Hudson River Café 697 W. 133rd St. (@ 12th Ave.)
Harlem
212.491.9111
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Hudson River Café:
This two-level, 6,000-square foot, garden patio bar overlooking the Hudson River provides a sneak peek into yet another emerging NYC neighborhood, Harlem’s West Side. Once an abandoned garage, the Hudson River Café is a hotspot for Harlem’s movers and shakers and visitors trekking for a binge at Dinosaur BBQ just blocks away. In the evenings, live jazz fills the uptown air as patrons gaze at outrageous sunset views. New summer cocktails by master mixologist Alex Ott include the refreshing Honeysuckle (Zacapa rum, liquified honey, and lime juice) and the Hudson River Caipirinha (Merlot, fresh limes, and agave nectar). There's a latenight menu to boot. Who knows, maybe all this "Northern air" will increase your buzz too.
Service is horrendous. Not a place to go for some fine dining nor relaxtion. By night fall the place turns into a nightclub where staff are incrediably rude and brute. If you are looking for a fun safe environment, THIS IS NOT IT. Stay away & consider yourself lucky. The horrible things I saw the staff do to patrons is unimaginable (extreemly violent). This place should be shut down.
3/29/2011 8:30:00 AM
mzener . says:
My wife and I were blown away by this restuarant. The flavors in everything we ordered we light and subtle, but crisp and vibrant at the same time.
We could tell that the special entree was (as is often the case) a dumping ground for an old ingredient the chef wants to sell before it goes bad ... BUT ... the chef also paired it with fantastically-cooked greens, tender crab, perfect scallops, and an amazing cream sauce (with plenty of tropical fruit flavors) that blew my mind. And that suace appeared nowhere else on the menu ... which means that even the "dumping ground" was created with care, craft, and attention to flavor.
Kudos also to the special drinks menu. They all look incredible, and unlike anything you'll find anywhere else. I had a "Brazilian Sangria" (made with white wine) that was crisp, fruity but not sugary, and a little spicy.
Our only complaint was that the dining room got a little loud for our tastes, but the food was so good that we plan to return again and again again.
4/26/2009 1:37:00 PM
kathy s. says:
i haven't been HRC for a sitdown meal, the drinks are not bad. it is definitely a spot to hangout, socialize and meet people. The music is great. on different nights you have the variety of d.j. playing or a live band. there isn't really a view and the parking is a problem unless you go with valet parking.
7/23/2008 1:13:00 PM
andwhat03 . says:
My wife and a friend of mine had a very bad experience there. We will never go there again and will never recommend it to anyone. The ambiance is good, the service, food, parking and regulations are bad.
We went there for Lunch on Sunday afternoon. The sun was out and we were going to the park afterward. We approached the door and requested a table for 3. The place was fairly empty, however well staffed. Before entering the hostess forced me to remove my Yankees baseball cap. My hair was a mess and didn't understand this requirement. I looked inside and saw almost everyone was dressed casually, in shorts, slippers, jeans, sneakers and even tank tops. So that was piss off # 1.
They sat us in the sun. It was 90 degrees out and they sat us in the sun. Did I mention the place was empty. There were a bunch of tables that had umbrellas and they gave us a table w/o one and sat us in the sun. So after 5 minutes of baking in the sun no one approached us so I got up from my seat and walked over to hostess and asked to be reseated. She said "OK, give me two minutes." So we baked for an additional 15mins before I decided to re-seat myself. At the end of the meal we asked for the check and had to wait another 20mins. Did I mention yet, the place was empty !!
Now, I can't say the service was completely bad. The guy who pours water into your glass was very attentive. We would take two sip of water and the next thing you know he's over your shoulder filling it up again.
To eat, I ordered a $18 Kobi beef burger, medium cook, cheapest entree. I got a hockey puck back. Choked the hell out of me eating it. My wife ordered the same, well done, and got a medium rare, uhhhhhhh!!!! My friend ordered some fancy chicken thing with green beans. He said it was dry and lacked flavor.
To end, the place is FILTHY. Located between and below the HH Pkwy and Riverside Dr. Dirt blows off the highway, above, down onto the dining area. Umm Yummy.
There is no view. If you're read that there's a great view, don't believe it. There's no view at all.
The only reason to go here is to drink and socialize.
7/21/2008 3:40:00 PM
chegro . says:
The Hudson River Cafe is a great outdoor space with everything for everyone. At the bar, there are flat screen TVs showing your favorite sports games. The outside patio has sofas for drinks and lounging as well as dining tables for dinner. They have a live band on weekends. The food is really good. And believe it or not, the service is SUPERB. I've never said that to any New York establishment I've been to. But I must give it to Hudson River Cafe! They keep me coming back!
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