Local restaurant recommendations per our amazing wedding planner/owner of the venue:

If you'd like to find good eats just minutes away...

*Touch of Class BAGELS - has true kettle boiled bagels and they are delicious, like NYC bagels …find this hole in the wall in Family Dollar plaza just 1 mile away, near Paul’s Pizza.

*Sago (Sushi)

*Coxsackie Chinese (fast food)

*Che’ Figata (Italian /American Bistro)

*Greater Things Roasters (grab and go breakfast case and coffee)

*Patrick Henry’s - on the river with upscale pub food and wood fired pizza.

*Yellow Deli Cafe - down on Reed Street but NOT open on Saturday...super cute and right on the Hudson River! Baked goods and sandwiches. (Mike and I have been here - it is very good!!!)

*Paul’s Pizza - good pizza and Italian

*Reds Restaurant -(seafood/steaks)

*Pegasus (Greek)

*TJ’s - on Mansion Street, has Mexican and pizza

*Murphy's Law Public House - an Irish pub and restaurant…you can follow the trail to the most amazing swimming in a massive creek with waterfalls and a big swimming hole for summer...beautiful to check out other seasons but be cautious of slippery rocks and possible ice in winter! It’s a foot trail, no signs. Follow parking signs so you don’t get a ticket...since Covid this has been hard to get into and it’s not legal so be warned. Maybe worth ‘asking the waitress’ in MURPHY’s how to access it

*Coxsackie Creamery - on Reed Street with local Janes Ice Cream

*LICKS on 9w has soft serve and faire style food

*Sweet Side & Savory Side - have a good food truck and soft serve, but also hard packed ice cream too (and mini golf!).

*Brewery LaHoff - the closest microbrewery, literally a couple of minutes away, with food trucks for munchies.

Greenville:

*Woodhouse Pizza - the hipster eats scene, just 15 minutes up the road on Cty Rt 26…the food and atmosphere are excellent

*The Tasting Lab - lots of beer variety and really great food too!

Leeds:

*Gracie’s Luncheonette - is a favorite best of anything and they are open breakfast lunch and dinner...everything is handmade there, even the cream cheese and smoked salmon! Try one of their famous home made donuts!

*Casa Susanna - call ahead for reservations! very refined Mexican (small portions, delicious, expensive).

Athens:

*The Athens Rooster - a breakfast and lunch spot that is very popular with weekend visitors, I have loved every meal there and their …Cubano sandwiches, artisan pizza, soups and baked goods galore. Cappuccino and lattes are top notch.

*The Stewart House - beautiful inside …worth a peek. *Seconds - on 2nd St, great food..Mediterranean inspired dishes in a cafe setting.

*CATSKILL BREAD - on Second St in Athens, honestly you have to order online to get anything it sells out in an hour.

Cairo:

*See & Be - Chrissy has the best croissants, sourdough, cinnamon buns! She also makes amazing cooler case style pick and go lunch options. So worth a drive.

*Julia’s Local - another fabulous restaurant, farm to table.

Catskill:

*The New York Restaurant (Polish/Pub/American...live music very happening bar scene)

*Wasana's Thai Food

*J&J Smokehouse (huge portions!!!)

*Mermaid Cafe (home made Ramen & Tacos)

*Avalon Lounge (Korean, with live music often)

*La Conca Dora (Italian)

*Angels - awesome traditional Dominican/Latin food (great for instant take out from their hot buffet)

*Willa’s - fantastic bakery on Water Street.

Things to do (per our wedding planner/owner of the venue):

*Ship Wrecked - cute tiny book store on Historic Reed Street (HRS) near Che Figata that has a limited but delicious menu of all homemade items for breakfast and lunch on weekends and weeknights with handcrafted cocktails after hours!

*Coxsackie General Store - also a super cool store with staples for the kitchen and more packaged goods for sale, think small town local grocery store that sells upscale goods…and grab a great cappuccino too;-)

*Unquiet Upstate - a super cool eclectic shop with antiques and oddities, on weekends the owner Sarah Gray showcases local chefs in ‘to go’ containers and fun pot luck style dining …or specialty nights like Cajun …she usually has live music too. She’s also opened Ravish Liquors, a unique speakeasy vibe very popular with out of towners.

*Lime Kiln Farm - If you want to bring home farm goods and meats you MUST visit. It’s a great time spent in their storefront but more on their farm seeing all the animals and talking to Brent and Alessandro

*Black Horse Farm is a year round specialty items and organic meats cheese and produce. Fresh soups and baked goods, plants too!

*Hi-Way - drive in movie theater

*ski/snowboarding at Hunter or Windham about 35 minutes away...Jiminy Peak is about 45 minutes …they offer summer activities as well just look them up

*Walk the Rip Van Winkle Bridge!...beautiful scenic views of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains

*Olana State Historic Park...the Fredrick Church mansion built overlooking the Hudson and 250 acres of unbelievable beauty and quintessential Hudson Valley. Trails, the mansion...lot's of beauty there and the city has now put a walking path connecting the Thomas Cole House to Olana (walking path crosses the RVW Bridge!)

*Kaaterskill Falls and North / South Lake trails...wow...great fun and beautiful scenery all around North South Lake hiking trails. Kaaterskill is a little aggressive.

*RamsHorn-Livingston Audubon sanctuary in Catskill ...beautiful walk bike kayak ... or just sit and enjoy

*The Willows nature conservancy - On County Rt 385; trails all around a beautifully restored 1700’s house…Also on 385 is the Vosberg Swamp conservancy and the Cohotate Preserve Trails.

*Steve’s Vintage Clothes

*Mahalo is a great shop if you need gifts for little ones.

*Hudson River Waterfront Park...downtown Coxsackie just off Reed Street. While there stop into the very cute Reed Street Bottle Shop (very cool hard alcohol options in here) and their sister shop Pilot Paper House (cards journals calendars books...nice!). The entire historic Reed Street is worth a trip…you may catch bald eagles flying over the Hudson River at the waterfront park off Reed Street. New shops are opening all the time as gentrification becomes the norm for what was a sleepy little Hudson River town.

A drive up the mountain offers great views but can also land you at Jessie’s Harvest House, true farm to table movement and well worth the scenic drive!!

If you like all thing vintage of clothes, jewelry, variety, antiques you MUST go to the Coxsackie Antiques Center on 9W about 2 miles north of us (if you took the Thruway and get off the Coxsackie Exit you will pass it on your way to the Nest). You could spend hours in there alone! Keep heading north a few more miles and you will see Pickers Nation...on the right side of 9w. Similar to the Antiques Center but slightly smaller!! All of these are just minutes away and well worth a trip.

Hudson's Warren Street...too much to list. Antiques, eateries, shoppes, the upstate mecca for all things city people love and it's super crowded;-) Food is pricey...usually worth it but more local places are giving them a run for their money ha! Feast & Floret is another favorite. Baba Louies is a Hudson ‘staple’...as is Cascades for lunch and Red Dot for hi end pub/restaurant atmosphere. Little Deb’s Oasis is really popular for Carribean food. Verdigris Tea is on lower Warren Street and has the best cookies and baked goods with a huge loose tea collection and various brewing apparatus to make the perfect cup…great gifts for tea lovers. Talbot & Arding on the corner of 2nd and Allen has an unbelievable selection of cheeses and homemade goods…expect to pay $$$$.

WM Farmer & Sons, Merchants Social, Nine Cakes and The Maker are the hot spots currently (at least that I know of;-) A recent guest said they had a lot of fun making their own candles at a shop on Warren Street…maybe worth investigating’.

Check out this website for restaurants and hiking recommendations in Coxsackie and New Baltimore! https://www.greatnortherncatskills.com/coxsackie-ny

Check out this website for things to do in the Greater Hudson Valley including arts and culture, historical sites, restaurants, outdoor activities, and more: https://travelhudsonvalley.com/things-to-do/

Enjoy giant corn mazes, cider, apples, pumpkins, doughnuts, and more at several farms within a 30 minute drive of West Coxsackie:

- Swartz Farm at 1532 Eleanor Dr, Castleton, NY 12033

- Stanton's Feura Farm at 210 Onesquethaw Creek Rd, Feura Bush, NY 12067

- Windy Hill Orchard at 1297 Brookview Station Rd, Castleton, NY 12033

- Samascott's Garden Market at 65 Chatham St, Kinderhook