We stopped by The Cornell for Sunday brunch with the family and left feeling like we'd definitely come back--especially for the atmosphere. The setting is easily the highlight. The restaurant is housed in a beautifully renovated industrial-style merchant building right on the Kingston waterfront, and if you can grab outdoor seating, it's a great place to relax while watching the boats come and go. It's also kid-friendly, which made brunch with the family easy and enjoyable. Instead of ordering entrees, we decided to work our way through the appetizer menu. The standouts were the lobster and trout dip (our favorite of the meal), the root beer based wings, and the fresh oysters. Everything else was fine--good quality, but nothing that completely blew us away. One thing that really caught our attention was the Sunday all-you-can-eat-and-drink brunch. It had a lively crowd, an outdoor DJ, and looked like people were having a fantastic time. However, we were never offered and found it too late to inquire after ordering from the menu already. Overall, The Cornell is worth checking out for the waterfront location, relaxed atmosphere, and fun brunch scene. While the food didn't quite match the setting, it was still a very enjoyable family outing, and the few standout dishes make it worth a return visit. read more

Holy cow. About as bad an experience as I've had in my life. Truly awful. Our tour group took us here as part of our day trip. It was a buffet-style meal, which was 'ok'. But the truly beyond-horrible service made this an absolutely dreadful experience. The first thing the waitress did was take our drink orders. The person before me orders a Coke, and she says they have Pepsi products. So he orders a Pepsi. I order a Mountain Dew (a Pepsi product), and she says she doesn't know if they have it. How do you not know if they have it? But, to keep things moving and easier, I just get a Pepsi. The rest of the table orders their drinks and waits. And waits, and waits. 45 minutes later people had eaten their food, and everyone at the table is still waiting for their drinks. Two different waitresses said 3 different times the waitress says, "it's coming". I finally got fed up and left before our time was completely done because I was on the verge of saying something that probably would've gotten me arrested. Talking to people outside after, apparently, the drinks did finally come after getting a 3rd waitress and an additional 15 minutes. And they were watered down. read more

The Cornell Restaurant + Bar - Sushi Bars Near Me - Kingston, New York

Passing through the area and stopped for dinner. Love the ambiance and decor, clean and fresh. Our old fashioned drinks were perrffect, sooo refreshing and poured well balanced. Our waitress was friendly. The food was delicious! Short rib and burger. Just loved everything. Side Caesar was phenomenal, anchovy dressing, great flavor. Found room for the warm brownie w ice cream. The outside could have been a bit softer, mostly soft towards the center, otherwise we enjoyed it very much. Would definitely return if in area. read more

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If I could give the Cornell Restaurant NO Stars I would have! Way overpriced! Just like the Brickmen Uptown- Food, Service is less than mediocre, no taste bland just awful-$$$$ so expensive- The ambiance what ambiance??? It is cold and uninviting- Stay Away! NO Good read more

Terrible food, awful service, all around disappointing. Literally every aspect of our experience was problematic. Meal starts off with complementary truffle fries-was expecting that, but quickly let down, they were cold, undercooked, and not enough to share for the table. We arrived at 1:30, we were told to late for brunch, that we needed to order from the dinner menu- except we searched for this place via its lunch menu, which has about twenty more items then the dinner menu items- why is your lunch menu larger than your dinner menu? We ordered kids meals first, and our waiter disappeared for 15 minutes. Our orders came over an hour after the kids meals arrive. Some food came cold (Pot Pie, and Fried chicken), others in my party had extremely small portions (short rib, tuna and burger). All came with disappointment. Our waiter sensed our dissatisfaction and was quick to assure us things are weighed before cooking... i'm sure the food looked and tasted good before you cooked it too. They wouldn't let me pay cash, and had difficulty producing a check- we ended up splitting it three ways, but they came out with four checks, one a hundred dollars more than the rest- when we inquired about that, they said it just happens and my party member was not charged twice (ironic though that it came to the table, and looked like the other three checks, and had the sane card number on it)- after a terrible meal of restaurant remorse, everyone loves to go home and check if they were accidentally charged triple. Food was mediocre at best, serving staff had no concept of prioritizing customers, The interior is super cool. Hopefully the next owners will care more about food. This is the type of place that is killing the restaurant scene. read more

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Delicious food. Incredible service. Quirky atmosphere. Clean interior. We enjoyed everything about this lunch that we came to celebrate two birthdays. Of course we came early so we had the server's undivided attention. She recommended some great items and we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. There were a bunch of fruit flies which isn't necessarily the restaurant's fault but there were a bunch in the bathroom as well... Portions were plentiful and had good flavor. My fish & chips were super greasy, though, which means the fries were sitting in grease. That needs to be remedied. read more

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We'd parked a few blocks away (by accident) and got excited as we walked past an array of unique and interesting shops as well as two different museums in route to our dinner destination. When we arrived at The Cornell you couldn't help but be impressed. This (obviously) historic building now remodeled for the present-day, right near the Hudson River? C'mon, man, this is going to be epic. Hot and muggy with a ton of flies... eating outside for the view was a (major) mistake. (I don't fault the restaurant for any of that, of course. But the mess all over the ground by our table... crushed crayons, discarded sugar packets - yes, that was definitely on them.) The (leather-bound?!) menu was tight with dishes bouncing between Japan to Italy to Peru to America - so we decided to dabble all over. Unfortunately we dropped almost $200 (including the tip) and half of us were still hungry. I'm not joking when I say we immediately left to find a Taco Bell so we could get some more grub. Inside the place looks great. The staff were definitely friendly. Watching the boats (and ducks) passing by was fun. The complimentary starter app (truffle French fries) was a nice surprise. If you can overlook the price vs. the portion size - you might dig what they're slinging. (Half of us really enjoyed the food, the other half were majorly disappointed.) If we did live in the area I don't think we'd come back though. read more

The Cornell Restaurant + Bar - Sushi Bars Near Me - Kingston, New York

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We liked all of the food and thought the portions were plenty big (contrary to some other reviews). The complementary truffle fries were a great touch and delicious too. It was a little too humid to eat outside on the water when we came, but the inside is pretty nice. Service could have been better though- they took our plates and knives after we finished the fries but before the rest of our food came. It took several minutes for anyone to bring new plates and knives which we did need to share the chicken parm pizza and lobster pasta, which was pretty awkward (but fortunately, the food didn't get too cold while we waited. Definitely room for improvement there. read more

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Our server, was inattentive, quick and by her attitude we felt she wanted to be somewhere else, and not interested in the guests. We ate out on the deck, with not a pleasant ambiance. Horrible music, some staff not well kept. Not to return. read more

Celebrated the release of Chronogram October Issue with an outdoor Happy Hour. The lovely service staff took our orders from wherever we stood, so convenient. I indulged in a Cornell Dirty Martini, $1 Oysters on a half shell and some wings. Prices were great during happy hour, oysters were just okay, definitely a "you get what you pay for" moment. The servers were so sweet and on top of getting everything you order right to you even though we were never in the same place they left us. I would absolutely return for Happy Hour or Dinner Date with my boo. Cheers, The Happy Hour Huntress read more

You know a place is good when another resturants' waitress recommends it! Service was a little shotty, (our waitress was also assigned to a big party next to us to I do wonder if that was the reason), although the staff was friendly and helpful. The food was so good, everything was so flavorful and made for a very memorable experience! Everything was well cooked, well seasoned and so delicious. The free truffle fries were a fun touch. I would recommend everything we ate. read more

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Beautiful restaurant right along the Hudson. We sat outside and it was very picturesque with boats and view of the bridge. Our waitress was so sweet and provided great service. The food was delicious. A good mix of appetizers and entrees. It was my husband's birthday and they came out with dessert with a candle and sign and waiters all sang Happy Birthday. We had a really great experience and definitely recommend going!! read more

Really pretty location inside and out. Came here before it was the cornell. The menu is different and not what i expected. Was glad to see the diversity on the menu. Everything sounded great. Finally made a decision and everything was good. Decor was beautiful. Great views of the hudson. Great option after the hudson river cruise. Short rib pasta was hearty but didn't feel heavy. Kung pao chicken was great. After a certain time they offer truffle fries as an app which was great. Service was good. One of the later open restaurants on sat night in the area after the cruise. Recommend! read more

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The new menu at the Cornell has redeemed our love for this place. We sat waterfront and started off with tallow French fries as an app, seasoned and cooked to perfection. My lady had mushroom lasagna with a fresh green salad, I had seafood stew that was outstanding and fresh. Meghan is penalty the most knowledgeable and attentive waitress I have ever had in my life. We will be back soon! read more

Whole experience always great ! Great servers, drinks are always amazing food is delicious and place is very clean and beautiful :) read more

If you like waiting 90 minutes for your food, getting no attention from staff and still being charged 20% for tip, this is the place for you! Made a reservation for 8 for graduation/birthday celebration a month in advance. Place was not crowded. No drinks, nothing for 45 minutes. Nobody checked on us. One meal came out 25 minutes after everyone else's and they still charged for it. My husband left a review on Google and they asked him to reach out-- link on their website to send a message is down. read more

Very disappointed to say the least. Service was EXTREMELY SLOW and food was cold by the time we received it an hour and a half after arrival. Staff was like "what do you want us to do?" Would grade a Z if I could but only because the French dip was delicious. Otherwise would grade a Z - - - -. read more

The food is fresh and thoughtfully prepared, but lately has been rather bland. Tonight we enjoyed the zucchini/eggplant chips - they are always good, crisp with spice and yummy tzatziki. The sugar snap pea soup was delicious, accented with lemon oil and fresh herbs. The sliders (great presentation, even the buns were grilled) were generous and juicy, but they needed some acid or sauce - the bacon jam was not very noticeable. Our previous meal was a generous portion of salmon, but again no sauce/seasoning on it or the lentils, very bland. Tagliatelle bolognese was generous, and we have enjoyed the hot fresh berry cobbler a couple times. The cocktails are balanced and interesting, and they have a simple but good wine selection. (Note to management: for a restaurant of this capacity, more than just one handicapped parking spot would be helpful!!) Both the spacious dramatic interior and the porch overlooking the Rondout make for an enjoyable setting. But what REALLY makes us come back is Megs who always knows what we need before we know that we need it. She is a true professional and delivers amazing service and hospitality. read more

I was a little disappointed with the Sunday brunch. I have been coming for dinner for a while with my husband and we always enjoyed our food. I invited a long time friend for Sunday brunch and the food was okay to not great and trying to get a server to brink salt/pepper shakers to the table was almost possible. I went to the reception desk twice only to be told I had to find my server for help which I also has to get up and flag her down to ask for service. Dinner nice, brunch I will not try again. read more

Bottom line: I would recommend & visit again. I made dinner reservations for our family of 4 (including 2 children). We chose this day to enjoy the Sunday Italian menu. My kids and husband ordered the spaghetti & meatballs and a flatbread appetizer. I ordered the kung pao chicken off the regular dinner menu. My dish wasn't exactly 'authentic' but still delish! Food was freshly made to order. The complimentary fries were excellent! Our server Brandon was sweet and offered to serve our hungry kiddos first, which we greatly appreciated. I also want to note that the bathrooms were well kept and smelled great! read more

Went to the Sunday Brunch. A real treat awesome variety service for drinks coffee juice was excellent, had an omelet prepared in front of me wow tasted great. Over a pretty good value excellent food reasonably priced. read more

We got to eat inside on a hot day. Our waitress was good. The drinks for Sunday brunch were good. The omelettes my friends ordered were not seasoned and one was 15 minutes late. The English muffin on eggs Benedict were tough. The cannolis were great. read more

our waiter was good. The new menu and prices, not good. They got rid of the smash burger and cranberry walnut salad. And dont get the summer salad. It was not an "entree" option. Unfortunately we won't be going back. read more

I have eaten here several times with happy results. I love the decor and atmosphere. Friendly busy without drowning out conversations because this is a large restaurant with high ceilings but their Harry Potter style Christmas decorations made it seem so festive cozy and merry. Food is always reliable well prepared quality ingredients. I will keep coming unless something changes. Good for dates or families or events. Great renovations a well positioned space. Blue cheese stuffed olives for those martini drinkers like me. Don't be in a rush or you might as well eat at BK. read more

Lovely atmosphere for the winter holidays, good coffee, many menu options are available. One drawback, however, was a lack of listening, comprehension or possibly familiarity with the fare by our waiter, who brought a red-onion-laden salad to table for our party who had specifically asked for dishes with NO onions. read more

Visiting family and after our boat ride on The Stroller IV, we decided to get some food and drinks. The place was near so we thought we'd try it out. It did not disappoint!! The sliders were delicious and they were gone before I could get a picture. The dessert was amazing and I made sure to get a picture. I believe it was a key lime cheesecake. This place, along with the boat ride are definitely worth coming back for. Until next time. read more

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beautiful place BUT limited menu food over priced small portions and food not that good. $38 steak tough and tasteless

Tried the new Cornell for lunch and to check out the new interior. Interior was, in my opinion, was over the top for the buildings history and the location. Reminded me of early 2000's decor in hotels. The layout of the restaurant is odd, the main dining room despite large windows is dark with huge chandeliers that don't fit decor. Wait staff were attentive and pleasant and still getting used to menu when we asked questions. The food on menu had several items for their other restaurants Brickman. I ordered West Coast oysters and they were warm! Whoin the world stores, let lone serves warm oyster! The cocktail sauce was basically ketchup with no horseradish flavor at all. I didn't eat them and mentioned to waitress the oysters were warm I and was uncomfortable eating them. No comment and was still charges. First and last time for us. read more

The space looks great - the staff was attentive. However, if you like food that tastes like something, this isn't for you. The menu goes from sushi, to Italian - to complimentary fries when you sat, which didn't really jive w the menu beyond a smash burger, which we didn't. There were 5 speciality drinks on the menu which one was ordered by my husband, who thought he got a glass of water based on how bland it was. I ordered an aperol spritz; also tasted like nothing. My oysters were terrible; the mignonette was a pretty color - but also had no taste, neither did the cocktail sauce and mignonette served w them. We ordered calamari which fell flat. Might as well as ordered a napkin. There were more fried peppers than calamari and the sauces were colorful - too bad colors don't have flavor. Two diff sushi rolls has so much rice that you had to shave it off to get to the fish, which also tasted like, well, nothing. Lastly, we ordered the jerk chicken wings - the only jerk here was the chef because again, they had zero flavor. They were plump, I'll give it that - and fresh. No spice, no flavor, and the aioli they served with it - you guessed it - zero taste. On the bright side, the tasteless food was seemingly fresh. The staff is attentive, and the outdoor space is exactly the same. Similar to the sister restaurant, the Brickman, it's def not "bangin". It's not even mildly shakin. read more

service was amazing!!! 5 Stars on that! Megs, our server was top notch! Fun and professional, attentive and on point. She Made the experience so enjoyable. Unfortunately, the food was not great. The Fries and Brussel sprouts were the best thing. Their espresso mocktail was also a star! And other mocktails were delicious as well. Not too sweet not too sour! Was very pleased with that. Shrimp was over cooked, snow crab roll was a bit stale, chicken wings dry, pork chop dry, beans too oily, mashed too bland... I had a party of 13 and we all expressed that the food wasn't great. But because the ambience of the building, the mocktails and the impeccable waitstaff, especially Meg's, we will definitely come back and try other food from menu. We believe in second chances. Thank you for helping me Cel 16yrs of Sobriety Last night Megs! You were a delight!! read more

The ambience outside is what is really special about this place . We ordered a bottle of Cabernet and it was delicious and so reasonably priced . We started off with tater tots and sweet corn which were both very good but we marveled at the large pretzels that kept passing us . We then ordered thanksgiving sandwich and hot pastrami . We opted for the salad instead of fries and the sherry dijon dressing is a must . The only lapse was when it came to desserts that was a letdown. I ordered the donut ice cream sandwich and it was far from a donut , more like a stale pastry and the ice cream had freezer burnt crystals . Hubby ordered the key lime cheesecake and the coconut pie crust was so overwhelming that you did not really taste anything else . Our server was so sweet and fantastic that we just let our desserts slide without saying anything . Also note , I guess in reading other reviews there is complimentary French fries , we did not receive this smd wished we did so that tells me there is is inconsistency. read more

The Cornell fell short across the board from host, staff, service, food and drinks when I dined with friends for Sunday Brunch. Started off at the front host station where the host didn't know how to greet, communicate, or have knowledge of what was going on as my friend and I stood there until we expressed that we had made a 1pm reservation for lunch. The host did not know what time the Sunday Brunch buffet ended so we asked the waitress.. thinking she would know for sure... no, didn't know either. How do you have staff working the lunch/brunch hours and not know this? Now add on the lack of service .. it took almost 20min to get a tasteless omelette made and then you had to make your own Bloody Mary with the watered down vodka. Then the food at the buffet .. Eggs Benedict's English muffin was not edible since it was hard as a rock. The French toast crust .. hard as a rock. The cost was overpriced and did not include juice or coffee. I will definitely not recommend or go back to waste money at a place that can't even provide acceptable service or food for a simple brunch buffet. read more

Waterfront dining with historic charm is about all. Views, by the way, are not of the Hudson River, but of the Roundout Creek (Which is pleasant, but you've got the wrong river.). French chicken was really dry. All 6 of us ordered different entrees. The best that could be said about our dinners was, "okay". Paper napkins instead of paper towels in the bathroom and it smelled like sulfur water. Could use an automatic air freshener. The spot where there appears to have been one, is empty. Service was below average. Much improvement with food quality, service quality and cleanliness are needed before I would consider returning. read more

The service was great, the food not so great. Had vegetable stir fry with shrimp. It was mostly noodles and very little vegetables and six tiny little shrimp. The flavor was overcome by the strong sauce and fries given instead of bread was so salty, that was all you could taste. read more

We went as part of a large group for dinner. Service was very friendly and attentive. I started with the Boatman cocktail. It was well balanced and very good. For my entree, I had the short ribs with crispy kale and pumpkin mashed potatoes. The food was fantastic! Best meal I've had in a long time. Complimentary truffle salt fries were delicious too. I chose the cucumber watermelon sorbet for dessert. The flavors were excellent together. It was the perfect light finish to the meal. read more

The Cornell Restaurant + Bar - Sushi Bars Near Me - Kingston, New York

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Parking easy. Location is waterfront but reservation was put indoors. Staff very kind thoughtful and accommodating. Menu was awesome and we loved everything. Love this local eatery. read more

Came by boat to The Cornell for lunch we had amazing service & outstanding food! Great location nested along the banks of the Hudson River, The Cornell delivers an unforgettable dining experience. It's a must-visit destination in Kingston, where history, ambience, and beauty come together. read more

Met a friend for happy hour here. We were seated at a lively bar. The drinks were expertly made and presented with flourish. We also had a few nibbles while chatting. Wings made really well and awesome fries. I'll be back read more

Friendly and professional greeting and seating . Prompt and attentive waitstaff service . Properly made cocktail . Good food delivered in timely manner. My wife asked for " well done" salmon and it was perfect. Overall a 5 star experience. Dining with a view of the Rondout on a perfect summer evening a bonus . Seemed like a lively Happy Hour scene was in progress. Rebranding a successful venture from my viewpoint. read more

Since the reopening we've been here 6 or 7 times, once by boat. It keeps with the tradition established by the previous incarnation. Weekday Happy Hour has $1 oysters and fresh sushi rolls. It is very much a family place, perhaps more so now. Definitely worth stopping by! read more