Lovely place for afternoon tea! The 3 tier tea for $24 comes with choice of sandwich, salad or…read moresoup, and scone. The tea is not included. There is so much variety of teas from all over the world. You can smell the teas from the selection before choosing. Love the presentation and the teacups! The same afternoon tea in NYC would've cost double. Will definitely be back at one of their 4 locations upstate! Absolute joy. The server was also very nice and attentive!

Every time I'm in Troy I NEED to come to this place! The people inside are always so friendly and…read moredown for a polite chat! Their lobster bisque is to die for, and they always have some kind of seasonal tea that catches my eye. They even have options for accommodating allergies or diet preferences! The music and decor is also super cozy and it makes me feel like I'm in a warm modern loft! Overall a 10/10!

WARNING: when getting food ask for rice. We were very sad :(…read more I got the chicken w/ garlic sauce. Not very yummy. Maybe the rice would have helped. We also got the sesame tofu, that was delicious. And that's on period. We really wanted rice :(

Run down take out with typical Chinese American dishes as well as some authentic Taiwanese dishes…read more As a Chinese American I must say that the Taiwanese dishes are indeed authentic and very tasty. I was also nicely surprised by the pork belly gua bao, which is a generous slice of marinated pork belly and veggies and special sauce on a little steamed bun. We're keeping the menu for the next time we're in town.

Food was outstanding, but small portions. Service was good…read more Sweet little place we will go back to. Ty

Cute Korean food restaurant in Troy! There's a little shop inside at the counter selling bowls,…read morechopsticks, and Korean snacks. You place your food at the counter and your orders are brought to your table. We both ordered the seafood tofu stews and the mandoo appetizer to share. For some reason our orders took a long time. Others who came in after us got their orders before us too! The tofu stew was good but a bit disappointing in the lack of seafood in the dish. Seems like it was just dried seafood bits that were added to give the stew flavor. The Mandoo dumplings were fried and they came with a dumpling sauce. They were pretty good and we enjoyed those.

We wanted Thai food when we were in Troy and decided to go to this restaurant because of the good…read morereviews. We were greeted upon entering and seated right away. We were there for lunch on a weekend and it was not busy at all. Looks to be a family run business. Service was good with only the lady and her daughter working the front. We ordered the Thai tea and it was a bit too sweet. The Tom Yum noodle soup was good but also a bit on the sweet side compared to what I've had in other restaurants. But I do like it though. Tastes more like the Vietnamese version. The chicken curry puffs were good with the sweet and sour dipping sauce. Though a bit pricey with only 3 puffs for $8. Also curry flavor could have been a bit stronger. We will have to go back to try more off their menu. We would have liked to order the Mango and sticky rice dessert too but we were too full this time.

I had made up my mind on making this my first review for 2025. However, my unplanned travel across…read morea few countries and continents caused delays. My aunt wanted me to take her to a Thai restaurant that I had taken her once in Latham NY. I told her I've found a better spot, let's go and there we were. This time we ordered a couple of items from The specials menu which included khao soi and wings to go with cherry chicken, padhai and butterfly shrimp. I would probably say this is my new go to thai spot In the capital region. They have amazing deals on the lunch specials and the food tasted better than the deals. Few tips, you can never see the specials board, but it's near the cash register. Service may be a little slower when it gets busy as there's only one person that's managing upfront. I have been satisfied with the food, service and ambience.

I've been wanting to try the vegan sandwich options at Mallos for a long time. We tried both - the…read moreeggplant and the cauliflower Reuben. Both were good. The Reuben was a little too unidimensional for my taste, because the cauliflower is fermented I think there isn't enough contrast with the sauerkraut which is really the only other ingredient. the flavor was great but the texture wasn't my favorite. The eggplant itself was amazing! I loved it. But again I think the composition of the sandwich was a little off for my taste, there was a pile of arugula that overpowered the eggplant which was star but a very small portion of the sandwich. The homemade chips were the best I've ever had and YOU SHOULD TRY!!!! Phenomenally crisp and cooked to perfection. Overall, I don't think I'd come back often because there arent a ton of vegan options and I was enthralled by them but if I was in a group with meat eaters and they wanted sandwiches I would happily tag along and get one of these options again.

I was on my way to the Korean restaurant nearby, but I stopped when I saw a cute cartoon dog eating…read morea strawberry on the window of this spot. I hopped on Yelp, saw the great reviews, took 1 minute to browse the menu, and I turned around and walked right in to Mallo's. The space is pink with black and white checkered floor. I was greeted as I walked in and they were patient while I read the menu (again). Everything sounded great but I went with the veggie sandwich but made into a wrap. They brought my food out to me on a little tray with a paper branded with the same cute dog. I loved the wrap! I'm glad I went the wrap route - it was perfect. Mozzarella, arugula, fried eggplant, olives - yummm. It was so delicious and flavorful and a big portion! I took leftovers back to my hotel and had them the next day. I'm so glad I stopped in to this spot and would definitely come back for more of their tasty food.

Very good bowl of ramen. Tasty broth, lots of noodles. I had with grilled shrimp that were nice…read more Came at a quiet time and service was fast. Pleasant, professional young man working the tables. I like it and will return when I'm on the area.

We dropped in after looking at some decent old reviews. The place was empty. Ordered 2 soup dishes…read morethe only guy who was there recommended. When the noodle soup came out, the soup was salty worse than the seawater and noodle was soggy & waterlogged. We immediately brought up the issue the soups were not edible and the guy said it's the matter of personal taste. We tried to leave and the guy bullied we have to pay for 2 soups we could not eat. He threatened he'll call police and we had to pay almost 19$ he demanded without eating any of the atrocious extremely salty inedible stuff he called the matter of personal taste. We'll not go back and do not recommend.

The stewed beef chuck, which is really beef noodle soup, was ok. Good portion size, good amount of…read morebeef and bok choy. If you get it to go, they put the noodles and stuff on a tray that sits on top of the broth, which is really cool. The broth was lacking in flavor, very bland. Their lo mein looks like it would be good, but it tasted really strange. Broccoli and beef were good though. The beef was very tender and flavorful.

I am never disappointed whenever I'm here to satisfy my Chinese comfort food cravings. This is a…read moresimple and small eatery serving up tasty dishes that you'll come back for time and again. The overall ambiance is basic and clean. However, they are serving up big and bold flavors. Service here is always friendly and fast. I especially like that they offer complimentary hot tea, and it's really appreciated on chilly days! Actually, tea is my go to whenever I'm having Asian food. I am a creature of habit and mostly order my usual. On this visit I had spicy wontons, General Tso's chicken, stewed beef chuck noodle soup and eggplant with garlic sauce. All delish and certainly enough leftovers for another meal. You've got to try it! Side note, they have an attached private parking lot next to them and that's a plus!

The ramen here is very good, flavorful & spicy levels were good for me. The pork buns are…read moredelicious, especially liked the spicy pork buns. Drinks are good, lots of sake choices - but they are sweeter than I prefer so I opted for beer & cider. It was good to have the choices. Was in a party of 9 on a Thursday night, bust but they accommodated us & the waitress was attentive & fast. Everyone was very satisfied!

Decided to come back after not visiting in probably the last 8-10 years as I was really craving a…read morebig bowl of ramen. Service was very blah. Upon entering, the girl behind the counter just stared at us. No greeting. No direction on where to sit. No smile. We assumed it was self seating so we found a booth. She came over, poured our waters, still said nothing. We had about 45 mins until the restaurant closed so I'm unsure of what the cold attitude was for, as there were still 4-5 other patrons there eating as well. My friend is a vegetarian and ordered the veggie dumplings, and I had the same but with meat. Once the plates arrived, the one set in front of me was green, and his not. I figured I would double check to make sure we had the correct ones - I didn't want him to end up eating the meat ones if it could be avoided. Sure enough, the plates were mixed up. Honestly seemed to be done purposefully because it's very clear they are 2 different orders. The texture was chewy/foamy and they also tasted like old grease. Disappointing but we still had soups to look forward to. Our ramen finally arrived and I was hoping it would be the redemption moment of the evening but it wasn't. It really lacked any depth of flavor. Again the meat was chewy instead of tender. More distracting was how we awkwardly felt rushed as the server was shutting off lights and music...again...with at least 15 mins until the kitchen closing time. She seemed annoyed we asked for to go containers. At no point did she check in with us, refill waters, or even crack any resemblance of a smile. I used to love this little spot when I was in college. It was cozy, delicious, inviting. Couldn't have had more of the opposite experience this time around! And for this reason I would not return. I will travel to Colonie for Kuma Ani for better food and MUCH better service. TLDR; this place is extremely overrated

My son had stopped here on the way to visit and based on some of the leftovers, we knew it had to…read morebe on the list. Traveling within about 5 minutes on the way to visit a good friend, and it happened to be right around lunch time, the opportunity finally came. It's a casual place, lots of 2 and 4 top tables, but what caught my eye when we went in was the cooler full of amazing side options. Then you look up and there's a beautiful oven and a dough station. This is looking great. We sat and ordered lamb kebab and doner kebab. A couple minutes later, a large (~11x17?) wooden tray appeared with a piping hot lavash bread and a plate of dill yogurt sauce. If the meal had stopped there, I would have been a happy camper. We had just had a few pieces when the kebab arrived, each with a pepper, tomato, some red cabbage, and onion. Both meats were authentic and delicious. My favorite way to eat my doner was with a bit of the bread, a bit of the dill sauce, some onion and cabbage, and a bunch of meat - a mini gyro, if you will. We took away about 1/3 of the generous portions and ordered a large mixed plate (all 10 of the sides) and baklava to take to our friend. It's a bit of a drive for us, but any time we're anywhere close, we're going to be back for sit down (if it's mealtime) or takeaway if it's not. I highly recommend you do the same.

Alibaba is probably the oldest Turkish restaurant in the Albany area, and it recently got a nice…read moreupgrade -- from the furniture to the serving plates and menus. The place feels much more modern and inviting now. Our family especially enjoys the beyti kebab, the güveç, and their pide. I haven't tried the pizza yet, but since their pide is very good, I imagine the pizza would also be solid. For me though, the real highlight at Alibaba is the mezze. In Turkish cuisine, grilled meats and kebabs are almost always enjoyed with a variety of mezze. They might technically be sides, but they're a big part of the whole experience. These days there are several Turkish kebab places in the area, but none of them offer a wide selection of fresh, house-made mezze like Alibaba does. At many places you're lucky if you find one or two options, often just a basic ezme. At Alibaba you'll find around ten different mezze and each one tastes distinct and freshly made. Every time I tell myself I'll just take a little... and somehow I end up filling a big mezze plate. Honestly, even when we grill at home, our motivation is picking up mezze from Alibaba to go with it. I'm not sure if it gets the credit it deserves, but don't skip the mezze here -- you'd be missing out. In fact, start with the mezze and figure out the rest later :))

I got a cup of drip coffee that was delicious to the last drop. (Ot h er coffeehouses fill the…read morebottom of my cup with grounds, they didnt)didn't. My co.panions had hot chocolate th topped with whipped cream. We all chose the French Toast Sticks, which cNe stacked in a hashtag pattern 3 layers high and ample amounts of whipped cream and Maple syrup for dipping. After the meal we selected a board game to play The staff is skilled and friendly, the game selection has something for everyone.

It's been six years since we were here last, and nearly everything I previously wrote is still…read morecorrect. At times it can be busy, but they do accept reservations. They seem to have expanded into the room next door and there was a book club meeting for Pride and Prejudice. It was a bit loud at times but we managed to get through. They helpfully tag games on the binding based on skill level, player count, and estimated time. It was $20 for the two of us and we were only there an hour, so it wasn't cheap. That being said, if you don't have a game library OR you just want to try new games before buying this might be a fun option.