The Would Restaurant

We recently had dinner for a party of 10. We had great service and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals. Some ordered off the dinner menu and others from the bistro menu so everyone could get the portions they wanted. Wonderful farm to table salads. My pan seared shrimp over risotto was perfect. Kudos to the chef

Subject to change, because our order hadn’t yet arrived. However, The Would IS NOT CLOSED. We are here on 3÷17÷2016, and it’s open and serving delicious-​smelling dishes. Real review to follow, and based on service and ambience thus far, is sure to remain at 4 stars if not higher.

Preemptively giving it four stars because I can’t hold in my frustration until after dinner. This place is NOT CLOSED. First time here, Hudson Restaurant Week. Though hidden from busy US-​9W, with a map or GPS it’s easy to find. Do people think it doesn’t exist? The illuminated entrance is obvious only once a customer drives into the parking lot. There was an illuminated sign out front. Business looks bustling enough.
Have you seen their website? The link to their Restaurant Week 2016 menu — it being Restaurant Week literally THIS SECOND — is posted on their home page. There is also a note exclaiming that they are a winner of a Diner’s Choice Award for this young 2016 year. Help us out, Unilocal.We’re literally seated, drinking and eating.
LET US CHECK IN. NOT, I repeat, NOT CLOSED.

I rarely give any restaurant a 5 star. However, our experience was awesome. Friendly service and great food. It is obvious the Chef cares about every plate he puts out. Even the crème brulé was stellar. This will definitely be a place we will revisit often. Worth every penny and more.

Love this place!!! Best kept secret! The owners are very accommodating & you feel very relaxed & at home there. The food is to die for & I always leave so full I can barely walk. Must try for anyone in the area

I had always heard great things about this place. We were in the area and decided to give it a shot. Very mediocre, sadly. We had two items from the prax fixe menu. The chicken was bland and overcooked, as the mashed potatoes. The salmon was overcooked and the quinoa tasted «off».The clam chowder was delicious. The calamari was very tender, but the dipping sauce came straight from a bottle, as the waitress confirmed.

3 Stars, maybe 3 and a half. Waitstaff seemed a little bored, and not all that knowledgeable about how the food was prepared. Went for restaurant week. Appetizers included squash ravioli, but my wife has had much better, but it was OK. I had the artichoke hearts with aioli and they were pretty good. For entrees she had the Seared Chicken with Apricot and Shitake Sage Sauce and it was moist and flavorful. I had the Pork Osso Bucco over Creamy Polenta, it was good and tender, but a little on the bland side. Desserts, she had pumpkin cheesecake, but again she has had much better. The Apple Crisp was nice and crunchy. Wine selection was good, but the draft beers left much to be desired. I see no reason to ever serve Stella Artois (my opinion, bland and sweet) and they had 3 other hoppy beers, 2 were local and the one I ordered was flat. They did replace it with another draft, but they would do well with at least one unusual draft beer, like a stout or porter, or a pumpkin beer. Not much ambience, as it looks like an old 3-​story schoolhouse, but I guess it was a resort back in the day.

I waited over a week to write this review so I could calm down and be more rational. We were a party of four, including my 94 year old Mom, so had an early reservation at 6pm. When we arrived the restaurant was empty, got a nice table, everything went downhill from there. We ordered cocktails and three appetizers. The waitress was very pleasant and initially seemed competent. The appetizers were not good. Calamari bland and way overdone to the point of crispy and the «spicy» sauce looked like it came from those packets you get with takeout chinese. The crap cake was browned on the outside, but I think had been microwaved but this was the best of the three. The last app was the «grilled artichoke». I was expecting a fresh artichoke, instead we were presented with two small hearts, cut in half, from a can or jar and slightly grilled. Mushy and tasteless. By now two more parties arrived, a table of four and a table of two. Throughout the evening these were the only other people there, besides some folks at the bar. Sadly, things got worse. I had to find the waitress so we could order our entrée’s. She never inquired as to how the app’s were. My wife ordered the salmon. I ordered the ribeye steak and my Mom and sister decided to split the vegetarian plate. My steak was very thin for the price, maybe ¼−½ inch thick, not what you would expect for the price. My wife’s salmon was way overcooked. The topper was the Vegetarian Plate. IT WAS BURNT. I don’t mean a little overcooked, I mean the grilled vegetables were BLACK. Inedible, scorched beyond recognition. Yes, they did replace the burnt dish and offer to get me a new steak, but with all the delays, the dinner was already beyond saving. I still can’t get over how the waitress could serve the obviously burnt dish, just poor training? I think this place is surviving based on a past reputation which is no longer relevant. If I were you, I WOULD NOT!

Very disappointing. Below average flavor, below average quality. Bland. Not worth the price. The service, however, is excellent. The décor, outdated and done by my grandmother. I really wanted to like this place but everything, except the service, was horrible. Such a shame.
We had the crab cake and it was just ok. nice and brown on the outside but mushy on the inside and tasted like it came out of a can. The caprese salad was good, very hard to mess up.
I had the chicken and it was incredibly bland. And cut for me already. Weird. The vegetables were soaked in oil and just lackluster. The carrots tasted hours old, if not days. The chicken was juicy but so bland it didn’t matter.
We also got the Strip steak and it was tender as well but just average. The peas were boring and lifeless. The mashed potatoes really rivaled instant. Nothing to them. No pizzaz.
For the price I expected way way better. This place is priced on par with A Tavola in new Paltz and they put the Would to shame. It’s really too bad.
I will say again though, that the service is excellent.

I was here once about 12 or 15 years ago and remember it being nice; quality of food being quite good. So, to try something new, my husband (who had never been) and I decided to try it — what a waste of time and total disappointment!
When we first sat down, we were immediately uncomfortable as the average age was around 70. Not to worry but not fitting in, we decided to sit at the bar, where we later learned that the owner was our bartender. We wanted to share a few apps and then share a meal. We decided first (on her recommendation) on the calamari — it was so salty that I actually had to spit it out. We sent it back — and received huge apologies (new sous chef apparently? I dont know — maybe train him?). We also ordered beef tacos — which were ok — there were 3 of them and the charge was $ 12 — really? for $ 12 we expected them to be great — not so much.
Then came our kale salad — it was dry, tasteless, and just a huge disappointment.
Frustrated and assuming more of the same would come with our entrée, we told the bartender not to even bother — I would rather spend my one night a week out enjoying myself, not wondering how bad the next meal was going to be…
My husband happens to be a chef, and perhaps our palates are a but different — but even our 14 year old daughter would agree, the food was just poor — poor taste, quality, and extremely overpriced.
Life is too short to eat bad food. Take this one off of your Hudson Valley bucket list and save yourself the time and money.
After I wrote this the owner sent me two messages, one on Unilocal and one on Facebook, after she also checked out my Linked In profile. A little stalker-​like and quite immature as she seemed to think my review was a personal attack.
Then she told me that Karma would get me.
Crazy.
These reviews (as many of us know) are not personal — they are one person’s opinion of public places. They are not meant to be hurtful, and they are certainly not personal.

I hate to be negative, but… We went there with great anticipation since the Unilocal reviews sounded good, but it was a first and last visit, we’re sad to say. The service was wonderful, and the maitre d’ – a woman, delightful, friendly and eager to please. I’venever had my water glass replenished more or faster by a charming young server, also eager to please. Our waitress was new and attentive. We ordered just appetizers since they sounded so good and were ample but the quality was poor – a spring roll with nothing tasty inside — mystery stuff, a crab cake that did not taste like fresh crab and had a sauce that was overpowering, three lettuce cups that were large and only middle of the road – not as good as PF Changs, and ribs that were meaty but had a sauce that was far too sweet – and the portion was so much we took them home. The wine was good, however, and a value at $ 8 for a house choice. We did love the cinnamon bread, but wish it was served warm and with butter that wasn’t as hard as a rock .Tthe place was fairly empty on a Saturday night. Oh well. We hope the restaurant improves the food since again the staff is so kind and caring. BUT caveat: it’s a good choice for those who want quantity over quality.

We went to celebrate my husband’s retirement and new job and my son’s 21^st birthday. It was restaurant week so it was a great value. Everyone loved the orchiette appetizer and my mussels were wonderful. My son’s macaroni and cheese was to die for. The mahi mahi was a bit dry but the beef was excellent as was the apple crisp & chocolate truffle desserts. We had a lovely evening and the service was perfect. Truly a special place. One interesting thing happened. An elderly woman was dining alone and when she got up to leave the waiter came over and told her to wait because someone would drive her home. They didn’t want her walking. Wow, a sign of GOODHEARTED people for sure. Just nice!

I have been going to the Would for years and it has always been consistently excellent. I currently live in NYC and whenever I visit Highland with friends from the city they always want to go to dinner at the Would at least once. The food is excellent, atmosphere is great and management and staff are beyond friendly. I have been there for many events and held my own events there and all have been a success. Do not miss out!

Me and my wife got married at The Would and we couldn’t have been more pleased with how everything turned out! First off, the food… it was delicious! Guests told us it was the best food they ever ate at a wedding and they made it easy to create a menu we found tasty and affordable. They also suggested great items that were in-​season like butternut squash and corn for the fall and they were huge hits!
Their pavilion and outdoor area is also picturesque. They turned the pavilion into a beautiful and perfect space for the ceremony. They put furniture outside and had a bar for the cocktail hour which worked out great with the weather. They also have a convenient area to put a large tent to host a reception.
We really had our dream wedding and we owe it all to Claire, Deb, and Lisa (who they recommended to coordinate the event)! I can’t speak highly enough for the quality of their services and how reasonable their prices were.

If you want to feel like you are dining around a fireplace in your own home then visit the Would! They even offer a private room and the food and service are great because the owners care, care, care! Choose from steaks, rack of lamb, pasta, seafood and add the best bar in town and you are in NY heaven!

Can’t judge a book by its cover… or the curb appeal, décor, or menu.
A friend who lives nearby recommended we try this place and we sort of tucked it away in our heads and promptly forgot about it until we saw a menu for it mixed in some area guides. The dishes all sounded great and the prices, while expensive for the area, were in line with more downstate restaurants with similar menu’s. So the following weekend we made a reservation and headed out for a much anticipated meal.
The restaurant is in a rustic mountain lodge like building with a large porch and lawn, attached to a cute B&B with views to the Hudson in the distance. There are two large dining rooms and a long nicely appointed bar. The décor is a mix of kitschy oil paintings, brick, wood and a strange crinkled gold mylar sort of ceiling treatment. It works a lot better than I’m making it sound. The servers were prompt, polite and professional.
The food however left a lot to be desired. While everything sounded great on the menu the execution was quite poor. I had opah (a firm white fish) with beets, rice and haricots verts. Every item was a disappointment. The fish was tough, not just firm as Opah is, but tough like an overcooked pork chop. The beets were from a can. The string beans were thin enough to possibly actually be haricots verts but they were over cooked regardless. And the rice was dry. My partner had the penne al la vodka. It was slightly overdone and the sauce lacked any distinct flavor but cream.
The real insult however were the prices. Apps are $ 10 – 15, entrees $ 20 – 30. You’re in Highland, NY, either seriously improve the quality or cut the prices 20%.