Recently we found ourselves in White Plains, New York for a few nights. Unfortunately it was for a sad occasion, and during times like these it’s nice to have a place to relax and unwind during the evening. Fortunately we happened to stay at the Renaissance Westchester Hotel, and right there in the lobby is Hive. The decor is eclectic, the backdrop is a large blackboard with chalk designs
The restaurant area
covering one wall, and the menu is pretty enticing. We settled in our first night for a late dinner.
Somehow whenever it comes out that we write a wine, food and travel blog the chef ends up at our table, and this was no exception. When we saw Coq au Chinon on the menu I asked about the Chinon, and that prompted the waiter to ask if we were interested in wine. Next thing you know Chef Ryan is table side telling us about
The local single malt
the menu as well as a scotch we should try. I’m game, so I sampled the 287 single malt whiskey from Port Chester. A limited edition, this single malt has a beautiful entry, then it gets a little weird, then it gets incredibly complex. There is a magnificent nose of orange, cinnamon, vanilla, and more, some coming from being aged in American oak for one year. Incredible length goes on and on. This is really very good, actually very, very good. We ended up finding the last bottle on a local shop’s shelves and brought it home.
On Chef Ryan’s recommendation, our appetizers consisted of grilled Spanish octopus salad and crab cakes. Dinner to follow was Coq au Chinon and fish and chips. The octopus was beautiful, one large tentacle perfectly grilled, tender and smokey sweet. With it came a bitter greens salad
A perfect octopus tentacle!
that worked well, accented by watermelon cubes. The crab cakes were all meat, came with a mayo mustard sauce and were tasty. My fish and chips was just the way you want it, the fish light and not greasy. Really well done. We ended up with double fries courtesy of Chef Ryan and the second batch was topped with a truffle and cheese mixture that was crazy good, earthy and comforting and sooo delicious. There’s something that feels almost sinful about a perfect french fry,
What’s left of fish and double chips
and if that’s true then these are going to send you straight to hell. The Coq au Chinon was homey, warm and comforting. Great flavor here, with the drumsticks falling off the bone and cooked with onions, herbs and Chinon red wine. The potatoes were a little underdone actually, and we would have liked to see the Chinon available to order, as it would have been nice to pair it with the dish it helped create. These are minor though, and overall this was very good indeed. Dessert was a classic tiramisu, light in texture with just the right balance of lady fingers, mascapone and cream.
Service here is also excellent, attentive but not smothering, and the wait staff
Hotel lobby at Renaissance Westchester
knows what’s on the menu and the wine list. There’s a very comfortable feeling, but it is upscale from a culinary perspective. Completing the night was coffee, hot and rich. This was a good meal, and not what you expect from a hotel lobby restaurant.
We ended up back at Hive the next night as well for pizza and drinks, and once again enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. We can see why it is rated so highly among restaurants in the area. Even though it really is in the middle of the lobby they have created a relatively quiet and private space, with an assortment of regular tables, booths and high tops. There’s a long bar as well if you’re in the mood for that.
Our wallet is out for The Hive if we’re near Westchester. It was exactly what we needed during a trying few days.
A votre sante!
Great review of one of my favorite spots in the area. Could not agree more.
We’ll certainly go back if we’re in the area. It’s a little off the track but really excellent.
[…] Sometimes things just work. Sometimes they don’t. We’ve found it’s far better when they do, so let’s stay on that thread. A little while back we were at Hive Restaurant in Westchester, NY, and they had a Coq au Chinon on the menu. We were tired and in need of a comfortable and cozy evening, so it seemed like a perfect hearty and homey thing to order. It was. You can read a little about that here. […]
[…] Considered an excellent food wine, red Chinon goes great with white meat. To me, it calls for herb roasted chicken. A while back we stumbled into a Coq au Chinon dish at the Hive Restaurant in West Harrison, NY, using Chinon red wine in the classic French dish. It was great, with my only complaint being that they didn’t have the Chinon available by the glass to accompany it. You can read about that here. […]