Restaurants in Dobbs Ferry

The chef at Comfort Restaurant cooks hearty, filling dishes from wholesome ingredients, populating the menu with vegan and gluten-free fare. Pan-fried chicken breast ($16) sizzles next to a creamy dollop of mashed potatoes, flavored with light gravy drizzled down like rain on a private detective's huge bearskin hat. Less-traditional crispy tofu ($16) fills stomachs with zesty scallion-sesame sauce and a choice of sides, including protein-rich quinoa, vitamin-packed kale and ginger shiitake, and exquisitely cultured french fries. The chef flips patties of beef, turkey, and portobello to top a range of burgers ($12+), and sprinkle seared tuna ($23) with sesame seeds and spicy mayonnaise. Build a mix-and-match meal from starters such as the three-cheese macaroni ($10), crispy avocado with mango salsa ($10), and a refreshing beet salad ($8) flavored with goat cheese, or continue rapidly ordering starters until you activate the Daily Double.

The cooks at the Classic Diner serve up hefty portions from a menu of American diner fare. The chefs employ organic ingredients, depending on how often Organic Man heroically barrels into town. Hands shake pans at sunrise, sifting egg and veggie skillets ($7.95 each), such as the Denver—a mountain of two basted eggs supporting a rumbling avalanche of potatoes, ham, and onions rolling down its succulent side. A surly pile of roast beef donning a cheddar-cheese hat, armed with jalapeño sharpshooters saunters by a trembling posse of french fries in the Texas roast grill ($8.95). Fingers grab at saucy barbecue-baby-pork ribs braised in lager ($14.95) and blue-cheese crumbles complement the 14-ounce peppercorn steak ($22.95). An extensive list of drinks, including wines, beers, martinis, and cocktails, chase bites down gullets with more velocity than an oiled watermelon blazing down a waterslide.

“True American” reads the awning that shades the Cedar Street Grill’s outdoor seating, a message that can refer as easily to the business’s family-run management team as its cuisine. The eatery is the brainchild of the Kay family, with mother Cathy serving as hostess and brothers Matt and Joe as chef and manager respectively. Both Matt and Joe have paid their dues in the restaurant world, with Matt working at three of the Hudson area’s most acclaimed restaurants and Joe working nearly every job in the business for more than 10 years. Together, they have built a Dobbs Ferry institution that, according to the New York Times, serves as “just the kind of authentically homey neighborhood place every town should have, but few do.” Comfort food is key in the kitchen, where chefs create a menu which the Times describes as “southern-leaning” due to its recurring themes of barbecue and applewood-smoked bacon. But Matt and his cooking staff aren’t shy about adding touches of seasonal elegance. Wild mushrooms, peas, and grape tomatoes add bright, springtime flavor to shrimp and linguini, and a grilled-corn and serrano-chili salsa brings out the briny notes in lump crab cakes. Braised mustard greens and cheddar-cheese grits accompany platefuls of southern fried chicken, and Vermont maple syrup provides a hint of sweetness to crispy brussels sprouts. A framed American flag hangs over the hearth in the dining room, a nod not only to the restaurant’s cuisine, but also its extensive list of domestic wines and artisanal beers. The Kay trio designed the room to feel like a mountain cabin in the winter and a New England cottage in the summer, with dark-wooden accents that contribute to the homey ambience. On Wednesdays, live music—sometimes performed by the Kay brothers themselves—flows through the room and out the open windows onto the breeze.

Cuisine Type: Waterfront Modern American
Established: 2014
Reservations: Recommended
Handicap Accessible: Yes
Number of Tables: 11–25
Parking: Parking lot
Most popular offering: The Hudson Burger, Jumbo Wings
Kid-friendly: Yes
Alcohol: Full bar
Delivery / Take-out Available: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Pro Tip: Views at sunset are worth catching here

Q&A with Christine Burkhart, Marketing Manager

In your own words, how would you describe your menu?
Something appealing for everyone. Modern American cuisine with healthy options for vegetarians, meat-lovers and traditional appetizer options for sports viewing on our many big screens--including a 100" projector.

Is there anything else you want to add that we didn't cover?
We have special events including food and drink specials for every holiday. We display all sporting events on one of our six flat-screens and have formal brunches for events such as Easter and Mother's Day. We have outdoor seating, perfect to enjoy a nice glass of wine on the deck, watching the sunset. We have a casual bar area, as well as a formal dining room and a large variety of food on the menu to appeal to everyone. It is a place for those who love sports, enjoy casual outdoor seating, or are celebrating an occasion. A truly unique experience and place to come eat with great scenery to enjoy.

Star chef and restaurateur Peter Xaviar Kelly opened his first restaurant, Xaviar’s in Garrison, when he was only 23. Since then he has battled Bobby Flay, cooked at the James Beard House (and nominated for one of its namesake awards), introduced Anthony Bourdain to the Hudson Valley's bounty, and opened more restaurants. At Xaviars at Piermont, he presents a menu of inventive American cuisine, focusing on seafood, steaks, and duck.

The restaurant's appetizers set a high bar, with rotating selections that can include Hudson Valley foie gras, Coach Farm goat cheese risotto with black truffle, and yellowfin tuna tartare with miso-cured avocado. Entrees embody that same spirit, from the hoisin-glazed Hudson Valley duck breast to caraway-crusted pork tenderloin with ale-braised bacon and mustard jus. Throughout, wrote The New York Times in a 2003 review bearing an "excellent" rating, "the ingredients are seasonal and flawless, and the dishes are colorful and beautifully balanced." Zagat agrees, ranking its cuisine at 28 out of 30 possible points.

In the 40-seat dining room, chandelier lighting dances off Baccarat crystal figurines placed on each table. Versace china presents the cuisine and Riedel stemware accommodates selections from the massive 750-option wine list, which is so riveting it has become a staple in book clubs.

If you own a TV, you might recognize Peter Kelly. He has appeared on Iron Chef America, where he bested Bobby Flay in a cowboy rib eye contest. He also cameoed on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, where Bourdain and Billy Murray discuss the Hudson River Valley in between bites of Kelly's cowboy rib eye steak with Bernaise. His TV credits also include regular appearances on NBC and CBS—but perhaps most noteworthy of all, he's the James-Beard-nominated chef who helms Xaviars Restaurant Group—a conglomeration of eateries that dot upstate New York.

The self-taught chef started his empire almost 30 years ago with a single eatery: Xaviar's on Piermont, the only restaurant north of Manhattan to have received a four-star Extraordinary rating from the New York Times. Once that eatery catapulted him to stardom, he started opening new restaurants, and now owns a total of four, all home to his signature New American cuisine. Depending on the eatery, that could mean garam-masala-spiced duck breast, chicken breast stuffed with crisped brie, or fresh conchigliette pasta with spicy crab culled from local Tabasco sauce rivers. Though the dishes at each of his restaurants may be varied, each menu is approved by Kelly himself and shot through with local Valley ingredients.