57 Best Restaurants in Hudson Valley, New York

Chefs Charles and Megan Fells started a dining renaissance on Poughkeepsie's once destitute Main Street when they opened this New American bistro and wine bar in a chic spot that wouldn't be out of place in New York City's Flatiron district. Fish is flown in fresh, and if it's available (the menu changes every two weeks), pork lovers shouldn't miss the Three Little Pigs: pork tenderloin stuffed with housemade pork sausage topped with a horseradish-bacon glaze. For dessert, Megan's daily cheesecake special is always divine.

Using modern techniques pioneered by the great Lyons chef Paul Bocuse, this contemporary successor to the Culinary Institute of America's Escoffier, serves classic French cuisine in a casual yet sophisticated beige and white room designed by famed restaurant designer Adam Tihany. In addition to such iconic dishes like black truffle soup, torchon of goie gras, and rack of lamb, there's an informative and reasonable wine list (presented on an iPad). There's also a dessert cart that serves specialty cocktails and hand-cranked ice cream prepared tableside with liquid nitrogen in two minutes.

This popular food stand sets up in a tiny trailer on the grounds of Hardeman Orchards between late April and late September. The owner (known by her childhood nickname Bubby) serves vegetarian burritos (with or without guacamole) and quesadillas. The heated tortillas are almost bursting at the sides with black beans, salsa, lettuce, cheese, and sour cream. There are two flavorful salsas that can be added; the green tomatillo one is spicier. Soft drinks and Mexican aguas frescas can be picked out of a cooler.

This bright and cozy café wins over Cold Spring locals and visitors with its "breakfast until 4 pm" menu that includes chocolate babka French toast, biscuits and gravy, and a grilled Gouda cheese sandwich with Granny Smith apples. Their Bloody Marys are extra spicy. The lunch menu offers lighter fare such as Cobb salads and salmon BLTs. Make sure you leave room for a slice of homemade sky-high carrot cake or flourless chocolate cake.

Save room for the sticky toffee pudding cake or one of the other amazing desserts at this American restaurant in the former village hall. The wine is stored behind bars in the old jail, and other historic accents make for a charming dining room. Entrée favorites include shrimp and pappardelle puttanesca with anchovies, black olives, and capers, as well as Asian barbecue duck breast with whipped potato, baby bok choy, and apple-orange chutney. Brunch is a show-stopper.

This 1825 church contains two dining options: a casual bistro and a more-formal dining room. The bistro menu lists soups, stews, and a make-your-own sandwich board, as well as traditional entrées. Expect a lively crowd at the bar, especially on weekends. With white-cloth-draped tables, the main dining area is quieter. The food veers from creative to comforting. A popular starter is baby-arugula salad with goat-cheese wontons. For entrees, try the horseradish-crusted ahi tuna with miso aioli or the grilled, dry-aged T-bone served with Roquefort blue cheese butter.

The locally-sourced menu here changes daily, but the bistro-style dishes always have a Mediterranean accent. You'll find lots of fresh seafood, like yellowfin carpaccio, fresh shucked oysters, baby shrimp crudo and P.E.I. mussels. There's also plenty for the vegetarian set too, like feta-stuffed ravioli and chickpea sliders with cumin yogurt. On the weekends, there's a lively bar scene.

Regional fare is the specialty at this student-staffed restaurant at the Culinary Institute, and local and seasonal ingredients are emphasized. Local beef is bathed in roasted bone marrow garlic butter and there's a daily preparation of cage-free Hudson Valley foie gras. The restaurant is in Roth Hall, once a Jesuit seminary.

The Culinary Institute's most casual dining option showcases luscious desserts and breads made daily. The light lunch menu lists soups, sandwiches, pizza, and salads. The atmosphere is relaxed, and prices are reasonable. The line can get quite long around noon on weekdays, but moves fairly quickly.

Ben Gable was known for his savory pies and quiches in Brooklyn before he and his partner moved upstate to open this welcoming café serving his signature savories made with local milk, cream, cheese, and eggs. The café also sells sandwiches, soups, salads, and sweets.

What looks like a kitschy old diner on the outside might as well be a trattoria in Capri on the inside: photos of the island adorn the walls and the food is authentic Italian. That's why locals wait in long lines to get in. Its pastas—veal-stuffed ravioli, baked pasta with eggplant and loads of cheese—are renowned. Vegetables such as wilted broccoli rabe are also a specialty.

This classic French bistro is famed for its raw bar, which it stocks with frequent seafood deliveries. Fresh briny oysters (only $1 each at Sunday brunch) are perfectly complemented by the mignonette and spicy cocktail sauce. Mussels are prepared with tasso ham, leeks, and cream; duck confit is cured in a mixture of salt, sugar, and spices. The menu changes every three weeks but the popular steak tartare is always on the menu as are the impeccable french fries.

The European-style bakery receives daily deliveries from its main facility in nearby Boiceville. The loaves, shaped by hand and baked in wood-fired ovens, come in such varieties as hearty whole grain and baguettes—and can be found at many local farmers' markets throughout the Hudson Valley. The café, with six tables and a window bar, is a comfortable place for a cappuccino. There's also a dining room in the back that serves breakfast and lunch. Wine and beer are available.

This clean and classic restaurant serves northern Italian fare. A mahogany ceiling and cherrywood floor in the dining room give way to a lighter, more elegant, birch-maple motif in the main dining room. The homemade pastas and raviolis are local favorites; the ravioli with beef or veal ragout is sublime. During warm weather, enjoy a romantic candlelight dinner in the tiered garden. The owners also run an inn housed in three impeccably restored houses close by.

This elegant and rustic boulangerie/bistro features handmade artisanal breads and sophisticated pastries and fruit tarts. The dining room serves classic French dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Standouts include housemade sausages and pâtés, crostini topped with artichoke and feta or roasted garlic rosemary hummus, and moules frites. The brick patio is a welcome oasis in warm weather while the zinc bar is an intimate spot for a rendevous with wine, craft beer, or cocktails.

The jolly sunburst graphic on the café sign and the banks of colorful flowers on the front steps are très French. Warm terra-cotta–tone walls and vine-motif sconces continue the theme inside. The food is authentic French bistro fare, well prepared and presented. What a delight to find a really good croque- monsieur and moules (mussels) or steak frites. Tarte tatin, baked by the chef and served with a scoop of crème fraîche, is not to be missed.

Riverfront tables under a mandarin-orange canopy make for a relaxed meal at this small eatery, perfect for lunch, dinner, or just dessert in warm weather. When the air is nippy, head inside to the slightly cramped but warm space. The chairs are rickety and the service can be slow, but all is forgiven upon the arrival of the authentic Italian fare. Try a warm panini with Brie, arugula, and truffle oil, or a thin-crusted, prosciutto-topped pizzetta from the wood-burning oven. Tiramisu and cappuccino cake pair well with a selection of dessert wines and ports.

Chef Chaminda Widyarathna and his wife Shiwanti hail from Sri Lanka and serve specialties from their home country alongside some of the best Indian food in the Hudson Valley. To start, try the chicken tenders topped with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and Sri Lankan spices. The chef's divine fish curry cooked in tangy tamarind sauce with spicy chiles is wonderful. The couple also have an outpost in Poughkeepsie.

Gardens surround this elegant colonial-style restaurant, 8 miles south of Katonah. Crabtree's is known for such creative dishes as grilled foie gras with toasted brioche, candied orange, and Bordeaux syrup. Portobello mushrooms, served as a main course, are roasted and given the Wellington treatment—encased in puff pastry and served with wild mushroom sauce.

A grand experience awaits at this lavishly appointed restaurant at the Castle on the Hudson. Choose from three formal dining rooms: the Oak Room, with ornately carved built-ins from France; the Tapestry Room; and the Garden Room, which has breathtaking Hudson River views. French influences make their way into the Auberge-style fare and inventive dishes, which the chef creates using naturally sourced ingredients.

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.

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.

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