The Hoffman House

Great décor, friendly staff, and an excellent pup burger! We arrived on a cold December night and they seated us right next to the beautiful fireplace. The atmosphere was perfect.
We got the crab ragoon (excellent), a perfect pup burger (with onions and mushrooms), chicken fingers, and an garlic steak sandwhich and all of it came with Curly fries! Excellent place.

We were greeted so warmly and received a delightful table in front of the fireplace. Cocktails presented with extras to top off in chilled beaker Mussels superb salad so fresh and topped with a delicious house dressing. I had the prime rib which was so tender and flavorful It was such a large cut ½ came home. Too full for dessert but the table next to us raved about theirs. The atmosphere was like going back in time you could feel the history of the building which went back to 1671.

We’ve had many great meals here, but hadn’t been there in a while so we went to celebrate our anniversary. We were greeted by the owner, Ginny, and quickly shown to a booth by the fireplace. We were asked our seating preference and chose this one. Our server appeared right away to ask about drinks — I choose a Henrix gin (Yay — a lot of places don’t carry it) martini and it was perfect — shaken so that there were ice crystals floating on top! My wife chose one of the house martini’s and was very pleased with it. Our server was attentive but not intrusive — we ordered Clams casino as an appetizer and it was great — juicy clams, onions and garlic with a good size piece of bacon on top. We received a basket with a variety of breads, basil hummus and butter — really hit the spot. We received our salads, which were included with our meals — nice size, fresh ingredients and the house dressing. It seems like «salad included with the meal» is getting to be a thing of the past. We were already getting full and our dinners hadn’t even arrived. I ordered the Waldorf Chicken (walnut encrusted) — it was a full breast in 2 pieces, with a crispy outside and moist inside — I might have preferred in with some spice, but that’s just me. The menu didn’t indicate that it would be. It came with a healthy serving of horseradish mashed — which was great… creamy, smooth… and plenty of them! My wife had the Scallops Marsala over angel hair pasta. She enjoyed it very much and the serving was immense (at least a dozen good sized scallops. We had wine as we ate and really took our time — no one rushed us. Our server stopped by to check on us from time to time. We were very impressed with everything about the night… the food was prepared and presented well, tasted great… the service… the ambience. Neither one of us could finish our meals so we both had dinner for the next night! We couldn’t possibly have eaten dessert! Just as an aside, we stopped at another city restaurant a couple of weeks ago for drinks and appetizers and our bill was 2 x’s that of our meal at the Hoffman House. This is a Kingston institution — keep up the good work Pat, Ginny and staff.

Top notch burgers… and an attentive bar tender. We stood in the doorway a solid 5 minutes — no one acknowledged us or asked if we needed help, a table, etc. And at least 3 of the waitstaff walked right by us… talk about poor customer service.
The average age at 7pm was 70; by the time we left at 830, a younger crowd was starting to arrive.
The menu is meh — nothing exciting. The calamari needed seasoning. Again — burgers were great and cooked to order. We had the feeling that since we didn’t hold a senior citizen discount card, that we shouldn’t be there… we felt very uncomfortable and very unwanted.
I’ve been here a few times for lunch and the sandwhiches and vibes were much different… not
Hurrying back for dinner any time soon.

My friend and I each wanted a nice piece of fish, not a heavy meal. We each had soup, she enjoyed her Italian Wedding, and my french onion was rich and satisfying. We split the blackened salmon with mango relish which included a nice garden salad, not just a bowl of lettuce with a slice of pale tomato. Recommend the house dressing — would be great on broccoli or a baked potato too. The fish was crusty on the outside and moist on the inside, and the mango salsa was a perfect cool contrast. We both enjoyed the cheddar mashed potatoes and had room for apple cobbler with ice cream, the perfect finish. The building was constructed of stone in the 1600s, and lovingly restored 40yrs ago by the current proprietor. What a gift he gave to the town of Kingston! A lively bar was far enough from the tables not to bother us. Lovely atmosphere, great food, interesting surroundings.

Delicious outdoor dining on the patio. We had great service and wonderful food. We started with wings. They were huge and tasty, I was worried we wouldn’t be able to finish all of them. Then onto a salad with blue cheese dressing. This too was a hit. Also bread on table was delicious. Meal was a mixed seafood in red spicy sauce over pasta. Perfect combination of fish, sauce, and pasta. Lastly we ended with a key lime pie dessert. Not a fan. It seemed like it was trying to be an ice cream pie type dessert, but the flavor and texture were wrong. Great meal as always, love this place. They treat you like you are their favorite family members, serving you fresh delicious homemade food. I’ll keep returning.

This is where the locals eat. The food and service is always excellent for both lunch and dinner. It is my wife’s favorite place and one of my favorite.
I particularly like dinning here in the winter by one of the fireplaces. The colonial atmosphere lends to the experience but we go for the food.

Valentine’s Day, 2015
We were slated to go farther afield today. But as has been this winter’s mantra… The snow, the snow!
So we went out early and enjoyed a lunch at The Hoffman House, next to a roaring fire in a nice cozy, private booth.
Jackie greeted us… Presented menus w gorgeous V Day specials. Had superlative French Onion soup, and arguably the best French dip ever. Guyuere… Brilliant. Need to find out who makes that bread! Hubby had chicken Marsala sandwich… Innovative idea, and utterly delicious.
Their winter white sangria rocked, and that’s generally less true out of season. Presented in a cheery ball jar\ lid glass, fresh, summertime perfect.
Dessert was homemade red velvet cake and crème brûlée. Divine. Not the Valentine’s Day we’d planned, but probably, quite frankly, even nicer. 5 stars! Even the owner was there and friendly as can be. What a lovely experience!

I hate to give a bad review to this place, because I have loved it for 30 years. For old time’s sake I give it two stars instead of one. Haven’t been there in a few years, and was looking forward to a nice Christmastime lunch with a friend and her son.
First off — no one smiled at us upon entering, nor after. The waitress was officially snotty on two occasions, and snide on a third. In between those events, she compensated by being condescending.
But my meal — I had grilled veggies in a roasted garlic basil cream sauce. The sauteed vegetables appeared to be a whole shitake mushroom, a couple pieces of squash and some unroasted bits of pepper or tomato or carrot, I could not discern which. After salting it THREE times I realized, oh wait, there is no basil. There is no noticable garlic — either roasted or regular. The cream sauce was pretty much non-​existent as well. And the pasta was a tad overdone. Now, any one of those things could be overlooked, even a couple.
But I sent it back, of course. In an incedibly rare occasion, my friend chose not to tip. Normally we start at 20, often tipping more than that (especially at this time of year), and would never go below 10, ever. But today was especially terrible.
I won’t say don’t go there, only that in the past I have had, for instance, pasta primavera there, and it was delicious. Today was a disappointment. The supervisor needs to give a pep talk or a stern talking-​to, I am not sure which, and to pay attention to lot of details that were overlooked.

I had high hopes for this placed based on the reviews but I was really disappointed. While the building is historic and cool, the food was overwhelmingly disappointing.
I had the Rigatoni Rossello. It is rare that I eat pasta so I was looking forward to a treat. I didn’t get one. I don’t mind the occasional pricey dinner, but I expect quality, and didn’t receive it here. The pasta was rubbery, I’ve had noodles come from a box with better texture and flavor. There were a whopping three pieces of shrimp that was not fresh, a slightly larger portion chicken and some very lacking Andouille sausage (I lived in Louisiana for a few years where they make it right). The sauce didn’t live up to it’s description either, I was hoping for creamy and garlicky with a kick but all I got was heat. My significant other got the steak sandwich which was just okay, small potion and nothing special, we’ve both had better for less. The service was not the best either, refills were hard to come by, the place was mostly empty, and no one bother to check on us.
I won’t be going back.

Whenever we are in the area, we stop in at least once each trip. The last few times we have had the French Dip at lunchtime, and both of us agree it is the best we have had anywhere. The French Onion soup is also a great choice. The owners recognize us when we return, and the service has always been friendly.
We recently needed a place for a graduation dinner party, and choose the Hoffman House, for a group of about 25. The price was more than reasonable, the choices they provided (including changing the choices to our preferences) were well received, and the dinner party was a success.
The building itself is over 200 years old, and has some quirky designs.

A very charming old tavern in historic Kingston. Good, casual fare at reasonable prices for this type of place. Wood plank floors, centuries old fireplaces with old guns on the wall… What’s not to like?

One of the top 5 meals of the year. We had the French onion soup, the amazing Rangoon app special and two pasta dishes and everything was unbelievable.
The service was outstanding and we had 3 separate people come over to make sure we enjoyed everything and to see if they could help.
The outdoor patio is beautiful and quiet and we stayed for hours drinking wine and chatting. One of the best places I’ve been in years. Can’t wait to come back!

Amazing building in an incredibly historic town. Very solid menu and the food meets your high expectations. Loose and comfortable atmosphere makes almost any occasion a good reason to stop on in.

Hidden on the streets of uptown Kingston is the adorable Hoffman House.
You would be surprised to find out that Kingston actually has some great dining options! Not many good places for breakfast but Hoffman house has real, hearty american food for lunch and dinner. While staying in the catskill area, my family and i ate here once for lunch and once for dinner with a larger group. Both times were great experiences, we had really nice service and everyone loved their food.
Tip for first timers. If you go for dinner, they have a more pricey dinner menu and a tavern menu which offers burgers and sandwiches, nachos, wings etc. Ask for the tavern menu if you want those options rather than their regular menu. Its great to know if you have kids with you and they arent a fan of anything on the dinner menu OR you just want wings and dont feel like eating mahi mahi.
What’s good?
— Fish and Chips– An awesome stand-​by and im glad i ordered this here. They give you a nice piece of haddock with CURLY fries, and they also gave me plenty of coleslaw and tartar sauce which i loved them for.
— Rueben sandwich with pastrami– This was seriously yummy. The pastrami is cut extra thin and is super easy to eat if you take some serious bites. CHOMP.
— Grilled leg of Lamb– Our waitress told us that this is her favorite thing on the dinner menu and she was totally right. If you are a lamb lover than you will truly respect this meal.
What to pass up?
— Grilled lamb and onion sandwich– Now this is a hot sloppy mess. Blue cheese sauce and soggy onions everywhere. Not a nice sight. Stay away from this sandwich even though the lamb is done very well, its just not worth it.

Stumbled upon this restaurant in the beautifully restored N. Front STreet area of Kingston. WE LOVED IT. The restoration of this 1711 (!!) house was beautifully done, the food was perfect. They provide a lovely assortment of varied breads and butters, delicious salads included with our meals (interesting and tasty house dressing!). I got the broiled fisherman’s platter, my husband got chicken parm. I also ordered the Butternut Squash vegetable which was just as awesome. We both commented to eachother the entire meal how delicious it was. And for SUCH a reasonable price too. The wait staff was friendly and attentive. We TOTALLY RECOMMEND Hoffman House! THey do a great job here.

Cute building. Average, serviceable, food. Nada special.

This place has a ton of history and is a great place to eat. We sat out on the patio, which was a great place to hang out and relax with coworkers. I had the duck, that was delicious!

It’s a super cute great old historic building, and I came in wanting to LOVE this place. It’s more expensive than we would have expected for a tavern, but it’s a regular restaurant too so that can be forgiven. However, that’s about all I’m willing to forgive them for. The clam chowder was peppery in the extreme, and even though they took it back and offered me a replacement salad (which I declined) it still showed up on our bill. I got the garlic steak was really really tough. My husband got the london broil and it was slathered in a powdered-​gravy-​mix gravy and possibly even tougher than mine! The service was unattentive to say the least, and when we said we were done the waitress acknowledged us, took some of our plates, and then didn’t come back for a good 10 minutes with the check. When we finally saw her again and asked her a second time she brought us the check and left, not taking our credit card. We spent a second 10 minutes trying to flag someone down to process our payment so we could leave.
They’ve clearly cheaped out on their cuts of meat, they’re using second-​tier ingredients and slathering their food with overpowering sauces to cover it up and it’s not working. I wouldn’t believe in a million years that «garlic butter» was anything other than minced garlic straight out of a jar! For $ 20 a plate I expect better than I’d get at a Hometown Buffet but what I got here wasn’t even up to their snuff.
I’m super sorely disappointed and I can’t understand how this place was so busy when we went in. I feel like the only thing on my plate Hoffman House went first quality on was the orchid they seem to serve as a garnish with every dish. Save the $ 3 on the fresh flower, make the other stuff on the plate $ 3 fresher instead because it sorely needs it.

Great food in a historic building. I love the French onion steak sandwich. Great outdoor patio.
One thing to note, not very accessible for the handicapped, bathroom is upstairs, found this out the hard way with my mom there.
Staff is friendly, I tend to stick to the more pubbish menu, but I’ve had some good «real» meals here too.