This unusually long Indian summer means more time to enjoy all the fantastic outdoor activities New York is known for, including seeking refuge from the city at the splendid Botanical Garden up in the Bronx.
While the grounds are perfect for a scenic picnic, last spring saw the opening of the first full-service restaurant, Hudson Garden Grill, smack in the middle of the Ross Conifer Arboretum. The New American restaurant is from famous restaurateur Stephen Starr (Buddakan, Morimoto, Upland, etc.) and its sunny dining room is the perfect backdrop for lunching surrounded by nature and forgetting that you’re in the city at all.
The fresh menu of sandwiches, salads, and light entrées is inspired by locally-sourced ingredients from Hudson Valley farms and other regional producers and the impeccable and super-friendly service is far better than most places in the city. Take your visit here as a wholesome way to spend your day decompressing while doing your body and mind good.
Hudson Garden Noshes: deviled eggs, local ricotta crostini with peaches, duck prosciutto, headcheese, mini bagels with lox, pickled vegetables.
Lobster Club
Bucatini Pasta: lobster bolognese, local ricotta cheese
An after-lunch walk through the gardens is a must and so is a stop at the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory right across the path from the restaurant. The Frida Kahlo exhibit (it sadly just concluded last weekend) was on full display then.
For the exhibition, the conservatory was reimagined as Kahlo’s Casa Azul, her home outside of Mexico City.
The house’s recognizable tiered pyramid had been replicated to scale and surrounded by plants associated with the artist.
Replica of Kahlo’s wooden studio desk, fitted with paint and brushes.
Outside is where I always prefer to be though and is where the gardens truly impress at any time of year, especially with that Victorian-style glasshouse in the background. Whether you go now or when it gets colder, at least now you know you can always relax and warm up at the Hudson Garden Grill. Just think of making a reservation, it’s becoming that popular, and for good reason!
