NYCGuide
The Best Restaurants In The Catskills
photo credit: Anne Cruz
The Catskills first gained fame for its all-inclusive resorts a la Dirty Dancing, but you’ll want to explore beyond your inn or Airbnb to find the best mountain trails to hike, non-polluted air to breathe, and fresh trout to eat. Nowadays, there are tons of hot dinner spots that’ll have you start looking up aspirational Zillow listings in the area, breweries with mountainside views, and fancy general stores stocking $20 tinned fish.
Whether you’re here just to get away from the cramped confines of the city for a few days, or happen to get hungry while combing the area for the perfect antique sideboard, these are the best restaurants, bars, and breweries worth pulling over for. Since there’s a lot of ground to cover, we’ve organized this list by towns in alphabetical order. And if you find yourself closer to the river, here’s where to eat in the Hudson Valley.
New-ish spots we’re excited about: Harana Market, Casa Susanna, Day June, and Good Night.
ACCORD
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Harana Market’s foot-long lumpia has been one of our favorite post-hike snacks for years, and the Filipino deli recently relocated to a bigger space right off of Route 209. The menu has expanded, too—you’ll find platters of tofu sisig and zingy fried chicken, as well as soups and stews like arroz caldo and pork sinigang. Watch the action in the kitchen from one of their indoor tables, or bask in some sunshine in their yard where you’ll spot more than one goldendoodle.
This is one of our favorite places in all of Upstate New York. Westwind Orchard sells fruit on their farmstand, offers cider tastings, and has a yard that’s covered with picnic tables and a wood-burning pizza oven. Their margherita is on par with what you’ll find at the best spots in NYC, and they also do creative things with their own produce—like the raspberry and sausage-covered pie. The pick-your-own apples and wide open spaces make Westwind Orchard perfect for kids, but it’s also perfect for pretty much anyone else.
Whether you’re staying at Inness or just passing through Accord, make a reservation at the hotel’s restaurant, especially if you need a spot that fits the "nice sit-down dinner" bill. Try and snag a table on the porch, which has great scenic views of the property. The sprawling indoor dining room is a great plan B. Start your meal with some sourdough and boquerones, then follow that up with one of the pasta dishes and the juicy roasted chicken on a bed of creamy potato puree. Afterward, grab a beer and an open Adirondack chair by one of the fire pits.
BOVINA
If you’re picking just one restaurant to go to in the Catskills, this is it. Brushland Eating House is on the far western side of the Catskills, and it’s worth driving out of your way for (even if that means navigating dark dirt roads without cell service). It’s on the first floor of an old farmhouse, and the space has floor-to-ceiling windows, a giant bar, and nice wooden banquettes. Vogue Catskills doesn’t exist, but if it did, they would be obsessed with this place. Dinner costs $75, changes weekly, and consists of a three-course family-style meal—check Brushland's website to see what's in store.
CATSKILL
photo credit: Clare Lagomarsino
There’s a beer for everyone at Subversive, a brewery that specializes in a slightly archaic method of brewing called “floor malting.” But as refreshing as the pilsners and pale ales are, we’re mainly here for the smashburger. The Classic has two patties topped with american cheese, housemade pickles, and sauce, all served on an airy milk bun, alongside fries and a necessary order of beer cheese. This is the type of meal you’ll want when you’re too lazy to cook, celebrating a birthday, nursing a hangover—really anytime at all. Subversive’s big outdoor space is open all year, meaning you can scarf down burgers and knock back beers even in frigid temperatures, thanks to fire pits and insulated tents.
photo credit: Clare Lagomarsino
Most places in Catskill close before 9pm, but Hemlock, which is open Thursday through Monday until midnight, is one of the exceptions. It's also the rare place in town where you can get a little dressed up to lounge in a comfy booth and sip on a few cocktails like pineapple daiquiris or martinis with local conifers. If you get hungry, they have a small food menu and serve hot dogs after 10pm.
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HIGH FALLS
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Ollie’s Pizza is the platonic ideal between a hype-y Brooklyn pizzeria and Upstate charm where you can spend a weekend afternoon hanging out with your friends on the huge outdoor patio. Share some local beer and sesame-crusted pies, or take a long lunch inside the cozy barn dining room filled with dark wood beams and booths. Thin crust, wood-fired pies are the star here, like the onion pie topped with shallots, calabrian chilis, and fresh herbs, but the baked gluten-free grandma pies have a surprisingly great crust that maintains its structural integrity, even when loaded up with toppings.
HUNTER
Sitting just in front of Hunter Mountain, Fellow looks like it could be on a postcard. But the picturesque location isn’t the only thing going for this spot—their luscious BLT with garlic scrape mayo is the perfect lunch, and their iced espresso drinks are excellent and make for refreshing pre-outdoor adventure fuel. The large indoor seating area and some quiet outdoor tables on the porch are also ideal if you “forgot” to tell your boss you were coming Upstate and have to fire off a few quick emails.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Jagerberg Beer Hall & Alpine Tavern is located just outside of Hunter Mountain’s resort, so you won’t have to go far to après-ski with a pint of German beer and a boiled pretzel. The draft list has mostly Bavarian beers, with some local IPAs, so you can broker a peace between your friend who keeps talking about the Alps and your buddy who feels legally obligated to consume a hazy beer every 24 hours. The portions here are huge—our strategy is to come with a group and order some juicy slabs of schnitzel and a wurst platter to have family style.
photo credit: EJ
Regardless of if you’re not staying at Scribner’s Lodge for your mountain getaway, it's super fun hanging out at their bar in a fur coat, grabbing a drink to sip by the lobby’s circular fireplace, and pretending you’re actually in Aspen. The giant windows look out over Hunter Mountain’s slopes so you can watch the last-chair stragglers make their way down in the cold while you’re warming up with a hot toddy and a basket full of parmesan herb fries.
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LEEDS
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Casa Susanna is tucked away in a refurbished motel lodge-turned-luxury resort in Leeds, but don't let its sleepy exterior fool you—this is one of the hottest dinner spots in all of Upstate right now. The Jalisco restaurant is worth seeking out no matter where you’re staying for incredible masa and goat birria in a dining room that looks like it could have been AI generated from Mad Men concept art and issues of Architectural Digest. Dishes like scallop aguachile are so pretty you’ll momentarily resist digging into it with a tostada shard, but you’ll get over it as soon as the scallops melt onto your tongue.
LIVINGSTON MANOR
The Kaatskeller is managed by the same people behind Main Street Farm, and we’ve witnessed the owner running from one to the other carrying a wheel of parmesan in his hand. Kaatskeller is a pizza place that’s 85% outdoors (including their kitchen and most of the seating), and very family-friendly. The patio space feels a little like a German beer garden, but with the addition of Neapolitan-style pizza, dogs, children, and a fire pit in the back. Make sure to order the White Album pizza and the trout rillettes.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
This bakery makes square-shaped, flaky biscuits and other breads that’ll help you avoid hanger after a morning hike in the Willowemoc Wild Forest. Place your order at The Walk In’s counter on Pleasant Street, then grab a table outside with your dog, who we presume will also be interested in your curry chicken salad sandwich and BEC on a biscuit.
PHOENICIA
Phoenicia Diner has become so emblematic of the Catskills’ food scene that it’s become a meme, but it’s impossible not to love it. The menu is full of stuff you want to eat, including all-day breakfast with pancakes that need to be part of any order. The inside has a quintessential diner feel, but if you arrive to a long wait on the weekend, don’t hesitate to order at the food truck and dine at the picnic tables. Your corned beef skillet or Catskills po'boy will be just as delicious
Peekamoose is an even better restaurant than it is a word, and that’s saying a lot. The space is in a restored farmhouse, with two options for seating: make a reservation for the more formal dining room, or head to the deck where there’s plenty of first-come, first-served outdoor seating. The dinner menu includes a list of dishes that make you want to order everything, including plates of wood-grilled octopus and homemade gnudi.
Despite the name, Woodstock Brewing is technically located in Phoenicia. The indoor space has huge windows and a tap list that includes beers like a pineapple passionfruit gose, an IPA with malted oats, and a porter that tastes like Dr. Pepper. Outside, there are tons of tables and a full food menu, including a phenomenal burger and onion rings the size of your entire head.
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STONE RIDGE
photo credit: Emma Tuccillo
Hasbrouck House is an old inn that was taken over and renovated, and it has a fine dining restaurant called Butterfield. The walls are stone, there’s a fireplace, and the whole spot generally makes you feel like you’re in a fairy tale where food-based plots are motivated by locally foraged mushrooms rather than poisoned apples. The setting makes a great spot for celebrating a birthday or having a super-romantic date over trout rillettes, plus there’s a solid cocktail list if you want to toast with a drink that looks like it could be the subject of a still life.
TANNERSVILLE
photo credit: Nat's Mountain House
At Nat’s Mountain House, we’re not sure what’s more beautiful: the views of the Catskill mountains from the spacious back deck, the multicolor Dada-esque mural taking up an entire wall, or the plate of pakora fried radishes. Like its older sister in NYC, Nat’s On Bank, the Mountain House is where you should go when you want a fun night out. At Happy Hour, cocktails, wine, and smaller plates are all less than $10, so rest up after a hard day of antiquing with a celery-laced G&T and some crab rangoon dip. The loud but relaxed atmosphere of Nat’s never feels like anyone’s trying too hard, and will take your mind off that midcentury modern Danish teak credenza you had to leave behind.
At first glance, Tabla is indiscernible from any wine and pasta spot in Williamsburg. There’s moody lighting, a vaguely Mediterranean menu, and a bunch of people wearing pristine Carhartt jackets and nursing browned butter Old Fashioneds. By the time the check comes around, you'll find yourself waxing poetic about steaks from cows farmed in nearby New Paltz and booking a return visit to dig into the giant lamb meatball appetizer and rigatoni bolognese topped with a generous mound of ricotta. Warm, fluffy pieces of pita are an ideal vehicle for dips like whipped feta with chili honey and aleppo, and will warm your hands after a cold day in the mountains.
WINDHAM
photo credit: Anne Cruz
On any given weekend, it seems like thousands of people from New York City flock to the Catskills to enjoy the quiet and good Air Quality Index. Day June partially exists to cater to the weekenders and transplants (the fancy, modern diner is from the same team behind Wildair), but the food is so good you won’t even mind running into your coworker. The comfort food dishes are the type of food you’d dream of eating while watching Saturday morning cartoons: cheddarmelt pancakes are topped with cheese and chipotle salsa, and the chicken fried steak is breaded with mini saltine crackers that look like gems poking out of a geode.
WOODSTOCK
Come to this Southeast Asian spot on a Tuesday and you might find some parents sharing walnut larb and grilled trout while their children doodle in coloring books. Roll through on the weekend and you’ll likely see a big group kicking off a craft cocktail-filled birthday weekend with 10 of their closest friends. This is just a snapshot of the vibe at Good Night, a Woodstock restaurant with really delicious drinks that’s good for any occasion. Order some fried local oyster mushrooms with a tangy yuzu aioli into and the monkfish tempura that’s bright and crisp without tasting too oily or heavy. The well-balanced cocktails like the Thai 75 with basil, pineapple, and lime, are also worth planning an entire trip around.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
This intimate bar is where you should have pre-dinner drinks after a day of browsing candle and record shops in town. The short and sweet cocktail menu includes a fantastic pickled pepper martini and a mezcal drink spritzed with absinthe, plus small bites like dolma and plump slices of kielbasa. Small Talk is also open until 11:30pm, which is a lot later than a most spots in town. Keep that in mind for the next time you return from a hike later than you expected and need to regain your strength with a charcuterie board, chicken pot pie, and beer.
photo credit: Silvia
The first thing you’ll see when walking into Silvia is the roaring fire at the center of the open kitchen. Fire is a recurring theme in the dishes, too, with wood-fired pita, smoked beets drizzled with charred jalapeno chimichurri, and a 14-ounce steak that outshines pretty much every other piece of beef we’ve eaten in the Catskills. Warm lightning and exposed ceiling beams feel very rustic, yet the food itself is polished enough to impress persnickety parents. Don’t forget to order the creamy artichoke soup, which is topped with sunchoke crisps and has the faintest kick of spice.
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