REVIEW

  Amazing place, loved the food and drinks. They didn't have an liquor license but the sake was great. Loved ever single dish, especially the crab noodle, the steak truffle rice... read more bowl (the mushrooms were unreal) and the uni rice. Celebrated my birthday there, and they gave a little cake and candle for dessert. Definitely would come back again.

  I really enjoyed our meal at Hortus! 🙂

My husband was able to secure a reservation for 6:30pm on a Wednesday night. He's been in charge of choosing restaurants lately, and... read more this was his pick. I'm usually skeptical of his food picks, and I saw some mixed reviews, so I came in without much expectation.

We got the two course prix fixe: grilled octopus, king crab noodles, branzino, truffle donabe with hanger steak.

The grilled octopus was SO delicious! It was cooked perfectly - incredibly moist and tender on the inside and a nice crunch on the outside. It went so well with the sauces on the plate - I think one of them was made with beets? It was sweet - rly yummy. The other had a citrus/tangy taste - it was also delish!

The king crab noodles were tasty as well - can't go wrong with a creamy pasta!

I loved the donabe- the assortment of mushrooms really add depth and umami - the hanger steak was so tender. The bottom of the rice had a nice crisp to it thanks to the donabe. I really enjoyed this dish!

The branzino I wasn't a huge fan of, but only because I didn't enjoy the cilantro polenta too much (the green stuff underneath the fish - but it could be just my personal taste buds!)

We got the matcha tiramisu for dessert which was a great finish to our meal 🙂

Staff was kind and service was fast.

Would def recommend people to try this place out!

  Didn't end up eating here because - despite their claims to the contrary- THERE IS NO OUTDOOR SPACE! We had a reservation and specifically booked our doors because of Delta.... read more  When we got to their outdoor space it was completely enclosed but for one regular  door opened. Very disappointing!

  Service level exceeded expectations by a lot.  I wasn't expecting much based on the relatively low pricing on the menu but the tasting menu + wine pairing seriously blew my... read more mind.  Winter was our server and she was so professional and personable, I really appreciated how she took care of us.

  This restaurant is joking me. I ordered salmon bento box through ubereats for lunch, because all their pictures look nice and yelp has 4.5 starts. But this is what I... read more got.
1. Salmon was extremely burnt - not sure anyone can call this is grilled salmon
2. Rice was very dried and hard - the level that my stomachs would hurt because they are just too hard to eat and digest  
3. Tempera was also very dried and burnt

what was the chief doing? Why they even put this kind of food for takeout?

I highly recommend the manager to pay attention to their delivery food quality and customer experience. I waited for 1.5 hrs to this order, now I can't eat this... why would I order from you if stuff is this bad?! Any street deli food could be more eatable seriously.  Huge disappointment to Hortus NYC!

  TLDR: Overall quite a disappointing meal. Creative menu but lack execution. Flavors do not really complement each other and do not make sense. They ran out of their most well-known... read more items (the black truffle donabe and the uni donabe) the day we went (they claimed supply issue), so we were forced to order something that we did not plan on ordering. Service was rushed, really did not enjoy dining here.

I was really looking forward to visiting Hortus, because my friends raved about them, but my experience was quite poor.

I normally do no comment on restaurant's restrooms, but their restrooms were so small and it was in such an awkward place in their upstairs dining area. It was very definitely poor planning.

Service was okay, we felt a quite rushed as they kept coming back to take our plates and kept asking us if we were finished. One of those times, they collected my plates before I even finished and I had to tell them that I was still eating.

Price-wise I think it was pretty good for the amount of food they gave us. We were stuffed.

The royal platter: it was good but not worth the a la carte price. We did not 4-course menu so it came with it. Nothing to write home about really; they were exceptionally, but not bad either.

For appetizers, we picked the grilled eggplant and the king crab noodle. Definitely get the king crab noodle, it was so good!!! Prob my favorite thing of the night. Really great flavors and balance, noodles were cooked al dente and the sauce was oh-so buttery and oceanic.

The grilled eggplant however was a total disappointment; the sauce was very weird and all the texture just did not make sense. Really did not enjoy eating the eggplant, we barely touched it.

For entrees, since they "ran out" of both donabe options, we picked the fish and the short rib.

The fish - it was cooked quite well, crispy skin and lightly seasoned. It came with edamame polenta(?) and it was ok. I would rather them not be "creative" and stick to the traditional stuff. The flavors just did not really match.

The short rib - ok the short rib was really good! It was braised until fork tender and the flavors were good. However, the "risotto" it came with was a mess! It was nothing like risotto; reminded me of congee but not really. Just weird. Again, really wish they would stick to a traditional side.

Desserts:  liked both desserts, but really impressed by the icecream sandwich is a must-get. I could eat 10 of them. The purple rice pudding was good, light and creamy, but it wasn't crave-worthy. It's just a basic Asian dessert that isn't really all the hard to make.

My experience was subpar, did not like most of the food I ordered. Not likely that I would go back again.

  I came here during restaurant week for lunch. We were seated immediately upstairs. They have sort of a rooftop with lots of plants on it. I did not realize this... read more place had a Michelin star. They have about eight tables for 2 to 4 people.

We ordered fairly quickly and the food came quickly as well. We tried the king crab noodles and the fluke as well as the steak and salmon and for dessert we got the purple rice pudding and the Matcha ice cream. I think all the food was really well prepared and a lot of attention was payed to flavor and everything was perfectly seasoned and extremely delicious. There was a good amount of unique thought for into each individual dish and I would highly recommend trying all the dishes that I mentioned. As well as the others on the menu of course.

For drinks we tried the sake and I like that the menu has fewer items but each item is done really well. The sake was cold and it was excellently paired with the meal

The service was really quick but we did get the impression that they were trying to rush us a little bit. I'm not sure why that would be because there were not too many people in the restaurant, we were there on a Tuesday afternoon. I think that might just be their vibe though. We did tell them to give us a little more time and they did oblige.

The restrooms are above a flight of small stairs and behind a blue curtain, it is kind of impossible to see them and you will miss them completely, so I ask someone to tell you where they are.

I will definitely return to this place especially since I am sure the menu changes out seasonally and I would love to try the rest of the stuff. I know that we try the restaurant week menu but I will also say that the prices are fairly reasonable for what it is they offer. You are pretty much getting a very upscale experience and I believe that the prices reflect that.

  I keep coming back here!!! Absolutely love their food, love their ambience, and love their friendly service! Everything on the menu hits the spot different. I personally favor their truffle... read more and Uni dishes the most. However, if it's your first time, you must try their Hortus Tasting pre-fix course if you want to get a fuller experience. It comes with the Hortus platter (to share), appetizer, main entree, and dessert for just $65 per person?!?! Not to mention, there's Jazz Night on Thursdays @7:00pm!!!! It just gets better and better!

  I came here for a friend's birthday dinner and had such a great tasting experience! We arrived pretty late bc of the rain but they were still happy to seat... read more us.
Food: we ordered the tasting menu x3 and 2 course prix fixe x 2. We also got the peach mule cocktail each and bottle of the premium soju to share.
Favorites: appetizers- sea urchin & king crab noodle.
Mains- Sea urchin donabe & Duck.
Service was also amazing! Highly recommend this place to anyone who wants a great fine dining experience!

  We went to Hortus for late lunch on Saturday during the restaurant week. We dined at the terrace on the second floor, and it was a nice setup.

We had... read more fluke crudo and king crab noodle as appetizers, hanger steak truffle donabe and sea urchin truffle donabe as main courses, macha tiramisu and purple rice pudding as desserts. I like most of the dishes. The fluke crudo was fresh and tasty. The donabe was flavorful. The purple rice pudding was a little plain. The macha tiramisu was probably my favorite among all dishes that we ordered. It's delicious and it reminds me of the green tea mille crepes at Lady M (probably because they are both macha flavor, and the texture are definitely different).

Overall, the food and service were good. It's worth trying if you happen to be nearby.

  The food was incredible, 10/10 and I can't wait to eat there again. The only issue was that we went to celebrate our anniversary and we were sat in a... read more very small room with a large party, it was very loud and the atmosphere did not match the quality of the food.

  Got the PrixFixe Menu (appetizer + meal) that was $45/person. We got the king crab noodles and crispy octopus for appetizers, and the Truffle Donabe + Hanger Steak and Spicy... read more Braised Short Rib for meals. We opted for the Monaka ice cream (black sesame) dessert. Despite the dishes being small, we were actually very full afterwards. The Truffle Donabe + Hanger Steak is very hearty and claypot style, and this is the dish I'd recommend others to get. While the decor, atmosphere, and food is good, it's not a place I'd be dying to go to again. Regardless, it's definitely a cute spot I would still highly recommend to friends if they specifically wanted Korean-fusion and were in the area.

  Delicious delicious meal with great service and nice ambiance (was here for a team dinner but wow so many couples/pairs here and I can see why!!)

We shared and tried a... read more lot of dishes, here's my ranking (though I liked basically everything I tried, really don't think you can go wrong):
1. Spicy Braised Short Rib - didn't think I'd like this but this was my favorite favorite and my friends agreed, super tender
2. Grilled eggplant - would recommend as an appetizer to share!! Yummy generous blob of mozzarella on top 🙂
3. Crispy octopus - delicious but smaller serving than the grilled eggplant
4. Truffle Donabe - yummy if you're looking for a carb dish; portion out the salted egg well so that you don't have too much in one bite!
5. Sea Urchin Donabe - was also really good but it felt like we had a very tiny amount of actual sea urchin in the dish
6. King Crab Noodle
7. Duck

The desserts were good, would recommend tiramisu (less sweet) or Thai tea pudding (more sweet) over the ice cream because the ice cream had a wafer type cookie that just wasn't very good ):

Service was super sweet and helpful 😀 and really topped of the experience.

Tldr share eggplant and try the braised short rib!

  Loved everything about our dining experience - the decor, atmosphere and, of course, the food. Bonus: There was a live jazz band, which wasn't too loud for conversation. We all... read more thought that the prix fixe was a fantastic value for the high quality of the food.  Will definitely come back.

  An amazing experience all around! Sharp looking upstairs dining room with forest green walls and cool pendant lighting that is really relaxing is only the beginning of the great dining... read more experience that Hortus offers! What were the best items that my colleague and I ate? We loved the marinated Ribeye steak with veggies (meat is grass fed and brought brought in from Texas), roasted Sushito peppers with shredded parmigiana cheese and green tea tiramisu! Lovely super fast service. It is gets crowded after 7 pm so get an early reservation! PS Treat yourself to the speciality pineapple cocktail made with a Japanese specialty alcohol) in the cllpineapple shaped glass if you want to really treat yourself!

  Fabulous - the PrixFixe Menu was a great value: Seafood appetizer: Lobster, Kumamoto oysters, Fluke crudo, Shrimp cocktail with some delicious dipping sauces.

Appetizers:
-The Sea Urchin with Lobster tempura, yuzu... read more harissa ($10 supplement) was very interesting, and we all love Uni, no? The lobster tempura was a bit tough and colored black.

Mains:
-Branzino filet cooked perfectly (I would've preferred whole fish).
-Spicy Braised Short Rib with Creamy millet risotto, asian pear gremolata- very flavorful and the meat so tender.
-Truffle Donabe - not exactly what we thought, lots of mushrooms
-Duck, Asian soy glazed, celeriac purée: Probably the best Entree, perfectly cooked medium-rare and the glaze was superb.

Desserts were outstanding.
-Macha Tiramisu served with vanilla ice cream : Tiramisu was really well crafted
-Thai Tea Pudding with fresh mango with condense milk : Exotic although the  mango was a bit sour
-Monaka ice cream with chocolate mochi (Black sesame, green tea or vanilla), this is the best dessert

  my friends and i came to eat here, excited to dine at a michelin restaurant. we all had the two course prix fixe which comes with an appetizer and main... read more course of your choosing ($45/pp). we were seated at the terrace which was very lovely!

king crab noodle * appetizer
i thought this was very delicious! it is onion jalapeño pesto, onion, lemon oil, and mala sauce. the plating was beautiful and it did what appetizers were meant to do - make you excited for your next course!

duck * main course
i will admit, this was not my favorite. i'm sorry i didn't have a picture, i was super excited to eat lol. the duck is asian soy-glazed with a celeriac purée. the purée was very tasty but i was still hungry after my two course. either be prepared to spend more or come on a not so empty stomach!

matcha tiramisu * dessert
hands down the best part of my meal!!!!! this matcha tiramisu was $8 and it came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. the tiramisu was heavenly

i'm not sure if it was bc they were busy, but the service was a bit slow 🙁 i also added a picture of my friend's appetizer which was yellowtail crudo (amazing, i loved the charred onions which gave a good crunch) and the peach mule (soju, peach, and tonic) drink that was sweet and tasty!

  Went there for lunch and was really disappointed with the restaurant, the appetizers were okay, the mains were way below expectation. We waited for a long time after our appetizers... read more were finished and before the mains were served. The mains were not very well seasoned, the steak was over cooked and bitter, the salmon was bland and came with a weird sauce that didn't taste good at all. Would never come back for another meal.

  I first came here in the summer of 2019 to celebrate my birthday (they have a private alcove on the first floor), and been here a few times since. It's... read more consistently good food, attentive service, and clean. The dinner "tasting menu" is essentially a 4-course prix fixe. I recommend this over the 2-course option especially if you are going to order the Royal Platter - it's a great deal!

My favorites:
- King crab noodle: has a nice miso flavor
- duck: they know how to cook their duck!!!

They just started Thursday live jazz nights in the main dining room on the second floor. Unfortunately we didn't get to sit close by so recommend you specifically request to be seated so you can view the quartet.

  I went there couple months ago, had a prixe fixe lunch before my hair stylist appointment. I read so many good reviews about this restaurant  before so it was on... read more my list for a while.
I was good Friday and we were the only table in the restaurant.
The portion of the prixe fixe lunch menu was so little so sad. I mean if the restaurant decided they are going to do set menu, better considering the portion in advance.
It was 3 pieces of sashimi appetizer, not fresh, very sour taste.
The black truffle rice has no scent of the truffle what so ever, I ordered extra hanger steak, it was dry and very hard to chew. Forcing me to give up chewing even I was hungry.
My husband's appetizer was a little better than mine, he ordered the king crab noddle, it can fill you up with the heavy cream for sure.