The Aviary Kinderhook — Restaurant in Town of Kinderhook

Sometimes… it all comes together and the magic happens. As a former NYC restaurant owner, I know how hard it is to maintain a cohesive vision that shines through the entire dining experience from first look to dessert. The building is beautiful, inside and out. The adjacent bottle shop is a charming convenience and lends a village feel to the approach. Inside the space is divided between a warm taverna style area and a soaring light, minimal industrial dinning area. Everything is tasteful and in its right place. Service was extraordinary. The entire staff moves in calm, graceful choreography attending to guests with warmth and attentiveness. Sophia, our server, created an instant bond and made us feel like regulars and old friends as only the best of front of house staff can do. Beer list is tight and on point (don’t sleep on the Baby Kittens from Fat Orange Cat). Wine list is broad and well constructed. Cocktails list was creative and balanced with a stellar mocktail option. The menu is well put together and features the perfect meeting of new American and asian influences. Standouts were the duck bao (which after one bite, I looked at Beth and said “ooohhh! That’s MY food exactly”), the shrimp burger (slightly spicy with Vietnamese vibes) to the roasted 1/2 chicken with togarashi. Flavors were bold and inventive. Everything we ate was cooked and plated perfectly. I rarely end a meal with nothing to critique, but, well, I have nothing but superlatives here. Do note that the kitchen closes around 8:30 PM...

Overall, collectively (party of 3) we left confused. While interesting, it feels as though the whole of the restaurant is confused as well. Let’s start in the main room of the Aviary; it feels a bit like we were having a bite at the cafe of an art museum. Comfortable, however hard to pinpoint exactly how. We sat next to a fireplace that wasn’t lit and we are in November already. From our vantage point, we had a good look at the bar - full with an older crowd by the time we left. The longer we stared at it it, it looked like a swanky martini bar, def a good bar to linger at, however somewhat out of place and drowning in the huge room that is the Aviary. Off the main space is a separate dining room that we were calling the pretty room. It has a very aristocratic feel, making our dining experience in the mostly concrete and steel Aviary room quite different from how we can only imagine what it would have been in the ‘pretty room’. The food: disappointing. It comes out extremely fast; which isn’t a complaint or a compliment. We sent back the side we ordered because it was overly salty and our entrees looked like the portions were prepared for a child’s size appetite. The wait staff, on the other hand are attentive and...

My Fiancé and I went here for a nice date night and it did not disappoint! The space is very unique with a lovely atmosphere. When I first saw the menu I was a little intimidated because it was fusing different flavors that I was not used to seeing. Fear not! The waitress was very helpful and we chose a nice variety of dishes. We started with the Gouda straws, then had the shredded duck and crispy samascott potatoes. Our entrees were the braised beef and braised lamb. Then for dessert we had the cheesecake. Everything was delicious! Since I’m not going to do it justice describing it you’ll see in the photos how good everything looked. We also had some amazing cocktails to sip with our dishes. Highly recommend this place if you’re looking for a nice evening out for...