We were looking for a seafood restaurant Midtown and decided to go to Blue Fin, the restaurant of the posh W Hotel in Times Square. I admit that we were not sure what to expect as many restaurants in that area care more about foot traffic than returning satisfied customers. And you know what? I was pleasantly surprised!
The place is quite big with the main dinner my room being upstairs. The best moment to avoid the noise is definitely after 7:30pm as people start leaving to go to shows and the first time we went there, we arrived in a packed dining room that emptied fairly quickly, giving my ears some well deserved relief.
Food wise, it is all about seafood, including sushi, but, if you prefer meat, they have a couple of dishes that could do it.
Here are some of the things we tried there:
Junmai Nigori sake- Tozai "snow" Maiden: delicious, I love the color of it that comes from the fact that it is unfiltered.
Szechuan Sour, made with Langley No 8 Gin, yuzu, and kefir lime leaf, Szechuan peppercorn (quite refreshing with a nice citrus flavor):
Dressed sushi: eel with pineapple and kojujang.
East coast and West coast oysters: if I recall, the East cost were Blue Point from Long Island, NY and the West coast were Royal Mayagi from Washington State. They tasted very fresh and I love fact that you can try two kinds, tasting the difference in flavor and texture.
White sesame big eye tuna with sake oakwood shiitake, bok choy, black rice and a ponzu emulsion. Delicious, the most surprising part was the black rice.
Halibut a la plancha served with jumbo lump crab meat, lemon herb gnocchi and roasted squash. That dish was sublime: I thought that maybe with the gnocchi it would be heavy, but it was not the case. And the fish was so good: flakey and moist, cooked to perfection.
Glazed Chilean sea bass with sesame roasted eggplant, crispy rice and lemongrass soy. This was another sublime dish. Again, the fish was perfectly cooked and the crispy rice was delicious.
One dish however that was just ok for me, after all of these very good one was the simply grilled Montauk calamari that could have had more flavors. It was served with a cauliflower chopped salad.
Dessert was not and after thought at Blue Fin! We tried their creme brûlée with shortbread cookies.
But also their chocolate raspberry molten cake that was to die for.
Each time we went to Blue Fin, we had delicious food. That may be surprising for the location but it is true: it is one of my favorite seafood places in the city!
Enjoy (I did)!
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Blue Fin at The W Hotel - 1567 Broadway, New York, NY 10036