Skip the plane ride and be transported to New Orleans when you walk the doors of Barbue Bar, a newly opened destination for Cajun cuisine and cocktails in Poughkeepsie from the team behind Buns Burger. The space, in the Eastdale Village complex, feels pulled straight from the French Quarter—from the ever-lit gas lamps on the front porch and the checkerboard tiled floors to the high-backed banquettes and brass fixtures, including alligator door pulls.
The menu features Louisiana classics like fried shrimp po boys, chicken and andouille gumbo, and boudin balls. There are also creative twists on Cajun flavors. For instance, the okra fries are served crispy with touches of lime and cayenne and a buttermilk dipping sauce. The linguine comes with blue crab, chorizo, jalapeño, and parmesan. And check the board for the daily selection of fresh oysters, served with a mignonette and don’t forget the hot sauce.
Plates are meant to be passed around and shared, perfect for pairing with a cocktail. New Orleans classics include the sazerac, daiquiri, Vieux Carré and Pimm’s cup. Bartender Alexander Harvey has also stirred up a selection of creative concoctions. One of his current favorites is the Coffin Nail, which he describes as “a split-base mixture of blended Scotch, Islay single malt Scotch and joven mezcal, with a touch of coffee liquor, nutmeg syrup and Turkish tobacco bitters.”
The bistro’s name Barbue Bar, a playful tongue-twister, is inspired by one of the well-loved critters of the bayou. “Barbue” is the French-Cajun word for catfish. “We were looking for a fun name, because that’s what Louisiana and New Orleans are all about—having a good time,” says Ryan Viator, who co-owns the place with Sean Weeks, the team behind Buns Burgers.
Barbue Bar is a long-time ambition for Viator, who was born and raised in New Iberia, Louisiana, attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and spent a stint in New Orleans. “It represents my home, my family, and my culture,” he says. “I want to make them proud.”
Viator, who now lives in Lake Katrine, grew up stirring the roux in the kitchen alongside his mother Gretchen and grandmother Goldie, grilling outside with his father and uncles and heading to crawfish boils. In Louisiana, he says, “Food is a big thing. Food is around everything you do and everywhere you go.”
And even though he majored in kinesiology, became a physical therapist, and contemplated medical school, Viator also developed a passion for cooking and an interest in the restaurant business. In college, he began waiting tables, took on bartending, and eventually transitioned to the kitchen.
Out of his warring interests, eventually, the restaurant world won. Viator decided to head to the Culinary Institute of America in 2006 and soon fell in love with the Hudson Valley. “I could see the potential here,” he says. “This is where people were coming for food. There were a lot of opportunities.”
After graduating, Viator became chef de cuisine at New World Home Cooking in Saugerties, followed by market and catering executive chef at Gigi's Trattoria in Rhinebeck in 2010, and then executive chef at Boitson's in Kingston in 2012.
He almost let go of his aspiration to have a restaurant of his own. “That’s when Sean came in,” he recalls. Sean Weeks, who lives just outside of Kingston, moved to Saugerties at age 12. He was about 21-years old when he took a job cooking at a town-favorite Miss Lucy’s Kitchen. Viator’s future wife Sarah started working there a few months earlier—and ended up buying the establishment in 2020.
When Weeks opened a cross fit gym, Kingston Athletics, Sarah joined. “And they eventually dragged me into it,” Viator recalls. It didn’t take long for Weeks and Viator to become fast friends. One day, Weeks asked, “Have you ever thought about owning a restaurant?” Viator admitted that it had been his plan but was shelved for now. “Every few weeks, he would check back in with me,” Viator recalls. “And he asked, ‘Would you like to do something together?’”
Finally, Viator agreed. He described his dream restaurant would harken back to his Louisiana roots, with Cajun food and top-notch cocktails. “But we couldn’t find a good space for it,” Viator says. Then opportunity knocked. A member at Weeks’ gym had a property available in Rhinebeck with a smaller footprint. “It was like a perfect storm,” Weeks says.
Since the place was too small to work for the original plan, Viator and Weeks went back to the drawing board. “Well, what could we do with this space?” they pondered. Viator took it up with his children, who were in middle and high school at the time. “We want a place to hang out, get a burger and a milkshake,” they told him.
Buns Burgers was born. “It was immediately successful,” Weeks says. “We were very fortunate.” The Rhinebeck location opened in 2016, Saugerties followed the next year, and Kingston launched in 2020.
A fourth location in Poughkeepsie, which fired up its grills this February, resulted after Weeks and Viator were approached by multi-use development Eastdale Village. Founder and CEO Joseph Kirchhoff explains, “After meeting Ryan and Sean, we told them we were still looking for the right operator for a cocktail bar/lounge.” Viator and Weeks considered whether it was the right space and the right time for their other concept, “the one we thought about years ago.”
The duo returned with a concept for a building that would house both Buns Burgers and a New Orleans-inspired lounge. “We were thrilled,” Kirchhoff says. “From the cocktails to the Cajun fare to the impressive interior and exterior, they knocked the concept out of the park, and we are so proud to have them with us.”
Maverick and Muse developed the design with tall windows, breezy ceiling fans, soft tones and brass details. Viator and Weeks worked on the interior build out, as they had done with all of the Buns Burgers locations. They also created a patio complete with a fire pit. “We just wanted it to feel inviting,” Viator says. “It’s a place where you can hang out—for as long as you want.”
Barbue officially opened on August 14. Viator describes the menu as an elevated take on Cajun food with a Hudson Valley twist, saying “It’s an homage to my old home—and my new one.”
Weeks adds, “Ryan has wanted to do this for a long time. It’s been like a snowball effect. There’s a lot of momentum.” Viator calls it a 20-year journey—a concept that formed before he entered culinary school. “It’s a little surreal,” he says of actually walking into the restaurant. You have to stop back and appreciate that it’s really here. I don’t think it’s 100 percent sunk in yet. This is my lifelong dream—and it’s really just starting for me.”
Already plans are in the works for future events, including a Mardi Gras party. “We have a lot of ideas,” Viator says. “It’s just a matter of bringing them to life.”
