Sunday, September 22, 2013

the hill

I have never been here but when I pass the place it always seems to have a lot of very happy customers..

But that is New York for you. Yelper's with bad reviews of this place about equal the good ones-- one of the good review people says he can't understand the poor reviews ( the people who wrote the poor reviews probably cannot understand how anyone would like this place. So it goes).

The Hill

2.5 star rating
103 reviews Rating Details
416 3rd Ave
(between 29th St & 30th St)
New York, NY 10016
Neighborhoods: Midtown East, Kips Bay
(212) 481-1712
Nearest Transit Station:
28 St.
33 St.
23 St.
Hours:
Mon-Fri 5 pm - 4 am
Sat-Sun 11 am - 4 am
Good for Groups:
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Parking:
Street
Attire:
Casual
Price Range:
$$
Good for Kids:
No
Takes Reservations:
Yes
Delivery:
Yes
Take-out:
Yes
Waiter Service:
Yes
Outdoor Seating:
Yes
Good For:
Late Night
Music:
DJ
Best Nights:
Thu, Sat, Sun
Happy Hour:
Yes
Alcohol:
Full Bar
Smoking:
Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
Coat Check:
No
Noise Level:
Very Loud
Good For Dancing:
No
Ambience:
Casual, Trendy
Has TV:
Yes
Caters:
No
Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

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103 reviews in English

  • Review from

    • 201 friends
    • 75 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    4/26/2013
    No sure why this place has so many bad reviews. Came here twice. Once during at night and second time for the msg viewing party for the knicks.

    First time.. OK. Memory flash back. Goodness my ex knew the promoter and was able to grab me a nice seat at the bar so i can enjoy a few beers with my bbq wings. But reflecting on it.. YES. I would probably die in that mass of newly graduated college kids trying to eagerly buy a drink but get shut down because there are just not enough bartenders behind the bar.

    MSG viewing party: BIASED ALL THE WAY. jk.. but seriously. GO KNICKS.

    love. love the screens. thank you. it is very important.

    Food:

    Had the chicken sliders.. Wow soft. tiny. and consumable in 3 easy bites. Colorful with red peppers and just enough meat to leave you wondering if you should go for a second one.

    Chix Quesedillas: Mind you. I love this. But hands down... Love the guac and the salsa even more. So fresh. and almost barely enough. Had to ask for a side of them more. Thank god the 5 boys I was with.. didn't mind the only girl taking all the guac and salsa sides. Sorry boys. Being a guy sucks sometimes. Luckily girls blow eh! JK :)

    Tater Tots: Omg we had 5 orders of these. Once you pop. You cannot stop! The best thing about these is that.. they never get soggy. Not sure. Why. And how. Oh dear. I don't even want to know anymore. as long as they continue to be that way!

    Onion Rings: SO GOOD. CRISPY. and full onions inside. YUMS. Love the side sauce. Give me that kick anyday!

    Chicken Tenders: SOLID

    AH.. ordered their watermelon martini which was their special.. tasted like medicine.. did not sent it back though. replaced it with hoards of amstel lights. starting to believe my theory that cocktails drinks should not be ordered at places like this.. and i should just stick to beer. why do i always torment myself like this?

    good times. will only return on slow days. do not want to get pushed over by big douchey guys. i am only 5'3!
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 5 reviews
    New York, NY
    9/18/2013
    Met with friends for birthday drinks and some appetizers.

    Tuesday happy hour was the only positive. $4 beers, 1/2 price bottles of wine.

    Wings were ok.
    $9.50 for a lemon drop shot is ridiculous.
    Our waitress was nowhere to be found
    Our table was never cleared after the apps.
    They serve beer out of plastic glasses, I hate that.

    We spent about $300 and got nothing complimentary.
    Manager on duty was not very friendly.

    Wont go back.
  • Review from

    • 3 friends
    • 82 reviews
    Riverdale, Bronx, NY
    Updated - 8/25/2013 1 photo
    What a difference a day makes!

    This place was great on the Friday night I first visited this place. Saturday is a different story and I won't be returning because of that story.

    Clearly this place is tragic on the weekend and what's worse is the fact that management does not seem to care about their Saturday-night epidemic (cuz I notice other Yelpers had issues on Saturdays as well).

    Bottom-line: Do not waste your money here, there are too many other better places in Murray Hill to patronize. If you wanna know my personal tragedy from hell at this place, read the letter I wrote to the indifferent management:

    My name is AJ and I had to contact you all to inform you all of the surprisingly abhorrent and unprofessional behavior from your weekend manager.

    I dined here a few weeks ago on a Friday night and had a very good dining experience (sans issues with your AC). Because I was met with such courteous, expeditious and attentive service that night, I decided to give The Hill another chance to wow me this Saturday (July 27th, 2013). That was a mistake on my part:

    I came here to celebrate my friend's birthday. We all ordered cocktails and pitchers of Sangria. Given that we intended to purchase more drinks, when I asked if my party of 10 could sit away from the bar and occupy the reserved seating, the adorable brunette behind the bar graciously obliged and told me she would send a waitress over to take the rest of our order, which she did promptly. Our brilliant waitress Eileen had brought over more items including a beer tube and champagne.

    Please explain to me why ten minutes later, a guy wearing a baseball cap, raggedy jeans and a plaid shirt (looking like he just left a keg party at the frat-house) approached me saying, "Oh, this specific table is reserved for a party that is running late, I need you and your party to move over to the tables by the stairs; I'll do you a favor and arrange the tables to fit your group."

    Clearly, Fratboy Slim did not know the meaning of the word "favor" because a "favor" would have been him simply leaving me & my group alone, not asking 10 paying customers to migrate from a space they had already been granted express permission to occupy and were already comfortably situated.

    Fratboy claimed he was the manager and was extremely ungracious. I told him, "This entire area is vacant, why would you ask my group to leave a spot we have situated ourselves in, we have a waitress bringing us more drinks, only to accommodate a party that is clearly non-existent? It would be one thing if the party who allegedly reserved this specific table were presently in the building, but there is clearly no one here. This entire space is empty: Tumble weeds are rolling by (and this alleged 'party of reservers' is not chasing them) so if and when the party does arrive, perhaps you should ask them to sit elsewhere instead of inconveniencing/antagonizing a large group of paying customers.

    The "manager" replied, "Well I need you guys to move."

    Me: "Are you at least gonna do something to assuage our harsh feelings because I'm starting to feel like you do not value, appreciate and respect this group of people as your customers?"

    The "manager": "Well what do you want me to do?"

    Me: "I honestly shouldn't have to tell you how to render proper service to your customers. You claim to be the manager of this alleged upscale sports bar, the least you could do is apologize for the inconvenience and offer us a round of drinks or something!"

    The "manager": "Well I can give you a bottle of house champagne, that is the least I can do."

    Me: "You are right about that, that is the least you can do; that is the cheapest form of rectifying this situation you created and I had to coach you in order for you to do that! Tell someone to come and move our drinks, beer tube and other accoutrement because this is ridiculous!"

    So the table we had to vacate was left vacant for almost over an hour. And when the alleged "party of reservers" arrived, it was only two people!

    20 hours ago via HTC Sense
    The Hill moved 10 for a late 2

    Photo: The Hill moved 10 for a late 2

    Who moves 10 paying customers to accommodate an extremely late party of two!?! No real manager in their right mind would compromise the sales/revenue from physically-present paying customers for the sake of two potential customers who may or may not arrive.
    • Who moves 10 paying customers to accommodate an extremely l…

    1 Previous Review: Show all »

    • 6/16/2013
      I had low expectations for this place because me & my dinner mate miss its predecessor (MELT), but… Read more »
  • Review from

    • 52 friends
    • 45 reviews
    New York, NY
    7/27/2013 2 photos 1 check-in here
    I am a total brunch junkie so trust me when I tell you that this place sucks! I got the Mexican burritos and it taste like it has been frozen and then reheated. The cheese inside is lumpy as if it's a thousand years old. The home fries are hard and disgusting. A few bites of my meal and I wanted to puke!

    The service is also horrendous! Before I had even started ordering, the server insisted that its "restaurant policy" to take my credit card first for "insurance", just in case I may walk out without paying (I'm guessing others have done just that, prob after tasting the sucky food). When the check came, the server did not give me my card back, how the heck do you expect me to pay??? After 10 mins of trying to get the servers attention, we finally gave up and went directly to the hostess who replied rather rudely, "well, I didn't take anything." The server then got angry at me as if I did something wrong for talking to the hostess and not to her! It's like wtf, there are hundreds of brunch spots in the city and we pick yours, if your food is going to suck, then the least you can do is to treat your customers with respect and cheeriness.

    If I had not felt so strongly against this place, I would not have written such a negative review. It does NOT warrant a visit EVER, not for its food, ambiance or service. Do not be fooled by the bottomless brunch offerings. At the rate that server actually serves you, i.e. ignoring you and giving you attitude, you would be lucky if you can get two drinks!
    • Egg white scramble and toast
    • Mexican burrito - hard and frozen - DO NOT GET!
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 11 reviews
    New York, NY
    9/21/2013
    This place is a no-frills sports bar with indoor and outdoor seating. The food is typical bar food - but they also have some good salads. Limited options for those that are G-Free- try the spinach artichoke dip, it's served with tortilla chips.
  • Review from

    • 16 friends
    • 2 reviews
    New York, NY
    7/27/2013
    Shitty food. Shitty service. I never cook and I swear I make better toast and scrambled eggs. The servers took ages to respond and the hostess was incredibly rude. Don't be fooled by unlimited brunch...you get better food and service at my college dining hall.
  • Review from

    Astoria, NY
    4/15/2013
    This place is kind of a mess. I came here with a Groupon for an unlimited brunch for two, and the servers were kind enough, however our poor waitress was completely frazzled and overworked. The party of two next to us was seated about 20 minutes after us, and their food came out first. I think we were forgotten about.

    The brunch food was fine, but nothing to rave about either - I had the breakfast pizza and my friend had an omelet. The tater tots were pretty awesome though. With their zesty dipping sauce, they were copious and tasty.

    The ambiance here is cool, and it has a lot of potential. I had a good time with my friend, but I don't think I would come back and want to pay full price for that level of quality or service. And someone needs to give that waitress a Xanex.
  • Review from

    • 39 friends
    • 738 reviews
    Queens, NY
    7/29/2013 1 check-in here
    Dependable bar in midtown. Nice waitstaff, great 1/2 price bottles of wine on a Tuesday.
  • Review from

    • 14 friends
    • 75 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    3/20/2013
    I came here for unlimited brunch and had a great time.  I love that they have a lot of options for what you can get with your brunch- bloody mary's, mimosas, screwdrivers.  Makes it easy to bring a crowd and have everyone get something they like.  It's two hours also so you really get a lot of drinks in.  And the drinks are STRONG so you may not even need the full two hours.  It's 30$ which is steeper than a lot of places but given the strength of the drinks and how quick the service was, I'd say it's worth it.

    The food was fine.  I got a couple of eggs and hash browns, we had tater tots for the table (always a must when tater tots are on the menu), my friend ordered the breakfast pizza.  We were really there to drink though so no one was that focused on the quality of the food but it was fine.

    The service was good too.  Our waitress was really nice too.  She accidentally spilled water over my plate of food and they immediately brought me another plate and a complimentary cocktail. It wasn't a huge deal at all but she was really apologetic and it was nice they tried to make up for it.

    We were seated up in the loft area with big screen TV's and a dj so this place definitely has a party atmosphere.  I would come back!
  • Review from

    Brooklyn, NY
    2/18/2013 2 photos 1 check-in here
    So I purchased a Groupon deal that took place at this location for brunch and bottomless screwdrivers, bloody Mary's, and mimosas. The location is easy to get to, and Joshua Tree is right down the street - so you know I will be back!

    The Hill has a lot of specials such as Sangria Sunday, which is very intriguing for a sangria-lover like myself. Mmmmmmm... I can practically taste the cheap merlot-infused-fruit-juice now!

    Sorry, I got sangria-tracked (sidetracked? Anyone? Where did all those cricket noises come from? Bhuahaha I kill me.) Back to brunch!

    I ordered the breakfast pizza, which is a thin-crust pizza with eggs, some cheese and other goodies on it. They have it listed as their "Best Seller!" and I can see why! Throw on some ketchup / catsup to your preference of vernacular, and you will be in heaven afloat clouds of egg-whites! (They use the yolk, too, but egg-white clouds paints a better mental image.) The pizza was huge and is enough for two people to eat comfortably (it's seriously a whole traditional sized pan pizza.)

    The Bloody Mary's were delicious, and spiced just right to the perfect amount of tobasco - however I did wind up adding more pepper to them.

    The waitress was a bit hard to get a hold of at times, but was friendly when she got around to us. There were only 4 other tables seated with 2-3 people each, with 2 waitresses running the main floor so I am not sure what the hold up was (hence the reason for a deducted star.)

    A good spot, good prices (I think normal price for bottomless brunch was about 25$/person but don't quote me on that) and a nice, clean location that doesn't give me the skeevies when I touch the door handles.
    • Breakfast pizza with eggs Benedict in the back!
    • Bloody Mary

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