Hudson

Are you kidding me? Pork shoulder was overcooked and unimaginative. The dessert… the Al La Mode was fit for a person with gastric bypass. After I ate… I hit up Daimo at 9:36 pm. Gotta get the bad taste out of my mouth.

I loved the ambiance here. Early in the night it is a bit more kid-​friendly and a family restaurant, besides the bar in the front. Later in the night the restaurant becomes more romantic. I love the bar in the front of the restaurant.
As appetizers we got the Squash blossoms and the Calamari on a hot plate. The squash blossoms had great taste and they had a nice crun I was very surprised to find that the calamari were so tender.
For entrees I had shared the ribeye with potatoes with my cousin. The ribeye was great. I was surprised to not see a huge slab of meat, instead, they had sliced it up. I loved that I said medium-​rare and it actually came out nicely medium-​rare! The meat was delicious and flavorful. The potatoes were pretty good too. My sister had the red trout with grains and peas, which she said was pretty good. My other cousin had the tortellini which was alright. The filling was good and flavorful but I’m not a tortellini kind of person. It looked like she got a lot on her plate.
Chocolate dessert was heavenly! It melted in my mouth and oozed. I loved the ice cream with this — hot and cold! We also had the strawberry shortcake which was also very good.

Superior Service Sexy Food Upscale Ambiance. – UnilocalA!
I came back to take my friend out for a birthday dinner. He’s new to Oakland and wanted to show him the variety we offer here in terms of nightlife and dining. As mentioned in my other review the ambiance is sexy chic and the service is superior and that hasn’t changed in my second visit.
There menu changes often and I decided to order the Alaskan Halibut served on top of arugula, chickpeas and roasted tomato. It was presented nicely. The fish was cooked very nicely, steamed tender and moist. However, I took my review down 1 notch because the dish served beneath the halibut was overly salty which made it hard to enjoy. I’m not sure why it was prepared in such way but it was definitely not appetizing and seemed to deflect the quality and perpetration standards Hudson values.
My friend ordered the Buttermilk Friend Chicken which he said was the best chicken he had. I didn’t try it since I tend to steer clear of anything friend but coming from the South I trust his word.

My BFF had her bday dinner here and with our large party we were seated all the way inside the back end of the restaurant, which was a good move bc we can get pretty loud. There were double doors by our tables and it looked like there were additional private rooms.
The décor ambiance was dim, romantic, chic. Our table had the regular chairs on one side and the couch seats along the wall, which felt so tight and condensed. I’d like to think of myself as a petite small girl and I felt a little suffocated when I first sat down surrounded by long pillows around me. I can’t imagine a large person feeling comfortable sitting there! But then I slowly adjusted, then my friend had to use the restroom so I had to drag and pull myself across to the end to let her out. I’ve never felt so tired scooting across a couch, I even took a second of a break mid-​scoot hah! Talk about exhausting (or really out of shape).
Most of us ordered and split the 24 Oz ribeye, which you should order ASAP bc it takes about 40 min to cook they say. My friend and I got it made med and it was so perfect and delicious. Definitely get the oil and other dark aged sauce topped off on it, it was good. The complimentary breadsticks were so yummy with the olive/​olive oil dip. Mmm! Margherita pizza, thumbs up. I tried a bite of the cod, which was good too but I’m not a big fish person. The serving was a good size, all the girls were able to finish it so a guy who eats a lot might still be hungry after eating that.
Parking isn’t too bad on the street.

They have fried chicken on mondays and its the best fried chicken ever!!! Its super crunchy yet the meat inside is juicy and tender.
On all other days of the week, Hudson has really yummy ribeye. Medium rare is just perfect! And I dont even like ribeye most of the time…

Have great dinner at Hudson last night.
we ordered calamari, K&J salad, and cheese plate for starter. Each of them are delicious. For the entrée we had a grill rib-​eyes, pork chop, and pizza. The rib-​eyes steak cooked perfectly. it was tender and juicy. The pork chop my friend had it cooked medium well, even it cooked medium well still tasted very juice and flavorful not too dry. I especially like the photo printings on the wall. It makes the restaurant very artistic. overall I will definitely go again and recommend friends to go.

Dear Avocado Marketing Board,
I recognize that your large and diverse membership may pressure you to apply the term «avocado» to the green crud supermarkets pass off as guacamole, or the green smoosh that some restaurants cut into salad, or even to the wrinkly green-​and-​black fruit-​thing that I buy at produce stores in Vancouver. (I have no idea *what* that thing is I’ve been eating outside of California, because it’s clearly not the flavorful delicious green fruit/​veg you get in California.)
However, in the interest of maximizing the value of the avocado brand, I heartily urge you to treat the word «avocado» as a proprietary trademark of the Hudson restaurant, where the grilled avocado with ricotta perfectly realizes all that was intended when God created the first avocado tree to tempt Adam and Eve. (Yeah, I know people *say* it was an apple tree, but after you taste Hudson’s avocado you will realize it *had* to be an avocado tree, because who would give up Eden for an apple?)
While you are enjoying your avocado, you may decide to sample one of Hudson’s delicious cocktails. This process will be assisted by the extremely friendly and helpful waiter who can suggest a drink that suits your palate. That same waiter will be happy to bring you a lovely salad or a wonderfully cooked piece of fish that you will find absolutely delightful at the time, but will later only barely remember because it has been obliterated from your memory by the combination of cocktail and perfect avocado.
You can feel ok about that, because as the Avocado Marketing Board, all that really matters is that people remember the avocado. And that they remember it as part of a wonderfully relaxed, delicious meal in the beautiful room that is the Hudson.
Sincerely,
Alex
Dined July 30, 2012.

Service A+
Ambiance A
Food…
Gem salad A
Salmon trio A (see my picture)
Squash pizza D
Cauliflower B+
Pizza was flavorless and a waste of carbs. Had one very thin dice of zucchini per slice. We were envisioning a pizza layered with different squash. I put the cauliflower on to off the pizza to add some pizazz.
The ambiance and service were awesome. We had a great time at dinner. Disappointment was in the pizza only.

I had a great experience at Hudson. My friend and I came here for dinner on Wednesday and it was fairly busy for a weeknight. I made a reservation earlier so we were seated immediately. The food was good, service was terrific, and we got a free dessert. I like!
App: We shared the Little Gem salad — very light and refreshing, dressing was nice. A good way to add some greens to our meal.
Entrée: I had the burger with gruyère. So good! And a good portion — I only ate half and took the other half home. Leftovers are the best!
Dessert: Our server brought us a free dark chocolate budino dessert because they had made an extra for a big group next to us. So nice!!!
Overall, I really like Hudson. I am not local but if I was, this would be a favorite spot for me :)

Today is my birthday and tonight Alan and I met Tam and Kevin for dinner. We were inspired in large part by Betty H’s review from last year. Alan, Tam and I had been here before in its previous incarnation just prior to Tam and Kevin’s wedding, accompanied by Tam’s mom and my brother Jim. The layout is much more open now. We entered through the bar area and were seated in the back. At my place was a birthday card from the restaurant. I was wished a happy birthday by several people on staff. It was lovely. We appreciated the quiet back there and would request to be seated there again when we return. We noticed as we were leaving that they have fried chicken on Mondays and we’ll have to check that out.
Tam and I ordered Cosmos, which were delicious. She requested bread and we were brought a plate w/​long, slender breadsticks and sliced focaccia accompanied by an olive tappenade. The breadsticks were tasty, w/​pepper and other spices mixed into the dough. I really liked them, but the others found the pepper a bit too much. The focaccia was excellent and the olive tapenade was nicely balanced and flavorful.
We ordered a frito mixto for the table. It included broccoli rabe, artichokes and other vegetables, fried basil leaves and an aioli for dipping. Alan and I ordered a little gem salad to split, Tam ordered a Caesar and Kevin ordered the corn soup. All were brought at the same time and all were excellent. Our salad was brought split. It contained English peas, fava beans, carrot slices, bleu cheese crumbles and was dressed w/​a mustard vinaigrette. It was delicious.
Alan and I ordered the Hudson ribeye to share and Tam and Kevin ordered a mushroom pizza and a roasted half chicken to share. We ordered the ribeye medium rare. It came closer to rare, which was fine for me but Alan wanted it a touch more done, so it was removed and returned more to his liking. The waiter poured traces of olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the steaks, which was tasty, although a tiny bit more acidic than Alan liked. The steak was served sliced and was arranged over a wedge of Yukon Gold potato gratin, which was crusty on top and soften in the middle. It was very good. The taste I had of the pizza was marvelous and they took the leftover slices for breakfast tomorrow.
We looked at the dessert menu. I ordered a scoop of the dark chocolate ice cream, Tam ordered a scoop of espresso and Kevin ordered strawberry sorbet. Alan had considered an Italian cow’s milk cheese, but the moment passed and he had nothing. After a wait, the ice cream was brought out w/​a candle to blow out. It seemed to have been waiting for a while because it was a bit melted, mine particularly. As I was finishing it I was brought another bowl that was more solid, which was very nice. Kevin helped me w/​that one because he’s the other dark chocolate lover in the family. It was a lovely birthday dinner w/​family. 4.49 stars.

Cool ambiance, good service, interesting menu, great food.
Started out BAD: no valet on the Tuesday I went! :(
But thankfully it improved from there. They did two really nice things because it was a slower night. 1) the hostess offered to seat the party incomplete and 2) our server specifically welcomed us to hang out at our table after the meal, as the table wasn’t needed. Now, I won’t expect that on a busy night, but that sure was AWESOME. Yay. Thank you, Hudson!
Our party of three ordered two appetizers and three pizzas and ate like kings. The pizzas are great. Really can’t wait to go back, and to tell friends about it.

Perfectly poached eggs,
Set on top of chicken hash,
Such a lovely brunch!
Hudson was a great spot to have a fancypants brunch on a warm and sunny Sunday since there is outdoor seating and the prices are reasonable (~ $ 12 a dish as opposed to ~ $ 20 an entrée for dinner). The food was delicious and the portion sizes were satisfying. It was a relaxing and leisurely meal since the waitstaff let us sit there for close to two hours just chatting away while we sipped on our organic coffee and soaked up the sun.

Having talked about checking out Hudson for a good half year, we finally made it out last night for dinner.
Our start-​to-​finish experience was one of the best we’ve had in any East Bay restaurant. Drinks here are really well made. I personally had a soft spot for ‘My Dear Watson’ which is a concoction of bourbon, maple syrup, orange, lemon, egg whites and apparently a tincture of tobacco. I almost didn’t order this drink based on the last aforementioned ingredient… but I’m sure glad I went with it. I couldn’t exactly say that I tasted any hint of tobacco, but then again something in the brew made me fall completely addicted to it.
For an appetizer, we sampled the Hawaiian Albacore Crudo with flatbread. This was absolutely tastebud heaven. So good… end of discussion.
Next up, entrees. We decided to try the Tasso pizza and the special of the day. Fried chicken with mashed potatoes & gravy. The pizza was cooked in their brick oven and it was tasty with a smoky flare to each bite. The fried chicken was perfectly crispy and such a delicious treat. I think it truly deserves a full time spot on their regular menu.
Last up was dessert. After debating between the Meyer Lemon Pie and the Candied Pear & Ginger Tart… we decided to opt for the latter. Each bite of the tart was a perfect blend of candied pear, vanilla bean ice cream & flaky crust that was nicely balanced with subtle hints of ginger… highly satisfying.
Overall, I give Hudson a solid 4.5 STARS. For the East Bay, it definitely should be on anyone’s Go-​To list :)

I had a holiday work dinner here in the private dining room. You’d barely know the room existed at the back of the restaurant. It’s a very nice open space with flexibility depending on the # of ppl in your party. The room is very modern too.
We had a pre fixe menu and the food was very delicious. I had the chef’s soup and vegetarian pasta dish of the evening. If you’ve read any of my reviews you know I’m a huge fan of pasta… it was perfect, so good that I finished it all. The pasta was homemade and cooked perfectly. I’d highly recommend this restaurant to dine with friends or for large groups.

My rating is for the burger.
We were supposed to have girl time and walk the lake, instead we ended up at Hudson for happy hour.
We shared a Margherita pizza and a burger. I’m not sure if we let the pizza sat too long but a 10 minute wait would not have made the pizza cold, kinda dried, and the cheese no longer stringy. In hindsight, we should’ve ordered the mushroom & caramelized onion pizza.
On the other hand, the burger was so tasty. This is how I like my burger… it was medium done, the patty was well seasoned and really juicy, and the meat didn’t crumble when I cut into it. The burger was so tasty that I just ate the patty alone without adding ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise. The burger came with a huge wedge of pickle and lots of yummy steak fries. For an additional $ 1.50, we could’ve had cheese or bacon to the burger but we opted out to compensate for skipping our walk. This burger put Umami Burger to shame. (
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Service: Could be more attentive. It was a quiet Monday night and the restaurant was pretty empty yet our server was mia for the most part. I kept looking for him to get more ketchup to finish the fries but he was nowhere to be found.

I needed a place to eat in Oakland before going on a booze cruise, and I picked this place based off the menu and pics of the food on Unilocal.Our reservation was at 5:30pm, and we arrived 15 minutes early, so we ordered drinks at the bar. They still had happy hour, so I ordered a Manhattan (whiskey and vermouth bitters) for $ 6. Before we knew it, the place was packed which was a good sign.
I ordered the salmon and it came with lentils and an apple and frisee side. My fiancé orders the braised short ribs. My other two friends ordered a pizza and a burger w/​steak fries. My salmon was cook perfectly, and the apples added a nice tartness with the salmon.
The décor is urban and the service was great. I would come here again if I’m in the area.

Came here for the breakfast menu on a Sunday. Pretty good overall. It was definitely slow, perhaps they should advertise on the site that they serve breakfast? we were surprised they were open!
The food was good i ordered eggs, bacon and potatoes all ala carte — $ 6 for the eggs? why? the bacon was the best i’ve had in a while cooked perfectly. ($ 3) and the potatoes were amazing i like the way they were executed ($ 3).
Skip the bloody mary, it was meh.
i’ll be back for the same meal sometime and perhaps to try out the dinner menu.

Great place for a celebration! I made reservations for 8 to celebrate my graduation.
Atmosphere: Neat and clean. Once we were seated they handed me a card congratulating me — super sweet!
Food: Margherita Pizza was good, but nothing exceptional. I ordered the Roasted Half Chicken, and the portion was huge and filling. The chicken wasn’t too dry, and the sauce that accompanied it was light and tangy. Overall, well worth the $ 20. Everyone else enjoyed their food, except for my mom who got the True Cod — it tasted kind of bland.
OH YEAH, AND THE BREAD THEY SERVE IS ADDICTING. AND AWESOME.
Desserts — Panna Cotta was eh, and the cheesecake was way too creamy, but the Dark Chocolate Budino with the espresso ice cream was awesome.
Prices are on the high side, but you get what you pay for so it’s all good. The service is friendly as well.

Having personally liked the ambiance and set up prior to the revamp of this restaurant, I have to say that this place doesn’t have the pizazz of the previous set up.
The interior now looks like Restoration Hardware barfed all over it. Which is okay with me because I have walked into a Restoration Hardware and bought a little freeze dried plant named «Harold» that I am quite partial to.
Deciding to dine in the bar’s lounge area so that we could watch the San Antonio Spurs get their butts handed to them for the third time by the Memphis Grizzlies, I enjoyed my meal. The lounge waitress was pretty good, though it was a bit challenging to flag her down.
I enjoyed my wine and my friend liked his Quinoa based vodka martini. Artisan liquors are served here, so if you want your Grey Goose or Belvedere, you should search somewhere else.

Steak cut fries were excellent. I’m not a huge fry person, but these were thick, fresh, and well seasoned. I asked for some aoli and got a very tasty lemon-​garlic aoli which is way better than the ketchup.
Pizza with prosciutto, fresh spinach, goat cheese, asparagus, and an egg was good size for two people who get an appetizer or side dish and split a dessert. It was a well done pizza with a thin and crispy crust. The egg was perfectly done and complemented the dish. I did find that the way it was cut meant that there were a few weird crust pieces with little to no topping on them. Make sure to not let it sit around too long, the crust turns inedible once it gets cooler, not a reheat-​able pizza at all. I suggest dipping the weird crusty pieces in aoli.
Mandarin orange panna-​cotta was very simple but satisfying. Refreshing and just a bit tart, I enjoyed this simple desert, though it was pretty lacking in presentation. You can clearly see that it was made in a small foil pan, and other than a few small pieces of fruit, there isn’t much to draw you in. Even a little sprig of mint would be a massive improvement.
Where as previously this restaurant had a classy high end Italian side and a more casual new American side; it now has one sort of confused hybrid of the two. That being said, though it’s a bit pricey, it’s pretty tasty.

A big improvement over Garibaldi’s, and that’s saying something. Not only is the food better, the bar and the vibe are fresh.
Looooove the bar. The Obituario, I could drink until I die. Baird’s Bicycle is a look-​good, tastes-​good-​too winner of a cocktail. The Walrus and The Carpenter is an excellent use of Fernet as a mixer!
Everything I’ve eaten at Hudson has been great. Especially the Roman-​style fried fava beans… the real deaI, baby. And the artichokes are to die for. Trust me… And I love, love, love the pizza. No surprise that it’s good. They still have that great oven here… But there’s one in particular I adore: spicy pork sausage, braised Tuscan kale, tomato and pecorino.
Excellent service, very nice interior decoration. The valet is a great backup, if your parking karma isn’t activating. They’re adding brunch and have a special happy hour menu with the aforementioned well-​named cocktails and delicious za.