On a recent trip to NYC, I had lunch at Huso Dining which is a small restaurant inside Marky’s Madison; a store selling gourmet products like caviar. The restaurant has a Parisian decor and vibe to it. We started with some caviar with the usual accoutrements which would later create an awkward situation that I believe, should not happen at a restaurant at this level.
This was followed by oysters with caviar. The caviar did not really add anything to the oysters and I would get them without in the future. Its like 24k gold leaf on food. Looks good for the Gram but adds zero culinary value to the dish (though it adds value to your bill).
After this, we had some foie gras and salad:
…then a very unique item – “Huso Dog”; this is Alaskan crab in a brioche bun, topped with caviar…the picture is drool worthy and the taste was pretty good, a bit gimmicky, but good nonetheless.
We finished with this lobster pasta topped with caviar.
So far the meal was going well, but things started to deteriorate from this point on. We ordered two desserts which took a VERY VERY long time to come. If I recall correctly, there are only 4 tables in the entire restaurant so I have no idea what happened here. The first dessert, when it finally arrived, vanilla and honey, was good.
…and the second dessert, was chocolate presented like caviar, very cool.
On top of the long wait for dessert, when the bill came, there was a $15 charge for “other”. When I inquired about that they mentioned that they charge extra for the blinis and other stuff that comes with the caviar. In my opinion, the restaurant should just include this in the price of the caviar.
- no one is going to order caviar without this stuff
- no restaurant I have ever been to in the world does this
- it makes the restaurant look extremely petty when people are spending hundreds or even thousands of $s on a meal; it would be like buying a luxury handbag and then the store tells you that the dust bag is $10 if you want it. It just ruins the “luxury” vibe.
- I didnt see this info mentioned anywhere on the menu
Overall, service was ok until the end. Food was interesting and luxurious but I dont think the price benefit ratio is favorable. Also, charging people for something that should come standard was a huge turnoff about this place. For these reasons, I would not return.
UPDATE: Coincidentally, the day I posted this, my wife was reconciling our credit card bill and noticed they took a deposit when we made the RSVP, but never reversed it or credited our bill. We emailed them and they just said mistakes happen and it will be reversed in 2-3 days. Not a luxury experience or response. Check your statements.