HVGuide
The Best Restaurants In Tannersville & Hunter, New York
Hunter Mountain is an all-in-one checklist for a winter upstate trip. You can hike up to the fire tower lookout at its 4,000-foot peak, or whizz down the slopes at one of the closest resorts to New York City. The surrounding mountain towns, Tannersville and Hunter, are so close together that you can easily hop back and forth within a five-minute drive. And they’re home to some of our favorite restaurants in the Catskills.
There are plenty of fun bars to enjoy an après-ski cocktail, a classic German tavern where you can split a giant serving of chicken schnitzel, and a mountain-side cafe that looks like it could be on a postcard. There’s even a brewery in West Kill on this list, for when you want escape your Airbnb’s noisy radiator to drink a beer on the side of a mountain.
TANNERSVILLE
At first glance, Tabla is indiscernible from any wine and pasta spot in Williamsburg. There’s moody lighting, a vaguely Mediterranean menu, and a bunch of people wearing pristine Carhartt jackets and nursing browned butter Old Fashioneds. By the time the check comes around, you'll find yourself waxing poetic about steaks from cows farmed in nearby New Paltz and booking a return visit to dig into the giant lamb meatball appetizer and rigatoni bolognese topped with a generous mound of ricotta. Warm, fluffy pieces of pita are an ideal vehicle for dips like whipped feta with chili honey and aleppo, and will warm your hands after a cold day in the mountains.
photo credit: Daniel Schwartz
We’re not saying the Hotel Lilien's lounge bar is haunted, but if it were, the ghosts would be the cool kind of spirits that appreciate a chili-infused tequila cocktail while curling up with a mystery novel next to a wood stove. The menu here is mostly bar bites like marinated olives and miso deviled eggs that you can nibble on while swapping dating horror stories with your companion. Get the crispy and juicy fried chicken sandwich, or a comforting combo of grilled cheese and tomato bisque that gets a herby kick from a layer of basil aioli.
photo credit: Nat's Mountain House
Nat’s Mountain House is where you should be for Happy Hour, sipping on strawberry sangria and dunking pakora-fried radishes into a cucumber herb dip. Inside, there’s a huge abstract geometric wall mural, funky seating that would’ve been a hit at a ‘70s house party, and a corner full of arcade games and a pool table. You’re equally likely to see friends playing board games at a huge round table as you are to see a fourth date cozying up together over a pot of fondue.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Selena’s is a sleepy diner just off of Tannersville’s main drag, and it’s where you should head for an affordable meal after spending all of your money on lift tickets and ski rentals. There's a lot to choose from—the menu is the length of a Murakami novel—but stick with the diner classics. The $14 breakfast special gets you two pancakes, two eggs, home fries, toast, and a side of snappy, slightly sweet sausage. And the triple-decker turkey club is just as satisfying after a lazy morning watching deer dart past your cabin window as it is after the five-mile hike up and down Hunter Mountain.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Blink and you might miss this little drive-thru shack selling coffee and donuts right off of 23A. The donuts are the perfect size for a pre-ski snack, and have a nice dense cake texture. Toppings and glazes include maple bacon and chocolate pretzel, but the apple cider spiced donut feels like the perfect distillation of fall in the Catskills in one bite.
HUNTER
photo credit: EJ
The people behind the Scribner’s Lodge used a formula discovered by many Williamsburg ex-pats before them: buy an old, run-down Hudson Valley building, and make it look like Brooklyn. Scribner’s is a beautiful space, with impressive views of Hunter Mountain from the floor-to-ceiling windows in the hotel’s restaurant, Prospect. The smoked anchovy caesar, burger with pickles and special sauce, and cocktails are delicious, as are all of the desserts.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Jagerberg Beer Hall & Alpine Tavern is located just outside of Hunter Mountain’s resort, so you won’t have to go far to après-ski with a pint of German beer and a boiled pretzel. The draft list has mostly Bavarian beers, with some local IPAs, so you can broker a peace between your friend who keeps talking about the Alps and your buddy who feels legally obligated to consume a hazy beer every 24 hours. The portions here are huge—our strategy is to come with a group and order some juicy slabs of schnitzel and a wurst platter to have family style.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Ending your day on the mountain with a beer flight is a ski-day itinerary that writes itself. The brews at this spot range from easy-drinking German ales to hoppy New England IPAs, all of which pair well with one of their thick-patty burgers. Hunter Mountain Brewing also has an Indian bowl section featuring gigantic portions of chicken tikka and chana masala that’ll easily warm you up after a long day of attempting to take at least one flattering photo in swishy snow pants.
The picturesque location isn’t the only thing Fellow Mountain Cafe has going for it. The coffee and pastries are the best in town, and the luscious egg and cheese sandwich is served on a rich cheddar biscuit. The large indoor seating area is also ideal if you're trying to sneak a three-day weekend up to the mountains by banging out a few emails here and calling it a “remote” day.
WEST KILL
West Kill Brewery is technically not in Hunter or Tannersville, but since it’s right next to the Hunter Mountain trailhead, we’ll give it a pass. It’s located right on the side of the mountain, which gives you the best possible view you can have while drinking a beer without actually buying a lift ticket or going on a hike (although, you should also do that). They also typically have a pop-up serving snacks and bar food like crispy cauliflower sandwiches and miso butter brussels sprouts for you to munch on while hanging out at the picnic tables or playing their lawn games.
