Hudson Hil's Café

Betsy Van Die

I have no idea why this place is so incredibly popular. I was visiting my friend and she insisted on treating me to breakfast here. The place was very crowded on a Sunday morning and we wanted to sit outside - or I did, due to COVID. The only table was squished in between another one and the hostess stand. The ambiance was awful - a French bulldog in the company of nearby diners was barking its head off, a constant stream of traffic near our table, waitstaff hitting our table due to the cramped space, motorcycles roaring by. And the prices were ridiculous - this isn't NYC!! My coffee was so bitter, it was nearly undrinkable. although my friend wasn't as annoyed by the atmosphere as I was, she said the food was overpriced and had deteriorated.

EE Grimshaw

After a fairly intense hike at Breakneck Ridge, my friend and I stopped here for lunch this past Saturday. I've been here a handful of times before, initially at the recommendation of a chum who grew up in nearby Garrison, and it's always very good. This time, it was great. I warned my friend that this place often has a wait, especially given that we stopped by at 1PM, dictionary definition lunch time, and that we should prepare ourselves for a 20- to 30-minute delay. Nope - we were seated within three minutes inside. For what it's worth based on past experience, the porch seating outside is excellent as well - it has a very nice, rustic B&B vibe with great viewpoints of the main thoroughfare that lend to some excellent people watching. It was about 90 degrees at the time so it might not have been SUPER comfortable if we had been seated there, but we would have done so without complaint. I was famished after climbing a mountain, and ordered the Biscuits & Gravy ($17.95), which came with eggs and country potatoes. Delicious. There may be a SLIGHT bias here since I think food always tastes better after you've climbed a mountain and earned the subsequent calories, but why shouldn't this place benefit from that timing? The gravy was perfectly thick with what looked to be bits of Canadian bacon, the scrambled eggs were moist without being watery and the potatoes were seasoned perfectly. I demolished it, but don't think that means the portion was meager - it was a very generous serving. Suffice to say though that I didn't eat again until the next morning. My chum got the country-fried steak and eggs and also enjoyed her dish. Despite climbing the same mountain, she actually did have leftovers to bring home for later. I've had mild issues with the service here before, but this was an absolute pleasure; a well-oiled machine. Our waitress was super efficient and friendly. Our food came out within 10 minutes, and I noticed the same was true for nearby tables. Every time she came through our area, you could see her quickly appraise each table for potential issues and check in where necessary, with no wasted movement. We both got glasses of tap water, drained them immediately, and without any conversation about it, she just brought a water bottle over to our table. Intangibles. Along those same lines, the busboy was attentive and proactive in clearing off our table (arguably a little overeager but negated that by politely asking if he could take dishes off before doing so). I was initially pleasantly surprised by the lack of a wait, but with that kind of service, the tables are going to turn over pretty quickly. Restaurant/hospitality 101. The only negative that occurred during this experience wasn't even Hudson Hil's fault - during the three minutes we waited outside for a table, we saw a dog wearing crocs and couldn't get a decent picture of them. That one is going to sting for a while. You don't always have great eating options after a hike, much less a mountainous one. This is an absolute gem that's less than five minutes from the Breakneck Ridge trailhead - take advantage of it.

John

This was a lovely little place to go. The service was a little slow, because they are (according to a sign on their door) a little understaffed at the moment. However, the food that arrived was delicious and the staff were very friendly. I’d recommend this place, and in particular the BLT sandwich. The prices here are also very reasonable.

He Wi

Good food and decent service. We went there on a Saturday and the weather was so nice so we had to wait for 10 mins to be seated. They were understaffed so were pretty efficient (read rather professional or cold, but did the best they could). But the food was of a good quality and the portion was quite generous. We had salmon BLT and chicken sandwich. Drinks were ok and price overall was almost like in the city, so still a bit expensive.