Poughkeepsie Restaurants

Menu was superb! Lots of very different options to choose from; quite eclectic. Food was expertly prepared and beautifully displayed. Our waiter seemed to have a few issues with how to attend to our table, but there were additional wait staff to back him up when necessary and everything went very smoothly. A very enjoyable dining experience!

The food was absolutely delicious--excellently prepared, perfectly seasoned. For appetizers our table chose the truffle soup, tarte flambee', and the beet salad (which our guest loved--I didn't taste). I loved the other two. Both burst with flavor. For entrees, we chose the scallops(x2) and the 'coq au vin'. We were all exceedingly happy with our choices. The scallops and the chicken were tender and flavorful. The vegetables with my chicken were crunchy-- not mushy at all. The scallops and quinoa were served on a shell over a bed of salt (which our server explained after we asked was for plating design). On to dessert! We had crepes soufflé (x2) and crème brulee'. The crepes were stuffed with a vanilla custard--very yummy. The crème brulee' was the lightest one we've ever tasted! Sweet but not overpoweringly so. It was served with raspberries and blackberries and a shortbread cookie on top. The blackberries were sweet and huge--about an inch long! Ben and Noah took excellent care of us. They checked in with us often enough to see to our needs, but not so often as to be intrusive. Ben was our main server. He answered all our questions and helped guide us to what would be our perfect meal. A most enjoyable experience!

The Culinary experience in cooking and presentation is unparalleled, and it's also a beautiful location. Considering that it is a teaching restaurant, with students at the culinary performing both back-of-the-house and front-of-the-house duties during a semester of learning, the experience may not be consistent. In our case, the front-of-the-house server was very inexperienced and failed to follow up with us as we were dining, refill drinks, provide the correct utensils for the courses we ordered, and generally keep the flow of service. This is not so much a negative as a teachable moment, and we were not upset. Be prepared, however, that this could happen.

Lovely romantic table for two with amazing food. This will conitnue to be a date night favorite.

I expected the tasting to be an in person affair. I work in college admissions and may be more tuned into these issues than most, but it was odd to essentially watch three videos (which were played very loudly) rather than have a guide. The tasting info itself was very interesting and the small tour we received was nice, but be advised you don’t see the full campus. “A taste” is more like it. Very sweet students and excited to go back! If you’re interested in the restaurants, be sure to book those in advance.