Once Upon A Time at The Feathers, a New Storybook Tavern in Rosendale

Rosendale’s new tavern, the Feathers, is mind-numbingly quaint. The only restaurant inside the new Six Bells Hotel, the walls feature hand-painted flowers; the Alpine-style “Tyrolean chairs” have clover-shaped back cutouts; bar lights are outfitted with bedskirt-like drapings, and two-top banquette seats are draped with a mossy-green velvet. Stepping inside is like being transported to a countryside imagined by Jane Austin while she was on holiday in Bavaria.

Audrey Gelman opened The Six Bells Hotel, an 11-room inn on Rosendale’s Main Street, in June. Dubbed a “storybook you can sleep in,” this motto is a nod to its antique British countryside interiors and the playful stories that accompany each of the distinct guest rooms (for example, a fig-purple themed room is in honor of fictional character Mavis Spriggs’s “award-winning plums”). In aesthetics and spirit, The Feathers strives for this same sort of transportative quality. “Audrey has incorporated all these incredible small details, from the hand-painted ceilings and the cushions on the chairs to the wallpaper and imported plates,” says The Feathers’ head chef, Larkin Young. “That’s something I want to mirror with the menu, making dishes that are thoughtful and delicious.”

The Feathers is tavern-esque in that much of the restaurant is situated around the bar, and the staff are jovial and accommodating. We had ample seating choices on a recent Thursday summer night, including a large covered back patio that’s outfitted with hanging candle chandeliers. Instead, we opted for a cozy (and air-conditioned) corner couch in the more “formal” dining room, where the walls have a dizzying floral pattern with draped trimmings to match. Every room carefully aligns with The Six Bells’ storybook design philosophy.

The menu is tight (and printed in a very “Once Upon A Time” font), featuring country cooking classics with an Americana twist. The menu was conceived by head chef Larkin Young with consulting from Molly Levine of the beloved Westerly Canteen. Young most recently worked nearby at places like The Maker Hotel and Westwind, having cut his teeth at Pacific Northwest institutions. He continues to curate a menu of farm-fresh ingredients turned into hearty country dishes.
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“I like to read old Americana cookbooks and research the area’s rich cooking history. The menu draws from hearty, homestyle Pennsylvania Dutch dishes but with my own more contemporary take on the cuisine,” says Young. The menu might easily be mistaken for “comfort food” if not for the elevated accoutrements of delicate herb-infused oils and carefully selected cuts of meat and fish, making this “comfort” anything but conventional.

Starting off, the bread basket defies all expectations, featuring a sour cream cornbread, which is delightfully tangy, and a just-sweet-enough currant brown bread. It also comes with two tiny salty pats of butter delicately shaped like corn on the cob and a bundt cake ($14). In typical Hudson Valley fashion, there is a smoked trout appetizer ($18). This one is accompanied by an overflowing amount of pickled vegetables, including cauliflower, asparagus, and beets, plus two sinus-clearing spicy mustards (and more bread, this time rye). Other starters include pickled eggs ($6 per), an arugula salad ($20), and corn fritters ($16), which are served with a malt mayo, just one example of the many forms in which tangy brines, mustards, and vinegars appear across the menu, paying tribute to “classic” British-inspired cuisine.

The entree selection is tight and meat-heavy, headlined by a pork shank with cider mustard sauce ($44), and rounded out by a Country Pot Pie, which is available sans-meat, making it the only vegetarian main course ($34 for vegetable or $38 with confit chicken). All around tough sells for a 90-degree summer day, the roasted half chicken with seasonal vegetables was juicy and rich, with a tarragon jus akin to a gravy, making for a Thanksgiving turkey-like flavor. There was also a steak special with eggplant whipped like mashed potatoes with a smoky finish. The side of fried green tomatoes with buttermilk dressing ($10) was a nice crispy addition to round out the main courses. The “Sides to Share” are the most textural part of the menu, including a three-bean succotash with corn and some roasted carrots. The options change as the seasons do. “Right now, we’re sourcing from a mix of three different farm collectives and our trusted local produce company, giving us access to more than 50 regional farms,” Young says.

Across the board, the portions are generous enough for sharing, and given the lovely ease of service, the Feathers, like the many classic taverns that inspired it, is primed for lingering. “It’s very cozy and comfortable—a place where you can just relax,” notes Young. “I want that feeling to take center stage in the restaurant.” Just this week, the tavern received its missing ingredient: liquor. Now, in addition to an assortment of nonalcoholic drinks like a refreshing honey-ginger soda, they have wines, mainly of the German and French varieties, as well as mixed drinks with colorful names like Satan’s Whisper (a bourbon with amaro) and Bell Ringer (a sparkling and fruity gin/vodka drink). Beer and cider from nearby makers will also be featured. They serve brunch on Saturday and Sunday, too, including cheddar eggs, New England Johnny Cakes, and buttermilk biscuits.

To finish, there are only a few dessert options, like a standby Dutch chocolate cake, and most notably, a seasonal option of stewed rhubarb and pluots with cream ($12). The verbiage and word choices are so perfectly on brand for the restaurant’s setting.

Six Bells is not just a storybook you can sleep in; it’s also a storybook you can bring home with you. Guests can buy most of what they see in their room, from the robes to the mattresses. The same goes for the restaurant. The sponge-glazed bowls and plates, the Sabre flatware, and even the chairs can be bought. At the end of the meal, a to-go box was sealed with “The Six Bells” sticker, and we headed out through the store (which also serves as their lobby). Here, for better or for worse, everything is perfectly on theme.

The Feathers at Six Bells Inn
435 Main Street, Rosendale, NY 12472