The Knock Knocks It Out of the Park
WESTPORT - That the Knock, a sexy “speakeasy” serving sophisticated drinks and food, is across the street from the Essex County Fairgrounds is a bit incongruous. The Mill, the gallery/performance space/cultural hub that houses the restaurant, has a big-city vibe. And while the fairgrounds lie dormant most of the year, there’s always something going on at The Mill. Not only is it a free art museum featuring rooms filled with contemporary art as well as site-specific installations, but it’s also an intimate performance space that attracts world-class performers. On any given weekend, there may be a piano concert, a funk band, a comedy show, or even a trumpet performance by owner and renowned jazz musician Taylor Haskins, who along with his wife, Catherine Ross Haskins, a visual artist, created this upstate oasis.
Why Westport? In 2010, the year their son was born, the couple bought a lakeside home here as a respite from the city and soon became enmeshed in the community, hosting a radio show on North Country Public Radio and spearheading outdoor summer musical events. A huge abandoned flour mill on Main Street caught their eye, and after three years of refurbishing it with the help of local contractors, The Mill opened in the summer of 2024.
You enter the speakeasy through this gorgeous green-lit bar.
Which brings us to The Knock. While not exactly hidden—their website calls it “The Worst-Kept Secret in Town”—you do need to wander inside the building a bit to find it. That’s a good thing. After you enter the front door, you can take in the paintings hanging in the rooms off the main hall. Then, if you find yourself in a huge room with a vaulted ceiling, wood beams, and sculptures, you have gone too far. A helpful sign will point you back to where you need to go—a hallway off the main hall brings you around a corner and to the door. And, no, you don’t have to knock.
Through that door you’ll find a sleek, green-lit clubby bar that looks more like NYC than ADK. Past the bar are small dining tables in the bar as well as in the high-ceilinged cabaret space.
The restaurant serves main courses only on non-performance nights or well before showtime. (During shows, patrons can order drinks and smaller plates using a QR code to be delivered to their table.) On the Thursday night we went for dinner, there was no performance, so we were able to experience the full menu.
The menu at The Knock is plant-based, something we knew going in. What was a bit surprising to us omnivores was just how delicious it all sounded. It made ordering hard as we wanted to try everything. And that included the signature drinks aka Knocktails.
Since it was spring and we had seen ramps on an earlier hike, we had to get the You Dirty Ramp ($16). A take on a martini, its aroma, despite being made with “garlic’s very polite cousin” was strong, but the drink itself, which includes vermouth, celery bitters, and lemon was easy to love. Since my daughter shares the name, I had to get Sadie’s Shiftie, also ($16) and named for a former Knock bartender. Tequila-based with a mezcal rinse, a peppercorn simple syrup, and (new to me) mole bitters, it drank smoother than it might sound. Consider me a fan. We also tried the Knock-A-Rita, and while the first two drinks knocked it out of the park (pun intended), the Cointreau in this take on a margarita felt a bit heavy-handed making the drink feel not quite as refreshing as we like, though it might be just right for others. There are also curated wines by the glass ($12-$16), beer on tap and in cans, ($5-$7), and ciders and soft drinks.
The small food menu reads mostly Italian (arancini, gnocchi, risotto), with some more Mediterranean options like tapenade and muhammara - a smoky roasted red pepper dip that gets a bit of tang from pomegranate molasses.
To start, we went with Knock Blocks ($14). Our server, Elise, said that the snack, cracker-like cubes made with Dutch Knuckle cheese (from Sugar House Creamery in Upper Jay), reminded her of Cheez-Its. Now I love Cheez-Its, but these rich, nutty bites were fresher, thicker, lighter, and toastier. We made quick work of them.
We also ordered something from the “Pizza al Taglio” section of the menu. (Because I had to look it up myself, I’ll share that “al taglio” means “by the slice” and refers to a specific Roman-style street-food pizza with a super light crust sold, you guessed it, by the slice.)
At The Knock, they serve two slices for $7. I love this idea because it allows you to easily share and try different topping options, which on the night we were there included mushrooms, pomodoro, a “pepperoni“ made with vegan koji, and BBQ “Fork” made with fork pulled mushrooms and barbecue sauce. We went with a different mushroom pizza. Called the Funghi, it was topped with flavorful mushrooms cooked to tender perfection plus more of that Dutch Knuckle (melty this time), roasted garlic, rosemary, and a drizzle of truffle oil.
Crisp, cheese Knock Blocks and a mushroom pizza al taglio made for a great start.
Having prior to this meal not heard of al taglio pizza, I’m now a fan. The crust tastes like a cross between focaccia and puff pastry: thin and crisp but retaining a welcome chew. Large umami-packed mushrooms made me ponder why one would ever want actual meat on their pie.
For our main course, we were torn between sharing the gnocchi, which comes with a choice of three sauces ($20-$25) or the Cacio e Pepe Cannellini Pastina ($18). We opted for the latter because we had never had anything like it before. Like the classic pasta dish, it features a parmesan-peppercorn sauce but uses it to bathe a mix of white beans and tiny pasta dots. To go with the beans we ordered faux meatballs called Knock Balls. With a name like that, how could one not?
A delicious mezcal cocktail and a peek at the performance space.
Next came another surprise. Our main meal was presented to us by none other than the owners Catherine and Taylor. Unbeknownst to us at the time, Taylor also happens to be the executive chef. (How can so much talent be bestowed on just one person?) Taylor let us know that they make all the food from scratch in the venue’s tiny kitchen and gave us the simple reason for his plant-based approach: “I’ve been vegetarian since I was 19.”
Like so many ADK restaurant owners, the Haskins use as many local ingredients as possible, going so far as to call them hyper-local. They’re not exaggerating: The microgreens served with our beans came from our server Elise’s own farm, Loamy Home, just down the road.
The bean and pasta dish, topped with wispy grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and drizzled with ample olive oil, got better with each bite. The pepper let its presence be known but did not overwhelm, and the aforementioned greens kept it from being monotonous. The serving size was so ample, we not only shared it but also took some home (and made a fine breakfast of it the next day paired with poached eggs and toast). If it were my only dish of the night, it might have gotten a bit boring, but shared and enjoyed with our snacks, it was sheer perfection.
I was afraid the Knock Balls, made with lentils, mushrooms, and walnuts and served with marinara, would feel like one of those virtuous but stodgy veg dishes from the ‘70s. But it was much more refined, and tasty, too. In fact, my only beef with it (sorry about another pun) was the word “meatballs” in the menu’s description of it. The food here is so good it does not need to call meat to mind.
We were too full to try the one dessert offered that night, a lemon olive oil cake with whipped cream labeled as both dairy free and gluten free. In the past, those designations might have put me off, as most gluten-free desserts I’ve tried never quite pass muster. But because I trust this kitchen, I will definitely give dessert a try next time I visit.
Which will be soon.
And we’ll catch a show, too.
GOOD TO KNOW
The Knock is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 5 p.m. until, according to their website, “everyone breezes the joint!”
The Knock takes dinner reservations on non-show nights and walk-ins are welcome. If you can’t make a reservation, it’s likely because there is a show scheduled.
During warm weather, there is an option to eat outside on The Mill’s deck and you can specify inside or outside on your reservation.
6679 Main Street, Westport, NY
Learn more about the art, music, and events featured at The Mill here.
May 2026