Sometimes, the rationale behind Michelin star selections escapes me. More often than not, it’s the restaurants that don’t receive enough accolades that leave me puzzled (as seen with establishments like Aimo and Nadia, Saison, and Daniel). However, in the case of Blue Hill in Greenwich Village, my confusion lies in the opposite direction: how did this restaurant earn a star at all? My recent Family Meal At Blue Hill was, at best, unremarkable and, at worst, perplexing.
This West Village establishment is known as the more casual sibling to Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Chef Dan Barber’s renowned two-Michelin-starred restaurant celebrated for its dedication to exceptional, farm-fresh vegetables. While this downtown location has historically been considered a less refined version of its Pocantico Hills counterpart, recent reviews suggested a positive shift following a post-COVID pivot to a “Family Meal” style service. Intrigued, I decided to experience this new format firsthand with my family.
The family meal at Blue Hill is structured as a four-course prix fixe menu, with each course comprising a selection of dishes intended for sharing. The initial course showed promise, offering some pleasant flavors, though nothing truly stood out. However, the presentation of the fluke, cut into unwieldy rectangular pieces, was baffling. Attempting to eat it whole was overwhelming, while cutting it proved awkward and messy. This amateurish mistake raised immediate questions about the kitchen’s direction and attention to detail during our family meal at Blue Hill.
The second course further dampened the experience. Eggs were, simply, eggs. The flatbread was undeniably tasty. But the accompanying bowl of ricotta and olive oil felt disjointed. Was it meant to be spread on the bread? Eaten by the spoonful? The server, when asked for clarification on how to enjoy the components together during our family meal at Blue Hill, offered no guidance, leaving us even more puzzled about the intended culinary experience.
Course three aimed for redemption with slices of beef that were indeed quite good. And then, there was the salad – a dish I had eagerly anticipated, given Blue Hill’s reputation for vegetable excellence. The vibrant greens were piled high, visually appealing and promising a highlight of the family meal at Blue Hill. However, the first bite revealed a critical flaw: the salad was drowning in dressing. Not simply overdressed, but completely saturated. Each mouthful was dominated by an intense, vinegary flavor that overwhelmed the delicate lettuces. The photograph below illustrates the extent to which the leaves were drenched. The profound disappointment of being unable to savor these supposedly star vegetables due to excessive dressing is hard to overstate, especially from a restaurant like Blue Hill, where vegetables are purportedly the focus. It was truly perplexing within the context of a family meal at Blue Hill that should celebrate fresh produce.
Image alt text: Salad greens heavily saturated with vinaigrette dressing in a white bowl at Blue Hill restaurant, illustrating the excessive dressing issue during a family meal.
Finally, the fourth course: dessert. Surely, dessert could salvage some of the evening? Sadly, no. One of the three dessert offerings was… an apple. A sliced apple. Consider that for a moment. At a Michelin-starred restaurant, paying $150 per person for this family meal at Blue Hill, dessert included a plate of sliced apple. It would be comical if it weren’t so indicative of a lack of creativity and ambition. It’s hard to imagine a menu planning session where someone suggested “just a cut-up apple” and no one objected, especially for a family meal at Blue Hill aiming for a Michelin standard.
Our server was pleasant and attentive. Intriguingly, the general manager approached our table, identifying me from this blog, I presume. (I didn’t observe him engaging with other diners in the same manner). He shared anecdotes and opinions about other restaurants we had visited or planned to visit, a somewhat unusual interaction that felt out of sync with the overall family meal at Blue Hill experience.
Ultimately, I am left questioning Michelin’s judgment. What did they see in this family meal at Blue Hill to warrant a star? I earnestly tried to find something deserving of such an accolade, but it was simply not there. The disparity between this experience and other one-starred establishments like Frevo, Jua, or Rezdora is staggering. Are these restaurants truly on the same level? Absolutely not. Even Rocca, my favorite star-less restaurant in Tampa, operates at a noticeably higher standard.
Several staff members, when explaining the family meal at Blue Hill format, offered a preemptive justification, stating, “This format isn’t for everyone. Some don’t like it.” I believe they are misinterpreting the source of dissatisfaction. It’s not the format itself that is the issue. In fact, our enthusiastic reaction to the salad prompted a server to remark that many diners unfortunately “leave the salad alone because they are full.”
That is simply not the reason.
There seems to be an underlying defensiveness pervading Blue Hill, a sense of resignation that “it’s okay if many people don’t appreciate what we’re doing.” Instead, they would be better served by critically evaluating their offerings and understanding why they are failing to resonate, particularly for a restaurant aspiring to Michelin-level dining. Blue Hill is, at its core, an adequate restaurant. But that is all. If they aim for the upper echelons of dining, a frank reassessment of their execution and the resulting underwhelming experience, especially within the context of their family meal at Blue Hill, is urgently needed.
My disappointing family meal at Blue Hill experience has not only deterred me from returning to this location but has also cast a shadow over Blue Hill at Stone Barns. It was, regrettably, that far off the mark.
