Poughkeepsie Ice House

We visited for an afternoon lunch during the week. We were greeted and seated upon arrival. I must say, the best fish and chips I have ever had! The view of the river is great and the overall experience will bring me back.

Have been to the Ice House a few times during the 2014 season, and between the food and service it was always above good. So since this was such a beautiful Saturday we decided to visit the Ice House again. Yes the view of the Hudson River and the bridges is always nice, I wish I could say the same for the experience. The waiter was OK and with time could be good. The meal well, ordered a steak «black & blue» and told the waiter if the chef (cook) cannot do Black & blue let me know and I would order something else. So the steak came out and was medium well, yes sent it back and out came a second one, pan seared one side over done the other side just browned. Not black blue. 2 dinner’s sent back. While another dinner being served menu states. Catfish W/​sweet potato fries. Out comes the catfish dinner with regular fries. Waiter apologize and you thing the manager would come to the table. No manager till I asked to see the manager. Manager came over to the table and said yes I knew there was a problem. He said yes but could alone make excuses.
Most likely will go back, but at that time will order appetizers only

A restaurant sporting a gorgeous location and a local menu that deserves praise, as well as an expensive meal perhaps not reflective of the quality.

I have been to the ice house many times. Each time I haven’t really loved my entrée, however the location is great and so is the calamari. I wish they had a better brunch or a brunch deal because it would be great to enjoy outside. However I was really disappointed by their breakfast my omelet was just not good (really skimped on the veggies and the cheese was just sporadically placed, kind of odd) Great spot in the summer to just have a drink and the calamari at the same time! Unfortunately you can only take advantage of the happy hour inside but if you order your drinks inside a waiter can bring them to a table outside for you (there is a public sidewalk that separates the inside area from the outdoor patio so patrons cannot carry the drinks over themselves). Again, I don’t really plan on going back until next summer because it is all about the patio there!

We love this place. Food is always great. And it’s 50 feet from the Hudson, so when the weather is nice you can’t beat the outside dining.

Love this place! I’m from Hyde Park, and this was an empty area when I was growing up. The Icehouse is a welcome addition. Had the seafood Mac-​n-​Cheese, which was simply amazing! Great service, nice views of the river, two thumbs up!

I think the food here is tasty, but nothing special. Hostess was clueless, or maybe just rude. Some of the way staff sounded experienced, unfortunately this is not consistent.

This visit was not a good one. Reuben was made with tough and dry meat. Salad served without dressing. Service was slow and the place was not very busy at all. Previously I had a lobster roll and it was good although pricey. View is lovely.

Very cute place on the water. Service is good. Food tasted great but a little on the heavy side. Definitely somewhere to go when the weather is nice. Beautiful views of the hudson river. Pet friendly if you eat outside so make sure you bring your furry friends with you

The food and the setting give it 4 stars. Our server was great, but the service in general could use a little improvement. The place was half empty when we arrived for lunch at 2:30. I asked for a table in the shade and was met with total attitude. Finally we were lead to a table on the terrace under a big umbrella over looking the water. Nice spot. The menu offers lots of choice. My father and daughter had fish & chips. My husband has a reubin sandwich. I had a steak salad. Everyone was very happy with their choices.
There is a long list of beers on tap. We ordered 2. Not so happy with those choices.
After asking several time, they did finally bring water for the people and for the dog.
After lunch walk north along the river and take the free elevator up to the pedestrian bridge across the Hudson for some excellent views.

Casual eatery on the eastern bank of the Hudson River directly between the Mid Hudson Bridge and the Walkway over the Hudson. Great views, decent food and okay service. I had the fish and chips and an IPA which were perfect on a hot summer day. Could certainly see this as a great place to grab some drinks after a day on the river or exploring the walkway. Worth a visit.

My boyfriend and I approached the hostess station. We stood there and watched the hostess and several waiters walk by without even making eye contact. We took a menu to check it out and listened to this unprofessional conversation between the hostess and a waiter who were standing RIGHT in front of us.
Waiter: Those people left
Hostess: Who?
Waiter: The people who were sitting there (pointing to an empty table with no water or menus)
Hostess: Whatever…
Us: BYE!
This place should really either hire new staff or train their staff and pay them more. And get a hostess who is friendly and approachable.

Sadly, I have to update this review to say that whatever the formula was for the toffee blondie seems to have changed. Now, it really isn’t very good at all. It’s dry and so sweet that it actually makes your teeth ache after only one bite. Nothing even close to the original. It was sad, because I took my out of town friends here, specifically because I raved about the deserts and the view, and we were certainly disappointed. Luckily, the view can’t really change! We also tried the peach fritters which were oversized doughy globs with little orange chunks in them. I think the chunks were masquerading as peaches, however, the taste was certainly not there. Very sad decline for a restaurant that only ever had sub-​par food to begin with.

SUPER excited to try this place after hearing about it for months. My parents have been a few times so we gave them a gift card for Christmas. This last weekend, we were able to finally stop in for dinner. We arrived at 5pm (had to come early with a new baby in tow) and were seated outside under an umbrella. Our waitress came over right away and we ordered our drinks. We placed our order and enjoyed the warm (sweltering) weather. Our meals arrived quickly, everything from duck, to steak, to scallops and a taco salad. Our meals were all good. They weren’t out of this world and they weren’t terrible. The food was a step above average but we weren’t blown out of the water.
Cons. waitstaff was constantly clearing a plate here and a plate there instead of allowing everyone to finish their meals before removing it all at once. That’s not relaxing. While one guy was clearing the table he dropped the bowl of butter. He was holding a glass of water and ended up spilling that all over the place while trying to clean the butter. Luckily, everything fell on the ground and not ON anyone, but he was trying to do too much all at once. I don’t put fault on him, I just don’t think he was trained properly overall.
We ordered our dessert and here’s where the negatives started. We had felt rushed from the moment we sat down but when it came time for dessert, we waited… and we waited… and we waited… and waited some more. We ordered one gelato and one crêpe. It must have taken well over 15 minutes for these to arrive. At this point we were getting hot, bothered, antsy and frustrated. We lost our mood and wanted to leave but then we couldn’t find our waitress. Our dessert FINALLY arrived and then it was impossible to find our waitress to get the check (they have separate food runners). That put a damper on the evening and helped knock a star off this place.
Overall, setting is beautiful. Mostly beautiful. It’s towards the heart, downtown of Poughkeepsie nears the Projects. There are people constantly walking by with their pets, on bikes, on skateboards, boats going in and out… I didn’t necessarily sit too easy. If it were real late at night I honestly would not feel comfortable or safe walking to my car in this section. I think the restaurant should be a little more private and not allow just anyone to be walking around, through the seating area. I did not go inside so I can’t talk about that. I would definitely come back and try this place again for the outside seating and the view if nothing else but in my opinion, there are much better places for the same money and better quality.

This was my second visit to the ice house. First time was wonderful, the second not so much. We were seated, told us our waiter would be right over. After ½ hour we asked another server. Who was kind enough to take our order, she had no idea where our server went. The table next to us that was seated after us has already had their food served. We ordered the rib special, which was suppose to include ribs, corn, mashed potatoes and cornbread. The meal showed up with the cornbread replaced with coffee cake. It would have been nice if they told us that at the time of order. Who puts coffee cake with barbecue? The potatoes were ice cold had to send them back only for them to nuke the potatoes and coffee cake. So disappointed. I hope others have a better experience.

This place only gets a star for it’s location and view. What a missed opportunity. The staff was terrible. I think we might have come at an awkward shift change but we were not acknowledged after seating for a good 15 – 20 mins. Well we did get water, from a blonde who did not smile or speak. Luckily a waiter at a table in another section noticed us enough to help us finally. He sent over our waiter who told us he was leaving and being relieved by another girl who never showed. Again the other waiter helped us after being called over. Food was ehh. If it wasn’t for the one attentive waiter who wasn’t assigned our table I would have called management to complain. Such a shame staff brings down a place that could otherwise have such great potential. I work in hospitality nearby and won’t be recommending this to our guests at all! Go to nearby Nic L inn instead.

Today was my 2^nd visit to this restaurant, in about a month. Both times, I had French onion soup. It was good. I found their version to be the same as those I had in France: crusty bread, gratinée cheese.
My 1^st dinner here was a pan seared fish with sautéed vegetables. It was tasty & fresh. The weather was very nice. So outside seating was a good idea with a good view of the Hudson River.
This evening, my dinner was grilled pork chop, seasonal vegetables & gooseberry coulis. The meat was cooked to a barely pink, so it was moist & tender. The gooseberry coulis was surprisingly good: citrusy, fragrant yet light.
My dessert was a slice of cheesecake with thinly sliced strawberries & fresh whipped cream. It had the right amount of sweetness. It went well with black coffee.
I find its service staff friendly, efficient & professional.
Yes, the price is at the high side. But I will be back next time I am in town.

Very cool spot! Apparently they just re-​opened and I happened to stop in. Everything was very crisp and we’ll done. The menu was the right size with what seemed to be a rotating fresh take on some seasonal items. Decent beers on tap and the food was very solid, well plated and enjoyable.
Couple details I love: warm bread AND warm butter; often not done. The portions were very nice but not so much that you had no choice but to do a to-​go container; my peeve is over sized portions that creates lots of waste.
Staff was knowledgeable on the menu and I appreciate a good recommendation on the eats and the hostess and waiter both were great for steering me in the right direction on a great seat and what to eat.
Overall a really nice choice that should be tried. Good for a date and dinner with friends, probably not a family spot or good for kids, not the they couldn’t accommodate that but it would impact the vibe; it’s definitely a grown up crowd.

I’m still wary of dining here in the summer when inexperienced staff are hired to meet demand but I did eat here yesterday and was pleased that the service and food were back to what I was used to.
Our server was very attentive and pleasant. We all ordered from the limited time taste of Hudson menu. The arancini, NY strip steak, and toffee blondie cake were the winners of all the courses.

What a cute little spot. Went there for trivia last night, had a blast — they have trivia every Wednesday from 7:30 — 9:30 PM. They do not have liquor, but have sake, a zillion wines & beers. I had Sauvignon Blanc and it was delicious. Also tried the scallops for an appetizer, which were very good. Friends had the strip steak, french onion soup and salad — all were pleased.
Looking forward to going back for dinner — I really like the atmosphere of the dining room with the lights.