(212) 539-1776

75 Washington Pl (nr. Sixth Ave.)
New York, NY 10011 40.732 -73.9997

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Neighborhoods: Greenwich Village, Downtown

Hours:

Mon-Sat, 5:30pm-11pm

Sun, 5:30pm-10pm

Price:

$$$$

Last updated 4.14.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, Discover, Diners Club, MasterCard

Catering Services:

Restaurant Management

Restaurant Special Features:

Romantic Dining, Quiet, Fine Dining, Outdoor Dining, Theater District Dining, Private Rooms, Online Reservations, Dine At The Bar, Prix Fixe Menu

Cuisine:

New American, Traditional American

What People Are Saying About Blue Hill

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

The Scene – The small, below ground dining room has the feeling of an exclusive, well-bred supper club. Framed by backlit banquettes and warmly illuminated brick walls, and with a cozy bar at the entrance, the design is refreshingly notable for advancing absolutely no architectural metaphors--it's just a nice place to eat. The staff, while professional, can be humorless and rote. – – The Food – You certainly won't need to be carried to a cab from overeating here. In the feathery, well-conceived dishes of chef-owner Dan Barber, flavored broths supplant virtually all…

Editor's Tips

Know Before You Go:
Blue Hill fills up early, but you can dine at the handsome limestone bar, and probably meet fellow dining room refugees.
Where to Sit:
A small covered patio out back is a pleasant option, but only in warm (not hot)l weather as it lacks air conditioning.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. The ambiance was cozy and romantic, and well worth it!
  2. restaurant that doesn't try to do anything except serve great food with great service in a pleasant atmosphere.
  3. The atmosphere is better for small groups (less than 5) or a romantic evening.
  4. Best elegant and comfortable restaurant in NYC!
  5. The cozy feel of an old speakeasy, the flowers, and the very friendly as well as knowledgable wait staff are first rate.
  6. The combo of our nice server, delectable food & ambiance left me dazzled.
  7. The atmosphere was cozy and intimate.
dessert
82.22000122070312% positive
  1. Our cold asparagus soup was a major highlight, as well as the chocolate bread pudding for dessert!
  2. The restaurant supplied us with free desert which was excellent.
  3. had the morning egg, which was FANTASTIC and highly recommended, the duck, and quince for dessert.
  4. It was one of the best dining experiences of my life, and my wife and I got our own appetizer, our own entree and we split dessert and we were more than satisfied.
  5. Desserts ~ a berry soup with mint and lemongrass; a plum panacota and a chocolate bread pudding which is perfect, too.
  6. Our food was tasty, and some of the dishes had interesting pairings, such as butternut squash cheesecake with cumin and passion fruit gelee with coffee and coconut froth.
  7. I'm not crazy about cheesecake but this was, hands-down, the best cheesecake I have ever had.
  8. As dessert I would highly recommend the steamed cheesecake.
  9. My dessert included perhaps the most original item I have ever tasted--black pepper icecream, which was amazing, served over very good pear and pecorino combination served with a terrible, dry, tasteless biscotti styled cake.
drinks
75.0% positive
  1. First time we ordered Chivas scotch in a restaurant with a full bar and they did not have Chivas.
  2. The wine list was big and well priced; we had an excellent bottle of rose (a Le Fleur from Mendoza).
  3. Our food was tasty, and some of the dishes had interesting pairings, such as butternut squash cheesecake with cumin and passion fruit gelee with coffee and coconut froth.
  4. The wine was great and they kept bringing us bread, these were the two best things about the meal.
food quality
86.92999839782715% positive
  1. restaurant that doesn't try to do anything except serve great food with great service in a pleasant atmosphere.
  2. Desserts ~ a berry soup with mint and lemongrass; a plum panacota and a chocolate bread pudding which is perfect, too.
  3. However, each meal was delicious, very fresh with well balanced flavors and textures.
  4. Delicious meal, Very good service
  5. Our food was tasty, and some of the dishes had interesting pairings, such as butternut squash cheesecake with cumin and passion fruit gelee with coffee and coconut froth.
  6. Overall, I don't know what all the fuss is about -- you can get food that is as well (if not better) prepared at numerous places in the neighborhood, and at most places you will actually walk out with a full stomach.
  7. Fantastic food.
  8. The portions are not huge, but the $68 tasting menu is quite a bit of food.
  9. great food, great service
  10. Our cold asparagus soup was a major highlight, as well as the chocolate bread pudding for dessert!
  11. Five mini ravioli in a huge bowl for $16, a $30+ entree that was essentially a thin layer of tomato based sauce with some barley-like grain and four small pitiful pieces of lamb, and an $8 side order of brussels sprouts that looked generous in the dish, u
  12. Excellent food.
  13. The wine was great and they kept bringing us bread, these were the two best things about the meal.
  14. My morning egg with lentils offered a wonderful garnish of lentils and an extremely undercooked and cold egg on top.
  15. Great food, great service.
  16. The food was admittedly very good, but the portions were ridiculous.
  17. The food was really fantastic and not too over the top in terms of what they were trying to be.
  18. The combo of our nice server, delectable food & ambiance left me dazzled.
  19. My conclusion is that if you enjoy great food and a great dining experience you will have a hard time finding a better place than Blue Hill.
  20. The food is superb here and the service is wonderful.
  21. We had "shots" of chilled soup with drops of infused oil on top as an amazing teaser.
  22. had a cod dish that was among the best fish dinners I've had in this city.
  23. An Escape - great food!
  24. The service was impeccable and unobtrusive -- the staff knows what they are there to do -- to know their menu, present your meal, and attend to your needs.
  25. had the morning egg, which was FANTASTIC and highly recommended, the duck, and quince for dessert.
  26. highly recommend Blue Hill- it's on par with Gramercy Tavern & Craft for best American Creative food- & would go back in a heartbeat.
  27. Besides everything else, the food at Blue Hill is superb.
  28. The ingredients could stand alone, but the chef prepares them with such thoughtfulness and novelty that a memorable meal results.
  29. Our meals - fall mushrooms and the cod; crab lasagna and the lamb - were creative and delicious.
  30. Looking around, I saw a room full of New Yorkers enjoying a real meal in a real restaurant, not a clubhouse of the fabulous trying to be seen.
  31. My husband's pork included a spectacular pork belly, an interesting in-house made warm sausage, and a card-board consistency, flavorless pork loin over mediocre chickpeas.
  32. The cod was absolutely delicious, the vegetables were fresh and practically bursting off the plate.
  33. The appetizers were tasty but not exceptional.
  34. The appetizers were good, I was told the crab salad was very refreshing.
  35. To sum up: The food was beautifully prepared and delicious, the service was attentive and gracious, and the overall experience was delightful.
  36. The food is outstanding - everything is fresh and seasonal.
  37. The food was delicious but do not come here on a empty stomach.
  38. came here without much of an appetite and left having eaten more than I imagined, just because the food was so good.
  39. The service was great and the food very well prepared although, many of the food combinations were not interesting to me (look over the menu online before you go).
  40. have never better enjoyed humble root vegetables or a mushroom consomme - and this chef accomplishes without fats.
  41. Meanwhile, the bartender continued to pour champagne from his reserve after we had finished our bottle and we enjoyed an amuse of turnip soup with pureed basil, gratis.
  42. The portions are small but being that the food was so good makes up for that.
  43. The space mirrors the food in its elegant simplicity.
  44. Some may say of course we were at that price, but I've eaten MUCH more expensive dinners that offered MUCH less food.
menu variety
80.0% positive
  1. The service was impeccable and unobtrusive -- the staff knows what they are there to do -- to know their menu, present your meal, and attend to your needs.
  2. The portions are not huge, but the $68 tasting menu is quite a bit of food.
  3. Best of all, I was allowed to order a tasting menu while the SO ordered a la carte - that allowed us to mix and match off the menu.
  4. Food is very good, but the menu doesn't change as often as it should, given the creativity.
  5. The service was great and the food very well prepared although, many of the food combinations were not interesting to me (look over the menu online before you go).
overall
100.0% positive
  1. great place to go for a special night.
  2. My conclusion is that if you enjoy great food and a great dining experience you will have a hard time finding a better place than Blue Hill.
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. highly recommend Blue Hill- it's on par with Gramercy Tavern & Craft for best American Creative food- & would go back in a heartbeat.
service
100.0% positive
  1. The waitstaff is charming and attentive, while the interiors are handsome and calm.
  2. To sum up: The food was beautifully prepared and delicious, the service was attentive and gracious, and the overall experience was delightful.
  3. The cozy feel of an old speakeasy, the flowers, and the very friendly as well as knowledgable wait staff are first rate.
  4. The service couldn't have been better; our waitress was friendly and informed, and her timing was perfect.
  5. great food, great service
  6. recommend Blue Hill to anyone, the service was excellent as well.
  7. The service was impeccable and unobtrusive -- the staff knows what they are there to do -- to know their menu, present your meal, and attend to your needs.
  8. Excellent service to boot.
  9. The food is superb here and the service is wonderful.
  10. Excellent service.
  11. Great food, great service.
  12. The waitress recommended the slice veal which both my wife and I ordered.
  13. The combo of our nice server, delectable food & ambiance left me dazzled.
  14. restaurant that doesn't try to do anything except serve great food with great service in a pleasant atmosphere.
  15. The service is excellent.
  16. Meanwhile, the bartender continued to pour champagne from his reserve after we had finished our bottle and we enjoyed an amuse of turnip soup with pureed basil, gratis.
  17. The staff there is very attentive and down to earth.
  18. The service was EXCELLENT--attentive but not intrusive, solicitous but not annoying, accommodating, knowledgeable, able to offer alternatives, and generally close to perfect.
  19. Food is superb and the service is very attentive.
  20. As a group of five, we were treated very well by the bartender, Sean, and our waitress was also very attentive.
  21. Delicious meal, Very good service
  22. The service here is impeccable - probably one of the top 5 I have experienced in NYC.
  23. The service was great and the food very well prepared although, many of the food combinations were not interesting to me (look over the menu online before you go).
  24. We were both very pleased with our meals and the service was excellent.
  25. Service was perfect, so knowledgable and friendly, I really enjoyed being in this restaurant.
value
58.33000183105469% positive
  1. Five mini ravioli in a huge bowl for $16, a $30+ entree that was essentially a thin layer of tomato based sauce with some barley-like grain and four small pitiful pieces of lamb, and an $8 side order of brussels sprouts that looked generous in the dish, u
  2. The portions are not huge, but the $68 tasting menu is quite a bit of food.
  3. The food was admittedly very good, but the portions were ridiculous.
  4. Some may say of course we were at that price, but I've eaten MUCH more expensive dinners that offered MUCH less food.
  5. The portions are small but being that the food was so good makes up for that.
  6. The ambiance was cozy and romantic, and well worth it!
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

05/10/10

Can practically taste the farm in the food!

by GreenChair

I had a lovely time at Blue Hill. The food is, overall, simply prepared and everything tastes incredibly fresh. I wouldn't say the creativity of flavors was as high a I had potentially anticipated, but they really allowed every ingredient's flavor to shine through in such a clean, subtle way.

The service was simply inspiring. They're incredibly accommodating to preparation and taste preferences in the kitchen, and the server we seemed to nearly be a mind reader! He was patient in answering various questions and even gave us an extra glass of wine on the house when he thought we might have preferred a different wine than the one we had ordered.

Really superb overall experience!

  • Pros: Fantastic service, fresh seasonal menu
  • Cons: Pricey!
2 Star Rating: Below Average

03/28/10

Expected Better Food

by kitzen

This is the second time I had dinner at Blue Hill. The waitress recommended the slice veal which both my wife and I ordered. It was full of sinew and grizzle. Both my wife and I mentioned to her that she should not recommend this item to anyone else. The restaurant supplied us with free desert which was excellent. To say the least, we had a dissapointeng experience.

  • Pros: Good service and presentation
  • Cons: Inedible food
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

11/20/09

Perfect for a special occasion

by Stephanie Fees

Came here for a non-special occasion dinner, but the majority of those around us were there for birthdays or other special occasions. The food was AMAZING, and very accessible for the price point, meaning you didn't have to ask the waiter what things were on your plate - they aren't trying to disguise the food into ambiguous dishes, they let it speak for itself. I had the morning egg, which was FANTASTIC and highly recommended, the duck, and quince for dessert. I'm in culinary school, so I put my food through a thorough examination, and everything was cooked to perfection and very flavorful. The waiter even noticed me examining my food and guessed I was in culinary school and offered a tour of the (unimaginably small) kitchen. Great food, great service. Highly recommended.

  • Pros: Great portion size, fresh ingredients
  • Cons: none!
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

04/26/09

nearly flawless

by saoirse78

Excellent execution with the freshest of ingredients which are aloud to shine on their own merits without any overpowering spices or sauces. Best of class among the new american/season/local restaurants. The space mirrors the food in its elegant simplicity. Excellent service to boot.

  • Pros: incrediblly fesh ingredients, solid wine menu, not stuffy
  • Cons: can drain your wallet, but better value most

The Details on Blue Hill

Place Categories:

  • excellent service
  • great food
  • nice ambiance
  • delicious meals
  • informed waitress
  • outstanding great dining experience
  • recommend highly
  • quietly elegant dining room
  • tasteless biscotti
  • seasonal everything
  • knowledgable wait staff
  • intimate atmosphere
  • recommend blue hill
  • warm interesting inhouse
  • more expensive dinner
  • fantastic morning egg
  • really superb overall experience
  • charming waitstaff
  • ridiculous portions
  • good appetizers
  • perfect timing
  • amazing crabmeat lasagne
  • full joint
  • comfortable date restaurant
  • highly recommend steamed cheesecake
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