28 Best Restaurants in Hudson Valley, New York

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.

Vaulted rustic beams and cozy fireplaces warm this sophisticated restaurant overlooking picturesque duck ponds and landscaped gardens. The menu changes seasonally and may include tartare of Japanese hamachi, grilled swordfish in a bouillabaisse broth, or the chef's famous cowboy ribeye for two. If you're not up for a full dinner, try small plates and great cocktails at the bar. The restaurant is in Congers, 4 miles north of Nyack.

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.

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.

Impeccable service, elegant decor, and extraordinary food by chef and owner Peter X. Kelly make this 40-seat restaurant a not-to-be-missed special-occasion place. Dinner is a relative bargain: $70 gets you a four-course, prix-fixe meal with an amuse-bouche (bite-size appetizer) and petits fours. The menu, which changes seasonally, might include roasted breast of squab served with Hudson Valley foie gras, lobster with vanilla beurre blanc and parsnip puree, and a tasting of raw fish. The wine cellar stores more than 600 bottles. Lunch, served Friday and Sunday, is $35 prix fixe.

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 paper tablecloths and the crayons displayed in water glasses reflect the relaxed nature of this eatery. From seared monkfish to burgers made from grass-fed local beef, everything here is just right. The kitchen makes the most of local produce. Vegetarian entrées change nightly, drawing aficionados from miles around.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

At Pier 701, you'll find modern American fare with breathtaking views. During the spring and summer seasons, snag a table on the outdoor patio that overlooks the Hudson River for an outstanding brunch, lunch, or dinner. Or go for a drink at the tiki bar, a great location to watch the sunset over the river.

Restored stone hearths, exposed beams, and spectacular panoramic views make for an elegant country dining experience here. Enjoy a formal sit-down meal in Restaurant 1915, or head upstairs for lighter fare and stiffer drinks at the Blue Roof Tapas Bar. The menu is locally-inspired and includes standouts like slow-roasted herb chicken, portobello mushroom tart, and house-made charcuterie.

This cozy storefront restaurant is owned by a Culinary Institute alum. The seasonally changing menu might include salmon fillet with fingerling potatoes and citrus-basil glaze, local goat cheese brûlée, or a 12-ounce filet mignon in a black pepper–Chianti reduction. The space—warm and inviting, with exposed-brick walls and dark-wood trim—includes a bar area. The service, friendly and professional, does the food justice.

Ask locals where to eat and most will say Swoon, where James Beard Award–nominated chef Jeffrey Gimmel can create a delicious delight from a simple carrot as easily as from freshly-caught black bass. Gimmel is justly famed for his seafood dishes. The menu changes daily but the popular roasted beet salad with local goat cheese and spice rubbed skirt steak are always available. The country-chic brasserie design is elegant and comfortable; the staff is friendly and attentive.

Lured by the bountiful produce available in the Hudson Valley, chefs John McCarthy and Ben Freemole moved to Hudson to open the Crimson Sparrow, where they now serve a tasting menu filled with exotic ingredients like foie gras, sweetbreads, and octopus. There's a wide range of wines as well as an interesting cocktail and sake list. Brunch, with your choice of four small plates for $16, is a steal.

Playfully cluttered and wildly painted, the Egg's Nest is fun, whether for a casual meal or a couple of drinks. "Praeseux" are house favorites—crisp, pizzalike dishes with various toppings baked on flour tortillas. A popular choice is "The Thanksgiving," which piles on all the typical Turkey Day fixings between two slices of egg-battered whole-wheat bread. Pasta dishes, burgers, wraps, soups, and chili also are offered.

A gleaming copper brewery, tasty pub grub and more-substantial food, and views of the Gunks—what could be better after a day of rock climbing or hiking? Just don't expect much quiet on weekends. Two brews to try are the Dusseldorf Albier and Stone House Irish Stout. Among the more unusual dishes here is pizza topped with caramelized pear, bacon, onions, Gorgonzola, fontina, mozzarella, and mesclun.

This white-tablecloth restaurant was once a resort catering to Italian families from New York City; boccie is still played here on summer evenings. The food is no throwback, however; organic produce and poultry blend with ingredients and techniques from around the world. Grilled salmon is served with a cucumber-jalapeno salsa, pan-seared chicken is complemented by shiitake mushrooms, and grilled tuna is accompanied by sweet soy and wasabi. In winter a fireplace warms the dining room.

The seasonal menu of regional American fare features meats, produce, and cheeses from artisanal area farms as well as from the restaurant's own kitchen garden. Ravioli are filled with Hudson Valley foie gras and scallops and served with wild-chervil-and-wine sauce; jumbo crab cakes are dressed with grainy mustard sauce and tea leaves; and organic pork gets an Asian barbecue glaze. There is also a raw bar. Sunday brunch is à la carte and includes omelets, crepes, smoked fish, and scones. Large windows frame swoon-inducing valley views.