Armadillo Bar & Grill

What a great place!!! We walk in and are treated like waking into the owner Merle’s packed house… We got lucky at found seats at the bar, finished ½ of our drink then we’re seated. As soon as we sat at the bar we were brought some chips n salsa which they brought to our table when seated there…
We shared the calamari & the guacamole appetizers between the three of us and both were delicious.
Entrees… well prices seemed reasonable until you see the portion sizes… then you realize they were cheap!!! All were amazing!!!
Going back soon, even though 45 minute drive from home… also has an seasonal outdoor seating area that is pet friendly!!!

Excellent food, service and atmosphere. The portions are HUGE so don’t think twice about the cost; it is worth it. The chimichanga my sister got was, no lie, 10 inches long and almost 5 inches high.
Everything was fresh, even the sour cream.

The food is delicious and burritos are amazing. The couple of times I have been there I was always rushed out after dinner whether I was with one other person or a group.

I was staying in Kingston for a conference and my hotel recommended this restaurant for dinner so I went to check it out. I mistakenly arrived at 4 pm for dinner — Unilocal lists the hours incorrectly during the week — they open at 5 for dinner (4:30 for drinks). Instead of being turned away, the owner Merle welcomed me in and gave me a cup of coffee while I waited for the bar to open. She also brought me homemade chips with yummy green and red homemade salsas to snack on as well. We talked for awhile even though she was busy with her employees and going over the details for that evening. I live in Philly and I can safely say I haven’t met anyone that nice in a long time. For real.
On to the drinks and food which were both excellent. I followed others recommendation and got the toasted coconut margarita which was so delicious that I got a second one. For dinner I had the shrimp quesos which were perfectly made and very tasty. Lastly for dessert I had the key lime pie which was outstanding with small pieces of lime zest throughout the filling.
The staff as well as the other patrons at the restaurant made me feel so welcome that it really felt like I had lived there for twenty years instead of just passing through for one night.
Please go here and support Merle who is such a lovely woman and her restaurant which is top quality. I give it my highest recommendation. A+++

The wait for the table can be long if you don’t call in advance. The restaurant is very small, but the food is outstanding. The wait staff is attentive and the bar area is always busy.

Didn’t come to eat, but enjoyed some excellent well priced margaritas made by Eileen. I had black raspberry at first, but didn’t really love it. Eileen said «let me handle this…» And made a toasted coconut raspberry margaritas. BINGO! MMMM. My husband had the pomegranate. He loved it. Next time we are coming to eat. The food looked great, but we already ate before discovering this gem.

Passing through and we were able to bring our puppy on the patio. Salsa was good and spicy and they had a mild avocado? crème salsa for kids too. Charming area in a charming town. Great tex-​mex food. I liked my chicken enchiladas, tortilla soup was great. Nachos were great too. The boys got burgers… and we didn’t push them. :) fajitas and tostas as well. Lots of good fresh avocado, good steak. Cold beer. :)

I get chicken mole enchaladas every time I come here and they are fantastic, the mole is chocolaty not hot which is how I like it and the drinks were strong, I agree that they should offer reservations and have a hostess in the front who can seat people instead of 2 different ladies who come and go.
This place isn’t to be missed!

Really disappointed in the service. Saw our waiter once to order drinks, once to order food, and once to clear dishes. Had to ask for a drink refill. Were told our dog would be given chicken — it was offered twice. We asked twice after the chicken was offered but it never showed up. A larger group than ours that ordered after we did was served before us. The food was ok, but not worth the price. A $ 20 burrito should be fantastic. Fajitas should come with steak cut in strips, not a slab of meat under a pile of onions and peppers. The service was the most disappointing part — slow and inattentive. Will not go back.

Probably one of the most consistent kitchens in the Hudson Valley. Want to make an impression. .take them to the Armadillo. I cant say enough.

This place is an adorable little restaurant off of the main path. The food was fantastic, but the wait time was quite long. Walked in and waited about 15 minutes to be seated. Ordered the guacamole and cheese dip appetizer, along with a coconut margarita. Apps took a good 30 mins to arrive, but drinks came quickly and plentiful. They made the food worth the wait. The cheese dip was absolutely incredible and definitely worth it.
I ordered the goat cheese and vegetable quesadilla for dinner, which arrived shortly after the apps. Absolutely delicious. Overall, the place was great, but their wait time could definitely be improved.

My wife, kids, and I arbitrarily stopped in one afternoon. Within a month we had returned three times, bringing others with us.
The owner had been there every time we have been there, and is on the eccentric side. I like her, but I could see some others being put out by her.
The food has always been superb, and generously portioned.
I am disappointed we never stopped here sooner.

My friend George B. took me here a few years ago, bragging about the burgers and fries. He knows his burgers so I was prepared for a great meal. Happy to report, he was accurate, this is a serious burger. Seriously good.
Fresh, juicy meat cooked as requested. Nice, chunks of potatoes, coked to a golden turn describes the French fries. They have chips and salsa too that serve as a great appetizer. If I’m not the driver, I order a Margherita and pronounce it wonderful. Good ingredients deftly mixed.
It’s long way from my home but I go there once a year (more if I can swing it) and I am never disappointed. A local «joint» that does what it does very well and consistently.
Seek it out for a fun, interesting dining experience.

My friends and I were in the Kingston area after a day of skiing and decided to try out Armadillos. We were sat right away and were given lots of chips and two different types of salsa (very good salsa I must say). We then ordered a carafe of margaritas which were made perfectly. We ended up ordering a second carafe. The elder women (which I’m assuming is the owner) was very nice to all of us. The food was amazing! I’ve never seen chimichangas so big, but they were delicious. The enchiladas and fajitas were also very good. We would definitely come back to this restaurant if we were in Kingston again!

I went with my brother to this restaurant off the beaten path of the Riverfront area of Kingston. It was worth going to. The place was lively with happy faces. As I walked in, a couple was talking to who I believe to be the manager or owner about how great their meal was. When it came time for us to feast, it was far from disappointing.
We started out w/​having 1 of each type of tamale. It was to die for. Then came our main dish: My brother had the beef enchiladas; I got the pollo enchiladas. The rice, beans, and main compliment were all of high quality. To me, it wasn’t like a restaurant: It was like you ventured out into a chef’s home and experienced some old-​world recipes. It was really fantastic. I have lived in Kingston for nearly 6 years and have taken orders to go in the past, but this was my first time ever dining in-​house. I’m regretting not going sooner! If you ever go to Kingston: Come here first! Believe me you’ll be glad you did!

Snoyposis: food good, hostess crazy, service lacking.
OK few disclaimers: we dined on 4^th of July around 7pm, kinda busy but not at capacity…
Anyway, we arrived and found ourselves standing and waiting in what felt like a «purgatory» setting, no one acknowledged us — so we waited, and waited …
Alas, an older woman who at first seemed more lost than we were, quickly came and asked «who needs a table?», «who was here first!!?». I told this person that there was 4 of us and we needed a table, anytable (inside, outside, basement, floor. We weren’t picky).
I am not exactly sure what this woman’s role was at the restaurant but I can only discribe her personality as a combination of Curella Deville /​Wicked Witch of the West. She was really disheveled and didn’t seem to fair well under pressure. She just kept saying «sir sir sir, I need to know who came first sir sir sir, I understand but I need to know who came first. Strange is all I can say to discribe the interaction.
Not for nothing, but this place doesn’t even accept reservations. Therefore, all any hostess has to do is find an open table and fill it (and there were plenty of available tables) Anyway, we finally ended up sitting down.
As for the service, I am pretty sure our server dubbed as a magician because she kept disappearing. Not only that, the bus boy pulled plastic bags out of his apron a few times for us, which was entertaining.
Overall, the food was good but the experience was unique.

I have to take umbrage with the reviewers dissing of Merle, one of Kingston’s treasures.
We have been coming to Armadillo since the beginning and we are serious foodies and Armadillo consistently delivers excellent food and service. Merle has loved our kids as baby’s infants, teenagers and grownups during that time and they have always felt taken care of. Now that we run a B&B up the hill from Armadillo we are lucky to have a fantastic restaurant to send our guests to, especially guests with pets who are allowed to eat on the patio with their dogs.

After living in Los Angles for a while, we moved to Kingston and we search for some good Mexican food. Nothing was hitting the spot, but Armadillo scratched the itch. First off just the chips and salsa are amazing, rarely do we finish off a basket of chips, here I couldn’t get enough. One is spicy the other is cool and based off green tomatoes. The entrees are good too. Plenty of flavor, big portions, decent prices. Good variety too. Seems like decent quality as well. Tasty, although small, margaritas.
There are a few negatives, The place is small, and to make it worse it seems like they have a hard time figuring out how to seat people, we’ve had to wait twice when there were open tables, which they eventually sat us at 10 minutes later. Service is a little slow but overall fairly friendly.

I agree with other reviewers, the owner (persnickety/​crotchety older 50 – 60 year old woman) is not pleasant, extremely rude and is fortunate to have such amazing souls who work for her.
Went here this past Saturday, with a fairly large group of people who’s birthday was the main reason why we were going out which we told the hostess/​owner.
The bartender rocked, made excellent drinks, was very attentive and knowledgable. We got seated out back which was a lovely private spot for a large party.
The Spanish guy that makes the dip and was absolutely amazing he kept checking on us which I asked him if he was the owner and this woman (hostess) butts in says your looking at the owner rudely. Oooook! Sorry I asked…
The food was decent, tuna sashimi tacos was to die for as an appetizer. I ended up with a shrimp pasta dish which was huge portion, the sauce was absolutely amazing. Our waitress was very attentive as well.
What I’m surprised about is the owner knew we had a big party for a birthday. She never sent a desert to the birthday guy which I’ve been in the restaurant world it’s just what you do. This woman obviously knows crap about customer service and being a good host.
Food, service was great minus the owner! If she was more pleasant her establishment might just get ⁴⁄₅ stars from me. Life is too short lady to be bitter!

Cute place with a bright and festive décor. The appetizers were good– we ordered guacamole and cheese dip. The waiter made sure we had an almost constant supply of tortilla chips, which were crisp and warm, not salty and not greasy.
The dips and little cups of olives, tomatoes etc were a nice deviation from the salsa Mexican places usually serve. The 2 sauces they served in place of salsa were equally good– the flavors of each complimented each other.
The entrees were not the best but they were good… albeit different from other Mexican food I’ve had. I ordered shrimp fajitas– the shrimp were jumbo and nicely cooked, served with red onions and a couple of pepper strips. The tortillas for the fajitas were hot and thin, perfect if you ask me. They had a hint of corn flavor but for the most part were flour tortillas. My boyfriend had an enchilada, which he was just ok with — it was served in a red sauce.
Great service! The waitstaff was patient and attentive to our party of 6– not once did we have to look for them. Sodas were refilled almost as soon as the glasses were empty, food was served hot and staff was friendly.
I have no complaints and would go back, mostly because of the laid back vibe, the awesome service and the appetizers. 3 stars for the food, the extra star is for the service.