Huso: NY’s First “Farm-to-Spoon” Caviar Cafe

Huso is a superb high-end caviar bar located in New York City tucked in the back of the retail shop, Marky’s on Madison.  Offering the world’s first-ever “farm-to-spoon” caviar concept, Huso serves the freshest caviar within days of harvest delivered directly from its own U.S. aquafarm. Both the a la carte daytime menu and the signature caviar flights offered in the evening are centered around showing off the versatility of caviar pairing it with everything from lobster to honey-cake. 

Noteably, both Bloomberg media and Foodgod, Jonathan Cheban have lauded the spot in recent days.

“We like to think that we offer a departure from a firm tradition — caviar on our menu is a centerpiece of some dishes, and a complement in others,” begins Buddha Lo, executive chef of Huso New York’s first-ever caviar speakeasy.  Lo began his illustrious career working as chef de cuisine at Matteo’s located in Melbourne, Australia, which led to him serving as chef de partie at Gordan Ramsay’s namesake three Michelin-starred flagship restaurant in London, England. 

He most recently worked at New York’s fine dining institution Eleven Madison Park.

“Not many chefs get to work with caviar,” states Lo. “You see it as a prized dish in every Michelin restaurant, but you don’t see it in every single dish,” continues the chef.

Marky’s Group, the company behind this cutting-edge venture, has been in the business of selling caviar from around the world for the last 35 years. They were able to foresee the regulations that are now in place and the group decided to set up an aquaculture operation dedicated to several species of sturgeon in northern Florida.

There are over a dozen fish-roe products offered in the new restaurant and boutique retail shop, mostly farm-raised but a few wild, like American hackleback. At the top of the list is Russian osetra from sturgeon broodstock raised in Israel. Foie gras, Iberico ham, and smoked fish are among the other luxury items to be found on the menu and shelves of the plush cafe on NY’s Upper East Side.

Huso gets its name from the scientific name for a species of beluga sturgeon that produces the world’s priciest caviar – huso huso. True beluga caviar, the roe from a beluga sturgeon, has been illegal in America for almost 15 years when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife banned the import of all products from the Caspian Sea.  Owners Mark Zaslavsky and Mark Gelman’s Sturgeon Aquafarms received an exception from the ban on the commercial sale of beluga. In order to receive this exemption, the owners had to agree to several conditions including helping to restore wild beluga and not relying on the stock from the Caspian Sea.

The 12-seat cafe runs lunch daily from noon to 5 p.m. with dishes ranging from $45 for Huso’s play on hot dogs — king crab served in a brioche bun with an eight gram trail of Beluga di Venezia caviar — to $30 for bread service, which includes a puck of foie gras topped with Kaluga Amber caviar served with cultured butter also topped with the same caviar. The dinner service offers a single flat seating at 7 p.m., offering a seven-course caviar-laced tasting menu for $200 per person with plenty of the best champagne on hand as well.

Amazing champagne and caviar at Huso on NY’s Upper East Side – and in the front of the store buy the world’s best caviar for all your needs from Marky’s on Madison.