REVIEW: Pez Shines As the Coastal Mexican Successor to Rivertown Tavern
PEZ, HUDSON
Pez, 731 Warren Street, Inside Rivertown Lodge, Hudson, NY 12534 | rivertownlodge.com | IG: @pezhudson
REVIEW: As a rule, I don’t go to restaurant first night openings, or first week, or family and friends. New restaurants need time to find their feet and iron out the kinks, to mix my metaphors. But, I’ll make an exception when it’s a hotly anticipated opening involving a chef so seasoned and sure-footed you know they’ll crush it straight out of the gate. Further down Warren Street, Haema Hospitality recently proved the point: After pop ups all over the Hudson Valley, putting roots down in the former Bar Bene space felt like a formality: Dishes executed with ease; the environment simplifying operations for a team used to an off-site prep kitchen and schlepping everything from point A to point B.
Which brings us to Pez led by 3-time James Beard-nominated Chef Éfrén Hérnàndez. Pez means Fish in Spanish, useful intel for anyone looking for beef or pork. You won’t find it here. Instead, Pez is a love letter to mariscos Mexicanos using sustainable East Coast seafood influenced by Mexico’s coastal cuisine.
After waiting through the inevitable delays, the official opening last Thursday—with Pez seamlessly picking up where Rivertown Tavern left off after 10 years in the same spot—sent me to Resy for a last minute 9:15 p.m. table on opening night.
Was I influenced by the Pez plates on Instagram? Yes. Teasers of precision techniques and delicate pairings in combinations such as “royal red shrimp aguachile pressed in a tortilla press like carpaccio and overlaid with rhubarb and ginger.” By the time I arrived, they were out of the Royal red shrimp and happily subbing in blue, thinly sliced in indigo contrast to thin sheets of pink rhubarb, shaved ginger and tiny white flowers. Was this love?
🫒 Although it’s fair to call this an early look, here’s our robust takeaway.
The vibe: Cozy tucked out of sight restaurant, more intimate bar than tavern. Tables and booths hunkered around a central bar; patio seating for warm nights.
We like it for: Well, just about everything. The menu is divided into cold plates (frio), salads and veg, and warm plates (caliente).
Must try dishes: Razor clam ceviche, aguachile, grilled Dayboat scallops served in their shell + the phenomenally plump Bangs Island mussels with English peas, Oaxacan masa dumplings (chochoyote), and a kick from chileatole, a spicy thick Mexican soup. Add something refreshing from the salad/veg section (we had crisp sugar snap peas over whipped queso fresco with pistachio salsa macha verde.)
Don’t skip dessert! While you could have kombu ice cream or green strawberry sorbet, just go all in on the “Jericalla, Strawberry & Rhubarb, Cascabel Ganache, Buñuelo de Cardamom.” Let me decode it: Jericalla, a traditional Jaliscan Mexican custard dessert somewhere between flan and crème brûlée is a thick, jiggy, creamy base, cut with the tartness of strawberry-rhubarb, and a schmear of Cascabel chili ganache clinging to the edge of the bowl to be swabbed in for spicy-sweetness, and the whole lot topped with a thin, crispy, deep-fried, sugar-dusted and cardamom-infused Mexican pastry (buñuelo.) Did I sell you on this? I woke up thinking about the next morning.
Good to know: Although these are small plates by American standards, (and I watched one couple order every dish in twos so they didn’t have to share,) we found that five or six plates between the two of us left us pleasantly full with room for dessert.
Drinks: With a cocktail list by mixologist and author, Natasha David, and an emphasis on tequila and and Mexican white spirits like raicilla and sotol, you won’t go wrong with any pick. Standouts are ‘Loose Lips’ (blanco tequila, sotol, yellow Genepi, cucumber lime, pineapple and jalapeno) and ‘Husker Du’ (white and Oaxacan rum, Flor de Azul, Boue Curacao, lime.) One surprise is that some of the cocktails are served in very large glasses capable of holding plenty of pebble ice, but these are filling volume drinks and, left unattended while you eat, dilute a little too fast. But there’s a fun list of wines by the glass, including Greek and Mexican picks.
Style: Rivertown’s “tavern” has always been cleverly hidden out of sight, and helped by its low wooden ceiling, feels small enough to be a secret lounge and cozy enough to be casual. But now the Farrow and Ball blue paint has been swapped for a glossy ocean green walls, brass wall scones spilling just enough light, earthenware bowls lending rustic notes or fluted or ice filled plates forming a component of each dish. And there’s even style in small details like the orb lights over the bar, and Agua de Piedra, Mexican sparkling water, served instead of San Pellegrino or Saratoga Water brands.
Sound: The Pez playlist zips around Mexican-American tracks from Mexican pop to Baja Californian, Tejano with tracks spanning genres and eras from Patsy Cline “Strange” to The Strokes “ Call It Fate, Call It Karma,” Freddy Fender “Ya Me Voy (Ain’t That A Shame?)” + Hermanos Martinez Gill “Cha Cha Linda.”
Inside/outside? Slim cozy space, with a decent size patio.
Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday to Monday; bar until 11 p.m.
Parking: Side hotel parking lot or street.
Nearby: Warren Street lies before you, but there are excellent options on the side streets too. On Warren Street (1.) Haema (2.) Saint Florian (3.) Via Cassia (4.) Banque (5.) La Mision Mexican (6.) Little Rico (vegan) (7.) Culture Cream (ice cream) (8.) La Perche (9.) The Maker Hotel (3 concepts: cafe, lounge + Serre restaurant) (10.) Swoon. | Off Warren Street: (11. ) Cafe Mutton + Merkin (same owners, connected building) (12.) Lil Deb’s Oasis (until October 2026) (13.) The Hereafter (14.) Wm. Farmer & Sons (15.) Mr. Cat’s Brasserie (16.) Yummy Kitchen in the Cannonball Factory (17.) Ambos in the Pocketbook Hotel… and more. You gotta walk the strip.
