The Local

The Local offers a NYC-​like dining experience in the charming town of Rhinebeck, NY. The food is consistently fantastic and cocktails are smooth and strong, maybe this is why you definitely need a reservation because if you walk in on a weekend evening, you’ll face a 1.5 hour wait! Last Saturday night, I tried the fried oysters (crunchy, spicy, perfect!) and the steak, cooked to juicy perfection. Paired with the blood orange negroni, I could have hung out all evening. But this place is buzzing and others must have the chance to dine, lol!

Food is superb.
Service can some times be rushed, and with out apology when my entrée sat for 20 minutes on my table while i finished delicious appetizer.

Decent food. Horrible service!!! I have heard such wonderful things about the food. I was disappointed. As I began my review what kind of restaurant allows their customers to sit after dinner without even coming over to ask how the food was!!! Mind you we waited politely for over 20 minutes. I was amazed. I don’t know if other people are use to such shabby service or just choose to ignore it. I don’t think I will return and you know I don’t think they care!!!

First time here; we travel to Rhinebeck only once per year for a getaway. Food was good, service only ok. Our seats were in the very back at a very small table by the service table where they prepare the plates, etc. Not a good location. If we were seated at the front, I probably would have liked it more. Took 20 minutes to get our drinks; I had a glass of wine– really? We won’t go back, better restaurants in the area.

From the moment we walked in the door there was a bad vibe. The cooks were scowling. The waiter and waitress flew by in their tiny walk-​in area. We watched as a dish came out of the kitchen and was looked at by two cooks who merely shrugged and went about their business. After waiting 5 min to be acknowledged as being there with a reservation and another 5 min before being asked where we’d like to be seated the negativity and disorganization got to me and so we left. We had a nice meal at the Market St Restaurant just down the road.

Hubby and I travelled through town and every place we stopped people referred us to the Local! Wow– were we impressed! We didn’t have a reservation for a Saturday but we were in luck and there were 2 seats at the bar! Bartender insanely attentive– there is so much attention to detail at this place. Fresh bread and a mini pre-​appetizer compliments of the chef to start us off. Then, we had the cioppino (seafood stew) — check out MY photos! Enough to share for sure. Then we had this amazing pineapple dessert and the check even came with sea salt brittle– insane experience! Can’t wait to come back!!!

The food was great and top notch but the service was TERRIBLE. We waited 20 minutes before our waiter came over for our drink order. This was a Tuesday night and moderately busy.
It took at least 55 minutes to get our food! And when it did arrive, we had to weight another 5 minutes bc one of the dishes for my friend wasn’t ready yet. I was supremely disappointed. Servers appeared apathetic and disinterested. I normally don’t like writing bad reviews. I live in NYC and eat out a lot, but I’ve never experienced service this bad.
With that said, our meal was good. But the experience wasn’t.

My husband ate their duck. He hates duck, but not this duck.
Everything else was spectacular.

Drove to Rhinebeck for this place per my friend’s recommendation. Omg… I wasn’t disappointed. The yellowtail and quail Appetizers were amazing and duck was to die for. The yellow tail is in their specials and almost gone by 6:30pm. They are close on Sundays and please make a reservation. The Local is only open at night.

Amazing! Service was excellent on all fronts. We sat outside on the porch which I recommend. Very private and quiet. I ordered the duck «two ways» and it was the best duck I’ve ever had. My wife ordered the pork chop dinner and said the same. Try the fried oysters as they were tasty. We finished with the sundae (enough for two).
I should note that we are foodies and eat out at least 4 nights a week and are very picky. I highly recommend, you won’t be disappointed.

Just had a fantastic dinner there
Everything was delicious and the staff was very nice and accommodating without hovering.
The place was a bit noisy, but not intolerable
Overall, very enjoyable and would certainly go back and recommend this to my friends

The food and atmosphere deserve a 5 star. The service was slightly pissy. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening though. The sliders are the best I’ve ever had. Delicious agnolotti, as well!

My husband and I came here a year ago I couldn’t stop thinking about how good it was. I made him to go one too many of those new, overpriced farm-​to-​table places in Brooklyn trying to repeat the meal we had here. We finally had to just make the trip back up because none of them did it as well as The Local.
This time I reserved ahead and we got a lovely little table on the balcony, where we could see the sunset. The food was as good as I remembered. Our waiter was able to give us intelligent and thoughtful opinions on the menu and helped us pick out some really unique, delicious dishes.
Brooklyn has it all backwards.

Disappointing. Of the four if us dining, only one of us was happy with our entrées. The appetizers were good, but not so great as to make up for what dinner lacked. The meal is quite expensive and not worth the price. Other diners complained about the service, but out server was efficient.

This is a belated review for my dinner at The Local in November 2013…
I try to make it to the Hudson Valley (New York’s version of France’s Gascogne) every Fall for a West Point Football Game or to go hiking at Bear Mountain and then finish the day with dinner at one of the local (no pun intended) spots in the area. As a huge fan of college football, Fall foilage, great culinary scene (CIA for example), foie gras, duck, pork, cheese, etc., the Hudson Valley can’t be beat, especially as it’s only an hour and a half from NYC.
I can’t recommend this restaurant enough and is one of the best in the area. We tried to go to one of the restaurants at the CIA (Bocuse, American Bounty, etc.), but as it was graduation weekend, we had no chance, so we drove up to Rhinebeck, and based on Unilocal reviews, we decided on the The Local. We definitely weren’t disappointed.
We shared (and these items are still on the menu as they’re very good) the Foie Gras appetizer (on special that day), the Banh Mi Crêpe appetizer (with pork & duck liver), the Hudson Valley Duck ‘Two Ways’ (breast & leg confit) and the Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sundae. I remember every plate because they were so memorable, but have to say that the Foie Gras & Duck were some of the best I’ve ever had. We also ordered cocktails and those were excellent as well — the Hudson Mule & the Cosmo Blanco.
My only complaint would be that the Wine List is very U.S.-centric, with little-​to-​no options from France, Spain, Italy, etc. Their wine list won a «2014 Wine Spectator Award», but as those in the Sommelier world know, Wine Spectator is a heavily biased publication for U.S. wines, they know almost nothing about wines outside the U.S., except for maybe South America, so I give little credence to that award. No offense, just my Somm opinion coming out.
Overall though, a great restaurant with great food and a great ambiance as well. Highly recommend it if you’re in the area.

My husband and I came here for dinner last night at the recommendation of a friend. I’m so glad we did! What a cute place! We are a little confused by the one star reviews because we thought that the food and service were both terrific. We were about 15 minutes late for our reservation but had called to let them know. There were very accommodating and even though the restaurant was very busy there was no issue at all when we arrived, and we were seated immediately in a cozy seat upstairs overlooking the bar.
We both got appetizers — I got these prosciutto salad rolls (I forgot the exact name) and my husband got the spring rolls two ways. Both appetizers were really good. My husband got the sweet potato ravioli as an entrée and it was really delicate and delicious. The only complaint he had is that there weren’t enough of them! I got the southern fried chicken which was quite large so he ended up having two of my pieces! The chicken was really excellent, fried just perfectly and not greasy at all! We indulged and got dessert as well — my husband got the local apple crisp and I got the «sushi rolls» special. Perfect way to cap off a wonderful meal!
I forgot the name of our server but she was very attentive and helpful. What a great experience! We will definitely be back next time we are in the Rhinebeck area!

Food was great, atmosphere was fun and cozy.

Going to this grossly overrated place ruined my birthday. I chose this based on the reviews, and all I can say is they must have all been written by friends or family of the owners.
The hostess/​owner was quite surly and abrupt when we arrived for our reservation, the server had no idea about any of the wines when I asked. There were very limited choices on the menu: IIRC only about three or four entrée choices. We waited forever for the food to arrive and watched while the waiter spilled more wine on the table than in my glass, if he remembered or cared to refill my glass at all. The ambiance is noisy, the tables too close together, and the waitstaff harried and completely unprofessional. Worst of all, the food was pricy and devoid of flavor.
Never again — not even if it were free! One of the worst dining experiences we’ve ever had.

Dinner at The Local was full of delightful surprises and really inventive flavor combinations. I love that. I had a seasonal roasted golden beet salad with Old Chatham Camembert, pear mostarda, spiced pecans and an orange vinaigrette — basically layers and layers of interesting (and delicious) flavors. I am still thinking about it.
Every dish and even their cocktails have that same layered quality. The pork chop and the duck are outstanding. And even writing this review makes me want to go back for more!

Omg this is the worst place I’ve ever been ! Usually I don’t take the time for a review — but I was like, this time I should let ppl know. I’ve been their w my friends and it was bad in every ways!
First, took 45″ to be seated. Once we order and received the food, it was cold, so we had to return it.
When I received the food, my dish was with to much black paper but I was so hungry i decided I had to eat !
Then when we received the check, one of the dish was more expensive than the price indicated on the menu, so the place was, after all the issues we had, trying to reap us off !! Crazy experience really !!
No discount at all in the check !! So bad !! Save your money ! Don’t go !!
Still, We left 20% tips, because we felt bad for the waitresses that was nice — but obviously the manager was incompetent — but what can you do? Just don’t go !!