Hudsons on the River — Restaurant in Stuart

Glad I waited for my second visit to gain an opinion of this place. It's so frustrating that unless you're someone who complains or fights for what you want you wont receive it. For my birthday weekend we decided to visit on a Friday for drinks and snacks. We wanted to sit outside, but were told we couldn't. Even though there were plenty of seats available, which we're SUPER understanding about. There could be a larger party with a reservation coming in, or reservations in general, or maybe not enough servers. All valid fair reasons, all of which we would never complain about. That being said we sat inside with a great view and were very happy. We enjoyed our food and drinks so much so we decided that on my birthday (two days later) we HAD to come back for brunch. This would have been a Sunday. We made reservations for the patio at 11AM right when they open. Few key notes just to be aware of, there's no valet on Sundays and there's events going on as well in the area that take over a lot of the parking. So parking can be a challenge and something to plan for. Not a review for the restaurant just a friendly heads up. My boyfriend dropped me off up front so I could be punctual for our reservation while he found parking. I told the hostess that depending on where she sat us outside it would determine if I wanted to sit outside or inside. She showed me to the patio and where she would seat us which was the smallest table, the only table in the sun, and it was in the corner. There wasn't but a couple people even sitting outside and we had a reservation. I told her I didn't want to sit there in the sun so she said, ok so do you want to sit inside then? This is where everything soured for me. I would have appreciated her offering us a different table considering we made a reservation, it was my birthday, we got there as soon as they opened all because we wanted to have the best chance at sitting outside. Unfortunately we ended up inside because, I never fight for myself, and I felt I communicated what my needs were and if she wasn't willing to offer anything else I'm not going to beg. I hate throwing a fit and demanding what should be decent service. As I sat inside I watched her take person after person outside as they pointed around at the sea of tables and chose where they wanted to sit. I even watched two ladies get up and move to a different table than the original one she sat them at. I just hate being this person. To me you're sitting me in this spot because you know what reservations you're planning for, or based around the servers you have available at that time. I don't want to be the reason your system gets screwed up. I feel, If you make a reservation, you're on time for your reservation, you're there when the place opens why aren't you offered prime seating? It was a really unfortunate situation. I don't need you to kiss my hands and feet, but we spent $150+ both visits within two days of each other. And we're always more than happy to spend $150+ somewhere when it makes sense. Regardless of my experience, the food is damn good, the drinks are so refreshing, delicious, and clean. I never had to beg or chase someone drown for another drink (which happens so often for us at other places). It really checked so many boxes for us. Plus it's right around the corner from our house. Honestly if I could crack the code on how to sit outside at this place we would be...

I'm giving this place 2 stars, only bc the atmosphere & location are really nice. The inside of Hudson's is beautifully decorated. The food, though, was very disappointing. We had 4 in our party, one child & 3 adults. Hudson's has a bar & seating, both inside & outside the restaurant. The outside bar has live music, where people can gather around on high tops & Adirondack chairs. It was full of people & the one musician, playing Jimmy Buffet music, sounded good. It was close to 5 o'clock, so I called ahead, incase we needed reservations. We were told that it wasn't busy & to come on in. When we arrived, there were 4 tables inside where people were eating. The small inside bar was full of people drinking beer & cocktails. My husband & I are both sober, so I can't comment on the cocktails.

My husband ordered the Cuban sandwich. He said it was ok. They make their Cuban with sliced deli meat, instead of the traditional way with slow-cooked pulled pork & sliced ham. I had the grilled Mahi-Mahi sandwich. It was so salty, I could barely taste the fish. If I had ordered it blackened, I would've expected that, but I ordered it grilled. I specifically asked our server if the Mahi-Mahi was fresh caught. She replied "Yes, our Mahi-Mahi is fresh caught." I've lived & fished here for 40 years & I've eaten my share of fresh caught Mahi-Mahi. I know what fresh Mahi tastes like. THIS WAS NOT FRESH CAUGHT MAHI-MAHI! The texture was off. It had a frozen fish aftertaste & smell. The fillet was thin, too, like the fillets you can buy at Sam's, in vacuum sealed packages. It wasn't flaky, like you'd expect fresh fish to be. It was served on an untoasted brioche bun. The garlic aioli sauce was the best thing about the sandwich. My niece had the salmon & her son had the chicken fingers with french fries. She didn't like the taste of her fish, either & her son only ate a small piece of chicken because, as he put it, "It doesn't taste good, like the chicken I had yesterday at that other place". For such a beautiful restaurant, I didn't expect such poor quality food. All I can figure, by looking at other food pics in reviews from the past, is that maybe they are cutting costs to save the restaurant, in this economy. The kitchen manager needs to address a few things. The servers & cooks working here don't seem to care about their quality of work. Hudson's is a gorgeous restaurant, with an amazing view. It would be a shame if it goes under. I do not recommend eating here. If our server would've been transparent about the freshness of the fish, I would've ordered something different & probably given such a bad review. Also, they automatically put a 18% gratuity charge on the bill, which they don't tell you about until they bring you your bill. This shouldn't be. It's rewarding bad service. This leaves no incentive for the employees to give their best service. Our server never came back to our table with lemon, tea refills or to ask if everything was okay. From other reviews I've read, many people have not been pleased with this hidden charge. I'll never patron this...

I've been looking forward to dining at Hudson's on the River for quite some time because every time I cut across downtown Stuart, I get a glimpse from it from a distance and I was pretty sure that it would have an amazing view of the water etc... If you've never been, as you can appreciate from the videos & photos that I've posted, it is a rather impressive establishment in comparison to nearby venues. From the location to the decor and stunning views, it's worth the visit. Service was optimum! I can't remember the name of our server, but he was exceptional! As if he was drafted from a 5 star restaurant. Now let's get into the actual menu. Options were good and plenty as well as a pristine presentation. Drinks were superb! Some of the best mixes and those drinks came out right ASAP! The clam chowder was exceptional! Craw Daddy's claims to serve the best in the area but that's left to be disputed. This bowl takes the crown.

Now the main entre unfortunately gets two thumbs down, which is very, very disappointing. With everything going well so far until the skirt steak special arrived. May I add that it took so long to actually get to the table that I just kept over hearing the folks at the table next to ours to the point that I felt I was getting to know them. THE STEAK HAD THIS VERY STRANGE TEXTURE. I've had many cuts of beef in my life; in fact my grandad owned 3 butcher shops, so I'm very familiar with beef and this is the weirdest skirt steak that I ever chewed in my life. It was tender but I feel as if they almost did something to it to get it to that texture that wouldn't be considered traditional cooking techniques. Other than that, it was strictly tasteless. It was accompanied by fried plantains that were certainly sliced way too thick and not ripe enough yet. In case they don't know, the plantain has to be almost black to produce that sweet taste and tender texture. Visually the rice appeared to be promising but that was another failure after another. It was completely unseasoned. I'm not even sure how it got to that color without any seasonings added. I'm totally in love with the aesthetics and location of the venue but I'd probably only return for drinks, some apps or even a burger but not for dinner. PS: I did end up bringing home the Skirt Steak dinner left overs for my dog but the next day when I opened the container, low and behold, the food was covered all over with some type of gold glitter. I'm not certain what it was but it was kinda scary. I had to...