It’s that time of the year again when making a fall bucket list is the first order of business for New Yorkers. There’s the magnetic pull of leaves turning golden and crimson in the Catskills, crisp apples and sweet-tart cider in the Hudson Valley, and uncrowded ocean views for days on Long Island.
What makes these road trips even more exciting is the chance to stop for some epic meals on the way—or just make the restaurant the destination. Sumptuous Italian food by the water is on deck in Montauk, a beloved Southern restaurant beckons in Saratoga Springs, and the freshest seasonal fare is not to be missed in Hudson.
Read on for eight must-visit restaurants for your next road trip outside New York City.
Out east
Small Batch (Garden City)
For trips that take you further east on Long Island, consider making a pit stop at celebrity chef Tom Colicchio’s Small Batch restaurant in the charming village of Garden City. Long Island’s bounty calls on the menu in dishes such as spicy grilled oysters with Calabrian chiles, soothing mussels steamed in white wine and turmeric, and tender roasted Atlantic salmon with punchy horseradish crème fraîche. A cooler day is ideal for posting up on the restaurant’s boardwalk seating outdoors, while sleek wooden tables and chairs overlooking the expansive kitchen make up the indoor seating.
Scarpetta Beach (Montauk)
Sparkling wines, handmade pastas, and killer views—waterfront dining doesn’t get much better than Scarpetta Beach at Gurney’s Resorts in Montauk. All of the swanky restaurant’s seating indoors overlooks the ocean, but an even better move is getting comfortable on the elevated boardwalk-style outdoor dining area overlooking the beach. Seafood, naturally, dominates the menu with highlights including fluke crudo with sunchoke and oranges, spicy lobster tagliolini, and red shrimp- and clam-studded farfalle. This is the kind of place to linger when the sun sets, the night cools, and the heat lamps provide a warm embrace.
Upstate
Hattie’s Restaurant (Saratoga Springs)
As the name suggests, coming to Saratoga Springs is all about the relaxing draw of the mineral springs. But no trip to the town is complete without a meal at Hattie’s, a historic Southern restaurant opened by Hattie Gray in 1938. Today, chef Jasper Alexander is at the helm, but the Southern and Louisiana cuisine focus remains. Think rich chicken gumbo, the restaurant’s famed fried chicken, and pulled pork on a kaiser roll with spicy coleslaw. Mint juleps, Creole margaritas, and martinis with Café du Monde cold brew cement Hattie’s place among the finest Southern restaurants in New York.
Wm. Farmer and Sons (Hudson)
It’s no secret that Hudson, with its stellar restaurants, cute antique shops, and river views, is one of the coolest weekend getaways in New York. Wm. Farmer and Sons hits it out of the park on two fronts: chic lodging in a 19th century building and a ground-floor restaurant that serves the freshest Hudson Valley produce. Menus change weekly, but recent highlights include a blue crab salad with endives and melon; garlicky, buttery snail cannolis; and cencioni pasta with creamy La Tur cheese and beech mushrooms. Exposed brick walls with a fireplace, wooden floors, and leather banquette seating add to the restaurant’s old-timey vibes.
Café Mutton (Hudson)
An unpredictable menu and cozy, homey interiors are Café Mutton’s calling cards, leading Bon Appétit to name this Hudson gem one of the best new restaurants in America in 2022. Chef and owner Shaina Loew-Banayan prepares an ever-changing array of comforting, hearty fare such as smoked bluefish pâté on toast with blistered shishito peppers and an eggplant and lamb belly stew. Head to Café Mutton’s Instagram for the most up-to-date menu or, better yet, let yourself be surprised by the kitchen’s culinary chops.
Lil’ Deb’s Oasis (Hudson)
This queer haven epitomizes the modern LGBTQ American restaurant with its community engagement efforts and monthly drag, comedy, and live music performances. Owner Carla Perez-Gallardo leans on her Ecuadorian and Argentinian heritage to celebrate dishes such as octopus tostada, aguachile with scallops, and flan topped with labneh and strawberries. Playful cocktails including the Sexpresso Martini with cola syrup and the hazelnut gin-based Velvet Elvis amp up the restaurant’s cheery mood, as do the psychedelic interiors with neon signs. Plus, there’s extra incentive to dine here given the restaurant’s core mission: 69 cents from each dish is donated to a racial justice or mutual aid organization, and diners can make donations to a collective fund that helps feed those in need.
Boneyard Cantina (Warwick)
Mexico City native Maria Hernandez shares dishes she learned from her mother and grandmother at this colorful Warwick restaurant. Expect shrimp and mushrooms in salsa verde, chicken- and cheese-stuffed enchiladas, and a host of chips-and-dips combinations. Día de los muertos-themed murals and cushions dominate the interiors, centered around a bar serving exciting margaritas (blood orange, wild cherry, and prickly pear). A rotating selection of weekly events, including karaoke, means there’s never a dull night at this cantina.
The Catskills
Phoenicia Diner (Phoenicia)
What road trip is ever truly complete without a stop at a diner? Phoenicia Diner—a food media and chef favorite that first opened in 1962 before relocating to its current location in the Catskills in the ’80s—more than fits the bill. Classics such as a hearty corned beef skillet, meatloaf sandwich, and strawberry shortcake star on the menu. The restaurant’s wooden ceilings, green booths, paper placemat menus, and leather-topped bar stools are just as big a draw as the food—after all, what’s a meal at a historic diner without all the rustic road trip feels?
Tanay Warerkar is OpenTable’s New York writer and a content marketing manager
