaminess of the sauce to the tenderness of the crab, every bite of this dish was better than the last and was easily one of our favorites for the night! The tartare blew my mind for what tartare could be. I've had great versions before but this dish melted in my mouth. The bite of tapioca chip, beef tartare, Korean pear and watermelon radish made this pairing an amazing start to our meal!
For the entrées, we ordered Sea Bass and Pork Ribs. When I say that I never expected pork ribs to change my mind, "I NEVER EXPECTED PORK RIBS TO CHANGE MY MIND"! These ribs were incredibly tender, juicy, meaty and the perfect bite of meat, sauce and flavor all-in-one. Although it might not look beautiful, I assure you that this dish was in fact DELICIOUS! I love seafood and the Sea Bass was cooked perfectly. The use of Chinese influenced flavors made this dish my favorite of the night.

Overall, Hortus is such an amazing restaurant that you need to find time to visit asap! They have an amazing team who've worked at restaurants like Per Se, Blanca, and more to ensure that your experience at this Michelin guide restaurant is more than enjoyable. Let me know what you think below if you tried Hortus yourself!

Rating: 8.6/10

IG: @mrtravelfoodie

  Food was really to die for and ambiance too- live jazz band a surprise- exceeding expectations all around. We had a wonderful night- the only thing was it was hard... read more to get service at the end of our meal, possibly due to the lay out of the place and that we were at the upper floor terrace.

  Excellent value with the pre-fixe menu. 2 for $50 + $25 wine pairing for 2 delicious wines.

Octopus is absolutely delicious, along with the pasta. The duck is also a great... read more choice. The truffle is a bit strong, but excellent if you love truffle. Dessert with the matcha tiramisu is great.

Jazz nights begin on thursdays at 7pm, so definitely worth the vibes.

  Very nice restaurant with delicious food
Definitely we will be back
Yuzi panna cotta was amazing

  Great date spot, the ambience is great, service is good too.  The food was a bit underwhelming and didn't feel too different or special.  The black sesame ice cream was... read more the star of the show.

  Hortus was such an amazing Asian fusion experience. The appetizers themselves could easily pass as entrees with how filling they were - my favorite was definitely their Crispy Octopus but... read more the Yuzu Bacon Rose Pasta was a close second. Entree-wise you must try their Sea Bass! The filet was cooked to perfection with the right hits of seasoning and heat. Service was incredible as well, they explain each dish carefully and you can tell a lot of thought is put into each one. Would love to come back and try the rest of their menu someday!

  Overall is closer to a 4.5 - a very enjoyable fine-dining Asian-fusion lunch experience with the (typically $40 but on Mother's Day, they only had dinner and special) $50 prix-fixe... read more menu with a choice of appetizer and main.

Me and my friend got half-dozen Kumamoto oysters ($24) to share, Yuzu Bacon Rose Pasta & King Crab Noodle for appetizers, and Sea Urchin Donabe & Truffle Donabe plus Prime Hanger Steak for the mains.

WOW, those are some really sweet oysters! They were small but packed with flavor. We both enjoyed them with the vinegar sauce the most. Definitely would have gotten more if we didn't have more food incoming.

The appetizers could pass off as mains with how heavy they were but the serving portion was controlled well. With an overwhelming majority vote (2/2), Yuzu Bacon Rose Pasta was the table favorite. The cream-based pasta was not as rich as it looked and the bacon was slightly sweet. Not too sure where the Yuzu flavor was, I suspect bacon and my friend suggests in the sauce. The King Crab Noodle reminded me of a Chinese spicy noodle dish and a lot of chili oil was used. There were crab meat pieces mixed within but feels more like texture than taste. The noodles were cooked harder than I would have personally preferred.

For the mains, the truffle donabe was overwhelming in smell because it was served HOT in a clay pot. The flavor was milder than it looks. Lots of mushrooms, warm rice, and medium-rare steak (they didn't ask how you like the steak beforehand but fine to us). The sea urchin donabe was saltier in comparison because of the ikura on top but I liked there was some crunchy texture in the rich. Not a fan of the cured egg yolk, would have preferred a normal egg yolk.

The service was fantastic! I loved that they explain what dish is being served and what was in it.
We choose to sit indoors but saw the outdoor/terrace seating on the way upstairs, it was an enclosed space with natural lighting all around.

One question: Why is the bathroom so dark?

  Forgot to write an updated review from my lunch in Feb

They only had outdoor seating in their patio when I booked. I think it's because of a party they... read more had indoors. The outdoor area is just behind where they usually seat ppl indoors. The area was pretty big. It can fit ~ten tables and there were two large gas heaters in the center. It's quite warm but still a bit chilly. It's fully enclosed so don't really know what's the outdoor parts about it.
I was lucky they gave me a table for four when I only had two ppl. Spacious~

Last time I was impressed by their dinner but turns out lunch isn't as exciting. There's less options and the options aren't as exciting.

I'm amused/annoyed by how the prix fixe menu has so many options that need to add money. It would feel better imo to have more options without needing to add extra.

I got the prix fixe. Yuzu bacon pasta and ribeye. Yelp check in offers a free side which I got seasonal veggies.
The yuzu bacon pasta was solid. The bacon was candied but still had savory notes to balance out the sweet yuzu. I'd actually be interested if this was a main course but tbh some places really only give this much for a main too.
Ribeye was kinda sad. It was dry and had tough parts. The chimichurri sauce wasn't enough in quantity and substance to give the steak more character.
Seasonal veggies turns out where the same that came with my steak. I didn't like the other options and my friend didn't like any so here we are with more veggies. The miso glaze was nice to give some flavor. Unfortunately it still felt bland and dry, partially due to it getting cold from the weather.

My reservation was for 12:30 but we sat until 2ish. Lunch ends at 3 which means they only expect one round of customers during lunch. I'm surprised they schedule it like that even on a weekend. Good for us that they don't rush to kick us out.

I still have hopes for this place but next time it'll definitely be dinner.