Ore Hill has a brief, but somewhat tangled, history. Along with Swyft, a more casual sibling…read morerestaurant that shares the same address and ownership, and Rock Cobble Farm, a nearby estate in South Kent that supplies incredible produce, dairy products, and beef to both restaurants, Ore Hill was the brain child of philanthropist Anne Bass.
We have loved the wood-fired pizzas, cocktails, and anything vegetal at Swyft since star chef Joel Viehland (previously of Noma, Gramercy Tavern and Community Table) opened it in 2018. Sadly, Chef Viehland left Swyft in 2020 without realizing plans for Ore Hill and not long after, Ms. Bass passed away. She provided for the farm and two restaurants in her estate, however, allowing Ore Hill to finally open in April 2023 with Chef Tyler Anderson as culinary director and Ryan Connelly as executive chef.
The New York Times recognized Ore Hill as one of the best restaurants in the US the same year, the only restaurant so recognized in Connecticut.
But the story doesn't end there. For reasons not made public, it seems that Chef Connelly left in late 2024 and Chef Ryan Carbone was brought in as a replacement.
At our recent meal, Chef Carbone had not been long at the helm. We do not know first hand what the kitchen was like prior to his leadership -- but we can comfortably say that Ore Hill under Chef Carbone is inventive, interesting, and delicious. It makes brilliant use of lesser-known, lesser-appreciated ingredients that can transform a dish -- like nasturtium flowers and gooseberries. This kitchen takes risks, combining ingredients in unusual ways -- and it often pays off big time. Whoever is designing the food here is brilliant and those who are executing the food are doing a fine job of it.
Ore Hill is only open for dinner and only offers a five course prix fixe or a chef's tasting menu. There is bread service, something we have learned to never take for granted given that it is no longer a norm in most NYC establishments: Two extremely thick slices of toasted, smoky sourdough with extremely yellow butter sourced from Rock Cobble Farm. (There could be doctoring of other sorts, but I usually associate butter this color with well grazed cows.)
We chose a bottle of wine to go with our meal, a light 2020 Rossese di Dolceacqua, "E Prie" di Anfosso Lorenzo from Liguria. I did not love this wine on first sip, immediately after opening and without food, but the wine grew on me, playing surprisingly well with seafood, cheese / dairy, even lightly acidic dishes and red meat.
Our courses:
Canape: Black Point Oyster, tomato dashi, cucumber, basil
First:
- Beef tartare, farm beets, anise hyssop: Finely minced beef and beets were visually indistinguishable, served atop an anise hyssop leaf. We were instructed to eat everything together as though it were a hand roll.
- Sea scallop crudo, cucumber, shiso, gooseberry: Sea scallops were pleasantly firm, just yielding enough, and interestingly reminiscent of the cucumber in texture. The gooseberry-based sauce was quite tart and little bit tannic, a fascinating stand-in for more familiar lemon.
Second:
- Tomme bottoni, green garlic, chive, chervil: Pasta "buttons" were filled with mellow, nutty Tomme cheese and topped with tendrils of flavorful micro greens, both from Rock Cobble Farm. Interestingly, this was the dish that paired best with the Rossese wine.
- Grilled summer squash, skate wing, wild rose, red currant, mint: The rose had quite a concentrated fragrance, but was incorporated so gently and thoughtfully into the dish -- as pretty petals garnishing the dish, blended into the sauce, and in the poaching liquid for the skate -- that it was not overwhelming.
Third:
- Beef flat iron, green beans, bb carrot, lemon balm butter: The beef was perfect: perfectly seasoned, perfectly juicy, cooked to medium rare and wonderful with the lemon balm butter.
-Steelhead trout, tomato jam, wood sorrel: The surprise star was the peppery pop of nasturtium flowers sprinkled atop. Fish was oversalted, but otherwise expertly handled.
Cheese (a kind gift of the chef): a bloom, a gouda, and a tomme, all sourced from Rock Cobble Farm's dairy cows + spelt crackers
Dessert:
Summer berries, farm yogurt, sunflower granola, chocolate, lemon balm: Such a fun play of textures and flavors. The essence of summer berries captured perfectly.
Black walnut miso pot de creme, blueberry, creme fraiche, sesame: Clever use of blueberry, present as a concentrated powder sprinkled atop the pot de creme, and alongside the creme fraiche and sesame tuille.
Ore Hill's kitchen does a wonderful job of highlighting the flavors of intensely fresh ingredients and not impeding their clarity. I'm not sure where Chef Carbone's and Chef Anderson's visions overlap, begin, and end. But whatever they're doing to collaborate -- it is delicious without doubt.
