Blenheim

So the manager at Blenheim graciously offered to let me try Blenheim again and gifted me a coupon so I wanted to give the restaurant another go. He said he noticed the problem on that day has has promptly fixed it, which he did.
This time around, my table got to try the Fried Chicken, Olive Oil Poached King Salmon, Lobster Risotto, and a pasta dish. The food was to no surprise delicately plated and had a unique blend of flavors. It was not outstanding, but good nonetheless. The portions are as you would expect for this type of establishment. I would definitely visit Blenheim for the classy ambiance and superb service. As you can tell, you get what you pay for. Although the food isn’t the best I’ve ever had, if you ever need a charming restaurant to impress someone without completely throwing away the bank, Blenheim is the place. Just don’t expect to be completely stuffed when you leave.

I such a relaxing lunch with a friend here. The plating of the food was superb. The quality of the food was extremely high, and the flavors worked beautifully together. It can be seasoned a little better, but thats a subjective matter. Atmosphere is welcoming, chill, yet serious about what they offer. Service is graceful and friendly. The only thing they can improve on– is getting more service staff members. With the amount of tables it looked like there was only one server and one manager working the floor.
Totally recommend this place. Will be back for more

Went for restaurant week — food was delicious and service was great!
Unfortunately there were a lot of flies in the restaurant for some reason, it gets a little annoying :/​
But overall the food was good!

I visited Blenheim recently with 2 friends. We decided to order from the New York Restaurant week menu. I have no idea if this was typical or simply an attempt to save money on the special menu — but much of what we ordered was inedible. The pork entrée looked like something from a school cafeteria, two tough grey slices of meat on a puddle of bland sauce. The risotto was tasteless and had a weird texture. But nothing prepared me for awful the cake was. Undercooked and covered with a gluey jelly sauce. One bite was all any of us could manage.
The restaurant was lovely inside, with charming décor and good wine selections. But the fact that food this unappealing could come out of the kitchen, even under the restrictions of the 38.00 menu, prevents me from ever wanting to go in again. There’s too many great places to eat in the village. I eat out several times a week and this is the worst meal I’ve had in recent memory. All three of us left disappointed.

The food is very tasty. The 2 stars are for the fact that I left hungry after spending $ 100 (split the $ 200 bill with a friend who also left hungry). The portions are WAY too small. I live a few blocks away and would eat here weekly if the portions were more reasonable.
The service was not the most pleasant either. The backwaiter basically grabbed my napkin as soon as I put down my dessert spoon. I want to return with my husband, but not until I hear they’ve made some changes.

We moved to the neighborhood a few weeks ago and kept walking by and wondering why this seemingly cool restaurant was always slow in a busy block. Today we found out.
Had brunch for four and started off with awkward service — offered «house sparkling water» which sounded as though it was complimentary based on the waitress’s phrasing, only to find out it was a ridiculous $ 6 (and in addition to being pretty flat, the busboy kept pouring regular water over it like another reviewer mentioned). Then we inexplicably were shuffled to another waitress who was completely devoid of any sense of hospitality, scowling and robotic the entire time. When we finally got our entrees (after our simple drinks in a mainly empty restaurant took about 15 minutes) everyone’s poached eggs were rock hard. When my husband, who runs restaurants, politely alerted the dour waitress, she said «oh, so you like your eggs cooked more soft?» He replied, again politely, that poached eggs are supposed to be soft and runny, that’s not a preference. She was exasperated and rude, and took everyone’s plates and said «I guess we’ll just have to remake everything then.» No apology. The bizarre man who seemed to be the manager or owner stared at this happening, but never bothered to stop by our table.
When the food finally arrived, it was decent. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to save this place — zero offer of trying to make up for our crap experience with even a minor gesture like taking off the ludicrous water charge that felt like a trick anyway. When the manager/​owner came back with our credit cards he didn’t even say thank you or goodbye or utter a single word. Charging $ 150 for one tiny drink apiece and average food that took two rounds to get right with miserable service is an embarrassment, when you could spend less and have a far more enjoyable experience at Café Minerva, Mole, Tavern on Jane, Tartine or basically any other place in this neighborhood. You could bring a box of saltines to Cubbyhole and have a much better brunch.
Everyone makes mistakes but covering them up by being rude and dismissive is a sure fire way to guarantee that a restaurant stays empty.

On the plus side, the staff was very friendly and accommodating, and my friends’ hot breakfast choices looked pretty good.
On the minus side, I paid $ 12 for the skimpiest fruit salad I’ve ever seen. It was majority underripe honeydew, and 2 – 3 tiny pieces of plum. Shameful, especially when there are fresh berries, bananas and other fruits readily available and, as I said, $ 12!!! The price on the tea was also outrageous at $ 7.
Finally, numerous cups on the table were dirty, and the table itself hadn’t been cleaned, despite having been set. It had gross dried food on it.
Definitely not up to standards.

Where do I begin? From Amber the bartender, the incredible food, and the host Len, I don’t think I could want more from a farm to table restaurant. The food was absolutely superb but the friendly and warm service will keep me coming back. It was also so nice that Len introduced my friend and I to the chef!
— Frances

We had the tasting menu and it was delish and WAY too much food. Everything is fresh here (to be expected since they have a farm in the Catskills). The pappardelle is the star on the menu as it the roasted vegetable entrée. Desserts are a hit or miss. My flan looked like cornflakes.

Came here for brunch after the place we initially wanted was crowded. Let me be the one to say Colin was the highlight of my afternoon. My friend and I indulged in the bloody Mary’s and mimosas for boozy brunch and Colin was a true gent! Mixing drinks to perfection, suggesting great entrees and somehow remaining aware of everyone else in the bar.
Of course I’m coming back, if this is any indication of service received in the future I’m game.
Thanks Colin & thank you Blenheim!

I came back to this place for dinner after my first (dinner) visit on a restaurant week.
The food that I ordered on restaurant week was surprisingly good, which is why I was enticed to return for a second visit.
On my second visit, the food was good (but I like the food more on the restaurant week menu) and the service was great. I was sitting on the booth by the window, which offers a great vantage point for people watching, and overall ambience was casual and energetic.

Great, cute place, especially if you want to dine al fresco, it’s very agreeable. I also love the fact that they get their meat from a farm in the Catskills.
The food tasted great but the portions were just ridiculously small. I counted: my tomato and buffala mozzarella salad had 4 (four) cherry tomatoes cut in half, with quasi invisible pieces of mozzarella and a bit of oil and vinegar. I actually regret not having taken a picture of my (small) plate.
i paid 32 $ for the spare ribs. They were in similar mouse size, tasted good although a bit too much fat for my liking, especially as you only get a very small quantity.
The end of my main course left me angrily hungry.
The chocolate thingie for dessert was very good, and of more or less normal dessert size. I recommend it.
Service was good.
Would love to come back, but only once I hear they have made an effort on the portions, or if they divide their prices in half.

We are locals and we went Wednesday night. The Octopus was like the Dead Sea, the beets were mediocre at best. Gazpacho had no soul. At least be radishes were fresh. The lovely presentation of the food could not make up for the amateurish cooking. We were so disappointed we did not order more.
We sent back the octopus because of its saltiness. I was surprised by the service. There wasn’t too much conern about our dismay. Moreover the seltzer was flat (and overpriced, it’s included at monument lane) and the bus boy kept trying to fill our seltzer glasses with tap.
It’s a cute place and the seating outside was so lovely Wednesday night; this place should be so much better, especially for the neighborhood and price. We’ve been before and it’s been better but never great; perhaps it was an off night but I was hoping it would be improving and not on the decline. I won’t be trying this place again.

It’s been a few days, yet I’m still dreaming about that octopus dish. It was so good! crispy on the outside and tender in the inside, and the flavor was just perfect! I also had the pork trio, another beautiful and well executed dish. Who knew pork can be treated so elegantly, the pork belly melted in my mouth, and the pork loin was the perfect size so I was not overwhelmed by it. I often find pork loin to be dry and boring and never ending, and this was not the case. The beet dish was also great, very fresh and crisp. Definitely will be back. Loved the décor by the way.
Only complain was that it was a very hot evening, and although we sat inside, it was still very warm, maybe fix the A/​C?

Lovely summers night in NYC!
We were greeted by a beautiful redhead waiter who invited us to a beautiful table next to a blooming tree. Once we were served our drinks and food ordered the journey began… Everything was delicious, some of it unusual but very nice. The whole time our waiter was looking after us but not pestering…
I would recommend this place to every one who wants a different taste experience in one of the most beautiful areas in New York!

I came here for restaurant week. To be honest, I only chose the restaurant because it was featured daily on Eater for an obscene amount of time. The tiny restaurant wasn’t too crowded at around 8:30 on a Sunday, and they seated our party of six in a small, almost-​private room in the back. It was kind of cute, and did in fact make you feel like you were eating in a barn. The food wasn’t particularly spectacular, but so artfully plated that I kind of loved every dish purely on that basis. I read that they changed chefs once again, so I can’t really attest to what the food is like now.
As for the service, I’m generally not that picky with service unless they’re actually outright mean to me. The server we had was obviously new, but fine. I also remember the bartender being pretty nice and kept refilling my water, even though I didn’t order a drink as I waited for my friends at the bar. There was a manager/​supervisor of sorts who was so insanely nice that it made it a tiny bit awkward… but I’m just an awkward person, so maybe that’s just me. And of course it was very much appreciated.
Oh! When they take your coats they give you an old-​timey key to mark which one is yours. I thought that was super cute.

Wow awesome, delicious dinner tonight.
We had the octopus, the fluke crudo, beet salad, mushrooms, oysters and the bread and tuilles for starters. The leg of lamb, the short ribs, the trout and the special tonight which was duck. Shared between four of us, and it was so good. Plating was simple and modern and inviting.
Service was ok.
The restaurant has a nice ambience and a cosy feeling but still modern.
Thumbs up
I forgot to add get the fried chicken! It’s juicy and light!!! Yum!!!

***UPDATE***
The restaurant reached out to me 2 days after my original review and offered to make things right. They said that they will review the dish with the chef and so on. Thanks for the offer but no thanks, however +2 stars to neutral to account for the good gesture. Keep it up.
***ORIGINAL***
I came here with friends and I needed some food. The food menu doesn’t distinguish appetizers or mains so I double checked with the waitress about the portion of the dish before I ordered. She promised that it’s a main dish. Food came on and it was only a few mouthful. It doesn’t even come with any sides. If that’s the kind of place it is, fine, but don’t oversell the size of the dishes. The waitress’s response was that it’s «small but hearty»… I feel cheated. After paying $ 25 for a few mouthful of lentils, I’ll be looking for late night pizzas places on the street.

Decided to check out this place after reading about it in an listicle about the best restaurants in the West Village and this was praised as a very good farm-​to-​table.
Went there in a Saturday evening with a friend around 7 without reservation and we yet we were able to get seated promptly. For the later times, try to reserve a table as the place gets full. Cocktail menu was available quickly but the order taking for the drinks was a bit tardy, and the only time during the evening where we felt a bit unattended. The homemade soda is worth a try.
We had oysters on the half-​shelf (they don’t get seafood from their farm upstate but almost everything else). I had the muscovy duck, which was good and my friend had the strip steak (medium rare) with parsley root, that made the dish. Desert was chocolate ganache which had a chocolate bar on the dense side. (Don’t step on a scale after you eat that). Overall the cookery was very good and especially the sides complemented the entrées without being overbearing and reminding of country.
The prices, well, what you expected for a West Village joint with a Michelin-​star chef. The décor was particularly interesting as it is all expensive wood and in the corner there are farm tools hanging from the wall. The noise level was not too high even with the restaurant being full by the time we finished after two hours.
The business model of farm-​to-​table restaurants? Remains to be seen as raising cattle, ducks, chicken in a responsible way and the planting and growing of vegetables etc. is not inexpensive (they get between 50−80% of the ingredients on the menu from their farm upstate) and we know how unforgiving the restaurant biz is in New York.

KenScale: 7.5÷10
Perhaps no restaurant gave me higher expectations than Blenheim this year. When it first opened in West Village, I was very intrigued by the farm-​to-​table cuisine with ingredients being sourced from a farm in the Catskills that goes by the same name, as well as the chef who would be in charge (Justin Hilbert from what used to be Gywnnett Street in Brooklyn, a restaurant that I to this day regret not having had an opportunity to visit). After about a month, however, chef Hilbert abruptly left the kitchen and in came another highly touted chef, Ryan Tate (formerly of Le Restaurant in TriBeCa, another restaurant that I regret not having visited before it shut down). With all the turmoil in its early days, I debated whether I should make a visit. I finally did last week hoping that the kitchen turned the corner. Unfortunately, I was less than impressed.
I started out with roasted beets and sockeye salmon. Roasted beets had a nice texture, but somehow the temperature was a bit off. Sockeye salmon was hugely disappointing too; instead of fresh fish, each piece tasted like a gummy bear and not much flavor to overcome it. For the entrée, I really liked striped bass, a perfectly cooked fish that came with sea urchin sabayon to give an enhanced flavor. On the other hand, hanger steak was not only a bit tough in texture but the seasoning was a bit too much. I understand a lot of restaurants are off on the seasoning when it comes to steak dishes, but the restaurant should know better. I finished with one dessert, and it happened to be the best dish of the night. Fresh berries dessert that came with strawberry and buttermilk sorbet was a very delightful dish that wasn’t too sweet with very crunchy and fresh berries.
Getting a reservation at the restaurant isn’t particularly challenging (given the pedigree of the chef, you would think otherwise). Blenheim has a full bar with some classic cocktail selections. I normally don’t talk about services when reviewing a restaurant, but I was slightly put off that the restaurant kept the door open on a warm day (they do have some outdoor seating) and the flies kept coming into the indoor dining area. I complained about it, but the server said there was nothing they can do about it. Anyways, aside from the service, I think Blenheim needs for more work on execution. After all, not all farm-​to-​table restaurants are created equal.