Love the food, service and ambiance. They do a wonderful job. This is great for a cute date or…read moredinner and drinks with friends. This is one of the best brunch spots in the Capital Region!! Whatever you do, dont forget to order a cocktail (Mermaid Tears is my fav) The photos are from my last visit. We went on Mother's Day with no reservation and they still found seating for us. The servers are always knowledgeable about the menu and the food tastes so fresh. It's hard to choose what to eat when I go because the whole menu is so good!!

Impressed with the vibrant crowd on a warm weeknight, when all but one outdoor table was occupied…read moreand about 75% of capacity inside. As I waited for the hostess she was clearly overwhelmed and couldn't eek out a smile to any of the people she greeted. In the lively restaurant, a few tables of girls-night out, birthday dinners, couples both young & old, bar seating with the World Cup on TV. Our server was very pleasant. The food was good, by Albany standards, heavy on the butter, salt and cream. It wasn't bad but for me they could pull back on the richness and let the herbs/mushrooms/fish/etc shine through. 2 out of the 3 us intentionally only ate half our portions, planning to eat the rest "tomorrow" and told the server we wanted to box them togo. She offered to do that for us, while we were happily chatting, sipping the rest of our wine. When the boxes didn't reappear, the server apologized that someone threw the boxes away. It was disappointing, especially when we paid $25-28 dollars for our plates of pasta. Based on the overworked hostess and server, management needs to adjust their staffing to insure a better customer experience. When they toss out leftovers, not just a single bite, but huge plate of food, it would seem appropriate to provide a "peace offering" perhaps put a small dessert togo or certificate for a free appetizer on a future visit. If I was local I'd probably return.

Wow! We had a great experience at the Delaware! The ambiance is excellent. It's a moody vibe with…read moreforest wallpaper and hanging air plant planters with candles in them hung from the ceiling by string (I was impressed they have to turn each of the candles on every night!). The food and cocktails were delicious! We had a Nigroni and Blackberry Basil drink. The Nigroni was blended well, smoky and a good quality. The Blackberry Basil drink was also delicious, which says something as I'm a picky cocktail drinker! I ordered the bucatini which was flavorful with specialty mushrooms and whipped feta. The description slightly varied from what I received as I didn't see any of the nuts described but it was so good I'll overlook it. My husband had a buttery bass which he enjoyed. Our chocolate cake was rich and the perfect size for a sweet ending. Waiter was attentive and friendly. Overall highly recommend and thought the value was on par for our area. Also bonus points for cardboard takeout containers. I hate plastic and styrofoam.

For some reason, a lot of my local Yelp searches didn't include The Delaware, which was just wrong…read more Now that I've been there for dinner, that's no longer a concern. This restaurant has a lot of things going for it which appeal to me. They do need to clean up their web information, and with that, the associated Yelp information. Both list the weeknight opening time as 5pm, and yet in different spots, they list a weekday happy hour starting at 4pm. Other snippets of conversation I overheard imply they have to make a few other menu updates. But as per my review, that didn't adversely affect my opinion of the place at all. We did, in fact, show up during the "happy hour period prior to 5pm," and we sat at the bar for drinks, for happy hour foods, and for our dinners. The happy hour menu is vague for cocktails... "well crafted cocktails" will be discounted, but you really have to ask which ones get the discount or not. We were content to order some of their regularly crafted cocktails. We were inundated with menus as well, one of which we got by mentioning it was our first visit there. That had two of immediate interest, the lobster and scallop crusted salmon, and the quail. I had never had quail, so of course I had to try it, and it was delicious (as was the salmon, which I also got to sample). I can't comment on table service, since we sat at the bar for the entire evening, but that was quite enjoyable... friendly service, made to feel welcome immediately, great conversation among staff and patrons. I look forward to exploring more of their offerings on future visits.

The copper crow is great they have unique dishes! I loved the stuffed haddock! Also the calamari…read morewas good! They have lots of seating and a cute lounge area! Great for a date night.

We had a reservation Saturday evening before visiting the Egg. The host was super duper friendly…read moreand he immediatelly brought us to a small two top in the back dining area. The wine by the glass list was limited and fifty percent was vegan. I ordered the Mosen German Reisling which is more sweet than I prefer but there were no other options. My guy ordered a brown beer on tap, i'm unsure the name. We started with appetizers crab rangoon dip with crispy delicious wonton chips. And the second mozzarella eggrolls. I would pass on the eggrolls im the future. The motz is advertised smoked but lacked a smoky flavor. The Harissa had the spice level simular to Heinz ketchup. My entree was a Cuban sandwich that did deliver some heat, well pressed with plenty of pickles. We would love to see a wider wine selection and a turn up on the spice and flavor for the appetizers.

Totally blown away by this restaurant. The service was casual but attentive, the staff dressed…read morecasually and the vibe very laid back but everything was on point. The menu is varied and offers something for everyone. I absolutely loved our first meal here and it was just appetizers. I can't wait to come back and try the Ruben and lobster bisque. We are planning to return here several times during our next few weeks in Albany. The parking is challenging as the back lot shares with at least 3 other restaurants but it is well worth the effort

My partner treated me to lunch at Ale & Oyster. While I was excited to come, my expectations for…read morethe resto were not entirely met: -Our server ignored us for at least half an hour. We couldn't easily flag someone down to take our orders. -Our waters tasted like fish water :( -I ordered a house salad with added shrimp, but I only got 3 pieces of shrimp. It didn't feel like it was worth my money. Not sure if I would return again.

Great beer selection and service . They sat us promptly and…read moregot our drinks quickly . Food was great and the beer was cold.

The rating begins as soon as I entered. The Hostess was pleasant, and accommodating. We didn't want…read moreto sit at the high table right next to the door. So she seated us at a regular table in the dining room. 5there. The wait staff arrived immediately at out table, took, out drink order, brought water, without having to ask for it. They gave us time to view the menu. Took our order. I got the cheeseburger with truffle fries, my sister, ordered the surf, and turf. Absolutely the best burger we have ever tasted. My sister is picky about ambiance, but she gave a 2:thumbs up. We will definitely be back , oh yeah the price was good, for the meal too. Well worth it!.

I stayed one night at the Renaissance because I was overnighting in Albany and it looked close to…read moreCity Beer Hall which looked good on Yelp. Well that's a confusing sentence. I walked the half block from my hotel room and saw the lighted sign on the building drawing be to City Beer Hall. The bar is old school wood, long tables, and people generally having a good time. I was alone so chose the bar for sitting because that is more convenient for me and the wait staff. The beer menu was long with a few regionals new to me. Too many sours though for my taste, but those are popular now. I am not going to talk about the beers available because those will surely change by the time you read this. I ordered a beer and checked out the food menu. There were some good looking items on the menu, I really wanted a good pizza after my earlier airport pizza debacle, but a whole pizza was too much for one guy. I discussed the food choices with my friendly bartender and settled on the chicken nuggets and a side of fries. The nuggets are hard breaded from thighs and pretty good. The fries were crispy, well seasoned, and overly abundant. Overall the meal was great! It was Thursday night and they had a trivia-like game that was related to Family Feud so I played that. Might have stayed a little later than I should have but the beer was good. I was looking at the beer refrigerator and saw Fiddlehead IPA and asked my bartender about it. He was not really keen on it but that is the best beer they had there, but that is one really good beer. Later I notice that was the beer they were giving you if you ordered the $8 beer and a shot, which is an excellent value! There was some kind of drama this night. There was a lady who first tried to order Jager Bombs for her table and the bartender told her sorry we don't do those so she ordered Tito's shots instead. Well this ended about how you would expect with her losing a credit card and blaming everyone in sight for her problems. The bartender and manager were S-tier professionals managing her and keeping the food and beer flowing to the rest of us. Guys, thank you for your service! If you are in downtown Albany and you are hungry or thirsty hit up the City Beer Hall.

I was staying at the Renaissance down the street for a conference at the Albany Capital Center. I…read moreneeded a quick dinner before I went to do more work in my room. The City Beer Hall fits the bill. Located on Howard Street, the City Beer Hall has the local hangout vibe for professionals in town like me and locals wanting a beer and a pizza and fun times. The building at one point housed the city's old telephone company, and now is a cool pizza bar joint with a speakeasy that wasn't open when I went. The large room that houses the bar and long communal tables with high ceilings and large windows is like a Biergarten that is works great for happy hours and evening hangouts. Pizza wise, I was pleased with their Hot Honey Pizza that balances sweet, savory, and spicy flavors between its delicious crust, pepperoni, creamy ricotta, tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh basil, and a lovely drizzle of hot honey. I enjoyed the pizza with a Ommegang Blueberry Falls that was a "Blueberry Kolsch" whose crisp and slightly sweet flavors balanced well against the spicy and savory I was noshing. The only downside was I found the service behind the bar to be a bit slow and distracting from conversations with other customers. I felt I was forgotten until I finally flagged for the check. But overall, the City Beer Hall was a solid experience highlighted by their hot honey pizza.

Best burgers in the Capitol Region! I ordered the Empire Smash with Parmesan Truffle Fries from…read moreUber Eats, and everything arrived very well packaged and still hot! I've been coming here and ordering delivery for over a year and have never been disappointed.

Any time we visit our daughter at her nearby college is a great time, Illusive made it even…read moregreater! We ran an errand nearby and I found Illusive on Yelp. We approached just as they were opening for the day on a Saturday. (Slightly after noon) Not seeing many cars in the neighborhood and having the gps seem to "arrive" outside of an empty lot was an inauspicious start but when we pulled fully into the lot, we saw that they had put some work into the place and it had a nice modern look. Didn't get to take advantage of the nice outdoor seating area because the weather was rainy. We were greeted by friendly staff and seated at a comfortable table. Our timing was impeccable because the place was full within the next half hour. Our waitress deserves her own paragraph! She knew the menu inside and out and had tremendous pride in the food served and the awards they've won! Illusive is a "foodie" restaurant, every dish is elevated yet remains unfussy. For appetizers, we shared the street corn dip and tater tot poutine. The street corn dip was creamy and zesty. The tater tot poutine was revelatory, the cheese was melted perfectly, the gravy wasn't some jarred nonsense, and the tots themselves were crispy. I enjoyed the different textures of it, some more cheesy and some more gravy. My wife enjoyed a chicken Caesar salad and my daughter enjoyed a grilled chicken pesto sandwich. Her sandwich was a nice enough portion that she finished it leftover for dinner! I enjoyed the buffalo lemon pepper wings, the sauce was a nice blend of heat and zesty flavor. I appreciated the amount of wings they served, some restaurants are going for "shrinkflation" but Illusive provides a full portion! We received quality and personable service throughout a delicious meal, we will gladly return!

So so good! Savoy is such a great place whether you're coming for drinks or dinner for a date or…read morefor a group! They have 2 separate rooms both with great moody and fun ambiance that are more tailored to dining or just drinks. As a group of 6, we were easily sat for dinner. Our server was super nice and attentive and everything came out timely. The food was awesome! The Mississippi fried chicken sandwich was deliciously done! Our group also enjoyed the fried pickles, crispy chicken wrap, and grilled chicken sandwich. The portions were perfect. They also have great cocktails, the seasonal mule was amazing! Will definitely be back!

Pretty uncrowded before 7 PM. Definitely picks up the later you go in the evening. We were able to…read moreget a table easy. But the tables were practically all full when we left. Good menu with plenty of options. And the portions are large. Not incredible, not bad. Just some middle-of-the-road tasty food. The service is...not great. Unfortunately, I think they were understaffed? After we ordered, we didn't really see our server again until it was time to get the check and leave. Has a nice dive-y feel to it. Chill vibe. Definitely a decent spot to spend an evening.