Clinton House

Went for lunch today and had a marvelous time. The Clinton House has been a premier place to dine in Clinton for a very long time. I was last here 8 years ago for a family get together. It was superlative then, and was the same today. The atmosphere is very warm, and reminiscent of times long ago with the stone and brick accents in the interior. The service was very attentive but not intrusive. The food was enjoyed by all in our party. This not a «t-​shirt and shorts» restaurant. I thought the prices were as one would expect in a restaurant of this caliber. My suggestion: try the specials.

The hubby and I had such a nice time at the Clinton House a few months back. The fireplaces were going, wonderful wine, great food and a very warm and welcoming waitress made our luncheon a nice memory.

Mothers Day and the food was perfect. Places like Ryland Inn, Ninety Acres and Pluckemin Inn are great, but they are very self-​absorbed places. At The Clinton House it just feels authentic. The chefs are world class and the service is very down home. Portions are huge. Pacing perfect. Shrimp cocktail gets you 4 fresh, plump clean shrimp that are at least 3 to 4 inches long. Beef Barley Soup was hearty and loaded with roast beef and fresh barley. Seafood Bake and Filet Mignon couldn’t have been better. Crab cakes are seared and loaded with crab… no fillers. But the winner was clearly the Lamb Shank with creamy mash potatoes and savory gravy. Onto desert: don’t leave without having a taste of their warm home made apple pie. You will thank me.

Great food, great service and awesome atmosphere. Awesome steak and the Tartufo is amazing for dessert.

Wow! Great Valentines dinner here! Made res online and requested table by the fireplace. We got seated directly in front of fireplace in the back room, perfect place for a chilly evening! We got there early and had a drink at the bar, great drinks, friendly bartenders and cozy atmosphere! Dinner was really great! Lobster bisque and onion soup were delicious. Salad came with dinner and was crisp and fresh. The prime rib never disappoints here and didn’t on this occasion either! It was a perfect evening, so glad we decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day here!!!

This place gets 2 stars by me not because of the food, but for the service. Let me first begin by saying that we arrived here on New Years Eve for a reservation at 9:30PM. The place was decently populated, with most of the tables full and not over-​crowded or noisy. It has a warm atmosphere, and the hosts greeted us with a smile.
When we were seated, the waitress took our drink orders, and did not return with them until 20 minutes later. It was a good thing we had a lot of butter to go with our bread, otherwise our throats would have been dry. Eventually we got our drinks, but the waitress quickly moved to another table, and did not even ask if we were ready to order. So we waited another 20 minutes for her to return.
When we were ready to order, I requested the beef wellington, only to be told by the waitress that they were not serving anything on the right side of their menu that evening. When I inquired as to why she replied, «because many of those dishes would take too long to cook to order.» This is what baffles me. I understand that The Clinton House does very good business and is normally packed on the weekends. Do they stop serving the right side of the menu then as well? As a home chef, I know that a wellington can be made well in advanced so that the cook time is 55 minutes in the convection oven. Even Gordon Ramsay on You Tube demonstrates a prepped– wellington in 35 minutes:
. Am I to understand that their chefs are not competent enough to cook a wellington to order with a 35 min window? Speaking of Gordon Ramsay, I recently went to MAZE in NYC, where they have taken the beef wellington off the menu, but gladly cooked one up for me upon request.
Despite my disappointment, I ordered a king cut prime rib. To my satisfaction it was served at the proper temperature and was quite juicy and flavorful. The potato that accompanied it was well cooked and the vegetables were superb! My wife ordered the baked salmon, which she said was incredible.
Overall, it was not such a bad night, as we were in good spirits. If the staff could learn to be a bit more accommodating in the future, I may give this place 5 stars on my next trip.

Too expensive for what you get. Needs to update the menu and the place. Not a fan.

I have been to the Clinton House many times over the years. When I young, it was always the place we went for my birthday or other special occasions. After I married, my husband and I would go once in a while, but time passed and it’s been years since we’ve been back.
Going back to a place you loved when you were younger can be challenging. But my husband decided it was time to go back for our anniversary this year. I’m delighted to say that the Clinton House did not disappoint.
We went on a Monday night and, although not packed, the place was pleasantly filled. We were seated right away. Our waitress was very nice and prompt with service.
We had the Clams Casino for an appetizer. Excellent — just enough of both stuffing and chopped clams that were beautifully tender. For dinner, my husband had the roast duck half. It was juicy with just the right crunchy skin. I had the prime rib, king cut, medium rare. Oh my goodness, it was amazingly tender and juicy. As fabulous as I remember.
The place has such a delightful ambiance. It won’t be as long between visits this time, that’s for sure.

Let me just say, this place is not for everyone. Looking for trendy? Keep looking. This place is old school, really old school. But that’s not so bad, they are classic but not over the hill. The drinks from the bar are stiff. Martinis are good and strong, none of the watered down crap at Applebees.
The wait staff is mature, no kids here. The atmosphere is dark wood, lots of exposed beams, not sure all of it is genuine, but let’s not quibble. It’s a place your grandparents would fall in love with, and there are a substantial number of elderly people in attendance each evening. Get a table in the big room on the first floor if you can, looks like an old lodge room, in a good way, large glass front wall of many panes. If you go with a few people, try to get the curved corner booth in the back corner, it’s a trip back in time.
The menu, now this is fun. Classic stuff. No tuna tare tare, or any anything with balsamic olive oil. We’re talking crab cocktail, surf & turf, rack of lamb, beef wellington, and sweet breads. Yes, sweet breads. I haven’t tried that, but the beef wellington is great, although preparation varies a bit from visit to visit.
Anyway, give this place a try, it’s a throwback for sure, but a trip back in time to what it was like to have a good dinner in the 1950’s & 60’s in a nice clean place with a mature wait staff, eat classic american dishes with some stiff drinks. Experience it and you’ll see why it was America’s golden age.

Very disappointed. Had NY strip steak very very tough and overcooked. Onion rings came out almost raw. Not enough dressing for salad.

Went for Friday dinner on recommendation by staff at Marriott Courtyard. I had the clam bake special for $ 30 and was not disappointed. Lobster, clams, mussels, sausage, corn, chicken wings and baked potato. Generous portion and properly steamed so the lobster was tender and not over cooked. My wife had the beef filet au poivre. It was a big filet so I got several bites and can attest to excellent flavor, texture and properly medium rare.
It is a popular venue. The service was attentive, prompt, and friendly. The only downside was the acoustics in the open room made it hard to hear table conversation.
I enjoyed the green salad with Catalina blue cheese dressing. The raisin bread was fresh, flavorful and we happily plowed through a second basket cheerfully served.
Portions were ample and left no room for dessert.
I liked the photography on display in the hallway adjacent to the bar. Interesting choices.

Nice place… food was great and they serve some classic dishes you won’t find elsewhere…

Charming restaurant with excellent service.
Ordered the Strip Steak and it was superb.

The Clinton House is a great go to for consistently high quality food and drinks. The menu has decent variety, especially around the holidays. Making reservations is a smart idea but the bar is not a bad place to wait if you need to. The staff is very friendly and will do whatever it takes to make you feel at home. Come hungry since portions are fairly substantial!

Born and raised here I’m proud to live by this gem of a restaurant. The Filet Mignon gives New York City steak a run for its money. I’ve never had a bad meal here. The Apple Pie is hands down my favorite dessert here. They also have live music by the bar on weekends which is a nice touch.

Disappointed this last time! They removed the Baked Brie because they said people complained it was like a mozzarella stick. Sadly it was my favorite. The crab cakes, another favorite, are obviously not homemade and not pure lump crab meat like they used to be. The server told us people had complained of shells in their hand-​picked crab meat so they order them in. Really??? Steaks are still the best around.

I had very high hopes and all the people I spoke with said it would be a fantastic experience.
High priced disappointment is what I got…
The bread was good and I think they make it in house… maybe.
the butter was hard and cold instead of room temperature as I’d expect from a place like this. Can’t beat nice softened salted butter for your bread… not here though. hard, cold, chunky and flavorless unsalted butter.
I ordered a French Onion soup for starters and it was just ok. no bread between the cheese and the soup. not sure what happened there.
My wife ordered a beat salad which according to her was Delicious!
At this point I just figured I got a bum soup.
My meal came with a salad as well. plain and dressing was clearly from a bottle of some kind and tasty store bought… I’d have rather they just kept it in the back.
I ordered a Queen’s Cut Prime Rib for my meal. and as it’s my favorite steak I was excited to try it as I have been looking to find a good steak place and I had heard great things… It was the thickest steak I have ever seen, about 2.5 inches thick. And unfortunately, sadly, disappointedly… it didn’t have a drop of flavor. A potato that seemed like it was microwaved. 1 carrot and 2 pieces of broccoli, and what I assumed was supposed to be Worcestershire but was really sour cream did not help the meal.
My wife got the Beef wellington which she didn’t like at all. it was very rare and cold in the middle despite it being very flavorful. She said it was bad and I only took a bite of it to try it out myself. What I can say is that her Mashed potatoes and gravy were delicious! I mean I couldn’t stop picking at them and I only wish the ret of the meal was as good.
Desert was good for me.
I got a dark chocolate cake with mint chunk ice cream on top. Simple and good.
cake was moist and ice cream was just short of melting. very good.
My wife got a crème brulee and she said it was ok but she wouldn’t order it again…
so $ 130.00 later…
Beet salad was great
Mashed potatoes and gravy were great
Dark Chocolate cake with mint chunk ice cream was tasty.
Everything else was bland, boring, overpriced and not worth the time or money.
I was hoping for a gem with this place but it just wasn’t we were hoping.

I was able to spend a day in the back of house and I was beyond appalled. The level of cleanliness is scary, servers scooping just about all foods with their hands, condiments like lemons touching dirty counters, cold items non refrigerated for hours while in use, and a norm to smoke while preparing foods. Totally grossed out, no idea how the health department doesn’t shut them down.

I really don’t «get» this place. Granted, restaurant choices in Clinton are limited but nonetheless I don’t really understand the attraction.
The location is great. The interior, however, is old. Not old like classic mansion high-​class old. Old like dark and plain and worn.
The food is good but, like the interior, it is plain.
To me this is the kind of place where, if you’ve been coming here forever you probably love it, have favorite meals, have a favorite table, exchange jokes with the staff and have been doing all these things for the past 15 years. I totally see the attraction in that. However, as a first-​timer, this place didn’t do anything for me and I doubt I’ll be back.
Hit the Pittstown Inn instead. Just 5 miles down the road, excellent under the new ownership, and better food than anything you’ll find in Clinton.

Ate there recently for a business dinnner. Sat in the bar area.
I lived in Maryland for 7 years (both Balto and DC areas) and have had some legendary crab cakes. Menu says their crabcakes are better than MD. So I had to have them. CLOSE… but not quite. They are missing a little ‘spice’ (Old Bay perhaps) but otherwise yes they make them quite well and correctly with generous amounts of crab meat and little filler. Everyone else in the party really enjoyed their food.
Service was a bit slow. Yes we were having a business dinner, but the server didn’t quite master the exact art of service — never let a table have empty glasses unless we’re already said «no» to more drinks! Also, not sure if the bread at the table was supposed to be hot/​fresh, but it sat there for over an hour before we even noticed it.
Wine list by the glass is somewhat limited. The «house» wines are what you would find on United or Southwest airlines. Generous pours on our after dinner drinks though.
Others have commented on the clientele at the bar — all accurate, definitely an older crowd. But that’s not why I was there.
All in all prices are reasonable, portions are generous, and food is very good. Just not quite 5 stars for me. But worth the trip.