Depuy Canal House Inn

Closed/​Shut down, no longer a resturant

Great — if you don’t mind brunch taking six hours and exorbitant prices for not terribly exciting food. My companions were joking if it took much longer, we could stay for dinner.

While enjoying our stay at the Inn at Stone Ridge we went to the Depuy Canal House for a lovely dinner. The owner/​chef John Novi is most gracious and invited us to see his kitchen after dinner. We were blown away by his collection of copper pots hanging from the old wooden beams. The canal house is a historical land mark that brings you back to a by gone era. The dinner was delicious and the wines were great. Next time we visit the area we hope to enjoy our dinner at the Depuy House again and this time book the table in the kitchen so we can be part of the entire preparation experience with John and his staff. Our waiter Dalton was most attentive and enthusiastic. All in all it was a delightful evening.

What an amazing meal! I have been wanting to dine here for years and I finally got a chance to. It lived up to and exceeded all of my expectations. With its charming décor and historical atmosphere, the canal house transports away from the normal world. Each course was expertly prepared and unbelievably creative in taste and ingredients. After my meal I was invited into the kitchen which was the most beautiful kitchen I have ever been in. I would highly recommend asking to see it or you can book the chef’s table and sit right in the middle of it! I highly recommend the canal house for anyone looking for a truly special dining experience.

Amazing place!!! To recommend absolutely, the place is just stunning!!! Historical and one of a kind. !!!
I only give 4 stars, even though i would have loved to give 5; because the food is not as good as it could be… But just for the beauty of the environnement and the friendliness of the staff you should go. The good is good but average.
One of a kind restaurant in the world ! The décor is just unique!

Prixe Fixe dinner $ 9.95. It was all colonial style food served in the colonial manner, and the staff was dressed in period costume. It was wonderful.
But that was 1972.

What a great place. From the varied and interesting appetizers to the wonderfully prepared entries. All creative and delisiois. Great place for an intimate dinner or a group of friends in a private room. Save it for the special occasions. I know I do.

I had the pleasure of sitting at the chef’s table at Depuy Canal House last night. The chef’s table is a large rustic wooden plank table in the restaurants kitchen. Chef John Novi prepared a SEVEN course offering that was beyond spectacular. He is a real treasure to talk with and I won’t soon forget watching him demonstrate his craft, nor will I soon forget his flavors.
John’s experiences cooking in Italy and various areas around the Mediterranean are one of a kind. Nonchalant name dropping of Chef’s who have been in and used his kitchen are jaw dropping. His focus is definitely using locally grown, natural foods.
At the Chef’s table with me last night was a beef and pork farmer from Dutchess County, yeah, he brought the meat and veggies for our meal. He was especially proud of some of his own cured bacon.
Working through the items in each course would close in on an epic novel. Some highlights are:
I loved their play on «chips» that they include in some appetizers. The «Salami Cornucopia with eggplant hummus and Kalamata olive bugle chip» that was one part of the first course was spectacular. Remember bugle chips? Along with the first course was a «hamburger cone with Avocodo and cheese — slice beef and chicken rollardin» that looked like a small chocolate ice cream cone, amazing flavors.
The second course was Chef Novi’s «Blue Ribbon Award» Mini carrot pasta reel filled with ricotta, steamed and served on bolognese sauce — served with basil cheese focaccia. I’m going to try and duplicate this one as is. All conversation stopped shortly after this course landed on the table. The distinctly different flavors manage to meld into something beyond the individual components.

We went to celebrate Father’s Day a week late as a group of 7 ranging from age 11 70. We had heard about this place for many years and were eager to try it because of Chef Novi’s fantastic reputation.
The ambiance was beautiful: rustic, eclectic, wide board planks, intimate carved out spaced rooms… all the things that made the atmosphere unusual and special.
The service was perfect: attentive, helpful, not overbearing. No problem taking a family photo, fielding questions from the peanut gallery or complaints from the 70 year old Father who was being honored. The Grandpa felt the bloody mary was too spicy so the server took it upon himself to have it removed from the bill. We loved the server’s style and he appreciated our group’s dynamics from the beginning. Many kudos to our young red haired server for being attentive, funny, and flexible.
The food: eclectic. The fish and meat were fantastic. Nice portion sizes, good and unusual side pairings… waffles with not sweet chocolate sauce for the steak? It worked. We all made some eyes at each other for Grandma ordering carrot ribbon pasta with ricotta??? It was delicate and delicious with the bolognese sauce.
The duck sausage empenadas were fine. We make our own and have wonderful friends who own an Argentinian restaurant so we are spoiled in our expectations.
The desserts were thoughtful and delicious. The signature chocolate and olive oil cake were a hit amongst the 7 of us. It was not overly sweet and one the olive oil gave it an interesting texture and creaminess. The majority liked the blueberry tart.
We would recommend it for a special occasion given the limited menu and price. We would definitely go back. The 70 year old Matriarch has already called it for our next Father’s day celebration. If that is not a ringing endorsement, then I do not know what is!

My wife and I had a dinner here on Saturday, March 30^th. I had been here before once long ago and was very thrilled with the place. This second time I was a shade less impressed but nonetheless satisfied.
We went with a prix fix menu for $ 85 each. It started with an hors d’œuvre of salami, hummus, and a bugle chip (really!) with a little croûton covered in spiced chocolate. It was smartly served in a candle holder that looked it was meant for the task and fit in well with the antique-​y and eclectic décor. I had then an appetizer of heart of escarole lemon-​dressed in poppadum lentil bowl with cauliflower frittata. That was good enough for my wife to keep stealing bites of it. For my entrée I had troutlings and clam bouillabaisse wit lobster, whitefish and spinach. That was a departure from my normally land-​based carnivorous desires and I was glad to do it for I found I liked the smokey, delicaet taste of the trout. We had a cheese plate after that, made of all cheeses from Harpersfield, NY that were very delicious, then finally a dessert taster that had strawberries, chocolate cake, mousse and a few other things that I cannot recall that all tasted great nonetheless.
We were slightly disappointed with the inside temperature of the place being rather cold. I would gladly go again, however. the place is a rustic, old house and cozy. It is a great find for anyone travelling through and looking for something above diners and burger stands.
The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable, and not at all intrusive, overbearing or pretentious. They were just right.

John Novi has truly reinvented himself. We went for brunch after we were not that thrilled anymore with the «old» canalhouse. The coffee cake and the boufarette were stunning, the presentation just wonderful. The service was attentive. Highly recommended

What a disappointment! Read the great reviews and we were excited to try this place. Service was SO slow. The restaruant was not even half full, but our dinner took forever. Very limited menu (three entrees). And the entrees were strange combinations of the main item surrounded by lots of «things» that were in no way related. The fish entrée had brown rice «risotto», salsa, a pickled beet, a strip of corn cut from the cob — really just a strange mash-​up of ingredients. My husband ordered a soufflé, which took forever and was still undercooked. The servers seemed to forget we existed. We asked for salt, which arrived in a shaker that consisted of a solid block of salt (probably left outside in the humidity all summer)
NOT worth the high price.

I think it is interesting that the reviews here tend to be one star or five stars. While everyone has different tastes, I really am wondering if the one star raters just don’t understand the food they are being served? I was with a party of 4 that had brunch this past Sunday (July 29). We’ve eaten at good restaurants like Per Se, Manresa, and several restaurants in France. And so we can understand when a chef is being witty and imaginative, we don’t just think it is «odd» or «weird» when that happens.
We took a cold bottle of Champagne (corkage $ 15) and started with the corn pudding soup. John takes an interesting approach to soups, and he tends to include dry ingredients, like the tasty corn pudding, with the liquid being layers of sauce. We all thought it was tasty and interesting. Then my wife had the Branzino (Dorade) which we thought was nicely cooked, and not particularly salty, with a kale risotto that made a nice foil for the fish. I had the trout filet appetizer as my main course, and I loved the fact that visually it looked like a Japanese sashimi platter. What looked like the pink pickled ginger, was actually onions. The tobiko or flying fish roe made an orange stripe along the edge of the fish, which was really what you would get in the Japanese dish. But the flavor of the fish, locally smoked, was very American/​European, and not at all Japanese. This kind of playfulness is what makes eating out fun and I appreciated it.
Our friends had the quinoa tart and the empanada (with short ribs) and really enjoyed both. We split the chocolate soufflé four ways as dessert.
And we thought the service was friendly and gracious, of course the place was largely empty when we arrived but it filled up during our meal. Personally I think that if you understand what John is doing you are really going to enjoy eating at the Canal House. If you want a pizza, go elsewhere.

I really want to love the Canal House. It’s a beautiful spot with so much potential. But the food is ALWAYS mediocre (and odd!), and the service is atrocious. Not «hey, it’s slow and just sit back and relax» service, but «wow, how long does one need to wait for a glass of water & do you know anything about the menu?» service. Before The Last Bite opened next door, it was kind of the only (fancy) game in town. We would give it a try every couple of weeks because we want to support local business, but we’ve eaten our last meal there.
A bit more about the food. I don’t know where I’ve seen a more odd menu. Why not just keep it SIMPLE? Good food does not need to have every ingredient in the pantry. There is so much good, local food to be had in the Hudson Valley. GET SOME OF IT, and prepare it simply. Oh, and 86 the sushi. SUSHI? Really? And for the love of God, retire that Carrot Reel Pasta.
Look at Cucina or Boitson’s or even The Last Bite for examples of good, unfussy food.

We stopped at Depuy Canal House for brunch on a Saturday afternoon heading for Lake Minnewaska. High Falls is at the northern loop of the scenic byway entering the Shawangunks. This was a fantastic brunch.
First some history on the restaurant. It is a registered National Historic Landmark. This weekend celebrated its 43^rd anniversary in operation under the loving care of owner John Novi. A Brooklyn native, he bought the house when he was 19 years old in 1967, but he did not open the restaurant until he had spent a couple years in Italy learning how to run a kitchen. When he returned and set up shop, his business was an instant hit, garnering much acclaim. It was recently shuttered, however, and has only reopened for weekends.
It’s a gorgeous space filled with antiques. There are several dining rooms, though we preferred the front barroom. The staff were friendly and talkative. Most were high school students and the oldest was 23. The owner has reinstated his Culinary Institue of America membership, and there are externs working alongside him.
I ordered from the brunch menu and had the bouffarette with house cured salmon. The other choice was Canadian bacon. But the dish is something like an onion bialy served with the incredible salmon, beet greens, a poached egg and Hollandaise. My mimosa was fresh squeezed OJ, cava and a shot of Patron Silver. The cocktails were imaginative with my companion’s bloody mary tasting very fresh with celery salt and grated horseradish from their garden. He ordered a «Taste of the Hudson Valley Blue Ribbon Award» winning carrot pasta reel (a bit like cannelloni but a wheel) filled with ricotta and steamed then served with either marinara or bolognese sauce. The menu accommodates vegetarians.
We went back to the kitchen and delivered our compliments personally to the chef. I left my email to add to the mailing list to collect the occasional recipe.

Re-​opened for sat and Sunday’s

I came here for its first opening in about a year, and judging by the other reviews it has only gotten worse. The only good thing I ate here was the tiny little, very cute special omelette caviar tart they served us before our appetizers. This set me up with an expectation that the rest of the food would be just as good, or at least decent. Sadly, it was not.
My appetizer was a gnocchi tomato soup with… That fake crab stuff they use in California Roll sushi. Weird. The combination of favors was jarring and slightly gross. The tomato soup itself was bland. The focaccia bread they served with tomatoes, poppy seeds and a LOT of pepper on top. A LOT. I had two bites and that was more than enough.
My main course was a Quinoa Tart. What I got was a mushroom, a couple leaves of spinach on top of a bed of soggy quinoa. Literally the only edible thing on the plate was the mushroom, which was very salty. My friend got the veal… however they also served it with a cut-​open leg bone, and you were supposed to eat the marrow put of it with a fork. Gruesome.
Since every course we’d had had gotten progressively worse, we decided to skip whatever horrors dessert might offer us and got the check.

I think this place is very inconsistent and for the money I will no longer play spin the wheel. The owner seems to have a huge problem keeping staff and I have never seen the same people there twice. I once saw a bartender quit on the spot after a yelling match with the owner. Very expensive and not always good. The one consistent plus: beautiful building.

I’ve gone here twice for restaurant week. The service is good while the food can be mixed. I found the entrees to be stellar while the appetizers have been appetizers have been mixed. Make sure you go on a night that the head chef is working, otherwise you’ll miss out on their chocolate soufflé. Oh, and their grapefruit/​orange/​lemon citrus water (they have slices of each fruit on the bottom of the water pitcher) is delightfully refreshing.

This is one of the places that should be at the top of everyone’s list.
BUT, it’s way too erratic in taste and finish. I’ve had a long meal with a group of serious eaters. It was a high end set menu. The ideas were very impressive. They were able to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.
I couldn’t believe how they could screw up continuously with such talent and skill. I was flat out disappointed and still am with their food. I’v e driven past many times and never stopped again. It’s good, but it’s not $ 75 good.