Highlands
“Had the sausage roll (wrapped in a flaky pastry shell) and the beef wellington with a side of asparagus.”
“This Scottish lad can be found downing haggis at the bar here a few nights a week and is practically a celebrity amongst the staff.”
“The food is excellent, the cocktails are all outstanding, and you'd be hard pressed to find a whisky selection outside of Scotland.”
Highlands
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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A scotch drinkers heaven. No, scratch that – it's much more. Highlands is an adage to Scotland- modern Scotland. Everything from the menu to the decor emphasizes that elegant yet raw and unedited nature of Scottish culture. Haggis, cranachan, the wallpaper of the man shooting heroin in the bathroom … Oh.. Scotland.
Now let's talk about the whisky menu – I mean whisky book. I could spend a whole day poring through those pages – if you like scotch, you'll love this. If you've never tried scotch, and you'd like to know more, you'd also love this menu. The staff are also so knowledgable and helpful about finding a good pairing for your tastes.
All in all, I'm sold. It brings me back to Edinburgh – somewhere between Grassmarket and the Cowgate with the class of New Town. And on top of that, who can complain about an establishment that has a flight of grilled cheese sandwiches.
Very west village atmosphere with midtown bar noise level. I had a dinner in the dining area on a Friday evening. Luckily it's separated by a wall from the noisy bar area (without a door) and it helps to have a conversation. The cocktails are obviously good as many mention. The food is pretty simple and not so creative compared to the cocktails, but the everything is priced right. The service is excellent. I will definitely go back.
I really like this bar! A friend and I went once to get the scotch tasting flight, which was fantastic and reasonably priced, and once to grab cocktails. The bread pudding was excellent and I really enjoyed the grilled cheese appetizer. The grilled cheeses were much better and more innovative than I expected. You can't beat the scotch selection and the bar is especially cozy in the winter. The second time we went, there was a free vodka cocktail event going on, which seemed odd but was fun. It gets pretty crowded so be prepared to wait, or stand if you go during busy hours.
Scottish Gastropub located in the West Village. First time going here and was with friends for dinner. When you first walk in a hostess greats you, and seats you at a table that's available. Their drink menu is extensive, not surprising for a place that serves Scottish influenced food and drinks. The décor is incredible, you feel like you're in a rustic pub complete with wooden tables, and benches. We had a few starters, such as the mushroom toast with soft boiled egg and the Burrata. Both were delicious, especially the yolk mixing with the mushrooms… freaking incredible. And the green tomatoes of the Burrata.
Then the main course, my friends had the cider braised pork shank, pan seared scallops while I opted for the roasted chicken breast salad. Each of us sharing a lil from each other's plates. All three dishes were cooked to perfection although the dressing for the salad was a bit tart, definitely could've went with something more savory. One complaint the drinks weren't as strong as I thought they would be but it happens.
A great social spot to come for delicious drinks and people watching / meeting. Also a great second date spot. Why a second date spot? Because a lot of people I know, including myself, have ended up having second dates here. It could be a little too intense to be in the bar area for a first date (too distracting).
The drinks are fantastic, delicious, and strong. I haven't had the food yet, but I've been told by picky friends and that it's really good!
Be careful of what time you go because it gets packed in there. Go early, or expect a big crowd and to have to hover in the middle of the room for a while. If you wait long enough, I'm sure you'll get a seat.
One must go here and order the drink called the "cranky." It's not on the menu yet but you'll be thanking me when you do. Their cocktails are all original and made with fresh juices and bitters. Bartender (Adam?) was really knowledgable about his scotches and made sure we had a great time. Had the cauliflower and hummus appetizers to nibble on, they also have some kind of magical curry popcorn that comes with one of the cocktails. Solid summer spot. Definitely will be back for dinner.
What I tried: (I came here with a large group and this section would be easier to write if I labeled it "what I didn't try".. but here goes…) Drinks: Kith and Kin cocktail; Appetizer: Whiskey bread, curried humus, Scotch egg, Pearl barley risotto, blue crab and prawns on toast; Mains: beef wellington, whiskey barrel pork chop; Dessert: molten cake, and creme brulee
OK That was really tiring…
Out of the appetizers I tried, I'd recommend the risotto,whiskey bread, and blue crab and prawns on toast (in that order). The risotto was amazing and you could really taste the whiskey in the bread. The humus and the scotch egg were fine, but nothing special. For my main, I had the pork chop (delicious) and I tried my sister's beef wellington. Both were great but think the pork chop was better. If you're deciding between the two (their 2 most popular I think), go with the pork chop! I also LOVED the kith and kin cocktail. I tried other people's cocktails in my party and they all seemed great actually. I really liked the cozy scottish ambiance of the dining area as well.
I think I would have given this place 5 stars, but I was a bit disappointed in the service. The service was fairly attentive, but our waiter seemed a little annoyed with us right from the get-go and said a couple of strange, insulting things.
All in all, I'd recommend.
Interesting experience here to say the least! Actually maybe not so interesting to be honest with you.
I came by as a friend who lives near the place wanted to meetup here before her date. I came by around 6:30 pm to meet with her as we link up every time I come to NYC. She had a seat at the bar and lucky for me the couple sitting next to her were getting up to leave so that opened up a seat for me in which I thanked them for. My friend knew the bartender/bar manager whose name is Andrey (how its spelled on my receipt) and he was a pretty cool guy…very conversational and chill which is cool for me as I knew my friend would be leaving for her date and I would chill for awhile before meeting up with other friends in Hell's Kitchen later. Andrey made us some pretty good drinks especially the scotch old fashioned in which I had a few of in addition to 12 year Yamazaki single malt Japanese scotch. I was having a great time! After my friend left, I was sitting alone for maybe 10 minutes and then a gentlemen who also knew the bartender/bar manager showed up and sat in the vacant seat. He and I had a great conversation about a lot of things….again I was having a blast in this joint. The gentleman that was sitting next to me was quite the smoker so he kept going outside to spark a cig every 30 mins. Every time he left someone would come and grab his seat and order and once he came back he would tell them he was sitting there drinking and they would do the right thing and give him the seat back.
I finally had to go to the bathroom and got up for not more than 2 minutes. As I came back to my seat, a girl had taken it. The guy I had been hanging with for about an hour had said to her "hey my friend was sitting there and he just went to the bathroom"…she could care less as she ignored him and continued to talk to her 2 friends. I then decided to ask her for my seat back and she turned around and looked at me like I was crap. I asked again and of course same result. I got tired of asking her so I took the seat from her and of course she then wanted to speak to me and of course not in the most proper manner. We had a back and forth for about 5-10 mins as her friends decided to join in the argument to make comments about the situation. I imagine she could have acknowledged my presence and gave me my seat and possibly had given me the option to give her my seat or patiently wait for me to finish my drink and then give to her as the bar is now crowded and standing space sucks..not to mention I had a pinched nerve at the time and standing for awhile in a crowded space is no fun at that point. What I would have expected to happen was that Andrey (bartender/bar manager) could have told her to give me my seat as he saw me sitting there for well over an hour having drinks. That didnt happen as I found myself being escorted out of the place by the doorman. I assumed the 3 ladies would be leaving out behind me since they were being a$$holes, but no, they're punishment was that he would not serve them for an hour…WTF???? Again he had the opportunity to defuse the situation when he saw my drink sitting there as I came back and saw her in the seat. I can explain in the next paragraph how and why all of this happened.
As I stood outside conversing with the hostess and the doorman that escorted me out, they told me the main girl (the one that took my seat) gets special treatment from Andrey quite often. They saw the whole thing and agreed that was f'ed up what happened to me. I was told whenever there is a line outside and she shows up, they just call Andrey and get in ahead of everyone. I'm all for treating regulars a little special but sometimes you have to be fair. This is why she felt she could take another patron's seat as she is used to getting her way in Highlands at the expense of other patrons and Andrey has obviously made her feel "privileged" enough to know she could do whatever she wanted and basically say f me. This is what happens when you give certain regulars the notion that they run the place. I had to assume he was basically sleeping with her for the fact he allowed her to just do what she did. Funny thing is that he wound up having to throw her out as she and her friends got quite upset that they were just sitting at the bar and could not get served for an hour. Other patrons at the bar came out and told me what happened as they saw the whole thing. Afterwards I saw Andrey come outside and I just wanted to shake his hand and say hey man no hard feelings and all he could do was say "I'm not taking any sides" and avoided shaking my hand. I was not asking for him to take sides but again I just to say hey no big deal. I wanted to tell him I would come back again as I mentioned my friend lives nearby and the drinks were good. After his snub of just showing me a little bit of showmanship, I basically decided this place is off limits to me going forward. My friend will have to meet me elsewhere when I hit NYC.