Located spitting distance from Murray Hill, a neighborhood famous for its excess of happy hours and twenty-something finance bros, Hillstone is an influencer magnet. But some people swear the food at this chain restaurant is actually really good. So after eight years of living in Manhattan, I bit the bullet and tried it out.
Like all good chain restaurants, Hillstone has spinach artichoke dip. Theirs is ubiquitous on instagram, so I had to try it. It’s served with a heap of tortilla chips, a bowl of salsa, and, inexplicably, a bowl of plain sour cream. Because you need something creamy to offset your… spinach dip? (Tortilla chips dipped in a layer of sour cream and a layer of salsa, though? Not bad.) Still, it’s pretty good. I don’t know many places that do a better one.
The tuna tartare was finely diced with red onion and cucumber, and served with a generous amount of sliced avocado, grilled bread, and, inexplicably, a single and very relish-forward deviled egg. (A lot of things are inexplicable here.) It was very fresh and had a nice bit of fresh jalapeño, but oddly, it was sweet—not an adjective I like to attach to my tuna tartare. Considering this, it wasn’t all bad, but we got some great raw tuna in other dishes (keep reading), so all in all I think it was a skip.
The other thing people always seem to order at this decidedly traditional American restaurant is… sushi.
And I’m here to tell you — it’s good. Shockingly good. The fish is fresh as can be, and though it may not be particularly authentic, the rolls are inventive and tasty. The one you’re likely to see on Instagram is the Osaka style pressed roll, a flattened, sandwich-style roll of spicy tuna and avocado. It’s good, and makes for a satisfying bite. But the best roll was the tuna, avocado, and mango roll. Wrapped in soy paper and served with a classic spicy mayo as well as some kind of wasabi aioli, the mango was perfectly ripe (not always a given) and the roll had the perfect mix of fresh, clean, savory, and fruity flavors.
My fiancé ordered the cheeseburger—a more expected dish for this menu. It was juicy, served with classic accoutrements, and totally satisfying. It came served with a pile of shoestring fries that were thin and crispy and oily and all the things French fries should be.
Our side of broccoli was the right mix of crisp and cooked, and served with a generous amount of lemon and Parmesan.
What dessert would you get at an Applebee’s? That’s right, a brownie sundae, or maybe some chocolate lava cake. Hillstone has the former, and it’s good: fudgy, with pretty high quality vanilla ice cream to balance the richness, and covered in caramel and a variety of nuts that provide a satisfying textural contrast. It’s numbingly sweet, sure, but it’s a brownie sundae.
The New York City Hillstone is low-lit with dark wood, filled with sumptuous leather banquettes and decorated, once again inexplicably, with a single neon sign that is electric blue and reads “SUSHI”. Definitely the swankiest chain out there.
The service was generally good. Partway through the meal, someone came and replaced my glass with a fresh, icy one, pouring my dirty martini into the new one. (This martini also comes with goat cheese olives, and though I’m a major blue cheese fan, this was a pleasing surprise). It did take a long time to bring our main courses, though.
Part of me wanted to hate it, to deem it all surface and no substance, but I have to admit — Hillstone is good. It may be essentially a fancy T.G.I. Friday’s with some sushi, but sometimes you don’t want cheffy, creative food that is obviously gunning for a Michelin star. You just want a place besides Times Square where you can get sizeable portions of spinach dip, a cheeseburger, and a brownie sundae. This is when you should go to Hillstone. They’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, but what they do, they do well.
TL;DR: WHAT WE ATE
Loved: spinach artichoke dip, tuna mango roll, cheeseburger, fries
Liked: pressed sushi, broccoli, brownie sundae
Should have skipped: tuna tartare