84 Best Restaurants in Hudson Valley, New York

Fatty Crab and Fatty 'Cue founder Zak Pelaccio decamped from Manhattan to Hudson to set up shop in a former blacksmithing shop, where he serves a delicious seven- or eight-course tasting menu. Be advised there's no vegetarian or pescatarian option, and dietary restrictions aren't accommodated so picky eaters should think twice. But more spontaneous eaters will enjoy the frequently changing menu and kitchen that will only use the highest quality and freshest ingredients. You could get lightly smoked salmon one night and rotisserie-roasted duck breast the next. Pelaccio's wife Jory Jayne Emde creates the restaurant's vinegars, pickles, and condiments. Reservations are tough to get, but a small selection of à la carte dishes is available at the bar and on the brick patio.

On weekends a line forms outside for this more casual sibling of the adjacent Xaviars at Piermont, both from chef Peter X. Kelly. The stylish menu changes with the seasons and is partnered with a fantastic wine list. Expect small plates like grilled Portuguese octopus with chorizo, and tiny duck and foie gras meatballs, as well as larger entrées such as the popular steak frites with herb butter and pan-seared Montauk skate wing, sautéed to perfection in lemon-brown butter sauce.

Housed in a 400-year-old samurai farmhouse—shipped to America from Japan and reconstructed on-site in Central Valley—this hibachi chophouse claims to deliver both "steak and theater." Skillful chefs slice, dice, flip, and grill your dinner before your eyes, while kimono-clad servers fetch appetizers and umbrella-topped specialty drinks. Proximity to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets makes this a convenient (and affordable) post-shopping spot.

A sophisticated clientele crowds the bar, patio, and dining rooms of this lively Italian restaurant, once the showroom of a car dealership. The food, billed as "Hudson Valley Mediterranean," includes artfully crafted salads, house-made pastas, and hearty entrées. Baby greens provide a bed for roasted butternut squash, beets, and asparagus dressed with walnuts and crumbled goat cheese. Toppings for the "skizzas" (flatbread pizzas) range from a sausage–broccoli rabe–mozzarella combo to a goat cheese, mozzarella, arugula, pears, and figs option. Reservations are only accepted for parties of 6 or more.

The team at Helsinki Hudson melds the delights of the chef's southern upbringing with the bounty of the Hudson Valley. Meats and fish are cured in Atticus, the resident wood-fired smoker. Fan favorites include low country shrimp and grits served with housemade andouille sausage and Great-Aunt Theo's fried chicken. For dessert, don't miss the good ole Georgia sweet potato pie.

Savory, slow-cooked smoked meats are the draw at this casual eatery with wooden booths and an old-fashioned sports bar. The traditional Southern-style sides—collard greens, macaroni and cheese, corn bread, flaky biscuits—are other reasons to come. Add in homemade desserts, towel napkins, and house-made barbecue sauce and you have one of the most popular restaurants in Kingston for local families and tourists alike.

After a long day on the trails, you can grab a quick pick-me-up at this small café located inside the Bear Mountain Inn. Enjoy a scoop of Perry's Ice Cream, sodas, granola bars, hot cocoa, and more.

You can dine by a fireplace in this late-17th-century stone house, a National Historic Landmark. Try the aged steak or the special seafood of the day. On Saturday night, prime rib is served with Yorkshire pudding. The homemade pastas are also a treat. The dessert menu includes several types of cheesecake and a warm fruit cobbler in season. In summer, ask to sit on the patio.

Sample sushi and other tidbits are served beneath handcrafted Japanese lanterns at this informal spot. Spider rolls, hot crisp-fried soft-shell crabs in cool nori-wrapped sushi rice, are a delight. Or you can start with the spicy noodle soup or tempura appetizer, and then move on to a Maui roll with tuna, mango, red onion, cilantro, and special sauce, or a baby octopus salad.

Locals and tourists alike flock to this affordable ice cream parlor for fresh, creamy ice cream cones and concoctions. The sundaes are sublime and the whipped cream is homemade. There's often a line out the door but it moves fast.

This cozy restaurant makes you feel right at home with its 1950s kitschy vinyl chairs and tables, and decor to match. Anyone with a sweet tooth will love the homebaked desserts like carrot cake roulade and tiramisu that are on display behind the counter, but you'll still find healthy fare like curried beet, apple, walnut, and goat cheese salad (all local ingredients) or a grilled cheese panini. When the weather is warm, you can relax and eat at the tables in the rear courtyard.

A main-drag institution, the restaurant serves traditional pub fare, which includes its famous burgers and more than 80 microbrews from around the globe. The seemingly endless menu also features lighter fare and 13 kinds of omelets, all served continuously so you can have lunch at dinnertime or dinner at lunchtime. Weekend brunch however is only served 11–4. Dine indoors in a dark, cozy, publike environment or outdoors on the sidewalk when weather permits. Be warned that even the lite fare is on the hearty side

Watch sailboats drift by from the veranda tables at this riverfront restaurant, or dine by the window in the country-style River Room. A crust of red and blue tortillas gives crab cakes a new twist. Notable entrées include salmon filled with sun-dried-tomato pesto and arugula, and filet mignon wrapped in a crusty sleeve of pancetta. The stunning dining room is worthy of Martha Stewart herself, and thus the setting of many weddings. Sunday brunch gives you the choice of an appetizer and entrée for $26.

American pub fare and some of the best beer in the Hudson Valley are served in this relaxed restaurant-brewery. The menu includes sandwiches and pizzas as well as toothier fare like steaks and pastas. The breads, desserts, and ice creams are made on the premises. Live music three nights a week makes this a popular nightspot, too.

The flavors of Tuscany take center stage at this highly regarded eatery tucked into an unlikely corner of commercial Newburgh. You'll want to toss the menu aside in favor of the exhaustive list of daily specials. Fresh buffalo mozzarella, porcini mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes pop up in many dishes; the osso buco is a signature dish, and the pasta with shaved black truffles has acquired nearly a cult following. For dessert, don't miss the chocolate soufflé cake. The cordial waitstaff, outfitted in ties and crisp white aprons, presides over the dining room with pressed-copper ceilings and blond-wood beams.

The decor at this busy Thai restaurant is rather basic, but don't let that deter you from trying the varied menu that includes excellent dishes like crispy duck and steamed dumplings. Weekend specials are often standouts too.

Widely hailed as one of the Hudson Valley's best Mexican restaurants, this welcoming eatery is brightly painted and decorated with Mexican Talavera pottery. Guacamole is made (and spiced to your taste) tableside. There's an impressive selection of tequilas and Mexican beers as well as interesting margaritas. Main courses include traditional entrées like vegetarian chile relleno, shredded pork carnitas, and arroz con pollo (served with a spicy lemon jalapeño sauce) or try the unique camarones al pastor (shrimp topped with pineapple and ancho-guajillo chile sauce). For dessert, the ice cream topped with Mexican chocolate and caramel can't be beat.

This relaxed bistro offers a slice of France in uptown Kingston. Try modern versions of traditional dishes, like duck pâté served on a bed of red onions (a starter) or grilled New Zealand rack of lamb in a merlot–balsamic vinegar reduction. The prix-fixe menus offer good value. True Francophones will be delighted by the café au lait served in bowls

You might walk by this downtown eatery and not give it a second glance, but Le Petit Bistro has a loyal following. Chef Joseph Dalu is known for his interesting seafood dishes, and uses local ingredients when available. Daily specials usually include excellent fish tacos and fresh oysters. The house pâté appetizer and steak au poivre are favorites on the regular menu. The dining room is warm and intimate, with worn pine floors and dark paneled walls.

At a busy downtown corner, this family-friendly fixture is known for using fresh ingredients and taking a light approach to traditional Greek fare. Favorites are the enormous Greek salad, which can be shared, and platters of souvlaki, bifteki (Greek-style hamburger), and gyros, served with pita, tomato, and yogurt sauce. Those with bigger appetites can enjoy the Aegean Platter, which includes moussaka, pastitsio, spinach pie, and a traditional gyro.

Gianni Scappin, who's been serving excellent contemporary Italian cuisine at Cucina across the river in Woodstock since 2007, recently opened a laid-back yet elegant trattoria serving Italian-American specialties in the center of Rhinebeck. Go for the Neopolitan-style pizzas cooked in the wood-burning brick oven, housemade pastas, and excellent meats including a local rib eye topped with a spicy aioli.

A hickory smoke oven was imported from Louisiana to give authentic flavor to the Southern-style cooking found here. Slow cooking takes on a new meaning when meats are smoked for 4–15 hours. Hearty dishes of pulled pork, ribs, chicken, and crab cakes are served with your choice of two sides; the cheese grits and collard greens are popular.

A seventh-generation member of the legendary Buitoni pasta family, Franceso Buitoni serves rustic Italian cuisine that could easily be found in a country house outside Rome. The small list features house-made pasta, a savory risotto, and hearty entrées like bison braised with Super Tuscan red wine and grilled branzino served with crispy roasted potatoes. Buitoni is justly famous for his pillowy gnocchi. The bar menu features a small selection of Italian wines and beers.

Come off Warren Street into this slice of contemporary Mexico—an outpost of Manhattan's Mexican Radio. High ceilings mean there's plenty of room for thematic art on the orange-hue walls, which are dominated by wrought-iron crucifixes and augmented by Mexican art. The cuisine is hearty, high-end Mexican; Cajun burritos filled with chorizo and shrimp and topped with jalapeno salsa, and steak and shrimp fajitas stand out. Some of the produce (like the tomatillos) is grown specially for the restaurant by local farmers.

With a hunter-green awning over the entrance, walls covered with framed hunting prints, and wood paneling that recalls a stable, this restaurant plays up the horse-country theme. The food is billed as "authentic 19th-century cooking." Everything is cooked in the wood-fired oven; the open-plan kitchen invites you to watch. The house's baked stuffed Spanish onion, a concoction of cheddar cheese and fresh vegetables, is well worth trying. Entrées are served on sizzling cast-iron platters straight from the oven.

Since 1929 a diner has sat on this spot, with the current edition, a stainless-steel boxcar version, dating from 1952. It's a great hangout for locals, who love how quickly that early-morning cup of coffee is served. Order hamburgers, french fries, BLTs, and other diner basics here.

Colorful accents and artwork adorn this lively restaurant helmed by two-time Food Network Chopped champion Ric Orlando. A large bar and a sapphire-and-stainless-steel open kitchen are focal points. The eclectic menu include pan-blackened string beans with a Cajun remoulade that will have you humming zydeco. Other classic entrees include sofrito-laced Cuban pot roast and bacon wrapped, smoked gouda stuffed meatloaf. Vegetarians will appreciate the many veggie offerings including blue corn-crusted seitan cutlets topped with tomatillo salsa.

Housed in an old warehouse, this craft brewery might not look like much from the outside, but inside the massive taproom you'll find a hip space with exposed brick walls, long reclaimed wood tables, and a compact menu of locally sourced food and wine with more than a dozen in-house brews on tap.

While there are no river views or outdoor terraces, the cozy restaurant boasts delicious homespun Mediterranean food, charred and flavorful out of a massive wood-fired oven. In addition to airy pizzas with cool toppings, you can enjoy Greek-inspired salads and lots of seafood.

This immaculate Japanese restaurant is popular with the college crowd as well as with the locals. It offers high-quality sushi, teriyaki, tempura, and noodle dishes. There's also an extensive assortment of sake. The meal always ends with a perfectly chilled orange.