Ahh, Blue Water Grill, it's an oldie but a goodie. It's been a Union Square staple for a long time and it's been a really long time since I had been there, so I was excited to give it another whirl a few weeks ago. Although I'm generally weary of BR Guest type restaurants, I have a soft spot for this place since it seems to have weathered the NYC restaurant curse.
One of the reasons for Blue Water Grill's long running success is its super convenient location right in the middle of Union Square and it doesn't hurt that the food is pretty decent, although a bit on the overpriced side. I met up with VA and the girls for dinner and with a group of 5 of us, we thought it was more fun to order a bunch of plates to share instead of ordering entrees - even though this place isn't really a tapas like place. We really went to town and ordered half a dozen raw clams ($10), 4 pieces of salmon sashimi ($3/each), 4 pieces of tuna sashimi ($4/each), spicy tuna roll ($11), Union Square roll ($14), lobster roll ($14), baked scallop roll ($14), shrimp dumplings ($10), pork belly sliders ($10), kale caesar salad ($12), heirloom tomato salad ($13), crispy skin salmon ($26), charred broccoli ($7), warm grain salad ($10) and the crab meat and sweet potato hash ($10). Yes - clearly this is a group that likes to eat and I love that! The raw littleneck clams were sweet and delicious. I know that raw oysters generally steal the raw bar show but I think raw clams are also a fantastic choice too. Next they brought out a bunch of the side dishes like the dumplings, pork belly sliders and the salads. They were all pretty solid dishes - especially the salads where they get the vegetables directly from the farmer's market across the street. Where they really shined was surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) in the sushi rolls hat came out. The pieces of sashimi melted in my mouth and were as tasty as what I would have expected from a sushi bar. Of all the rolls we had, I really enjoyed the Union Square roll which was crab, avocado, hamachi, mango and yuzu. It had a great flavor profile to it and although I generally don't like my sushi with mango, this one actually worked well with the pairings. Sadly, the one roll that I really wanted the most, the baked scallop, was my least favorite one of the night. It was baked scallop, avocado, cucumber and kalamansi sauce. It was lacking in seasoning and the fact that the scallop was cooked and then served on top of the sushi just didn't do it for me. I knew it wasn't going to be like a spicy scallop roll but I just didn't think it would be this lacking in taste either. The one main dish of the might was crispy skin salmon which came on a bed of baby bok choy and for me it was good standard salmon dish but that's kind of why I generally don't order salmon at restaurants - I can make a really good salmon dish by myself at home that isn't going to cost $26+.
It was a bummer that our crab and sweet potato side dish never came because I was curious to try that out but we were so full that when we found out that it hadn't arrived, we just told them to cancel the order. The waiter was incredibly nice and friendly and really knew how to work the table. I would say that besides a couple of misses dish wise, my only gripe is that I do think it's a bit overpriced for what they are serving but given its great location and otherwise solid food, it's definitely a place that is and should still be on most people's Union Square rotation. Total bill with 2 bottles of wine and tax and tip: $85/pp
Photo Credit: Yelp
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