Hudson & Co. — Restaurant in Jersey City

I've been here a few times before, though not frequently as the service is always a bit slower. However today's experience really spurred me on to write a review. Given the location and ample outdoor seating, the view, music, and vibe is great. Food is also spectacular, crispy bao buns were delicious as always. However the service here every time is brutally slow. Today was the worst yet.

We were sat very quickly outdoors by the hostess which was great. After that nobody ever came over to our table. We eventually got the attention of a busser who brought over water and was able to take our drink and appetizer order. Very kindly he mentioned he'll get our waiter who "should be over soon". Eventually the drinks and apps came out which was great, however we then had to flag down the busser again (still no waiter/ waitress had come near our table or the others around us). He was able to take down our entree order and again mentioned "the waiter should be here soon".

Bit of a longer wait for the entrees during which I noticed a table near ours trying to flag down anyone to get their bill and pay. Eventually one of their table members went inside to pay as nobody had come over to them, and suddenly as they went to leave a waitress magically appeared saying they needed to pay, where the gentleman pulled out the receipt confirming he paid inside already.

Anyway entrees come out and they were delicious however we asked the food runner if he could bring a condiment for the fries (still no waiter). Condiment ended up never coming so we flagged down the original busser who got us the condiment and refilled our long since empty waters as well mentioning he let the (mystery) waiter know as well and he should be over soon.

Well upon finishing our meals, wine, and water, we waited for quite a while before similar to the other tables near us needing to go inside and ask for the check as even the original busser had disappeared. The whole experience because of the waiting was about 2.25 hours (despite the "90 minute" time limit sign on the wall). Also we never met the waiter (whose name was funny enough on the bill and was not the busser name).

So what to get out of all this... if you go here definitely go not super hungry and with lots of patience to wait. The food is delicious (when you are able to order) and even if you want another cocktail or drink you'll probably never get the chance to order another one after your first drink.

For a such a beautiful venue with great food and friendly bussers, it's a shame that the service is so slow/non-existent. Perhaps it's understaffed or poor optimization of setup, but it seems like something that should be fixable. Only...

Context: We went here because we were interested in the vibe and the view - tourists who are not from the area.

The food: The appetizers and drinks were very tasty (we got the shrimp bao buns and crunchy rice cakes), but just the appetizers and drinks. We did have a refill of the spritz cocktail come to our table without aperol, but that was fixed quickly.

Two of us had ordered the Hudson & Co. Pizza with peach chutney, mozzarella, and pancetta. What arrived at our table was not that, and when we notified the server of the mistake, they stated that the "recipe had changed and they hadn't updated it yet." We very quickly ordered replacements, including the truffle pizza and the Margherita, which were underwhelming. The truffle pizza did not have a high quality (or tasty) truffle oil on top and was very bland, and the Margherita pizza was not made with fresh tomatoes. The NY steak was clearly a lower quality steak, but the frites were good.

For dessert we got creme brulee and molten lava cake. The best part of the molten lava cake was the pistachio ice cream, so I'll leave it at that. The creme brulee had barely any sugar crust and was a pudding, not a proper custard, so I should have taken the less-than-good entrees as a hint and skipped the dessert.

The service: Not it. At all. We were seated at a table and after our inital orders, we were basically ignored for a half hour with no silverware or water. In addition to having to wait to re-order pizzas and get alcohol in our cocktails, the server we had was almost never at our area to notify of the issues we had with our food. In addition, we were notified at the end of the meal that they do not do separate checks, which is important to note upfront.

The atmosphere: Its a NYC waterfront skyline, it's a gorgeous view and the music selection was great. Area was kept clean.

Overall, the very few goods did not outweigh the bad here, and we will not be returning. The food definitely needs work for the price point, and servers need to be aware of recipes changing to inform customers and check on their tables more frequently. For charging what they are for some items, quality and technique for dishes like steak and creme brulee should not be...

Great location on the waterfront in Jersey City with a great view of NYC. The inside is dimly lit and has a great vibe for a romantic dinner or an in close and personal intimate atmosphere.

Started with appetizers, got the Crispy Shrimp Bao Bun and Tuna Tartar. The Bao buns were delicious and the bun was a standout in texture and taste, definitely my favorite. Portion size was small but that's what you get at a place like this. The Tuna Tartar was ok, great presentation but more acidic than other tuna tartars that I have had in the past.

For the entrees we had the Braised Short Ribs, Grilled Scottish Salmon, and the Australian Wagyu Steak & Frites. The Braised Short Ribs was delicious and filled with flavor. Very tender meat that pulled apart easily and left you highly satisfied.

The Salmon was a letdown according to my GF as there was no real seasoning or flavor, it was cooked perfectly though. I did tell her to try something else, but women never listen, what else is new amirite. Jkjk.

My Australian Wagyu which I got cooked Medium was ok. It came to me pretty much rare but I dealt with it. Incredibly chewy and tough to put away and the taste didn't really stand out in my experience with other steaks. I wouldn't get it again from this place.

For dessert we got the Creme Brulee and the Chocolate Lava Cake. Creme brulee is always delicious and hard to mess up so they did good in that aspect. The Lava cake was good as well, good amount of chocolate "lava" that flowed out. GF compared it to the lava cakes they sell at Trader Joe's and she was spot on. Very similar in taste and size.

Overall the atmosphere was absolutely stellar but the food didn't impress. I did get an Americano coffee while I was here black and it was delicious. Great coffee. My waiter Derby was awesome and really attentive. I don't think I'd come back here again, other spots around JC and Edgewater to try next that might capture the ambiance and vibe this place had along with culinary skills...