Le Express Bistro & Bar

I got got steak au poive, has to send it back twice, overcooked the first time, undercooked the second. Got a smaller and obviously sub par cut of meat, as well as underdone again the third time. Told the waitress (who did a very nice job) it was fine because I was too hungry to wait for a third go around.
My girlfriend’s duck breast was very good. Steer away from the steak though.

Been to Le Express a few times now over the past couple years. The food is always on point and we leave wondering why we don’t make it a more frequent occurrence.

I love le express. Obviously pricey but the atmosphere is very smart casual and comfortable to be in. This is my special occasion spot and have yet to disappoint me. The only thing that would keep this from 5 full stars is the price tag and sometimes it is difficult to get a table.

The food here is lovely. Classic French cuisine that is on par with Brasserie, or Café Les Baux; unfortunately the service doesn’t compete with either. Great portion sizes, good bottles of wine (try the Chianti) and nice desserts create a well rounded experience.

This place is a mixed bag. It bills itself as a French bistro but the menu includes a fair number of items that are not really French.
We had dinner as a group of 6 and had a good sampling of different entrees. The best items seemed to include Croque Pepin, Sphagetti alla Chitarra with Scampi Sauce, and Pan Seared Sea Scallops.
On the downside — the Grilled Hanger Steak and Croque Monsieur were lacking, both judged to be too salty.
Service was only OK. insufficient water refills — especially with the salty dishes. Waitress did offer and provide a alternative dish when the overly salty hanger steak was mentioned — but she waited far too long to check on how our meal was going so our dining experience suffered.

Great dinner and great service tonight! The branzino with asparagus, fingerling potatoes and cherry tomatoes was deliciously fresh and tasty. Can’t say enough of the osso bucco served with garlic mash potatoes. Thursday wine bottles are half price, who can ask for anything more?

4 years down the road, Le Express has earned an additional star. The food is on par with the better French places we have in the area — the equal of Café Le Baux in Millbrook. Let’s say a notch below Le Petit Bistro in Rhinebeck, but priced accordingly. Competes favorably with Brasserie 292 (which, to be honest, has been spotty since the ownership change.)
Service is attentive but not overbearing. The space is cozy and decorated very nicely.
For mid– to upper-​range French Bistro dining in the area, it’s an excellent choice. Did I mention the food coming out of the kitchen is terrific? It is!
Some day I’m going to figure out how I can get myself a copy of their ubercool zebra painting, too.

Dinner was fabulous! We enjoyed escargot, a special salad and a special chicken. We also had great coctails! I highly recommend eating here!

The food was good but the service was sub-​par. We had to repeatedly ask for water and silverware. The waitresses did not know who ordered which meal and we had to remind them with the appetizers, entrees, and desserts. The host never came by to greet our very large party and the food was a bit on the pricey side, with most entrees in the $ 28 range. This is Poughkeepsie and a strip mall at that. There was an upcharge on my cocktail due to the premium liquor yet the waitress had asked whether I had wanted premium liquor and I had refused. It seems that the wait staff needs some hands on training and observation by the owner. Unfortunately, the owner was busy making drinks and not supervising the house.

Rarely do I feel compelled to say something negative about a restaurant but this one still in on my mind several days later. As a local food connoisseur anytime I hear of something new or buzz worthy I am excited to check it out. This was my first stop here. overall our service was just all over the place. While the women were delightful there were three different servers. This created a lot of confusion on both ends. In addition two out of three starters were just not edible. Both the octopus and bisque were so heavily salted. I can’t quite understand how a dish can leave a kitchen without being tasted. Had the bisque been reviewed there’s no way an experienced chef would have served something so displeasing. Entrée wise I ordered the crispy pheasant. This was literally like eating saw dust. The only positive thing about my experience was the glass of wine. I would not suggest eating here.

I give this restaurant 5 stars for the area. The food is almost always perfectly prepared. I have had many things on the menu and everything is wonderful — fresh and excellent — soup to deserts. The staff has always been polite and pleasant, but not overwhelmingly intrusive. An excellent bargain for your money and they keep it fresh and seasonal so you can go as many times as you like in a month and never get bored. Although they do not have a children’s menu, they are family friendly as there are plenty of things on the menu for my children to enjoy — and they feel more grown up selecting from a standard menu. Love this place and always look forward to eating here.

Best restaurant in the Hudson Valley. Especially for the quality and price. Amazing food, excellent service and fantastic wine list. You have to try this restaurant if you’re in the area or looking for a nice night out.

We decided to eat here based on the raving reviews and on Friday night during dinner time there were only 2 tables occupied including us. On our way to the bathroom we saw no chef but we saw one kitchen helper during prime business our, we should have left when we saw this. We ordered 3 daily specials: fish, chicken, and shrimp. It looked like the purpose of their daily special was to find a use for spoiled and garbaged ingredients. Let me just say we ALL got FOOD POISONING!

All i can say about the food there is Fresh Fresh Fresh ! The taste the ambiance and the service was 5 stars !

Really wonderful little spot slightly off the main trafficked areas in Wappingers. It has a lovely ambiance and the accent on the staff only helps to make the setting!
The food here certainly has a french theme as it’s name would suggest and it’s plates are robust with flavor. I always enjoy a nice selection on and off the menu and this spot offered both. The menu was slightly larger than I would have expected given its genre but not overwhelming. For those that have read any of my other reviews you would know it’s the small touches that impress me the most; here, for example, the softened and salted butter served with the warmed bread… nice! The food was well presented, with bright seasonal colors. Overall very enjoyable and none of the flavors were over done, just well prepared and delicious!
Parking is easy in the small retail strip it’s in but once inside you forget you are in a retail setting with the soft thematic lighting and frosted windows. Lots if hard wood is a classy theme around the restaurant but doesn’t do well for the acoustics; I imagine when it’s busy it could be a little boisterous (though not obnoxious). The look and feel is consistent with the experience you are going to have, I would say.
I would recommend this for casual classy meal or a nice evening with a significant other.

Great food, a bit inconsistent. The service is the same. I wouldn’t call it all French cuisine. It’s more a mix of French and American. The steak is great, I was a bit disappointed in the onion soup. Don’t be put off by the location in a strip mall. It’s way better than that

Simply put, the best and most incredible food in the Hudson Valley. The food is varied and spectacular– the specials are like you’re eating at a 5 star restaurant but without the fanfare and snobbery. The wine list and liquor is incredible and finessed. We would eat here everyday if it were feasible! And the owner is charming and lovely!!! In love with this place!
The best $ 9 Malbec you’ve ever had and locally sourced everything, make it a point to stop here.

I have been hearing excellent things about Le’Express for a while now, and have been wanting very badly to have a romantic dinner with my hubs here. Finally, for my 31^st birthday last month, I decided to make dinner at Le’Express my birthday meal. I very rarely drink so I wanted to have a special cocktail for my birthday. I had the special fig cocktail and a pineapple cocktail and they were both very well made. Great flavor, quite strong, great bang for your buck. That was great. The escargot was also good — nothing to write home about, but good.
I was incredibly disappointed at the serving of Beef Bourguignon that I received. It was restaurant week, and I used to believe in the conspiracy theory that restaurant week offerings are subpar to the standard, full price fare. I wanted to shake that prejudice going into this meal, but now I believe it more than ever. There were no more than 4 or 5 bites on my plate of beef bourguignon. This was unacceptable compared to other french restaurants I’ve been to when the delicious stew that this is has been given the respect of being served in a full bowl. Also, it was quite dry and in need of sauce. It wasn’t bad, but the lack of classic flavor and the obvious stiff in serving size for the price was quite irritating.
The lava cake was also a travesty of sorts… a lava cake that doesn’t ooze is not a lava cake. It is a chocolately cake… sorry to be super picky, but I do love me a good lava cake. Even with RW prices… I am sorry to say that I do not think I will be back. Beautiful ambiance and décor, but the food does not match the reputation it has.

I came all the way from LA to NY for a little vacation. Also, visit my old friends in upstate. Drove by the area so I decided to give this place a try. 2 of us finished 3 appetizers and 3 entrees. That basically tells u how good this place is. French onion soup, seared octopus salad, pei mussels, pan seared scallops, duck breast and ribeye steak. They’re so good and i think even better than alot of high end restaurants in LA. Price is also much more affordable compare to LA. I’ll be back for sure next time i visit upstate NY again

This is my second vist here, but first review. The first time I dined here was pretty close to when they first opened and there are always little things that need to be tweaked. Food was a bit inconsistant and underseasoned, but I knew I liked it enough to give them another try.
My second visit was about 10 months later and things have improved — some.
The noise level was a problem before and it looks like that has been addressed by separating the bar area from dining area with glass and wood partitions which was a smart move.
The food is good, but I wouldn’t say outstanding. The Arugula and Strawberry Salad was very fresh and tasty. Just the right amount of dressing. My Croque Pepin sandwich with smoked chicken, quail eggs and black truffles was delicious, but the fries that came with it were quite soggy and limp. Good fries are hard to resist and I often find myself mindlessly eating them when they’re good — these I had no problem leaving untouched.
My dining companion and I ordered two desserts to share — chocolate lava cake and a banana crêpe. The lava cake was fabulous, fresh out of the over hot and gooey — just like it should be. The crêpe was too thick, rubbery and was really just rolled around a whole banana, a strange presentation which made it rather difficult to eat.
Service at lunch with only a few other diners in the place was painfully slow, but friendly.
So for me it’s hit or miss. I think this will be one of those places where I’ll need to decide what the best things are on the menu and just stick to those favorites.