Blu Restaurant
“So I came here on a groupon deal, and I have to say that some groupons have turned out to be shady or disappointing.”
“Considering this is a hotel restaurant in a non-restaurant part of north Chelsea, it was much better than expected.”
“The bruschetta was delicious, especially the one with ricotta and the one with cauliflower.”
Blu Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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The service stands out in my mind as one of the greatest. The second thing that stands out.. the bathroom is 25 steps to the basement. Aside from that, the food was good and the service was amazing. The waitress even offered us a 2nd round if drinks because our food was delayed. I didn't think it was taking that long, but who am I to turn down a free round 😉
It's CLOSED. As of 10-6-12 the place is called "China Latina" and has a totally different menu and has changed staff. They were doing interviews in the dining room when we walked in to their soft opening as the new place. See my review for the new business. The place gets one star because the hotel and restaurant and their website were totally uncoordinated in the transition.
We bought a livingsocial deal for a hotel stay at Hotel Indigo, along with dinner at Blu Restaurant and bottle service at Glass Bar for four people.
Oh boy…so we made reservations for 8 pm for 6 people weeks prior. On the night of the dinner, we waited more than an hour AFTER our reservation to be seated. The restaurant itself was small and incredibly loud. By the time we were seated, we were hungry and cranky.
Four of us ordered off of a pre fix menu and the other two ordered from the regular menu. For appetizers, we tried the calamari and sliders. Calamari was rubbery and heavy. The sliders were okay; as small as they were, I could barely finish one on my own – too dry.
Bf got the pork chop and I got the steak. I got the sweet potato fries with my steak. The steak was chewy and tough. I actually gave up on it and just ate the fries. My bf liked the pork chop but I thought the sauce was weird. I wasn't a fan of the crab cake sandwich either.
Food was definitely not worth the value. After dinner, we went upstairs to the Glass Bar. While it had a nice view, the crowd and music were not our type.
Had lunch here yesterday with an old friend.
Atmosphere: Nice.
Service: Competent.
Food: Blah.
We had:
Bruschetta (terrible). How do you fuck up bruschetta?
Zucchini flowers (good).
Spinach salad (nasty).
Grilled salmon (good).
Risotto di funghi (okay).
Apple tart with ice cream (good).
Although we had a great time catching up and imbibing in some decent red wine, I certainly wouldn't return. Mentioning Yelp did nothing for the check either but that's fine. I don't trip the small stuff.
So I came here on a groupon deal, and I have to say that some groupons have turned out to be shady or disappointing. This one was great. The food portions were not redic small- but a very filling size. The calamari was ok, Cobb salad was excellent and the steak was good as well. For desert, I recommend the chocolate cake. It's great, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
I normally wouldn't come here, given its a bit pricey, food didn't totally wow me, and the ambiance is nothing memorable. However, I did have a great experience.
This restaurant definitely surprised me on the upside. Nice decor and it wasn't too loud or too quiet. Contemporary classical music was playing in the background. Lighting wasn't too dark or too bright. Service was decent. Came here with a couple of girl friends so we just shared everything. With everything we tried, the bill was pretty cheap per person (for NYC standards).
Food:
Scallops crudo with mango – the scallops were very fresh and the mango/lime was a good touch to cut out any sort of fishiness
Mushrooms with poached egg and swiss chard – the swiss chard was a bit too salty but the mushrooms were a good dish to start off the meal
Agnolotti (half-moon shaped pasta similar to ravioli) with butternut squash and brown sugar with shaved parmesan – semi sweet pasta that's easy to share
Cheese tortellini with red tomato sauce – fairly good
Sole on top of lentils – the fish was very well seasoned and had that fresh hearty taste
Apple tart – the pastry on the tart was slightly doughy the way I like it. I didn't care too much for the ice cream on top.
Chocolate cake – Way too chocolatey and rich for me, but I liked the white chocolate on top
The sole was by far the best dish I tried.
I bought a groupon here.. 3 course meal + a drink each for only 40 dollars.. GREAT DEAL!!!
Blu Restaurant is located in a hotel, which make it feels like a high end restaurant.. the environment is pretty good.. romantic and quiet.. but it's pretty casual.. Groupon has a fix menu.. so we start of with calamari and cobb salad… calamari was pretty good… dip with the sauce that they serve with dash of lemon.. it's really normal but good to enjoy… the cobb salad should include avocado but I can't taste any of it.. it's a little salty.. Normal to enjoy.. not amazing.. Bacon was crispy tho… that's my favorite..
Entree, Medium well new york strip steak and pork chop.. steak was cook perfectly.. a little pink in the middle, with some potato.. will give it 4 stars.. but I think they should present the steak in a better way.. It looks kinda "cheap" to me.. but good to enjoy.. Pork chop was cooked with pineapple sauce and pineapple chunks on it.. served with spinach and sweet potato… It's good.. but the pork looks like the pork I might be able to get in Target/Walmart.. and the texture is too hard to enjoy.. but the taste was pretty ok..
Dessert… Not much option to choose.. I wouldn't want a cappuccino or an espresso as my dessert… And since the groupon included a drink.. It doesn't make sense for me to order a dessert wine again.. So we ordered tiramisu and chocolate cake.. Both were good.. above average to enjoy.. I kinda hope that the chocolate that melt out from the chocolate cake is warm.. I guess this is why they call chocolate cake instead of warm chocolate cake..
Portion is huge.. the experience was up to average.. only complain is they should include more desserts instead of coffee and wine.. and more wine selection… the wine that they served, I think I might be able to get it in Trader Joes for less than 10 dollars.. and for the whole bottle..
We went up to the rooftop bar.. the building is not tall enough.. nothing much on the rooftop bar… There isn't a view.. so we decided to head back…
I too came here with the Groupon. They have a special menu specifically for the Groupon deal, but the selection is still broad enough for anyone. This is a hotel restaurant with a very small dining area (maybe 10 tables?) and it sits right up to the kitchen as well. There isn't much in the area of decor, just kind of normal I guess.
The food was OK. It wasn't good or bad. The wine was OK, again, not anything special. Service was pretty good, and we were served fairly quickly.
At the end of the meal they give you a check that has the price that it would have been without the Groupon. Ours came to $126. Although it was an average outing for $40, I would have been pissed if I had paid full price for it. I've had better food at Applebee's.