Swoon Kitchenbar — Restaurant in City of Hudson

This is a review for Swoon's wedding catering services.

If not for Swoon, we probably would not have had our wedding celebration, nor would it have been a memorable one. Amy from Swoon saved us-- twice! Two months before our wedding celebration, we encountered major issues with our original caterer who was lacking in transparency and responsiveness. Amy, on the other hand, was incredibly professional and communicative when we contacted her to see if Swoon could provide our food and bar services at the last minute. It was a miracle that Swoon was able to accommodate our request. I guess it was meant to be! Amy was super organized and made everything easy in the midst of us feeling frenzied from the mess that our initial caterer created. She went above and beyond throughout the process, coordinating with the equipment rental company, setting us up with a few tastings when we visited the Swoon restaurant for lunch (everything was AMAZING), and she even responded promptly while she was out of the country on vacation! Everything was upfront regarding pricing and options, and the options looked so amazing that it was hard for us to choose! On the day-of, my husband and I were luckily able to eat during our celebration (the staff so graciously prepared plates for us) and we were impressed by how beautifully prepared and displayed everything was, from the passed appetizers and pre-plated salad to the buffet style dinner and dessert. Everything was so fresh! We were most notably surprised by how juicy the meat was. It is evident that the Swoon team takes the time to carefully craft their dishes. I can remember eating dinner that night while my father-in-law was discussing brunch for the next day, which Amy also helped schedule for us (this is the second time she saved us-- exactly what happens when your in-laws are last-minute planners)! Brunch at Le Perche, Swoon’s sister restaurant, was excellent as well. Go with Swoon if you want phenomenal food and service. We couldn’t have done it...

When we arrived we were seated immediately, but then waited quite some time before anyone came to our table to greet us and provide water and menus. We felt quite ignored. Then I ordered a bottle of wine, waited a long time for it, and was finally told the wine was no longer available. I then ordered another bottle, and waited, and was then told that wine too was no longer available. UPDATE YOUR WINE LIST! I finally settled on a half-bottle which was fine. The appetizers came in a reasonable time (I had yet to get my wine), and they were tasty (artichokes and endive salad). The entrees came in a reasonable amount of time. My scallops tasted okay, but they had an odor from the sea (perhaps they were not fresh). My partner had the beef short ribs and was quite dissatisfied with them (they were very fatty, greasy, and lacked flavor). Our dessert was very good which we shared (coconut creme brule). Overall, the service was not great. The waitress seemed overwhelmed by the number of tables/guests she needed to serve. The runner from the kitchen, while very nice and professional, seemed equally stressed and rushed. Our table was cleared in a timely fashion, yet the table next to us sat with dirty dishes in front of them for a very, very long time. The chairs were not particularly comfortable. The dining room is a bit noisy too. Overall, for the price point of this meal ($300), I would have expected a more refined, tasty, attentive dining experience. Hence, we...

We had a fantastic evening here! The food was fantastic and the service was excellent.

We actually sat next to this Enrique character who left the nasty review just before mine. I just want to clarify that they were not actually by the bar, just a regular table right beside ours. I am surprised they posted a review associated with their (real?) name, because a normal person might have been embarrassed to throw a (full-grown adult) temper tantrum before stomping out of the restaurant screaming “just wait for the review!”

Our server Cara, and the manager Lisa, marvelously played the dual role of restaurant employee/therapist trying to calm down Enrique and his partner. They even honored the request to move them to one, oddly-specific table in the back, but when they came to tell the angry couple that the table was ready for them, that’s when they stormed out! The woman also had music playing from her phone in her pocket, but seemed much too grumpy for me to ask her to turn it off. Anyway, the whole vibe of the restaurant lightened once those two left, and many of the other patrons had a fun time laughing and bonding over just how entitled and awful some folks can be.

But anyway, back to the food. Everything was fantastic! They even made me a delicious vegan dipping sauce from scratch to pair with the world’s best artichokes.

We will definitely be back! Props again to Lisa and Cara, and hope not to run into Enrique at any other...