Blue Willow 夜来湘

Visited Blue Willow with friends on a Monday night with a reservation. The place was busy, but I loved the vintage decor as soon as I walked in. We were all really hungry, so we ordered a lot for four people. The portions were generous, but honestly, the food was just okay-not anything that stood out. The dishes arrived incredibly fast, within about 5 minutes, which made me wonder if they weren't made fresh. The Mapo Tofu was the highlight of the meal, though. Service was a bit confusing-multiple servers came by at different times— but they were all friendly. The drink menu looked interesting, but the taste didn't quite live up to expectations. Overall, it was a decent experience-nothing extraordinary, but still a fun spot to hang out with friends.

Good food with good service. We came on Christmas night. We ordered Mapo Tofu, pickle pepper with diced chicken, Chairman Mao’s braised pork, Xianxi fried rice, and Szechuan beef. All dishes were quite nice. The foods were quite authentic, but it could be a little spicier. The good thing was that they weren’t too greasy and didn’t put a lot of MSG in it, therefore, I wasn’t so thirsty after eating their food and was able to taste the original flavor of the ingredients. The Mapo Tofu was silky and flavorful. The pickled peppers with diced chicken was quite nice as well, however, I was expecting it to be a bit sour since they used pickled peppers in the dish. The braised pork was the dish that I looked forward to the most, but also was the most disappointing dish. It was just plain and boring. I thought it should have been a bit sweeter. The fried rice was great, and was cooked with a very hot Chinese frying pan, and it was just phenomenal. The pickled sting beans gave it a nice touch of sourness. The only thing was that I barely tasted the Hunan bacon in this dish. It would have made it perfect with more fragrance. The last but not the least, the Szechuan beef was the highlight of the night. It was cut into strips and it was crispy, citrusy, and sweet. It went so well with the other spicy dishes. Overall, it was a good restaurant with good services. It was a bit chaotic, but I think it was because it was Christmas night. By the way, the drink we ordered was nice, too. I believe it was called the Copium.

Delicious and authentic food in vintage decoration. Every dish was flavorful and so good it feels like a burst of flavor in your mouth. The portion is huge and fill with quality ingredient making the price very reasonable especially for midtown location near 5th ave. Only down side about this restaurant is service level. Although restaurant was not full, no one checked on us and we had to request for service every-time we wanted something. Bathroom was also a bit dirty although we visited restaurant only about an hour after it opened. Other than that, will come back for the food again!

Absolutely love this place. Love the atmosphere, the vibes, and attention to detail. The food is so deliciously satisfying and full of flavor. The drinks are creative and unique. They also have mocktails (just got to ask for it), and they make some of the prettiest mocktails I've ever had. And the service has always been wonderful.

A nice discovery for those who love Chinese cuisine. We are in New York in the middle of Manhattan. Well executed dishes, clean restaurant, fast service, Dishes well executed with an excellent quality/price ratio. Friendly and kind staff, a great place to go without necessarily spending too much considering you are in New York. I recommend the mixed dim sum,, fried rice. and noodles. Highly recommended restaurant. The reservation is highly recommended.