The Blue Dog Cookhouse & Bar

One of the best, if not the best, dining experiences on our New York vacation. Most importantly, the food was absolutely phenomenal. Everything we ordered was expertly prepared. We started with the fried Mac & Cheese and a couple of cocktails. The cocktails were excellent, and the Mac & Cheese was both crispy and gooey (as God intends). Our entreés consisted of the filet, the braised short rib, and the seared scallops with barley and vegetable risotto. Unsurprisingly, we all loved our respective meals...all delicious and all very generously portioned. We ended the night with some salted caramel gelato and their double chocolate cake. A great ender to the meal. The vibe is super welcoming and the environment is cozy, inviting, and unpretentious without being overly casual. Perfect for a date night, or in our case, to celebrate a birthday. Everyone of the staff took time to make us feel welcome, especially Stephen, who we conversed with at length as if he were hosting us for a dinner party. It was such a stellar way to set the tone for the evening. With so many options in the area for food, The Blue Dog is a standout. As non-locals to the area, we can only hope for their continued and well deserved success so that we may visit again when in NYC.

Honestly one of the better finds in midtown lately. An intimate restaurant with great service and good food. Smaller, so try and go in with a reservation, but if you go with a party of 2, you’re pretty likely to get a place at the bar. Modern atmosphere, good bartenders, good drinks. Will definitely go again.

found this restaurant using TikTok and was overall impressed with the food. It’s a small location, so if you don’t have a reservation, expect a wait. Also, for reservations over 5, you have to call and arrange it with their staff, which will require a CC, charging a fee if you are a no-call, no-show. The downside to this location being so small is that they use a communal table for some of the seating, meaning the table sits 15-20 people, and your party of 5 will be sitting at the same table with 10 other people. Honestly, this idea didn’t bother me too much because I feel as if it’s no different than a table placed closely to each other; however, the guest next to us seemed to have an issue with this, requesting a different table to no avail. The burger was solid; nothing memorable. I feel like it was missing something. Overall, I would go back if I was in the area but don’t think I would go out of my way to go there either.