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    Martindale Chief Diner

    3.8 (127 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 8:30 pm

    Martindale Chief Diner Photos

    Business Info

    MARTINDALE CHIEF DINER ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Martindale Chief Diner

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    The Chief Diner  is right off the Taconic at the Chatham exit.
    Bernard S.

    Who is doing a short weekend trip upstate New York that we decided to try the Martindale chief diner, for nostalgia sick. Very glad because the staff were very friendly, the food was plenty full and cheap compared to downstate diners. This place does a good business with travelers from all over they keep it lively and fun inside. had a delicious egg cream with my meal!

    Pancakes, over easy eggs, Florentine omelette, home fries
    Ryan H.

    True to my earlier review, I'm back after 10 years. This time, we were here for breakfast before a long day of autumnal activities in Columbia county. Well, breakfast was on point! I had pancakes (with real maple syrup), over easy eggs, and sausage. The pancakes were light and fluffy, the eggs were very yolky, and they gave me more than enough syrup. Companion had a Florentine omelette, home fries and toast. The home fries are thin slices of potato rather than cubes, and I have to say, this must be the superior way to make home fries. So much flat surface area to cook! The omelette was solid as well, and it all came out shockingly fast. An ideal start to a fall day.

    Specials menu
    Mike C.

    Love almost everything about this place except the dated, problematic name and sign! This is an authentic chrome diner manufactured in the late 50s and lovingly maintained. You can see they've kept it in great shape, replacing the vinyl seats but staying true to its character. It even has formica tables and a sign that points you to the 'telephone booth'! The menu is extensive. Everything tasted good to me. My fish and chips was highlighted on the menu in its own box so of course i ordered it and it was great! If you pay with cash they take 4% off your bill. Service was pleasant. I love these vintage diners and how they've taken such good care of this one!

    Nicole K.

    Stopped by on the way back to the city to grab lunch. This diner was busy and they sat us at the bar initially but we requested for a table which took some time to get seated even after it was cleaned. The service here isn't that great and it takes a long time for the servers to come and take the order, and takes a while to get the food as well. I got the breakfast burrito and replaced the home fries for french fries for an up charge. Also got a cup of coffee which was average. The food was good but not great to come back again. Also paid cash since there was a 4% discount. The diner itself is like any other diner, a bit outdated though.

    Exterior of diner
    Liam J.

    Great little diner, stopped in and had a great meal, service was super quick and friendly, the interior was original from 1958! It was like stepping into a time capsule with a lot of charm and the feel of a quintessential American roadside diner, located right off of the Taconic, it's super convenient. I had the chief break and it was a great value for such a big meal, great milkshakes as well. Stop by and experience a piece of American history.

    Coffee mug
    Gregory C.

    Back in my good graces. Our utensils were clean this year. Woo Hoo !!! Stopped in on Sunday just before noon. They were busy, but we got a table for four almost immediately. Thank goodness we arrived when we did, because five minutes later every table was full and there was a line out the door. They were short staffed, only two waitresses for the whole diner. Our waitress was a little scattershot, as she said she'd be right back with coffee, then disappeared with food for another table, forgetting to bring us our coffee. I'll chalk that up to being short staffed and busy with a full house. Anyway, the food was good, the portion size was nice and the price was reasonable. See you next year.

    Strawberry  Belsitos
    Amory B.

    Cold meat ball sandwich, strawberry Belsitos @ a brownie. Cute local old school diner. Staff helping me were Hispanic and the English was a little problematic but they were sweet warm people. Enjoyed my buys!!!

    a rainy night

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    1 month ago

    We stopped for a quick bite, my husband's sugar was low. The food and atmosphere were very good. The personal were great. Highly recommend.

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    8 months ago

    Totally delicious, reasonably priced with excellent service. Homemade turkey and really good tuna. Don't sleep on this place!

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    3 years ago

    Great place clean wonderful service great food and unbelievable prices. Highly recommend. 2nd time there in 2 weeks!

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    8 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Very much enjoy going to this diner. Good good, great service, very clean. Would highly recommend. Never had a bad experience there.

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    3 years ago

    Love this gorgeous vintage diner! Classic and beautiful. Good food and service. Beautiful roadside gem!

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    Hudson Roastery

    Hudson Roastery

    4.2
    (77 reviews)
    8.0 mi
    $$

    We brunched at Hudson Roastery twice on our winter getaway weekend to the Valley. In a word: it's…read morea gem! The shop offers everything you want or need: comfy seating, warm environs, genuinely friendly and attentive service, delicious from-scratch foods and beverages, and good prices. The trays of homemade baked goods coming straight out of the kitchen looked and smelled wonderful, too. Hudson Roastery is really good at what it does. I highly recommend it!

    Incredibly bummed, especially seeing all the positive press around the quality and the sourcing…read morethey claim to approach business with, that quite a lot of the food being served was from SYSCO or another large similar restaurant supply vendor, ordered by the case and baked from frozen. Now first off, don't get me wrong, buying in bulk or sacrificing the quality of some ingredients to large suppliers like this is definitely a reality when running a restaurant. Even moreso in this day and age when ingredient prices are exorbitant. That said, it needs to be reflected in the price point. Pastries are arranged beautifully under cloches in the display case, but I could spot the premade, ready-to-bake spinach feta bistro (https://www.chefswarehouse.com/products/QZ119984/) or ham and cheese croissant (https://www.chefswarehouse.com/products/99971/) from a mile away. The avocado spread on the preassembled breakfast sandwiches is definitely the pulp from the 3lb bag from Chef's Warehouse too. I know that taste! All of that said, they had a few items in the case that I'm sure weren't from one of these big vendors. Which was great to see. My (yes, unsolicited!) advice would be to pare down the menu. Offer just a bit less so you can focus on the quality. Try and tap into some local producers if you can! That's one of the best things about the Hudson Valley... how much all the purveyors and markets and cafes support each other. It's clear too how much they care about the community. They're dog friendly inside. No WiFi to encourage people to chat with one another. Fine. I really want to see this place continue to thrive, it's just a bit of a bummer that a significant part of the menu including things that really should be fresh, aren't.

    Photos
    Pastries
    Pastries
    Croissant
    Croissant
    Menu and pastries

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    Menu and pastries
    Gracie's Luncheonette

    Gracie's Luncheonette

    4.3
    (449 reviews)
    13.7 mi
    $$

    My family spent several days at a rental home a mile or so from Gracie's and, naturally, had to…read moregive the local diner a try. Gracie's is an elevated diner experience...all the breakfast and brunch things you could want, but up a couple levels from a classic greasy spoon diner. Not dissing the greasy spoon diner experience...love that...but this is based in that historical experience, with an overall nicer experience in terms of food and atmosphere. Also, before we get into the specifics, here are 2 words which would bring me in from just about anywhere: Donut menu. Yes, they make their own donuts here, and that's enough reason to stop in, take out, or worship at the front door. We got our donuts to go after the meal...The coffee was GREAT. Too often, coffee, which should be the opening star of a diner experience, can be flavorless, browned water. Here it was good. Bold as I needed it to be, and the perfect foundation for the rest of the meal. My next go-to if they have it brunch experience is biscuits. They have them...you can get a biscuit on its own or, heck, go for a mini biscuit basket! I live for a biscuit-forward establishment. The Full Breakfast (submitting biscuit or potatoes for the meat) would have been my choice, but I decided to roll my own and ended up with a biscuit, fruit cup, and side of Hash Browns. The biscuit was good, large, and perfect with butter and honey. They make the hash browns to order - large hash brown patties - and with 2 different orders of them at the table, one was overcooked, too brown, and not impressive...but the other was perfect and delicious...bordering on potato pancake territory in presentation and flavor. Our server was fantastic...we had a large party encompassing 3 different tables in the middle of a Sunday morning (On Easter no less), which is, of course, the busiest time of the week. She was friendly, enthusiastic, and never made us feel rushed. If I found myself in the Hudson Valley again, Gracie's would be a definite destination for me.

    This a worthwhile place to pop in for a good meal in a nice…read moreriver view location. There are plenty of pleasant surprises on the menu for all sorts of diners. Our server was friendly. I hate to leave a harsh review but I see others have had the exact same complaints and this isn't my first bad experience here. Once we sat down and had our sandwich orders taken it was at least an hour till our food was out. I had to go to the kitchen after about 45 minutes and they said, oh, it is right here and brought out the bread/ biscuits app someone had asked for. Bread = 45 minutes. The rest of the entrees then trickled out slowly one by one ensuring half the table were done eating before the last salad finally arrived. We had assumed our server's shift had ended because I never saw her again in the restaurant until I went up to get the check form the cashier. She thenpopped out from somewhere to take over printing out my check. I suspect we were auto-gratuitied looking back but she never mentioned it. I failed to check and was just dying to get out of there It seemed like there were lots of staff but where are they and what are they doing?? . People at tables were just rubbernecking around looking for someone. No one was on the floor. No one was out in the tables. No one was watching food, timing, drinks, turning the tables, etc. It was busy when we arrived but almost empty by the time we left. We were there for over 2 hours. I wonder if there are systems in place that were created out of inexperience and are now the sunk cost way of running things. Are there sections? Does the hostess know how to manage pacing? Does the server understand timing and to check the tables? I don't mean to sound pedantic, I just don't think there are people here who understand that the job is to manage the flow, "but was it busy?" Yes, it is supposed to be. If you cannot serve someone, you need to wait to seat them. If you can't handle the tables, close a section. Just filling tables and figuring it out is unfair to diners. Thank god you can go to the front to get your check or we might still be there. :( No owner response needed

    Photos
    Lovely ambiance.
    Lovely ambiance.
    Gracie's Luncheonette
    Classic Egg Cream $6 Chocolate or Vanilla

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    Classic Egg Cream $6 Chocolate or Vanilla
    Random Harvest Market, Cafe & Community Space

    Random Harvest Market, Cafe & Community Space

    4.0
    (22 reviews)
    3.5 mi

    Such an adorable place with really good food. Unfortunately, the service we experienced today was…read moreextremely disappointing. We ordered three sandwiches, and at the time my husband placed the order, he was the only customer there. While we were waiting, two other customers came in, clearly friends of the cook and spent time chatting with her about everything from yoga classes to NYC's Mamdami. After their conversation, they placed their order and received their food before we did, as well as before another couple who had also been waiting. It was frustrating and honestly disappointing to see others served first despite arriving later. We've visited before and had a lovely experience, which makes this even more unfortunate. I believe the woman assisting us at that time may have been the owner or a manager, which makes the situation more concerning. It's a shame because the space and food are wonderful, but today it felt like you need to personally know the cook to receive timely service.

    Really cute, kitschy general store/grocery/cafe we stopped at for a bite before skiing nearby…read more Service was friendly, but it wouldn't be my first stop if I were in a rush. They had a ton of food items to peruse through while waiting for our egg sandwiches, most of which were or were made from local produce (farm location listed on the item, which I love). Sandwiches were tasty and the store itself was a lovely space with a sweet, small town vibe that earned it 4 stars; but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the astronomical pricing of everything in the place. For one egg and melted cheese on a bun, it cost $7. To add bacon to that, an additional $5. The sandwich is not large, and the $5 bacon is one slice, cut in half and folded into the center of the roll. For comparison, two eggs on a bagel with either a large sausage patty or enough bacon to cover the entire sandwich, is typically about $6-$7, in a relatively expensive locale. Another important note, the size of the breakfast resulted in both my husband and nephew having to order additional food. At $12 a pop, the sandwich should be more than enough to satisfy an average appetite. Coupled with the pricing of the other items for sale, like baked goods and $12 fresh eggs (which neighbors often give for free or $5/dozen) - it gives the impression that you're being swindled. I live in an area known for high prices, I don't expect things to be cheap. But this felt like they were pricing that high because they're one of the only shops in town and they can, and not because the items are worth that much. The food is yummy and the store is a lovely, small town-type gem that is worth a visit, but the pricing is simply unfair so expect to pay more for less.

    Photos
    Egg sandwich with ham
    Egg sandwich with ham
    Storefront
    Storefront
    Market

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    Market

    Martindale Chief Diner - sandwiches - Updated June 2026

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