Hudson Clearwater

447 Hudson St., West Village, NY

7.9

map & more

Neighborhood
West Village

Cuisine
American

212-989-3255

Official Website

By Chris Stang
August 1, 2011

Hudson Clearwater is keeping it discreet. The restaurant is doing it’s best to become a secret neighborhood spot with a following among only those who can find it. The address is listed as 447 Hudson Street, but when you approach the front of that building, you will find no marked entrance. You have to walk around the corner on Morton Street and enter through a green patio door to gain access via the back of the restaurant. Neat.

By now, we’ve all become quite familiar with destinations like this. Secret phone numbers, unmarked doors, and hidden dining rooms are not new tricks in the “look how cool we are” restaurant game. They are however, effective tactics to get you featured on Urbandaddy (photo credit), and therefore fill your dining room with dudes in boat shoes looking to hook up. That’s not exactly the kind of “secret” we were looking to find out about, and it’s not exactly cool to sit at the bar drinking next to six guys that are all trying to talk to the same two girls.

What’s unique about Hudson Clearwater though, is that they actually take reservations and aren’t complete dicks when you do find the place. On both of our visits, we were impressed by the fact that the people working here are actually nice and accommodating, even though most of them play in a band and slept on someone’s floor last night. The menu is super seasonal and there are some very high highlights, though there are also some forgettable dishes that seem like two chefs got really high and started making sh*t up. The good news is that you won’t find a single thing on the menu that costs more that twenty bucks, and you’ll be hard pressed to walk away disappointed. That is, unless, you thought this place was actually going to be cool.

Food Rundown:

Butter Clams
I don’t know who or what came up with this dish, but it might be my favorite thing with clams in it, ever. The description (butter clams, gnocchi, sautéed greens, parsley, lemon vinaigrette) might not lead you to believe it, but this is basically a coffee mug sized cup of clams and gnocchi in a delicious lemony broth. Ask for some extra crostini for dunking, and don’t plan to share unless you want to be in a fight with someone.

Summer Vegetable Pot Pie
This is another small starter served in a cup, and just like the butter clams, it’s good. Our pot pie had corn and some haricot vert and was flaky and tasty.

Lemon-Cured Duck Leg
This is not the duck dish to order at Hudson Clearwater. The first few bites were awesome and then we were kind of over it. Also, don’t tell me there is pickled jalapeño on a plate if I am gonna have to search for it. More kick please.

Crispy Duck Breast
The star of the Hudson Clearwater menu. This is some delicious duck, and its extra crunchy skin is glorious. The only thing I didn’t love was the dinner at a wedding style potatoes on the plate, but no matter. I was too busy shoving duck in my mouth to care.

Toasted Quinoa Risotto
Wait a minute. Am I at a restaurant in Boulder? I don’t see a scraggly dog tied up to every table, so maybe this quinoa risotto was just the result of some culinary freestyling after a bong hit. It’s a tasty enough pile of food, but we’re not exactly sure what makes it risotto and not just quinoa other than the parmesan cheese (which probably shouldn’t be there). At best, this is a side and not an entree. Feel free to skip it, unless you are a f*cking hippie.

Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin
A perfectly cooked piece of pork with cannellini beans and some excellent house-cured bacon. If you’re looking for some meat, this is what to order.

Kale & Fennel Strudel
This sounds like something from the freezer section at your local Vegan Depot, and as you might expect, it tasted like that too. The kale and fennel were kind of bland, although the pastry itself was buttery and good.