Shadows on the Hudson — Restaurant in City of Poughkeepsie

Sigh. Frustratingly disappointing restaurant, where it ultimately feels like you’re just paying for the view. Service is okay, food is truly not enjoyable, establishment feels like a veneer of fine dining, and the price is $$$.

My husband and I received a generous gift card to Shadows and went for a date night last week. It was practically empty (with no guests waiting) and we had a reservation, yet it took almost 5 minutes to seat us.

Regarding atmosphere, Shadows is huge and flashy in a gargantuan casino-style way. Cool color schemes, modern styling, curtains to the ceiling etc, giant wine menu, impressive not intimate. Some really dig this, but it felt cold.

My review is heavily weighted on food. The menu looks like standard upscale casual ultrafusion steakhouse fare. $16 Caesar salad, $38 seafood house made pasta, $63 surf and turf, $175 Russia caviar, they have it all and it’s expensive.

We started with warm rolls and two butters: a salted butter and a flavored-yet-flavorless chili butter, these were fine. Appetizer choice was calamari. It was tough, not fresh tasting, and in spite of being very pale it had a distinctive char flavor, old frying oil I suspected. We couldn’t finish it because we were grossed out (and believe me we are clean-plate club members all the time so this was hard to do).

Drinks: beer (fine) and a dirty gin martini. The server didn’t know what Nolet’s gin was (which I picked from their menu) so that delayed my martini a good 10 minutes. When it came out it was served in a small martini glass, with a layer of ice shards on top. It tasted watery the moment those shards melted.

Entrees were brought out by the manager (I think), which was the only moment it felt like fine dining. The choices: truffle mushroom fettuccine and basil & spinach pappardelle. The truffle mushroom fettuccine was a good sized portion and the pasta had a decently silky texture, however it lacked any trace of truffle, and generally fell flat with the flavor profile. Sauce was so light on mushroom and overwhelmingly rich from butter and cream that if there were other flavors, they were masked. Overall, it was bland and heeeavy. If you’re lactose-intolerant, don’t even consider. While my pasta was aggressively mediocre, my husband’s papardelle on the other hand was laughably gross. The pasta was so thick and chewy that it practically bounced off of his fork. After about 10 bites he said “I think rubber bands may be more supple than this pasta.” The sausage was tough, the raw cherry tomatoes were confusing and out of place, and the little bit of sauce pooled at bottom would not stick to the poor rubbery papardelle. If we hadn’t had a gift card for our $26 and $28 pastas I’d have been upset.

After my bowl of butter and cream I thought an espresso martini may be the perfect dessert as a digestive. Conveniently they can make it decaf and I appreciated that, but the drink itself tasted like a watery cold brew! Most definitely the worst espresso martini of my life, and just as expensive as ones I’ve had in NYC, and other places where you expect high prices. 2 for 2 with the watery drinks.

Throughout the dining experience we waited a lot, even though the place was nearly empty. It felt sad, and eventually irritating. Because it’s so big the servers are probably walking a quarter mile just go to a table and tend to their needs. This seems to result in veeeery slow bussing, infrequent checks on dinner progress, etc.

Overall our meal was about $150. We didn’t spend all of our gift card because server didn’t know how to put gratuity on the card. So we’ll have to go back to use it up. Whenever that happens I think we’ll stick to beers…

A final note: this place could be so much better if it felt like there was any love in it and that it wasn’t just following the ‘generic upscale American steakhouse’ formula. Servers look exasperated, the menu lacks soul, and for the quality of food and drink the prices are outrageous. Want to say I hope this is a one time flub for Shadows, but I strongly suspect...

The Price of Breathtaking Views

Shadows on the Hudson offers true destination dining, nestled at the end of a winding route that descends from Union Street Historic District down Poughkeepsie's riverbank bluff. The restaurant sits just 50 feet from the Hudson River's eastern shore, perched 40 feet above the water's edge. From this elevated vantage point, diners enjoy stunning panoramic views of the river and the iconic Mid-Hudson Bridge stretching across the water. The decor still pops, the views are still magnificent, and the table settings still suggest fine dining ahead.

Stepping into Shadows on the Hudson at 176 Rinaldi Blvd in Poughkeepsie is more than just going out for a meal; it's an experience. From the moment you arrive, the floor-to-ceiling windows frame the magnificent setting. The ambiance inside is a perfect blend of sophisticated elegance and comfortable warmth. Tasteful decor creates a chic yet welcoming atmosphere. It's the kind of place that feels equally perfect for a romantic anniversary dinner or a celebratory gathering with friends and family. I can definitely see it as a special place with an upscale atmosphere for those Friday night drinks after a week of work.

Like the ruby-throated hummingbird, we migrated from Florida north for summer to the beautiful area that we called home for most of our lives. To a special meeting of family at the Shadows. A once-a-year family tradition for years to enjoy the company of loved ones while either taking in the breathtaking golden hour moments when the setting sun sets the Hudson ablaze, turning every ripple into dancing light. Or at other times monitoring boaters below threading their way into those narrow slips at the adjacent Shadows Marina - oddly mesmerizing. For those arriving by boat, the restaurant offers dockside dining service, delivering their full menu directly to boat slips.

Unfortunately, it's clear from our experience and other recent reviews that the food and service don't consistently live up to the spectacular setting.

Chef John Malone, formerly of the majestic Mohonk Mountain House, has helmed the kitchen here since late 2023. By all accounts, he brings impressive experience to the table. Unfortunately, that expertise must have taken the night off.

The tone was set by the bread basket: stale. Not in the charming 'rustic, crusty' sense - just straight-up neglected. When our server came by to apologize for the delay with our appetizers, we asked for a fresh basket. She forgot, so we had to remind her again when she delivered our appetizers. Fresh hot bread eventually appeared.

When the food finally arrived, my wife ordered the Garlic Shrimp on Garlic Baguette appetizer with confit tomatoes, garlic, and lemon in white wine sauce for $24. She ate only the four shrimp, leaving the baguette untouched. Later she admitted it was 'because she needed something to do while the rest of us ate.' The baguette—normally known for its crispy exterior—had become a waterlogged 'bog-uette,' completely saturated with sauce.

I played it safe with their Soup of the Day for $12 - what appeared to be a take on Portuguese Caldo Verde. While the flavor base was sound, the execution fell short. The soup lacked the silky, cohesive texture that defines a proper Caldo Verde, instead presenting as a somewhat disjointed collection of sausage chunks, carrots, and wilted greens in a thin broth. At nearly NYC pricing, I expected more finesse. This felt like an $8-10 soup at best.

After the 35-minute wait for appetizers that failed to satisfy, much less impress, and glasses sitting empty after the initial pour, no one was inclined to order another course. We'd had enough and asked for the check.

Though we did not stay, I still want to give you a sense of their pricing: pasta dishes range from $26 to $38, while 'Land' entrées run $32 to $58 per person (or $135 for a 40-ounce Tomahawk Ribeye for two). 'Sea' selections fall between...

My husband and I went for brunch last Sunday and had high, unrealized expectations. I read many mixed reviews prior to going, but wanted to give it a try for the views at least. As soon as we were seated, the smell of old, damp carpet like those at old wedding venues overwhelmed us. There was a varied selection of food items, but the flavors were lacking all around- everything I tried was very bland. The pasta in the cacio e pepe had no flavor, like the water it was cooked in had no salt. Salting pasta water is pretty basic in my opinion. The "made-to-order" spinach and cheese crepe was limp and barely warmed through, made with a pre-made crepe and a scoop of what looked like pre-made creamed spinach- the crepe was not "made", but "assembled"- and handed to me at practically room temperature. The couscous was hard and dry. Hard to screw up large, "Israeli" couscous, which is more forgiving than the smaller Middle Eastern couscous, but here we are. Scrambled eggs were made with what tasted like powdered eggs- chalky...and the color was way too even to be real, fresh eggs. Also, there were no eggs benedict, which we find at every other brunch place. No bagels. No smoked salmon/lox...at a breakfast/brunch place charging $40 pp. I have a theory on why no bagels and lox, but I will leave it to the readers of this review to figure it out. They also have the nerve to charge $4.50 per person for a cup of coffee, which seems pretty petty- coffee and tea should be included in the $40 brunch price, as those items cost pennies. Strange that so many brunch staples were not offered. I don't think the restaurant was trying to scimp altogether because they had nice seafood, including shrimp cocktail and seafood paella (made with what seemed to be basmati rice, which was new for me- rice was long grain and very light. Traditionally, paella is made with arborio or Valencia rice, which has more starch). They did have trays of mini Danish that you see at morning office meetings that some supervisor felt obligated to bring. To me, this is not an elevated brunch place as it purports to be merely by the price and the words "Sunday Brunch". To me, at best, it's more of a continental lunch buffet with a few very basic low-end-hotel breakfast items (powdered scrambled eggs, pork bacon, thin sausage links, mini waffles, French toast). Overall, the atmosphere is nice, the service was good, but we will not...