Nic L Inn Wine Cellar

Love this restaurant by the river. Always fresh and local ingredients. You have to try the bolognese. The servers are always friendly and the bartender knows how to make a drink!

Updating review from a year ago with positive feedback. Saturday night dinner and we chose to stay to eat at the bar with Bill after a cocktail; which was the best choice we made all night! We started with traditional cheese board for our appetizer. I had the branzino fish dinner special. My dining parter had the porchetta. Both were delicious and a great price value. We chose the $ 27 montenpulciano bottle of wine to accompany dinner. Finished with local delectable apple bread budding, espresso martini, and espresso. We will be back and if Bill is at the bar, we will stay for dinner!

Had an awesome meal, the burrata was to die for. The risotto was out of this world. Everyone I was with also enjoyed their meals. The drinks were different and delicious. The décor is just fabulous. Love how they have chalkboard walls for the specials and I also love the exposed brick. Waitress was more than friendly. Second time there and will return.

Beautiful night, dined Alfresco. Atmosphere, food and service was perfect. Was nice to see Bill there.

If you’re looking for a special place with great, fresh food and exceptional service, definitely find this gem. Everything that I and my various dining partners (a sister, a boss, and a boyfriend, each on different nights) have had has been fresh, delicious, and beautifully presented.
The lamb kebab is a real standout, as are the pastas we’ve tried. There’s a salted caramel chocolate tart that should probably be a reason to skip dessert, but is really a mandate NOT TO. We’re dying to go back and sample their pub menu; polenta with mushroom medley? Um… yes please.
The $ 27 bottles of wine are a good value, and the $ 12 wine flights can be built to order – just tell Bill what you like, and he’ll make it work for you!
Over the years, the Hudson Valley has acquired a number of nice, farm-​to-​table restaurants. This one is the best of the best. Can’t wait to go back!

I very much enjoy eating here. The staff is great and the atmosphere is very comfortable. Food tastes great and left very happy and satisfied. Would definitely return and recommend for groups.

This place has never disappointed. The food is fantastic and the service is excellent. Lovely family owned restaurant with the family feel every time you walk in.
Highly recommended!

This place was great. My boyfriend and I found it on a whim just walking around the water front and it was like discovering a tucked away gem. Bill I believe his name was is amazing. Great personality. He should be acknowledged for his top notch service. Made us feel so welcome. The décor and personality of the place was great and unique. I work in hospitality near by and can’t wait to recommend it for rehearsal dinners. I would recommend it to anyway. And wine was fantastic and affordable!

I moved to the area over ayear ago and a new aquaintance pointed me here; I have to say it’s really great!!! Quaint little eatery that’s farm to table and delicious! I love places with small dining rooms that are tucked away, so this spot is very much in my wheel house. It’s atmosphere is casual but it’s perfect for those looking for a meal that is cozy and classy, but not overdone.
They have delicious fresh food, I love all the greens and meat cuts, plus my personal favorite the home made pasta!!! The menu rotates seasonally so it’s hard to steer you towards an item but overall it’s hard to swing and miss. Even better they offer all their pasta dishes in half portions so you don’t have to stare down a large plate, which I really appreciate.
The pace of the meal is relaxed so be prepared to enjoy yourself, if you want to be out in 45 minutes or less seems to defeat the purpose of eating at this little gem. The Pre-​Fix is always worth a look to sample the menu’s best options that day.
Overall I highly recommend this spot for a nice meal; fitting for dates or dinner with friends. Not a kids spot, mostly a classy adult spot for grown ups who appreciate good quality eatery.

Good food, nice atmosphere…
We started with a drink at the bar, crostini and meatball appetizers… Both were ok, nothing exciting… Upon sitting we had a meat and cheese plate… This was very good… I had a pasta dish, whole wheat fettuccini with a bolognese sauce… The pasta was a little dry, I would have preferred it a little more ‘doughy’… I never understand why restaurants seem to go light on the amount of pasta, I could have used a few more noodles… Salted caramel chocolate tart dessert was excellent, except it was damaged on one side, not too pleasing to the eye… But it tasted great…
Overall it was good… But I have to agree with other reviews, they are quite skimpy with the bread… I don’t think it was worth the $$$$$$ we spent there… We might go back, but there are better options in the area for the money…

visited 3 times… food progressively worse, will not come again. Creative sounding menu, but will not live up to expectations. Overpriced too!
OK, cool and smart interior, and bar looks like a nice place for a pricey drink, just skip the food.

Came here for a second time, this time for dinner.
We came on a Tuesday night when the $ 27 bottles of wine are half price with entrees. Opted for the Tratturi Primitivo which was fantastic.
We both ordered from the $ 29 prix fixe which was an excellent value!
Hubs ordered the crab and scallion beignets, squid ink pasta and they substituted the bacon bread pudding (he’s vegetarian) for salted caramel tart.
I ordered NIL Cesar salad, which was really good, perfect amount of dressing, but it was spring greens, not traditional romaine — pork chop with kale and sweet potato spatzle and the peanut butter chocolate bread pudding with candied bacon.
It was all very good, but the pork was a shade over cooked. And the olive oil that was served with the bread was either old, or had turned.
Portions were very large — we both ended up taking half our entrees home and only ate half our desserts.
Service was very good.
Overall a cozy, modern looking bistro with a nice atmosphere, family run, farm to table, extensive menus and a good value.
What’s not to love?

My fiancée and I went here for a date night while we were visiting Poughkeepsie two weekends ago. We had gotten a recommendation from a family member who had eaten here before and raved about it. We were totally blown away by the ambience, the friendliness of the staff, the quality of the food and the wine.
We both got a wine flight — I loved the 2012 Gatekeeper Shiraz, my fiancée went nuts over the Cavicchioli Lambrusco. For appetizers, we tried the duck legs (with an asian-​inspired glaze, it was unbelievably good). We also got the crab-​crusted Salmon, and never looked back.
Because of some of the other reviews here on Unilocal,we had actually first tried somewhere else, a place with higher ratings on Unilocal.When we arrived, they couldn’t accomodate us without a reservation (that’s fine, our bad), but just being in the place, it was small, cramped, and had the ambiance of a Chipotle. Nic L Inn was the exact opposite — lovely, moody, and relatively very spacious. The waitress and hostess were both immediately accomodating and wonderful the entire time we were there, even though we lingered a little after finishing our meals. Next time we’re in Poughkeepsie, we won’t mess around, we’ll be coming back here.

Came in for dinner and opted for the three course pre fixe for $ 27.
The waiter was accommodating enough to get the desserts swapped out for some crostini since we over ate at the CIA the night before.
We were given the toasted pistachio with bacon-​fig jam and the gorgonzola with poached pears. The former was a somewhat overly sweet but the latter was very good and the creaminess of the cheese was offset by the tang of the pear compote.
The meal also came with two side salads that were fresh and well dressed.
For our entrees the wife had the sea scallops which came with a chive sauce and red pepper remoulade accompanied by a rice pilaf. It was reported that this was very good.
I opted for the fettuccini Bolognese which I also found to be excellent as it was traditionally prepared and was a very large portion.
The drink menu was very good and I went with the Captain Lawrence Grolsch and the wife had the Naked Flock Cider which was fabulous.
Service was very good and the décor and ambiance were very welcoming.

Best desert salted caramel chocolate tart great waitress, very cozy atmosphere and wonderful wine selection. My lady friend andI enjoys this place.

What an incredible experience. While having a pre-​dinner drink with our friends we learned our bartender was also co-​owner. She was friendly and attentive and welcomed us warmly. The dining experience was even better. The food was INCREDIBLE! Who knew duck wings could taste so good. I had the special fish which was perfectly done and the portion was big enough to allow me to bring the rest home for lunch the next day. I would have been happy with the evening right there and then but our friends insisted on dessert. We shared the chocolate caramel sea salt tart (I think it had a slightly different name but that basically describes it.) my husband who rarely eats dessert fought me over the last piece. YUM! To top it off the wait staff was friendly and attentive and quite lovely. We will definitely be back again soon as well as be telling everyone to head down to Poughkeepsie to try it out!

I’m jumping in to comment on a very negative review posted on 9÷9÷14. My wife and I were at the table next to this reviewer and we were shocked to see the comments she posted. Not only are most of her comments out of bounds and insulting to both the servers and owner, they are not at all accurate. We witnessed the incredible show this woman put on while complaining about the cost of her glass of wine. The owner was patient and polite while trying to reason with her but it was clear this was a person that could not be reasoned with. The owner quickly agreed to remove the disputed charge from the bill but this woman kept on ranting and emphasizing she was on the faculty of Vassar — somehow thinking this would merit some special consideration.
I urge all Unilocalers to thoroughly discount her «review.» My wife and I are local foodies and this is clearly one of the stand out restaurants in the Hudson Valley. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly, and the food is exceptional.
The only remotely negative thing I can say about this local gem is that it is off the beaten path. You are not likely to stumble on it accidentally but will have to make the effort to search it out — it is well worth it.
This is a fairly new establishment and will need positive word of mouth to gain the success it deserves. These owners and their staff do not deserve to be slandered by an unreasonable person. Please disregard that review and give the Nic L a chance to serve you dinner. You will not be disappointed.

Things started out bad with the rude hostess/​owner. If you can’t at least pretend to be friendly, then you need to pay someone else to do it. Waitress was also rude and appeared aggravated by any questions about the menu.
The food was good, especially the pasta dishes, but I can’t get over the rudeness. With so many other restaurants in the area competing for business, everything has to be on point, especially the service.

Had a so-​so experience at this restaurant.
Pros: Neat building and atmosphere, nice open design. The food was VERY good — everyone at the table ordered a different entrée and everyone enjoyed their meal.
Cons: I felt it was a bit too expensive, for this price there are better local restaurants to choose from. The wait for food was too long. I don’t like to be rushed, but there is a point where you start to want your food — we waited over an hour after placing our order. One thing that also turned me off was the lack of bread! We had to wait 30 minutes for bread, and when it finally came the waitress placed one slice of bread on each of our plates and walked off. If I spend $ 250 on a meal I expect to have a basket of bread on my table at all times. We weren’t offered more after our one slice, I had to flag down the waitress and ask her to bring more — and we each got one more slice lol.
I would probably give the restaurant more time to straighten out some kinks before recommending a friend to eat there. Not when there are great options like the Mill House Brewery, Brasserie, and the Beech Tree Grill available.

I really want to like Nic L Inn. There are things to love, and things that need a lot of work before I can really recommend it.
I’ve been three or four times; once just for drinks/​snacks in the lounge, and the other times for dinner. As most of the other reviewers have noted, the ambience and décor are clear wins. It’s well thought out, urban chic, and definitely takes advantage of the historic elements of the building. (Exposed brick for the win!)
The hostess, who I do believe is the owner, seems perpetually confused and/​or distracted. The wait staff are pleasant and friendly, but lack the skill and knowledge I’d expect at this price point. If you’re selling a charcuterie platter, you need to be able to pronounce the names of each item and describe it as well. If you’re calling yourself a wine bar, every single member of the front-​of-​house staff needs to be able to pronounce the wines on your list. They also need to be able to flawlessly open a bottle! I’d skip most of the mixed drinks in favor of the wine-​the bar is limited.
The food is also delicious, if a bit pricey as some have noted. The pasta tastes fresh and is well dressed; the desserts are also delicious.
I’ll also say that the name is a bit odd; I know it’s a tribute to the other restaurants owned by this family, but it’s a weird spelling and hard to find online.
I will probably give this place another try in a few months to see if the service quality has improved-​I hope it will.