REVIEW

  New favorite date spot. Incredible flavors, unique dishes, elegant experience. Will return again soon for a nice occasion.

  We were seated upstairs in their courtyard. The host was nice to let us know about the ventilation in the room and made sure we were comfortable in the restaurant.... read more I came here with my roommate and we both opted for the 2 course prix fixe for $45. We got the octopus and yellowtail to share and both ordered the truffle donabe with added hanger steak for an additional $7.

Crispy Octopus 3.5/5: the octopus itself was cooked really well but the sauce was overpowering and the vegetables didn't jive well with the octopus for me.

Yellowtail Crudo 3/5: the yellowtail was fresh and buttery soft. It was tasty but I didn't care for the sauce or toppings that came with the dish.

Truffle Donabe with hanger steak 4/5: this dish comes in a donabe and when the server lifted the lift, you are met with a whiff of delicious truffle scent! This is a pretty plain dish of mushroom and rice if you don't add meat. The rice gets a bit soggy on the bottom but I didn't mind it as it was soaking in the flavors from the dish.

Overall I really enjoyed the ambience of this restaurant and the food was pretty good. However, the server kept rushing us during the meal even when we were there for just an hour. We were looking around and wondering why they were rushing us even with empty tables around. Because of that, I'm giving them a 3/5 overall.

  Update: The restaurant manager Suhum Jang threatened to sue unless I took down my negative review via IG. See the photo attachment. This kind of practice is shocking, despicable...mindless. Supreme... read more Court ruled reviews are considered freedom of speech. Perhaps a quick review on consumer rights would help the manager take better course of actions (You're welcome, Suhum). I was curteous enough to accept a message from the manager via IG. Told him I don't accept offers in exchange for positive reviews.  His response was to threaten a diner. This is must be a common practice at Hortus. If guests are subjected to this for voicing an opinion....Can you imagine what the workers must be going through?

Also note, the manager doesn't seem to know that tobiko is not salmon roe. They're eggs of flying fish....

  My favorite restaurant in NYC so far. The sea urchin is so fresh!! A must try! The truffle don is so tasty. The service  is very nice. It's very pretty... read more inside. Highly recommend for a special occasion.

  We came here for dinner and sat in the outdoor space behind the restaurant. The space and ambience were beautiful and the service was very prompt and attentive. We got... read more the tasting menu which meant our meal started with the Royal Platter. The seafood all tasted fresh and was a great way to start our meal.  For my appetizer I got the crispy octopus and it was delicious; cooked perfectly and plenty flavorful. My entree was my favorite part of the meal, I got the truffle donabe with steak and it was incredible. It was rich, flavorful, and very truffle-y tasting which was exactly what I was looking for. For dessert I got the Thai tea pudding which was the perfect sweetness.  Overall I'd highly recommend this place and I will be coming back

  The service and the food here are impeccable.  I tried to prefixe menu which comprised the starter and the main for $49.   I had crab and noodles and then... read more the fish. Subtle flavors, great presentation. My dining companion had the duck as a main and all the items were delicious. We added on a couple of side dishes. Portions tend to be on the smaller side

  Was so excited to try this place and went through a lot of effort to get a babysitter on a Saturday night. Booked though Resy and requested an outdoor seating.... read more Reached out to them a day before the reservation to confirm it would be outdoors - they said it would be. We showed up and their "outdoors" was a sun room. It was all glass enclosed and there was no outside - also- people were seated on top of each other, like back to back. When we asked if they could do anything about it they said no. We felt uncomfortable so we left. I was so sad they would take advantage of people like this. I'm sure the food is great but they need to be honest about their set up when people are booking reservations.

  Taste: everything we ordered tasted great, and the truffle donabe was the best truffle dish I've ever had
Value: on the pricey side ($180 for 2 entrees, 2 apps, 2 cocktails,... read more 1 dessert), but felt it was fair given how much I enjoyed the food
Frequency: will probably come every 2-3 months for that truffle entree

Recommended dishes:
1. Truffle donabe with flank steak: the best execution of truffle I've experienced so far, and I am a frequenter of the tasting menu places in NYC that love to use truffle but tend to overdo it and have an overpowering truffle flavor. This is a rice dish with white truffle shavings that beautifully marries the aroma of truffle with the texture and taste of the rice. I am not a big truffle guy but I loved this. Massive flavor and aroma in your mouth

2. king crab noodle: a 50/50 fusion of fettucini pasta and Asian noodles in terms of flavors. It was so good that could eat a giant bowl of this; sadly the portion for this app gets consumed pretty quickly by a party of two

3. Matcha tiramisu: I had low expectations for this but it was a very good and cleanly executed tiramisu. very good for just $8

4. Oyster: the gochujang dressing was brilliant and worked very well with the oysters, which tasted fresh. Highly recommend getting a half dozen if you like oysters

We also had the Branzino and Sea Urchin appetizer. We weren't huge fans of the branzino - the fish could have been cooked fattier/juicier. the sea urchin appetizer was pretty good (pieces of uni on lobster tempura cakes) and a good mix-in, so I do recommend it, but we enjoyed the above recommended dishes more

in terms of conceptualizing the type of cuisine at Hortus, think of this place as Jungsik's counterpart as Nougatine is the counterpart to Jean-Georges. most dishes here could belong on a $200 per person tasting menu

can also think of it as a korean Kimika. it's very far from 'korean'. more like experimental fine cuisine with asian/korean influence

  Fantastic. Took my girlfriend for her birthday here. Placed a reservation via Yelp for a two-top on Sunday at ~7pm. Restaurant wasn't too packed and we were seated in their... read more upstairs canopy dining area. Ambience is very quiet and romantic, great date spot. We decided to order the Hortus tasting menu which was $65 per, tax and tip not included. It's four courses including: Hortus Royal platter (seafood platter, in small), and appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. We ordered the crab pasta and octopus for app, the duck and short rib for entree, and the tiramisu and pudding for dessert.

Hortus royal platter - delicious! Seafood was nice and fresh. Comes with a whole lobster tail, cocktail shrimp, kumamoto oysters, and a yellowtail crudo. Big fan of the cocktail sauce that came with the shrimp, surprisingly pairs really well with the seafood and oysters. The oysters were also garnished with a few drops of ikura, really creamy and decadent. The clarified butter + lobster combo was also sublime. Yellowtail crudo had a stronger fishy scent/taste, but was just as delectable.

Apps - We got the crab pasta and octopus. Crab pasta was creamy, decadent, and delicious. We both enjoyed the octopus! It was grilled to a nice crisp, but yet still soft and luscious inside.

Entrees - We got the short ribs and duck. The short ribs came with a bed of creamy potatoes (?) and apple strips on top to lend a bit of sweetness and acidity. The short ribs were soft and tender, well seasoned. The duck came with a tart fruity sauce with a potato-esque puree, but the duck was cooked to perfection and each bite with the purees was immaculate. I can't complain here.

Desserts - We got the pudding and the matcha tiramisu. The pudding was mango based and had a whole lemon slice that was glazed/caramelized. Acidity worked so well with the mango tartness here! Was pleasantly surprised. The tiramisu also came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a healthy dose of matcha powder. Really really good.

Overall - Highly recommend! Will come back

  Love the fusion of Korean and European.  Excellent service and creative dishes.  Can't wait to return.

  We found Hortus on NYC restaurant week list. And ordered the pre fixe  dinner from hortus on Saturday. Food presentation was lovely. We ordered the grilled hanger steak, beef short... read more ribs and the sea bass. The sides were pumpkin soup, Autumn salad, king crab noodles, shrimp toast, and grilled egg plant. Oh my they were all delicious and tasted so good. Had plenty of LO's for Sunday lunch as well. The beef short ribs were so out of this world- tasty n juicy. And so was the sea bass and hanger steak. And the pumpkin soup was really really good. If I am in the area again I will go back to hortus. Restaurant staff were v friendly too when we went to pick up.

  They do an exceptional job considering that only outdoor dining is currently offered in NYC. The outdoor area was extremely warm with heated lamps and the ambience of the setting... read more was great. The service was extremely friendly and the food was cooked perfectly.

  My husband has been dying to come to Hortus for awhile. So in a spontaneous moment on the way home last night I suggested we go. We called and they... read more had a table available. All the stars were aligned.

And this was a tailor-made no-brainer. We love Korean food. We love tapas. We love Korean tapas. This should easily have been a can't miss win.

This wasn't just a flop, but a huge and miserable one to the point where the dinner ended with the remark, "why the hell did we want to come here?"

Let's start with the good and why they eeked out the two stars. Service was good. Tables were socially distanced (more or less) reasonably. Although, one does have to wonder how an enclosed patio area on the second floor that has no air vents is considered outdoor dining. But, in light of the disastrous meal, I'll give them that.

That said, for an enclosed area with two large fire torches, there wasn't a warmish-spot or well-heated spot anywhere up there. So many other K-Town restaurants have more heating with actual outdoor dining areas.  

But again, had the food been decent that stuff might have been less significant.

We started with the oysters. They were pleasant. Certainly nothing remarkable.

Jayson had the Autumn Saland, while I had the tuna tataki, the latter being one of my favorite things. They seemed to spend more time on the presentation than on the tuna itself. Small (even for tapas) and not particularly fresh. So disappointed that I ended up having a bite of my husband's salad (also very pretty looking) to get the taste out of my mouth, and I hate that type of salad. And I love tuna tataki.

But Hortus saved the greatest disappointments for the main course.

Jayson was so excited to see duck on the menu, it was another no-brainer. Two bites in he sent it back. It was so tough and overcooked. He literally spit it out. And I've never seen him spit out duck, much less send it back. He said it was like biting into rubber. He went from starving to really upset. (He even skipped dessert, and my husband NEVER skips out on dessert even when the meal has been less than expectations.)

I had the rib eye. Overcooked. Flavorless. I don't know what it was supposed to be, but it was more like something you'd expect at one of those all you can eat buffet restaurants for $9.99, not a respectable Korean tapas restaurant where culinary talent should be on tap.

Sad because this had all the makings of great and was the ULTIMATE DISAPPOINTMENT!

  Had the most delicious birthday dinner here! We were really here mainly for the oysters, but everything turned out to be beyond great. We got the Royal Platter and loved... read more the lobster tail and shrimp the most! Got some extra oysters on the side and can honestly say these are the best ones I've
had! The mignonette is to die for!

Beautiful heated covered outdoor seating while enforcing social distancing. Service was great and everyone was friendly. Will definitely be back.

  The pumpkin soup is amazing, bread is burnt than toasted. The truffle rice was mediocre, the hanger steak in it was terrible. The steak was burnt. Can't imagine how this... read more place got Michelin 2020.

  We had New Year's Eve dinner at Hortus and it was amazing. They had a prix-fixe menu for $70 that included a glass of champagne.

Service was really good too.... read more All the servers were attentive and accommodating.

The food was exceptional! The seafood platter was fresh and appetizers were so tasty.

I would recommend Hortus and would love to come back again!

  Went there for Christmas Dinner this year. Staff are very friendly and the environment is cozy. With each dish, the waitress gave a brief description of it. The food is... read more delicate. The only thing is that the ribeye was kind of cold by the time my friend finished it. And the portion of the duck was small to me.

  Outdoor dinning in NYC limited table they take the precautions!

Yummy food and awesome service
Shrimp toast is a must sooooo good

The eggplant  and sashito peppers was my least favorite... read more items that we ordered  oh and the tea desert was yuck to me no one ate it

Total of 5 people
2 bottle of saki
5 Drinks
5 entrees
3 appetizers
1 desert  
1 oyster with lobster and tuna

Bill total $497

  Had a post Christmas, holiday lunch here - outdoor dining was so cozy, warm, and safe. We had the price fixed lunch special, the portions were generous and food was... read more delicious. Perfect way to close out the holiday

  Second time stopping by for dine in with a party of 4 for Christmas Day, overall delicious food with great flavors and very accommodating to get a reservation just a... read more few hours before.

Nice heated terrace out back with socially distanced tables. Temperature was sometimes tough due to being too cold or too hot but overall a great experience.

Hero of the night: Truffle Donnabe with Hangar Steak - hands down the best dish on the menu, make sure you order it. Clay pot with mix of mushrooms and beef over a delicious crispy fragrant rice. Umami heaven.

Also Great:
Scallop appetizer
Black Plum cocktail
Spicy Braised Short Rib