Shadows on the Hudson

Consistently good food and service.
The views are wonderful!
Great gathering place to relax and meet friends and family.

Maddie was our waitress last night for a wonderful and delicious birthday dinner with my boyfriend’s family. Everyone got what was ordered, which tasted delicious and we had great staff interaction. The food, service and place is nothing short of ¹⁰⁄₁₀ — at least last night :)

Mediocre food with incredible views of the Hudson River and bridges. We’re hoping this City of Poughkeepsie staple ups its game in the food menu department.
Lots of safe parking and if you have a boat, they have a marina.

Just wanted to say thanks for another successful occasion. Dinner was great. Our steaks were cooked perfectly as well as everything else. Desert was amazing the apple crisp is huge. The service is always good but Matty was exceptional. Very pleasant and luckily had a sense of humor. We keep coming back because it’s consistently good in every way.

It’s a very adorable place to go in summer. You could be dining and watching the beautiful scene of Hudson River. Unfortunately, the day I visited there with my family and my aunt from far away, it’s a cloudy day. Of course I am not that unreasonable to blame the restaurant because of the bad weather, but the food we ordered was truly tasteless. Usually I don’t say the food of any restaurant is overpriced, but I got to say, that salad and its price was really not matched. By the way, there are many insects fall in my soup. I guess they liked my food more then me.

Stopped by for drinks after a long day of walking around and sight seeing I the beautiful Hudson valley! The seating was quick and with a fantastic view of the mid Hudson bridge and overlooking the Hudson River. The drink menu was quite interesting and the store has a full bar. The waitress was super friendly and accommodating to make sure our order came out perfect. The drinks were made well and the group ordered margaritas and dark and stormy made in a perfect combination! We ordered several appetizers including the buffalo calamari which were crispy but also dressed nicely. Slightly spicy with a sweet taste which was perfect. The butternut squash hummus was unique and tasty. The tortilla chips were slightly salty and accented the dip well. The tortillas portion was quite generous as well. Our side of fries were cooked crispy and served in a cute frying basket. Would definitely come back again!

I had my rehearsal dinner here back in June. The food and service was phenomenal. My guests and I all had a great time. My husband and I got so much compliments on what a great place we picked. We were very well taken care of the entire night. You also cannot beat the view here. Although it was rainy and very cloudy when we were there, our guests still enjoyed the view overlooking the Hudson River and Mid-​Hudson Bridge. I live nowhere nearby but if I did, I would definitely come back again and again. It’s a nice restaurant to throw any type of event. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Went here mainly for the view and hopefully good food. It did not disappoint! I had scallops and a salad with a glass of wine, everything was delicious! The view is magnificent even tho we could not eat outside… they had closed the outside area for the season, we did walk out there after dinner. The only negative things I noticed was the noise level inside the restaurant, I could barely hear my friend talk and we were not really close to many people. The service was pretty good but uneven. Bread arrived toward the end of the meal which was a shame since it was good and would have been appreciated at the beginning of the meal. My friend really enjoyed their food as well… all in all a nice experience!

I went here with 4 of my friends for dinner, we had a 7pm dinner reservation on a Tuesday night. The place had several people in it and by 8 pm we were the only ones in the dining room. I first grabbed the wine list and it was one of the worst I had ever seen, the most expensive bottle was $ 46. I felt like I was at Applebee’s. So this restaurant has a terrible wine list, I can get over it. I ordered a bottle of Charles Krug. I then ordered one $ 90 seafood appetizer for the table and the waitress brought out two. Not a huge deal bc my customers are worth it but it was the worst seafood appetizer platter I had ever seen. Literally like two pieces of lobster only, the empty head strategically placed to take up as much room on the platter as possible. The clams were gross, mussels were decent but the oysters were absolutely gross, and literally 4 shrimp. No horseradish, no hot sauce, and like a tablespoon of cocktail.
So we order dinner and the waitress asks if we want the salad first, well of course! Problem is no salad ever came, dinner came out and my tuna was good but was almost cold. Sides were just «decent», one side was forgotten.
So now we are pushing 8:30pm and the waitress said «last call»! She was really pushing us out like she had a hot date or something. So we got desert and desserts to go, what do you know, they were out of cheesecake.
Maybe the place has great views but the food is only decent, very expensive and the service sucks!

Very disappointed with Shadows tonight. We haven’t been in a couple of years and apparently it changed management. There was a lot less offered on the menu and the prices increased considerably. Everything is a la carte and very average. It was noisy. impossible to carry on a conversation. It is starting to look old. perhaps it is time to replace the smelly carpet. It was a nice place once but I would not go back again.

Good food, average service, fantastic vistas, lots of space. A pretty popular hangout for Poughkeepsie/​Hyde Park area natives. Shadows has the distinct benefit of having great views of the Hudson in beautiful Hudson Valley.
I’ve visited Shadows on multiple occasions, usually leaving satisfied. It’s not my first choice for great food in the area, but always accommodating; whereas I procrastinate reservations for the Culinary Institute or don’t want to battle the lines at Rossi’s Deli, Shadows is still there.
The food is pretty spot on and there is a myriad of options, usually centered around catch-​up trends in New Americana, a mix of seafood and meats, but also a gluten-​free menu.
The service is a mixed bag, don’t expect Michelin-​star service at Shadows, but once you get over this hangup Shadows tends to shine.

My husband and I went here last night for my birthday /​wedding anniversary we had made reservations online which was very easy to do
We started off at the bar and Jessica (who’s first night it was) was our bartender we were promptly greeted by Jessica and served swiftly Jessica was super sweet and very nice engaging us in conversation when time allowed as she was pretty busy and made the bar experience very pleasurable
We then checked in for our 8pm reservation and were seated quickly and menus were left for us to go over as well as a specials list, and then our server (Raymond ?) came and greeted us with a wonderful smile and took our orders: lobster cocktail, buffalo calamari, surf and turf, and the raw sampler
All of which were extremely delicious!!!
Our food arrived very fast and our server frequently checked on us and attended to our every need he was very very nice
When we ordered our desert he even personalized it for us to celebrate our anniversary /​birthday
I would say this was a wonderful experience and I truly look forward to going back and dining there again !

We so looked forward to dining in view of the Hudson, but when I called in advance to request a quiet table we were seated in a lovely room in the back with curved booths. Right next to us was the loudest table of 8 that I’ve ever heard. We asked to be moved, but it would have been another 25 minute wait. Between the loud music and the loud group, I felt so UNHEARD by the hostess.
The food was very good, we dined on scallops, prime rib, clams, the parmesan crusted chicken. I had spent an afternoon on the deck on an earlier visit, and thought it would be lovely for dinner. Just don’t expect to be able to hear your dining companions over your meal.

I came here for brunch on Sunday. They had quite a few options, ranging from breakfast foods, including eggs, bacon, sausage, and chicken and waffles. There were also several lunch options, including penne with vodka sauce, chicken with hollandaise sauce and a carving station. There was also a carving station, a table with multiple pasta salads, a fruit display which was empty each time I went up, and a dessert station. I REALLY enjoyed the dessert station, but I have to say, as a whole, I was not that impressed. The food was good but not exceptional. Drinks were not included.$ 23 for all you can eat but not drink seems a bit steep, but I don’t brunch in the Poughkeepsie area ever so maybe that’s a standard price. I forget our server’s name, but he was awfully annoying.

Blah, such a disappointment. Came here last night with a friend to «try something new» and quite frankly, we should have stuck to the «old»
The view doesn’t make up for the multiple things that were simply wrong about the place. To start, the two hostesses were a bit too preoccupied to greet incoming guests — mind you, it didn’t seem to be a particularly busy evening as we were the only ones entering in that particular instance (a few tables were occupied but by far the place was not packed). We asked if there was something available outside and were told «probably not» (though as mentioned, the restaurant did not appear to be too busy). After a few minutes, we were informed that a few tables are clearing up and if we care to wait — there will be a table outside. Being that part of the reason we came here was for the «view» and the «ambiance», we waited and were seated outside — the view wasn’t too «amazing» as we sat on the side and mainly were looking at the bar rather than the beautiful view.
For our appetizers, we decided to share an order of crab cakes and soup of the day. Initially we were told that soup of the day was turkey something chowder. When he came back, the waiter told us that «it’s actually clam». either way I’m not particularly sure why that was called a chowder: the soup had some type of sausage and beans and may be clams, not sure. Though it was ok, there was something a little off about it. The crab cakes were simply mushy … just «blah» kind of taste to it, nothing special yet not disgustingly terrible.
You’d think — «well why one start then» — I’ll tell you … the one star is actually for the cool view, the ambiance, and the waiter who … tried, he really, really tried. The rest of the dinner — we ordered penne a la vodka with grilled chicken and shrimp, as well as the stuffed baked lobster. Geeez the lobster … not only was the lobster on a diet (not an ounce of meat in the tentacles and smallest claw I’ve seen in a while) but it was old! While the manager attempted to explain that their lobsters are fresh out of the tank — the thing had a musty kind of old taste to it and no type of sauce could cause that (even tarragon). We sent it back as it was entirely too disgusting to consume. Penne — well it was cheesy but entirely too al dente. The shrimp were so rubbery and the chicken so dry that tasting it was just painful.
While the lobster was un-​consumable — apparently, we were! The mosquitos! I’m not clear how a restaurant that offers outside sitting not only does not provide citronella candles but doesn’t even have any type of spray — yuck.
Yes the staff were apologetic and the manager came to ask «please tell us what happened». We were then told that dessert is on the house and while I was at that point too disappointed to order anything else, my friend decided to give them one last shot, ordering a browny with caramel ice cream I believe. The ice create was gritty — not sure why but it tasted like there was sand in it. The browny tasted out of the box … dry, unappetizing, blah.
The bill came up to be $ 105 — they forgot that dessert was on the house. Once that was remembered, the total went down to $ 96 and change … simply upsetting to be spending that much money on a completely terrible meal … while the waiter and the ambiance may deserve the one start — the experience as a whole, deserves none.

Hmmm.
I’ll start by saying I give this place 3 stars solely for the view (if you ask for the outdoor seating, you are wonderfully rewarded by the waterfront scenery and if you come at the right time, beautiful sunsets) and the value for the experience — overall, it wasn’t astronomically expensive but it IS pricey for Poughkeepsie in general. It appears to be a great place for catering (next door?) and has two small quasi-​private rooms of contrasting décor (one was very lounge-​y and the other was clean white themed) for hosting events.
However, the food has been just ok the times I have been here, and I enjoy my experience because I only order the same dish over and over (the seared ahi tuna entrée — great portion size, delicious rice pilaf). And with no regrets because I try the other dishes and I’m not that impressed — I’ve also tried a orechiette with chicken and truffle cream sauce that was a little too salty for my taste but ok, and a sauteed scallop dish with lemon caper sauce (again, too salty for my taste, portion size was small on this one and most of what was on the plate were the fried potatoes). The ahi tuna napoleon appetizer (fried wonton wrappers, ahi tuna seared, avocado, seaweed salad stacked up) is pretty good but the serving is small for four people.
Service is mediocre — the wait is fairly long on a Sunday evening (to be fair, we walked in without reservations) and when I asked for my dad’s order of the Fra Diavolo pasta to be as un-​spicy as possible, the waitress told us they could do that and it still came out spicy, which was not really enjoyable for my dad. Overall, it’s a NICE restaurant in the Hudson Valley area, and if you are looking for a place for a special dinner that requires a nice atmosphere to make an impression, this might be it, but the food is not its forte.

Been here many times because of the view/​décor. Service is generally good. However the food has gotten worse in the last 2 years. Food not seasoned properly under or over cooked. For such a fancy location I expect better than what they serve.
I’ve had many of their entrees and have never been wowed. It’s a shame because the staff are friendly and the location is beautiful but they definitely need to consider a new chef. I had a chicken in truffle sauce over orecchiette and the chicken was cut into huge chunks lacking flavor. The bread which we had to ask for multiple times was stale. The truffle sauce was OK .
Like I said they seem to be just missing the mark when it comes to the food

Shadows is the biggest anomaly of the dining industry in the Hudson Valley area. Coming from NYC, I consider myself a bit of a restaurant connoisseur, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think Mariners’ management were intentionally playing the role of a saboteur. I’ll do my best to explain, as a newly-​pledged Unilocaling raconteur.
I’ve come here with my fingers crossed several times over the course of the last six to seven years, and each time the problem is still the same. The food is sub-​par. The cook on meats will consistently be off with the majority of dishes having improper seasoning. Never have I seen such an incongruency between the atmosphere and setting of a venue and its food like at Shadows. You can find the opposite all across the world. I’ve been to many restaurants with completely lacking décor and off-​putting atmosphere but amazing food — hole-​in-​the-​wall places that inspire word-​of-​mouth legends and cult followings. Shadows, on the other hand, has unparalleled, panoramic views throughout the restaurant, a great wait-​staff, and even a valet service in their opening years.
I imagine it comes down to mis-​allocation of resources or simply an incorrect price-​point. The area evidently has no lack of skilled culinary hirees or fresh seafood and produce. Perhaps their biggest historical competitor, Mariners on the Hudson, has been on a steady notable decline, and fundamentally does not have the infrastructure to match the beauty and elegance of Shadows. Rather than continually neglecting the quality of the food and subsisting off sporadic rave reviews of the views and décor along with inadequate local competition, one can’t help but wonder why Shadows has yet to elevate the menu to match the medium — whether through a new price point or simply a refocusing of expenses.
Overall Experience: 2.45÷5.00

Wow, I loved this place. I came up here for a work conference and was not expecting to find somewhere so nice to eat dinner. The view is beautiful, the service was great, and the food was really delicious. I had the seared ahi tuna which was cooked perfectly rare and was full of flavor. All my coworkers said their food was great as well. Not to mention, they actually have large portions which can be rare in some fancier seafood restaurants!

The Good.
–The view of the river, with the bridge right there.
–It’s a decent spot for a fancy-​ish family gathering.
–The menu’s got something for everyone.
–None of the food was that bad.
The Bad.
–The bartender didn’t know what bourbon was, perhaps because they didn’t seem to have any actual bourbon behind the bar.
–The drink I decided to order instead was horrifically sweet.
–None of the food was that good.
The Ugly.
–When your family doesn’t tell you there is going to be a fancy-​ish family gathering, and you show up severely underdressed, offending the side of the family that is celebrating.