When Kitty’s cafe and market opened in September 2020, it brought a much needed jolt to the Hudson waterfront. Across from the Amtrak station, the spot, originally headed by chef Lauren Schaefer and Anna Morris, offered hot coffee, breakfast fare, killer fried chicken, and a grocery store that included pantry staples and local produce at close-to-wholesale prices. For its tasty eats and reliable provisions, Kitty’s became a fast favorite of locals and weekenders coming on and off the train.
From the beginning, the Kitty’s team planned to open a more formal sit-down restaurant in the larger space next door to the cafe/market. But COVID led to seemingly endless pushbacks including hiring hiccups, construction delays, management change-over, and general uncertainty about the industry landscape. It took longer than expected, but in June 2022, Kitty’s restaurant finally opened.
The menu at the restaurant, which is open Wednesday to Sunday, is a globetrotting greatest hits list that changes with the season, rather than adhering to any one cuisine. “Our number one drive, as contrived as it may sound, is local ingredients and seasonality,” says restaurant manager Brendon Clark. “We’re really playing off the seasonality, specifically with the vegetable options.”
Under culinary director Robert Howay, the restaurant is sourcing from farm to table distribtors Hudson Harvest and Farms2Tables as well as local purveyors Tivoli Mushrooms, Whistle Down Farm, and Sparrowbush Bakery.
The snacks and small plates are almost entirely vegetarian, with the exception of chicken in a blanket ($12) and the standout lamb tartare, a bright, citrusy take on a classic ($20). “A lot of people overlook the fact that our small plate are vegetable plates,” Clark says. “Nothing is grouped as a vegetable option, there are no apps, sides, or entrees. You can look at it as an a-la-carte sense—’this is what I’m feeling, this is what table is feeling.’”
Munch on fried oyster mushrooms ($11) served with tartar sauce for starters or, for something lighter, a relish tray with fresh, pickled, and marinated veggies and a French onion dip ($20). If you spring for the housemade potato chips and dip, splurge and get the smoked trout roe for an extra $12. July’s small plates include butter beans, little gem radish, grilled carrots, Hakurei turnips, and broccoli ($14-$16) with tasty flourishes like preserved lemon, labneh, and anchovy mayo “We’re flipping the script a bit,” Clark says. “The meat shines through for its simplicity while the vegetable dishes offer a layered complexity.”
There are three options for mains. The chkmeruli fried half chicken, a classic Georgian dish served with garlic cream sauce, builds on Kitty's already sterling fried chicken reputation ($35). The steelhead trout, served with fennel, celery, and lemon, makes use of sustainable seafood from nearby Hudson Valley Fisheries ($29), while the pork schnitzel is lovably simple, dished up with cucumber and Hudson Valley ranch ($30).
The restaurant serves up classy, old-school diner vibes with a white-tiled backsplash behind the bar; retro, formica tables with rounded corners; and wicker-backed, red leatherette chairs. The U-shaped, five-tap bar pours four Hudson Valley beers and a Left Bank cider, made across the river in Catskill.
There is also a low-intervention wine list with around 10 selections that you can order by the glass ($12-$18) or bottle ($42-$160), curated by Sage Redmond and Sienna Lesley, who run Kitty’s sister natural wine shop Grapefruit. “There is no sauvignon blanc on the menu, no oaked chardonnay,” Clark says. “It’s going to be pretty unique varietals that most people have never heard of but nevertheless people have been drinking for hundreds of years. We want to be a platform for people to comfortably explore and guide them in a direction that would satisfy them while also bringing a little adventure into their drinking.”
The craft cocktail program, a collaboration between Clark and the Kitty’s beverage director Shannon Rice, offers options ranging from two types of martinis to a rye Old Fashioned plus rum- and pisco-based drinks ($12-$16). “We wanted to have an equal balance between wine and cocktails,” Clark says. The bar is stocked with New York State, small-batch spirits, and “maybe some smaller, esoteric, Italian amaro producers,” Clark says.
Leave room for dessert. Pasty chef Kat Gormaley makes a mean orange creamsicle pavlova that' as good as the ice cream ($10). There's also an oat milk-based chocolate pudding. (She's also the brains—and the hands—behind the cafe's breakfast treats like homemade pop tarts and cinnamon rolls.) And even if you do skimp on dessert, your check comes with house-made dinner mints.
Whether you’re dropping by for a glass of wine and a bite after work or a languid, date night dinner for two, Kitty’s restaurant is serving up the same high-quality food and chill vibes that have made the cafe a fixture. Don’t be put off by the construction happening next door, that’s the Caboose, an in-progress private event space that will exist under the Kitty’s umbrella. The dining room and bar at Kitty’s are open Wednesday through Sunday, 5-9pm.
“Our number one goal is being a welcoming presence for anyone that steps off that train," says Clark, “and being a standby for the people that live in the area.”
