Pass The Thyme Cafe

This is a small local café that has decent food and just awful service. There was only a few other patrons in the café for lunch and we waited around 30 minutes for our food (a burger and a sandwich). It was unacceptable and he decent food doesn’t make up for terrible service.

business is now closed. horrible food.

I feel like this place is targeting for the «city folk» found it over priced for breakfast food and the service took forever at a time when it wasn’t even busy. We will not return.

We just finished touring the National park, Van Buren home, and found this nice little café. We had a late lunch. The turkey rubin was great with meat piled high and juicy sauerkraut dribbling beautifully from the marbled rye bread. My wife had the turkey sandwich with an inch of meat. Service was quick and friendly. Will bring our friends back. OH! The double chocolate cupcakes takeout were fantastic!

This is the place where you do «slow food» — service is not hurried, plentiful GOOD food, ample time for conversation…
Do not pass up this place!!! Worth your time and very good for your stomach! :-)
I ordered the #13 omelette and added spinach to it along with short stack of pancakes, corn muffin, and vanilla supreme cupcake. I saved the muffin and cupcake for the road and ate everything else. My dining partner had the quinoa breakfast special and she couldn’t finish it. All of the food was so good — I had some of the quinoa special, too!

Best breakfast in Valatie. Great eggs Benedict and omelets. Seriously, my husband gets eggs Benedict everywhere we go and he rates this the best.
Big portions.
It’s probably busier in the summer but a great place regardless.
Will be back for sure.

Great place for breakfast and lunch in the beautiful setting of Kinderhook Village. Excellent omelettes, hardy sandwiches, award-​winning cupcakes in a homey setting.

Just the perfect place to have a tasty lunch and chat with good friends. Thanks for being just down the road. Xxxx

Went there for a Sunday breakfast and was impressed. The ambience is simple but nice; we were able to sit outside on a beautiful summer day. The servers could use some training (not a lot of smiles nor the specials mentioned to us, but kind and responsive when spoken to). The coffee was strong and the food was fantastic. And their bread! I don’t know who makes their bread, but the rye toast they served with my (very good) omelet was about the best bread I’ve ever had. I can promise you that I’m a good reference for a testimonial like that. Give it a try if you’re nearby. It is well worth it.

We really wanted to like this place! We’re staying in Kinderhook with family and there are few options within walking distance for a decent lunch. The service was fine and the inside is cute, but the food was just not good. Based on other reviews, we expected higher quality ingredients, but that did not seem to be the case. Boring sandwiches (tuna salad sandwich came with absolutely nothing on it), oddly chunky tomato bisque, American cheese, mealy tomatoes… We might have had better luck with breakfast, but I don’t think we’ll be coming back to find out.

Food was very good, above average diner style. Cute little building, nice atmosphere. I would give it a 5 for what it was, but the service gives me pause.
The two teen waiters (though I’m sure they are very nice people) were total bumps on a log. They didn’t offer to seat us, they didn’t check if we needed anything, they didn’t clear our plates, they didn’t so much as move when my son spilled his water, and they didn’t offer us a check. Yikes! Other than taking our orders and bringing our food, that was it. They otherwise stared into space or checked their phones! Come on guys, get some personality and lose the phones while at work! Beyond that, good place, I’ll return and hope for a different (or much improved) wait staff.

Go here for: Big, tasty country breakfast for $ 6.95 Outdoor seating with a view of Kinderhook’s historic village square.
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Columbia County sometimes reminds me of the old Berlin, with a culinary wall dividing the weekenders from the locals. The latter group disdains the affected sophistication of chefs who moved up from the city, while the former group rolls their eyes at the gut-​busting portions and bland tastes of the indigenous roadside diner.
And then there’s Pass The Thyme, where locals and weekenders sit down together like warring factions at the UN. With simple white tables, black Windsor chairs, and daily specials scrawled on the chalkboard, this place exudes «country» without looking like some designer was aiming for a shout-​out from Martha Stewart.
The two women who run the restaurant are clearly food lovers, and they work wonders with fresh, local ingredients. I’m always impressed with the variety of daily specials, but I come back again and again for the basics: light, fluffy scrambled eggs (I hate «scrambled» eggs that come out like an omelet); thick, crunchy bacon; and hearty wheat toast.
And don’t get me started on the breakfast potatoes. I’ve never understood the allure of a heavy starch first thing in the morning, but these are special: baby potatoes sliced wafer thin, sauteed until they’re golden brown with just the slightest crunch, and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. I’ve never left a single potato on my plate (and I’ve been known to distract my companions so I could steal from their plates, too).
The biggest drawbacks are weak coffee (I go home and brew another pot to get my RDA of caffeine) and sloooow service. On a busy weekend day, I once waited 15 minutes for a Coke and 40 additional minutes for a grilled cheese. Breakfast service is quick before 9:30 or so. After that … well, take a look at the restaurant’s name, and just remember that they warned you.

I have been frequenting Pass the Thyme since back when it was Bean’s Place. My friends and I often ride (cycle) through Kinderhook in the summers, and we fuel back up after our rides at this small, cute eating establishment. As beautiful as the rides are, the food at Pass the Thyme might be the highlight of these summer Saturdays.
I will say that you don’t necessarily go here for the service (hence the four stars — the food gets five). That is not to say that the service is bad or poor — no one is rude or unkind here — it’s simply that it is a small family-​run operation, and sometimes it seems they try to get by with too little help on the floor. Last time we were there, the server kept forgetting to give us cream with our coffee — little details like that…
Ultimately though the food is worth any small inconveniences in service. It’s healthy, clearly homemade, and delicious. I think I have tried most things on the menu with everything being equally yummy. You can’t beat a simple panini and soup (tomato bisque… mmmmm) combination. Last time we were there our panini was loaded with eggs, spinach, tomatoes, avocado, and cheese. We added the sweet to the savory by ordering a small stack of blueberry pancakes for the perfect post-​ride meal.
I highly recommend Pass the Thyme. The atmosphere is cute, small town, and a bit rustic. Love it. Not sure why we can’t have simple but very tasty and well made food like this closer to Albany, but it’s worth the trip to Kinderhook for sure.
Oh – and the one thing I haven’t tried but really, really want to – their cupcakes. Apparently their cupcakes won some kind of county award, but they are always sold out when I’m there.

A very delicious omelette breakfast and friendly service on a weekday morning. (See photo of eggs, toast, sausage.)
Food was served promptly and hot. Moderately priced.
The potatoes were cooked perfectly — medium thick slices cooked all the way through, and tasty.
The place is brighter, cleaner & cheerier than I had imagined from the outside.
It’s a family business and it’s clear they ‘re all pulling together!

Such a delicious, friendly family place! We really appreciated their ability to accommodate 8 people in a small place. The food is healthy and fresh, and the service was great. Thanks to Tommy who was a good sport dealing with a gaggle of 8 girls!

We had a lovely lunch here today. The Curry Sweet Potato soup was delicious, beautifully seasoned and made without dairy. I had a breakfast burrito and my husband had the breakfast omlette. We both enjoyed our meals. He had toast with his omlette and the bread was delicious! The coffee was excellent. The service was very good. We will be back soon. (We liked the place when it was Bean’s Café too and we were sorry to see them close. We welcome Thyme Café).