Final Yards
Estiatorio Milos Hudson Yards (Hudson Yards)
RESTAURANTS • First Person
Over the course of several recent winter afternoons, FOUND visited Hudson Yards to conduct a two-point spot check on the current state of lunch. Here, part two. Previously, part one.
A Saturday lunch at Estiatorio Milos at Hudson Yards delivered the same warming effect I once sought from a visit to a tanning bed or a quickie Caribbean vacation. Unlike Locanda Verde, you have to seek out this restaurant, first ascending a few flights in an elevator, then past a host stand, further up a circular marble staircase. The dining room is oriented toward a wall of west-facing windows that afford an up-close view of The Vessel, plus a view of folks using the outdoor saunas at nearby Equinox. As the clock slips past noon, the western exposure becomes so intensely sun-drenched that electric shades are drawn to preserve your comfort and your eyesight.
Estiatorio Milos is a multi-city, multi-continent affair, with two Manhattan locations (three, if you count the standalone winebar) and nearly a dozen more elsewhere (Montreal, Miami, West Palm Beach, Las Vegas, London, Athens, Los Cabos, Singapore, and Dubai). Seated in a white leather chair at the Hudson Yards location, enjoying delicate seafood, oddly delicious winter tomatoes, and a general sense of pampered well-being, I felt that I could be in any number of interchangeably luxurious Tokyo shopping megaplexes, Hong Kong hotel restaurants, or an Eataly inside a Westfield mall. To be fair, the same could be said of almost any of the Hudson Yards’ dining outlets.
If you’ve sought this place out, it’s not to have an “authentic” New York dining experience. It’s likely because you heard about the fresh, well-prepared seafood on which Estiatorio Milos has built its reputation. On this count, it delivers. Our server first handed us a Restaurant Week menu, but made the hard sell to accompany him on a walk to the “fish market” display of recently deceased sea creatures on ice. He then suggested the correct course of action: three courses, heavy on fish and vegetables, with a single glass of flinty but fruity 2023 Mikra Thira Assyrtiko for my boyfriend.
Every outlet in New York — from Duane Reade sushi cabinets to New American temples of gastronomy — has long understood the appeal of raw fish, but few do it as well as Estiatorio Milos. We began with an order of magiatiko (amberjack) sashimi, subtly and perfectly dressed in herbs, oil, a splash of citrus, and a sprinkle of sea salt. Octopus, too, has become rather ubiquitous across genres, but the EM version, tenderly grilled and served with fava purée and sharp red onion, is somehow revelatory. The main event was a whole tsipoura (sea bream) with platters of roasted fingerling potatoes, Greek salad, and grilled vegetables alongside, all of it cooked and seasoned with care and restraint, each element tasting like the sunniest, most naturally delicious version of itself.
Our curated order was substantial enough that we walked out with boxes of carefully packed leftovers, no desire for dessert, and a real desire to take a nap on a lounger, atop a beach towel and under an umbrella, with an unspecified ocean providing both a lulling soundtrack and the ingredients for our next meal. –Laurie Woolever
→ Estiatorio Milos Hudson Yards (Hudson Yards) • 20 Hudson Yards • Mon-Fri 1130a-330p & 430p-1130p, Sat-Sun 12p-1130p • Reserve.