Queensyard, Adventurous Dining at Hudson Yards

If you favor a fabulous view with your dinner out on the town in Manhattan, look no further than Queensyard at Hudson Yards. The British import just took up residence in the over-the-top newly constructed Hudson Yards in 2019 and it’s a best bet to fuel up after an exhausting day of shopping the high-end stores that lure visitors to the venue.

The Space

Open for lunch and dinner, the restaurant provides something you hardly ever see in New York: space. With an open floor plan comprising the bar and restaurant, the kitchen, and a Café you could practically twirl in place and not hit anything. Or perhaps it’s just the bold, snazzy modern British decor (loosely inspired by the rooms in an English country house) that brightens the mood.

But of course, you might not even notice the decor because you’ll be so distracted by that view of the Hudson River and Thomas Heatherwick’s giant honeycomb-like sculpture, The Vessel, out front. But for sure your humdrum winter mood will be uplifted by the staggering amount of light (at lunch) and the many beautiful plants.

The Food

As for the food, there’s an excellent Hamburger, Baked Lancaster Chicken and Dover Sole as well as a few classic British pub offerings such as Beef and Marrow Pie and Venison Scotch Eggs. And when I visited, I was treated to the restaurant’s new “Mindful Menu” as part of their offerings for Dry January.

Group Executive Chef, Danila Bogdan, concocted a menu of plant driven dishes that would appeal to even the most skeptic critic of healthy eating trends. Selections included vegan dishes like a Winter Root Vegetable Torte with chervil and a truffle sauce and pescatarian options such as Roasted Maine Scallops with avocado, quinoa, and a lobster yuzu sauce and a Blue Hill Bay Salmon served with twice baked sunchokes.

The Mocktails 

Queensyard is also collaborating with “it girl” (for non-alcoholic beverages) Seedlip, the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirits brand, to create a selection of zero-proof cocktails that go perfectly with the health-forward menu. We tried an out of this world Truffle Risotto (also on the regular menu) that was so good I literally forgot I hadn’t sipped a cocktail before my meal.

Mocktail selections include Bubbles for Everyone with alcohol-free sparkling wine, a kola nuts syrup and grove Seedlip and The Salty Garden with Garden 108, celery, mango and lemon.

Valentine’s Day

But if you missed Dry January, don’t worry. For Valentine’s Day, they will be offering a Bar & Lounge menu for $55 per person along with a pre-fixe menu in the dining room at $85 per person. Diners can choose from items like Roasted Scallops with salsify, watercress and truffle gel, Aged Duck Breast with prune, Armagnac and smoked celery, and one of their much-hyped desserts (like the exquisite cheesecakes).

But perhaps the best part about Queensyard is that in the sprawling unisex bathroom. The soundtrack is solely songs by Queen. Those British. They are just so clever, huh?