REVIEW

  Amazing experience!!!! The food was innovative and delicious and the staff and service was spot on.  

Hard to find a place to be excited about and would definitely visit again... read more !!!

  Generous prefix menu for a high quality food & dining experience. Beautiful decor and sleek ambiance. Food was excellent - flavorful, unique, well plated. My personal must-try dishes include the... read more King Crab noodle, crispy octopus (perfectly cooked!), spicy braised short rib (melts in your mouth!), and truffle donabe with sea urchin. The yellowtail crudo was nothing to rave about and I probably would not order it again... not as impressive as the rest of the dishes but nonetheless fresh and well-prepared fish. We had the black sesame ice cream sandwich for dessert, which sealed the deal for us.. curbed out sweet tooth without an overpowering sweetness.

Would highly recommend dining at Hortus! It was truly a memorable meal.

  Overall the experience was okay. I wouldn't come again because I do not think the value of the food matches the price they charge. We had a party of six... read more and we chose to reserve a table at their terrace. The terrace itself was very beautiful and it had a great atmosphere. My friends complained that the air conditioning was too strong, I felt comfortable. The staff was quick to serve us water and the menu was available through a QR code.

Our whole party opted for the prix fixe appetizer and entree which was $45.  I ordered the king crab noodle for an appetizer and I had the truffle donabe with hanger steak which was $7 extra for the entree. Everyone that ordered the king crab noodle from our party agreed it tasted like alfredo pasta which you can easily get for under 10 dollars at a local pizzeria. I did not taste any king crab and no king crab was visible on the plate. The truffle donabe was cooked well and I enjoyed it, however, the portion was too small. Without the hanger steak, the portion is closer to an appetizer. I felt the truffle added little value to the meal and it could have easily been substituted by something else that would have been more filling. Four out of the six people in our party were still hungry.

Afterward, we ended going to a different place in Brooklyn and eating skewers.

TLDR: Great atmosphere and service. The food didn't match the price. Ended up still hungry.

  Food 4/5
The food was really unique and had a lot of flavors I usually donmt encounter. We ordered two sets of the tasting menu, which cane with a seafood sampler,... read more appetizer, main, and dessert. We ordered the crab noodles, tempura lobster, donabe, short ribs, matcha tiramisu, and black sesame ice cream. The food tasted good, but it wasn't mindblowing. I definitely recommend the donabe, the mushrooms were flavorful and the rice was crispy. The seafood just didn't taste the most fresh. The black sesame ice cream was also really good.

Interior 5/5
Spacious and unique theme. I liked the flowery elements, but it felt modern and sleek at the same time. Bathrooms are cleverly hidden behind curtains.

Service 4/5
Took a while to bring out dessert, they might've forgotten. Nice waiters though.

  Service was so attentive. Food was truly terrific. The best branzino I've ever had. The flavors were just incredible and well thought out. The atmosphere is also very pleasant and... read more it was clean. I absolutely plan to go back. I also had the octopus, the seafood platter, and the matcha tiramisu. Highly recommend this spot!

  Dinner menu is top a few notches from the online menu I saw. We both went for the 2 course prix fixe, which is $45 for any appetizer & main... read more course combo.

Pleasantly surprised by how aesthetically designed the dishes are. The crispy octopus was especially yum, loved the texture and the added wasabi aioli. For the yellowtail crudo, lime added an interesting twist to it. The duck was a bit more chewy than I had imagined, but the celeriac purée was like nothing I had ever tasted, so smooth and granular, make you think of a fresh breeze on a sunny day  .

  Terrible dining experience - the food was below sub-par and did not deliver. We ordered a Hummus - which came with a crushed betroot dip and a yoghurt dip but... read more had no actual Hummus (or if it was hummus, certainly didn't taste like it). The Truffle Donabe was also bad - Mushrooms lacked salt and there was no sauce or flavorings added - plain sautéed mushrooms and buttered rice, will say though they did not hold back on truffle. Our server was nice and the ambience was decent but I really hope they increase vegetarian / vegan options and do not hold back on providing bold flavors in their food.

  Hair on shrimp! Eew. Very disorganized service-waitresses didn't know menu. "Outdoor patio" was not outdoors. Carrot soup was excellent, oysters fresh,seafood overcooked.

  Okay Hortus what did you put in your vinegary sauce for the oysters because I swear there is crack in there. My mouth may or may not be salavating thinking... read more about the amazing sauces hortus created for the oysters. The service was A1 and the food was great to say the least. I really enjoyed both the crab pasta and oysters. Will be coming back for you!!!

  We booked the table in their 'terrace seating' -- it was implied that this was outdoor seating. And in the COVID era, this kind of thing matters. IT WAS NOT.... read more It was a cramped, loud, tiny indoor space and I felt we had been duped. Food was fine. But did NOT like the atmosphere.

  Great ambiance and ideal noise level for intimate conversation. They also have very cool interior design. Great food and awesome customer service. Cilantro polenta was surprising good but it had... read more couple clumps.

  A neighborhood gem that I hope everyone will support during these difficult times! The building itself is quaint and worth a visit. Everything on the menu is delicious and why... read more not treat yourself to some uni or wagyu or truffle? Hortus offers these all and at a reasonable price for these things. Literally have had nothing bad, I've always left completely satiated and wondering to myself why I don't come more often.

  We have 6 people. So we order (3)$65 set and (3)$45 set.

Appetizer:
1) Royal Platter
2) Yellowtail Crudo
3) King Crab Noodles (must try)
Warm noodles with full of crab meat, pretty... read more good
4) Crispy Octopus (must try)
Very tender inside, crispy outside

Main:
5) Ribeye
Just too chewy even though is medium rare, the ribeye is absolute NO to us
6) Branzino
Very interesting mixing with the green cilantro sauce
7) Duck (must try)
Perfect cook, very good eating with the sauce
8) Truffle Donabe (must try)
This is really amazing! Definitely worth 5 stars!!! Hanger steak is recommended, but not the sea urchin, the sea Urchin will cover all the flavor that you suppose to taste. Add hanger steak $7 / add Sea Urchin $15.

Dessert:
9) Monaka Ice Cream (black sesame is good)
10) Macha Tiramisu
11) Thai Tea Pudding - sour & sweet

  I do not want to hurt this restaurant's Yelp rating because I have been before and the food is fabulous, but I wish I had been warned: the outdoor seating... read more is completely covered and definitely feels fully indoors. It left me in a very awkward situation having to refuse to eat there and ruin my party's plans because I'm still not comfortable with indoor dining, which is what the outdoor dining is. I went earlier in the pandemic and the terrace was open -- it is now a true joke to call it outdoors. Very very disappointing and frustrating to be misled. That said, if you are fine with indoor dining, the outdoor area is cute and insulated.

  Been there twice and enjoyed everything I've tasted so far:
Royal Platter - Very fresh seafood, love the lobster tail and shrimp cocktail.
Pumpkin soup - sounds unassuming but truly... read more super good with toasted sourdough bread they offer. Highly recommend, ordered it both times we went there.
King crab noodles - very tasty and generous amount of king crab meat. Would also recommend it.
Tuna Tataki - probably the only dish I had that was just okay. Very strong notes of yuzu and pepper.

Both mains I've tried are tasty, especially the truffle donabe.

  This was my second time to Hortus. I went there with my girl friends a while ago and I loved the food, décor and ambience. So I went with my... read more husband once again when indoor dining reopened.

We ordered the Tasting menu.
The seafood in the Royal Platter was fresh. I wanted to have more. But seeing the portion of the appetizers, I knew the size was just right.

We had King Crab Noodle and Grilled Eggplant. Both were tasty and considered large portion as appetizers. There were good amount of king crab in the noodle and the sauce was rich but not too much. I am not a fan of eggplant but the dish tasted yummy.

I had Truffle Donabe as main course. I had this dish before. Though the truffle was smaller but the whole dish was still great. I liked the aroma of truffle and mushrooms. My husband had the Rib eye. It tasted good but a little bit overcooked as he ordered rare.

The desserts were special and yummy too. Not to mentioned the service was nice, and all the covid rules were nicely done. We were happy.

  We ordered the Hortus Tasting Menu since it covered a lot of things that we wanted to try/order.

HORTUS ROYAL PLATTER
- lobster tail: tasted so fresh
- tuna tataki: was... read more looking forward to this the most but prob liked it the least bc I wasn't a fan of the charred scallion yuzu verde
- shrimp cocktail
- oyster: oysters are always great but thought this had a nice new spin from the fish roe that they put on top (added a sweetness that was different and I rlly liked!)

APPETIZERS
1. King crab noodle - this had to be one of my favorites of the night. Must order!! Everything about it was amazing--loved the Italian/Asian fusion. The flavors balanced out so well

2. Shrimp toast - I thought this was just ok since it's just Chinese 芝麻大餅 (zhi ma da bing) with shrimp paste and azn sweet&sour sauce so it was nothing special to me since I can make something similar for cheap at home

MAINS
We both ordered the Truffle Donnabe w/ hangar steak (+$7 for steak) and thank goodness we did because this was TO DIE FOR. We both loved it so much!! 10/10 would come back just for this (and the king crab noodle). You could really taste the truffle and the assorted mushrooms, rice, and steak went perfectly together. The cured egg yolk was the cherry on top--the star on top of the Xmas tree. Every bite was amazing and had so much flavor.

DESSERT
We both ordered the macha tiramisu and thought this was delicious! Thinking I'm becoming more of a tiramisu person after this...

We sat indoor but the outdoor patio was so cute and nicely decorated that I probably would want to sit outside next time. Staff was great. I love that they have the Tasting Menu to let you try so many different things and all this food for $65 a person. Overall, amazing experience and have already recommended to so many of my friends.

  Hortus is definitely worth checking out if you're curious about contemporary Asian cuisine! The interior is absolutely gorgeous and the have a semi-outdoor area in the back and an upstairs.... read more It was surprisingly bigger that what it appeared to be from the outside. Super sure place to come and take pics as well (:

They have a prix fix lunch menu for lunch for $30! Super good deal!! For the appetizer, we got the autumn salad, king crab noodle, and the tuna tataki. The autumn salad was very refreshing and the tuffle aioli in the tuna tataki was delicious. We were surprised that the king crab noodle was an appetizer as it was pretty filling.

For the main dishes, we got the truffle donnabe and salmon. Definitely try the donnabe with hanger steak if you get the chance, it's soo good! The salmon was also very well done - crispy on the outside but soft and buttery on the inside.

  My friend took me to Hortus for my birthday during lunch and the food was so delicious. The presentation was out of this world as well. I didn't know what... read more to expect on this snowy cold day, and the menu looked pretty plain but was I wrong.

I started off with the oolong cocktail (soju based) and it was so beautiful that I didn't even want to drink it. Obviously I did. The drink was not too sweet and you got a strong taste of the oolong and didn't feel like the soju dominated. It was such a great experience.

We ordered the seafood platter, autumn salad and crab noodle. It was honestly amazing. The seafood platter was perfect to share with my friend and so we got ago try a bunch of different seafood. The crab salad was literally so good I almost just ordered this for my entree again. There was only one piece of crab/noodle though. The autumn salad was really good where each bite was very unique and fall-like, but I didn't love it and wouldn't go out of my way to get it.

For entree, I forgot to take a pic bc I wanted to try out what else was in store for us but we got the mushroom donnabe and ribeye. Mushroom donnabe was honestly so good, especially if you like mushrooms. It was so flavorful but not overbearing. FYI it's a rice dish. I didn't know until I got the plate lol The ribeye was just ok I think it was like any other steak out there. I usually like my steak by itself so I thought the sauce ruined the steak but that's just my opinion.

I would give it an almost 5 stars with the unexpected but pleasantly surprised decadent food. Unfortunately, I thought the service was a bit lacking, especially for a fine dining restaurant. I came in and the host told me my party was waiting upstairs so I went up and got totally lost -- I ended up looking for her outside and so confused and realized there was another set of stairs on the other side. I think the host (or hostess) should always walk you to the table. That was weird. Also, how do you know I belonged to that specific table? At least he was able to get that right 🙂 Secondly, the waitress was very awkward and uncomfortable. She took plates out of the way while we were still eating. She didn't ask if we wanted another drink when we clearly were done, so I didn't ask for another round. She also brought my friend the wrong beer. She also brought us the wrong mushroom donnabe (with hanger steak) and then took it away when we told her. It was a lot minor things, but they were mistakes regardless.

In conclusion, it would have been a perfect dining experience but the host and waitress needs improvement. I'd like to return to introduce others to this to this awesome spot, but hopefully it will be a better time.

  Nice place with good service. The food testing should improve a little bit. For an example, the cold lobster appetizer should not use butter as dipping sauces, etc.