Hearth

10/26/09

All around lukewarm

by petersondr at Citysearch

I am a NYC fine dining regular and was excited to give Hearth a shot after numerous excellent reviews. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a pleasant hostess and a large, spare dining room with padded carpet strips on one wall. Hearth has a large, complicated wine list that is likely excellent by-the-bottle, but too highbrow if going by-the-glass. After plenty of consultation with our server, we opted for the autumn tasting menu with one substitution. The salad course was not remarkable, with light dressing reminiscent of Henri's Tas-tee on the pear and pecorino salad. Next, came lukewarm pumpkin ravioli that was so sweet it made my teeth ache, like a too-rich dessert. The main course was venison (again, lukewarm), which was overcooked and which the server smartly and subtly tried to warn me off. I should have taken her advice. My wife substituted the duck, which was excellent and the best thing we ate that evening. The apple crisp dessert was very basic and very good. In the end, I was turned off by the coldness of the dining room and the average quality of the food, especially at those prices.

• Pros: Great duck
• Cons: Chilly dining room, average food, high prices

12/28/08

Average

by ajk1 at Citysearch

Average New American restaurant. Nothing special about it, but nothing bad about it either. Ambiance is a bit dark, but it caters to a large group and casual couple dining.

• Pros: Ambiance
• Cons: For all the hype, food could've been better

12/08/08

Enjoyable Dinner

by wetzel at Citysearch

I met a couple of friends at Hearth for dinner on a Saturday night.

We decided to share so we carefully scanned the menu for the items that appealed to us the most. We selected the braised veal breast , the pumpkin ortelli , and the beet salad.

The service was timely. The food was tasty and well prepared. The decor was modern and welcoming. It's just, for some strange reason, nothing stands out as excellent.

And then we had dessert. We selected the chai spice cake. A nice finish to a good meal.

Would I have enjoyed the food as much if I did not have such excellent company? Perhaps. It's all part of the experience.

It was enjoyable. I would eat there again.

11/17/08

Phenomenal!

by ValW at Citysearch

This is hands down, one of the best restaurants in New York City! My boyfriend and I went on Friday night for our one year anniversary, and the experience was amazing. We had a reservation, but we requested a seat overlooking the kitchen and the hostess was extremely accomodating. I highly reccommend the seats overlooking the kitchen - you can watch the chefs as you dine and you get a firsthand look at all the care and preparation that is put into each dish. The service was wonderful and the food is divine. I highly highly reccomend the chicken with autumn vegetables - it was cooked to perfection and each bite was heaven. My boyfriend had the sturgeon wrapped in prosciutto, which he said was the best he has ever had. I think our waiter overhead that we we there for our anniversary, and he sent a side of gnocchi over with the food- each piece melted in my mouth - it was amazing! Not only is the food exceptional, but service of the waitstaff and chefs is one in a million. It is worth every penny. Hearth provided me with one of the best dining experiences I have ever had!

• Pros: Service, food, wine ambience
• Cons: None

05/19/08

Great food, nice wine, perfect service

by beckyevantash at Citysearch

I went to Hearth with two friends on Friday night. The restaurant was cozy and the service great. Not only were we able to transfer our bar tab to our table, the bartender suggested it. They pool tips so everyone is friendly and helpful. We ordered the New Zealand Snapper Crudo which I would compare to sashimi. It was impeccable. I ordered the Roasted Duck as did one of my friends, our other friend ordered one of the fish dishes (both entrees were delicious). We also had a side of yummy potatoes puree and an amazing Chocolate-peanut Butter Tart for desert. Our server was great and she didn't mind when two other friends joined us for another bottle of wine close to midnight. I would love to go back and try the tasting menu sometime soon.

• Pros: Great food and friendly servers
• Cons: Drafty

02/25/08

The test of a good restaurant is how they deal with mistakes. Hearth gets an A+

by gnhoratio at Citysearch

We've become regulars at Hearth, and love it. Saturday found the restaurant NOT in good form. We sat down, ordered our meal, and half an hour later, our appetizers had not arrived. It was odd because, fifteen minutes before, the waiter had come by to tell us they were on the way, and he was sorry for the delay. Ten minutes later, we heard the chef yell WHERE ARE THOSE FIRSTS? Talking about ours. We were ready to leave, because that wasn't the only problem. Then they came out, and the manager came out, with corporate double speak, just making us angrier. Finally, the chef came out, serving us our entrees personally, and apologizing for the "miscommunication."

What miscommunication? There wasn't any, at least not on our part. The food WAS good, and we enjoyed it and ordered dessert, which was also wonderful.

When we asked for the bill, they told us they were comping us on the whole dinner because of their goofs. Could NOT have been more apologetic. We didn't feel we could accept that, and suggested instead that they buy us our drinks. Again, you couldn't have seen more appreciative people.

Restaurants make mistakes. They ALL do. Sometimes they happen to good customers. It's going to happen. How you fix it is the test of a good restaurant. Hearth is a VERY good restaurant.

02/25/08

Good service, but the food is not that great for that price.

by siulobow at Citysearch

The service is very good. Compared to other $$$$ restaurants in NYC, the service level is comparable.

But the food is not really that great.

We all tried the House cocktails; none of them have good taste. But the drinks are quite expensive.

We all had the tasting menu. I would not say the food was terrible, but it was just OK. I don't think I needed to pay that price for that kind of food because they were not that tasty. When we had the scallop as the second course; there was some sand inside the scallop. We complained to the waitress; she spoke to the chef about it and told us that it was NORMAL. The chef refused to exchange a new plate for us.

• Pros: Good Service
• Cons: Not Great Food

01/06/08

Wonderful food and great overall experience!!! You must go!

by textilechica at Citysearch

I went with 3 of my girlfriends and we were given exceptional service combined with delicious, well-prepared food. Not only was the food amazing, it was presented beautifully and in the perfect proportions. We could not stop raving about this place for the rest of the evening!! Definitely make a reservation and if you like a more quieter setting, try the back room. ENJOY!

• Pros: food, service
• Cons: gets very crowded-go early and avoid the rush!

12/17/07

Tastes that arouse all of your senses.

by krarey at Citysearch

I'm new in the review writing business, but I was so impressed by my experience at Hearth that I felt compelled to write one. Immediately upon arriving I was greeted by gracious house staff and bartenders, but I was decisively most impressed by the service I received while sitting at the bar overlooking the kitchen. Although I was hesitant at first to forgo the ambience of the main dining room by sitting at the kitchen-side bar, I can't thank my date enough for insisting upon it. The chefs were conversive and charming, one in particular spent far more time with us, guiding our wine choices and acquainting us with their seasonal menu, than any wait staff, much less chef, that I've ever encountered.

We had the tasting menu (the scallops with golden raisin reduction were my favorite), every course was flavorful and sumptuous, I was unceasingly impressed. The presentation was so beautiful that at one point my ravenously hungry date actually stopped and stared at his food before eating it. The gnocchi quite literally melted in your mouth and were the best that I've EVER had. The desert amuse- Meyer lemon with pomegranate molasses, was original and quite honestly energizing, it was a taste that I experienced with my entire body.

In all, Hearth has everything going for it, charming staff who enhance the dining experience, reasonable and exceeding worthwhile prices, a relaxed and inviting ambiance, and most importantly delicious food. Please do yourself the favor of experiencing it; just leave me a seat at the kitchen bar.

• Pros: exceptional food and service
• Cons: none

10/24/07

Unbelievable that this place has so many people fooled

by LuckMan212 at Citysearch

This place was rec?d by a friend as "one of his favorite places" so I was excited when my girl and I finally had a chance to try it. We were seated promptly and given our allotted 1 piece of bread. We decided against the $1350 cabernet and instead chose lowly glasses of shiraz for $17 each. Crowd was mostly 50+ who looked like they just finished 9 holes at the countryclub. Lots of sweaters tied around necks. We ordered apps + mains. Arugula salad with walnut vinaigrette & a ribollita(sp?) soup of cannelloni beans, toasts covered in parmesan cheese and some kind of greens. The soup was very thick and too salty although overall it was the most edible thing we ordered, and was the only thing we finished. The salad was AWFUL and inedible. I have a very adaptable palate- but the flavor of the dressing was horrid, it had a very "earthy" (NOT in a good way) taste, like dirt/mold if you can imagine that. Both of us ate a few bites and wound up leaving most of the $15 mess to the busboy. We then waited 20 mins for our 2nd courses to arrive. I ordered a striped bass which was the "special", served with clams and roasted fennel, and she chose a skate fish with beets & sunchokes. Both dishes were small for $31. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise! My fish had a very strong/bad musky odor and didn?t taste fresh at all. The clams had a "sudsy" butter sauce on them and tasted OK at first but had an aftertaste that reminded me of dishwashing soap. (I think that they spilled some in the broth!) The fennel was good but everything was drenched in butter & salt. I left 3/4 of my fish untouched. My girl?s dish was a little better but also way too salty and had a strange odor. This place is trying too hard to impart exotic flavors to their dishes and is missing the mark, resulting in hideous frankenstein-like combinations. The damage was $150 for 2 of us, which did NOT include dessert. We both left hungry and feeling sick. I will never go back to Hearth!

• Pros: very expensive wine list will impress your snooty countryclub buddies
• Cons: food is overpriced and mostly awful