If you haven’t been to the Great Northern Catskills in a minute, here’s your excuse: a warm-hearted, quirky eatery full of natural light and mountain views, decorated in “Dada-esque” style and serving your favorite American classics with local ingredients as fresh as the chef’s contemporary spin. C’mon over, have a splendid cocktail here at Nat’s Mountain House on the 1,000 square foot deck, and play a few arcade games, while you’re at it—this is a place that invites you to make yourself at home and stay awhile.
Opening on June 23, Nat’s Mountain House in Tannersville is designed to infuse your soul with the kind of joy a kid feels at a great summer camp. There will be summer and fall activities for adults (including camp counselors on-site to entertain little ones), movie nights, puppy meetups, petting zoos, and live music. Beyond the generous deck, a garden beckons with fire pits and Adirondack chairs, porch swings and a large lawn.
This is the first upstate venture for Strange Bird Hospitality, the brainchild of restaurateur Natalie Freihon, the creative mind behind Nat’s on Bank, Nat’s on Bleecker, and The Orchard Townhouse. She first came to “the Painted Village in the Sky,” as Tannersville is styled, to scope out a different location. That plan fell through, but her love for Tannersville stuck. “I liked that the town wasn't, you know, as precious as some other places,” she says. “I love the beauty of the mountaintop, the unique way that the clouds settle in. And people were just incredibly nice and warm and welcoming.”
When the owners of Hotel Lilien purchased the former Chateau Belleview next door to their new property, a mutual friend advised them that “Nat is the only person you want in that spot.” Finally, the dream had a home.
Growing up, Freihon says, she was “the kind of kid who liked to play restaurant quite a bit.” She had plenty of opportunities. “My mom was a phenomenal cook—she went to cooking school with her best friend—and she would host these exceptional, very cool dinner parties with super-elaborate, 10-course meals,” Freihon says. “She did all the cooking herself, and I would help her, then put on my Hard Rock Cafe waitress uniform that I’d dressed up in for Halloween one year, greet the guests, pass the drinks, serve the tables, help manage the food. I absolutely loved it. I did that for years, until I moved out.”
While studying for her textile design degree, Freihon became fascinated with the cultural aspects of fashion and dining and went on to take some sociology at Columbia. “I got fascinated and inspired by race relations—the way that races interact with one another, the conditions that we've put one another through, and how that manifests itself in day to day life,” she says. “Thinking about what kind of things we can do to improve upon that ended up being a really big driving factor in me starting my own company. It’s about the impact we can have, about creating spaces that are safer, more equitable, and less discriminatory. I feel like restaurants have always been such a great way to do that because of the diverse intersection of people involved.”
Freihon indeed seems to have a knack for nest-building; many reviews of her New York City spots mention the fun. “If you’re thoughtful with your process, don’t take yourself too seriously, and show a lot of respect to both your co-workers and your guests, it lends itself to a pretty cool environment, where people can be themselves and really come out of their shells,” she says.
The company name, Strange Birds, is a reference to the delights of infinite variety. “There are so many thousands of different kinds of birds, and they're also incredibly unique—unique voice, color pattern, behavioral pattern,” says Freihon. “ And I thought that that represented our company well, because we're all a little bit weird.”
Aren’t we all, with excellent food as a powerful common ground? The kitchen at Nat’s Mountain House, helmed by Strange Bird’s Chief Culinary Officer Jonah Egan, will offer delectable dips, shareable fondues, the beloved Nat’s cheeseburger, a well-executed French fip, and local farm-fresh vegetables and herbs from the property grounds. On weekends, they’ll be serving a brunch buffet with all the elevated standards one might expect from a members-only club in the city—made-to-order omelets, freshly fried chicken, springy salads, a waffle station with all the fixin’s—and none of the “members-only” stuffiness.
Beyond beer and wine on tap, signature sips include a Strawberry Rose Sangria with lemon and orange liquor; Blonde on Blonde with blanco tequila, pineapple, lime, and tajin; or Chamo-Cosmo with chamomile vodka, falernum and lemon.
[image-4]Freihon is hoping you’ll love it and come to think of it as your place to be—on a special occasion or any ordinary day. “It would be elitist of me to assume that I know what everybody wants,” she says. “We don't want you to feel pressured to make a reservation and come to dinner. Use us as your home away from home; come by and just have a coffee, sit down on the deck, or play some arcade games with your family. We just want people to feel really comfortable using the space as their own.”
The restaurant is open Thursdays and Fridays from 4pm to 10pm, weekends from 10am to 10pm and Mondays from 10am to 5pm. Reservations are available on Resy. For large parties and private events, contact [email protected].
