What a lovely restaurant with really delicious food. I hope you read through this review, because if you're considering going here I want you to understand the full scale of why I gave this place 5 stars. Visiting from Las Vegas service is everything. The bright smile from the hostess when we walked in was a beautiful start to an equally inviting meal. Our server was prompt, professional and polite. The atmosphere reminds me of many of the fine dining restaurants in Las Vegas. You would think you were at one of the famous high end Italian off strip restaurants I might come across back home. Our group of four each ordered different entrees and the portions were all sizable. I tried everything and it was all good. I got the veal stuffed with crab and it was delicious. The best bite of food was the gnocchi in pesto with lobster that my mom got. I assume you can get cheaper Italian food in town (not from here so who knows), but the quality of food in that environment is what most fine dining Italian restaurants should strive for. I've been in capital district for 4 days and this is the only meal I'll remember having because it was that good. One thing I don't understand: the complimentary zeppole before the main course. Why not bring them out after dinner? It didn't work as a palate cleanser and left me with more sweetness which didn't compliment my veal/crab at all. But I would be foolish to turn down such delicious zeppole at any point in a meal. read more

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Excellent everything! From service to Food everything was great. I would highly recommend! read more

Went to D'Raymonds yesterday late afternoon (Nov 20, 2020). They have an outdoor tent which is heated by heat lamps - not heat burners. Very nice and cozy and a nice glow added to the atmosphere. Waitress was awesome!! Party of 3 all loved our dishes - 2 Pesce Alfredo with shrimp, scallops and lobster over ribbon pasta and 1 Linguine Alla Pescatore with clams, scallops, lobster, shrimp. Get there this weekend if you can - - tent comes down next week but you can go with inside dining - or - get take out!! Support your local restaurants. Awesome food. read more

D'Raymonds - The red glow in the tent at D'Raymonds - awesome and toasty warm. - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

One of the best Italian restaurants in the capital district hands down !!!! You will need a reservation and they fill up quick!!! Food and service was amazing!!! Took my girl and her daughter to birthday dinner and it was all I had heard and then some!!! Clean courteous and authentic Italian cuisine at its BEST!!!!! read more

Never going back. We made a reservation on the voicemail because no one answers the phone. I asked for a call back to confirm. No confirmation call received. I was finally able to get a person on the phone only to be told "oh, we don't listen to the voicemails ". Seriously?! I reluctantly made a reservation because my friend wanted to go there. Imagine giving the waiter my order of soup and an appetizer portion of scallops for dinner (they don't offer meals with scallops) being told "he" won't let that happen. I was appalled and I asked who is "he" and was told Greg, the owner. The owner doesn't make enough money from the appetizer. My friend ordered an appetizer, a dinner and a drink and "he's " not making enough money. Imagine going out to dinner and being told what you can and can't order. I've reluctantly been here several times and am truly fed up with the rules and rudeness of the owner. Over priced and overrated. I'm disappointed and done supporting this small business. read more

I normally don't write reviews of restaurants, but the service here is absolutely awful. This is my favorite italian restaurant in the area...but the waiters are so ungodly rude, that it deters me from going (NOT waitresses, my experience with them has been great). There are two waiters in particular, both older gentlemen, one tall, grey hair, and the other short and bald - so incredibly rude. I have been served by each of them twice and each time they are so unpleasant and rude, it ruins my experience every time. I even mentioned D'Raymonds being my favorite restaurant to a mutual friend in passing, and he brought up how rude the wait staff is, unprompted. Like I said, favorite restaurant, the food and drinks are amazing and priced very reasonably. Honestly don't think I'll be returning for a while, if ever. I work in the service industry as well and would never treat patrons the way I am treated every time I am waited on by these men. read more

D'Raymond's is definitely the place to go for great Italian food and generous portions. It's so popular, reservations are highly recommended here, should I say reservations are required. I tried calling a reservation in earlier and the line was busy. I decided to stop here after 9:00 PM on a Saturday figuring the crowds would die down, but NOPE! The place was booked solid and the dining room filled. They were backed up with folks that had reservations waiting in the lounge area up front. The dining room atmosphere is nice with black leather booth seating and table seating in the small busy dining room. All tables are covered in table cloth and linens with a candle holder or small lamp at each table. The walls are painted murals of a brick wall and the DR logo. Takeout orders are supposed end at 7:00 PM, but the staff was cool enough to let me order some takeout anyways. I perused the dinner menu and all of the food sounded very appetizing. The dinner menu offers salads, appetizers, Italian specialties, pasta specialties, chicken, veal, seafood, steaks, and desserts. Dinner entree prices range from $13-$28. The desserts offered ($5.75-$7.95) include tiramisu, lava cake, Kahlua parfait, carrot cheesecake, coconut creme brulee, blueberry creme brulee, and ice cream. A full wine list is available. Check out the menu offerings at http://www.draymonds.com (Note: the prices have increased slightly from the menu on the website) I ordered the Fettuccine Con Lumache Stafano ($15.95): ribbon noodles with snails, anisette, fresh basil, & hot sausage and waited in the lounge. 15 minutes later, the food was ready to go. The dinner included a half loaf of Italian bread, whipped butter, & 2 pieces of fried dough covered in granular sugar. The Fettuccine Con Lumache Stafano was very good. The pasta had a sweet taste to balance out the spicy sausage and the salty snails, very garlicky. The Fried Dough was very chewy and sweet. For now, this place gets 4 STARS for the good takeout meal I had. I would definitely return here, but next time I'll bring my family to experience the great food and atmosphere in the dining room and make a reservation well in advance. CLOSED on Sundays. read more

D'Raymonds - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

Someone must be getting paid to post all these good reviews because that's the only way this establishment could acquire them. My husband and I ordered from this place tonight and my god it was the worst "Italian" food I've ever had in my life. We ordered 3 items: Chicken Marsala (with potatoes and vegetables) Mozzarella Caruso Pollo Al Forno We ordered via DoorDash. First the appetizer, this app is essentially supposed to be similar to mozzarella sticks. However, what it was is a soggy, spicy mess. Next, the Pollo Al Forno, it tasted as if it had been microwaved. In addition, nowhere on the menu had it stated anything about the layer of bell peppers on top. This presented an issue since my husband is allergic and resulted in us needing to switch meals. Finally, the chicken marsala. Every marsala chicken dish I've had has always been a delightful cream wine sauce with a crispy chicken. This was not that. It literally tasted like someone breaded some chicken then poured in some half-cooked onions and mushrooms (that we barely chopped btw) and poured in 1/2 bottle of wine (uncooked) to make a chicken wine SOUP? Finally, the kicker was my potatoes were rotted. This place is absolutely disgusting, and a complete waste of money and your time. Do yourself a favor and eat somewhere with better flavors, ya know... McDonald's lol read more

I hope I don't get sick from eating a some of this dish not realizing portions were not sufficiently cooked. Got delivery never again $21.95 for this dish terrible. read more

D'Raymonds - Raw chicken Petto Di Pollo Alla Nastro. - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

The food is usually very good every time I have went. But the woman who answers the phone in the afternoon time is incredibly unkind. She hung up on me several times, and was rude when I asked if this restaurant did anything for birthdays, she replied "what are you talking about?? I don't know I work evenings. Maybe they will sing to you or something". And then said "okay bye" and hung up. Based on that interaction of x3 phone calls with her, I will likely never eat here again. read more

They offer bruchetta as a appetizer, save your money . It,s texas toast with two slices of tomatoes and melted provolone. What a embarrassment. Call the ripe tomato in malta and get a lesson on how to make bruchetta. Your bruchetta is a JOKE . read more

I recommend you make reservations. It was very busy for a Tuesday night which says something. The service is slowwwww! This is a typical Italian spot but I wouldn't come back. Great food, poor service, and he truth is they don't care, place is packed everyday. We ate the antipasto and it was good for two. The lobster shrimp and chicken dish fried was good but way too much for one. Next time I may go to another Italian spotn X-ray time through. read more

D'Raymonds - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

I was there on the Thursday before Easter. it was super busy but our waiter, David , was great. the food was wonderful and came out hot. nice ambiance. love this place every time! read more

great place for date night. i love the dishes here. I do wish you given a salad with dinner, you have to buy it separate. i hope to keep going back to try more dishes. The food is delish. My boyfriend hates the chicken parm and that's about all he'll order. i've had veal rolatine and grancio (below) and i recommend getting the vodka sauce on your pasta side. I really like this place and i would recommend. you have to make your reservation well in advance. read more

D'Raymonds - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

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Ive been a lifelong Albany resident been to D Raymonds many times. Menu is classic, I'm not a big veal guy but the colleagues I had with me were and the raved about what they had. I however had what I think was their premier seafood dish, I aim trying to limit my carb intake and asked if I could substitute spinach for the pasta bed. There is a Spinach bedded dish on the menu so shouldn't have been an issue. Our server dismissed my request outright "No , he won't do that", with out an inquiry. Ill say this, the server was not new to the business and she should have known, the customer is the boss particularly when there is an accommodation that can be made. I brought this party of 6 to the restaurant based on the food, service is the other 50%. D'Raymonds has competition just a few exits up I87. Subject for next staff mtg read more

The food here may be delicious but they should be ashamed of their customer service. The most recent incident is what prompted this review, but it has been consistently bad for the past few years now. We called to place an order for pick up and before we could give them any details, they set the phone down and left us on hold for 25 minutes until we eventually hung up. We then drove to the restaurant in person to place the order to take out and they told us to wait until they found a server. After about 10 minutes of standing there, the server finally asks us how many meals (it was 10-12 meals) and then proceeded to tell us they cannot do it and they are booked out 4+ days. I watched them seat 10+ people just as we waited there for them to address us. We left the restaurant with no food. If they had just the decency to actually as us how many orders we needed while we were on the phone, we wouldn't have wasted over an hour waiting on the phone, driving back and forth, and waiting in the restaurant. If the food wasn't so good, this place would have went out of business years ago. read more

Arrived on my birthday recently and didn't have a reservation. Host found us a seat immediately anyway! Food was good and service was very prompt! It was our second time there and again they did not disappoint. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because the prices are high but if you want good food that is to be expected. I mean, I did get lobster.. lol read more

D'Raymonds - Lobster tails and fried Veal. Fiancé had seafood pasta. - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

I greatly enjoyed my time here. The service was great and the food portions were large. However, I found the company lacking. I recommend going here without my family. read more

One of my family's favorite spots. We've come here for years for the great food. The restaurant is a bit small, but they take reservations to plan ahead. read more

Take out order of bruschetta, short rib ravioli, and petto di pollo Ali nastro. Bruschetta was excellent - garlicky and cheesy . Short rib ravioli was absolutely delicious. D'raymonds version of chicken cordon blue was as good as I've ever had. Dinner for two with enough left for another meal. Highly recommend. read more

Extremely mediocre on this first and probably last visit. 3 stars is generous. First of all, we had reservations for 7:30pm and we were not seated until 8:30. We waited 25 minutes to attempt to get a glass of wine at the bar and I had to be obnoxious to get the one glass. The poor bartender had no bar back, he was running food, cleaning glasses, refreshing ice chest, basically completely overwhelmed at the expense of the entire bar full of clients. Once we finally sat down at a mediocre table (yet, in the bar), we were served dry, day old bread. My daughter ordered Fettucine con Vongole. There were 4 clams in the entire dish. There was over 1" of butter in her dish as well. Terrible. My brother and I ordered Veal Piccata and it was incredibly good! Possibly the best veal I've ever had with generous portions. The server was awesome too. Perhaps we just hit an one-night? (Tuesday night) read more

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I'm from out of town, locals already know this is the place for a true Italian restaurant experience. Doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's a cozy and welcoming inside. Great staff and great recommendations. Food is incredible, best authentic Italian food I've ever had. I can't wait to come back to Albany just for this place. read more

Never, never such horrible experience. My friend ordered chicken picatta. ( birthday treat). The chicken was grizzled and inedible, pasta was dry and no flavor. Asked for extra jiuce and told there would be a 4.00 charge FOR JUICE. Server told owner of my complaint and would do nothing about it. Server apologized but could do nothing saying they deduct dinner from his salary if i didn't pay. I paid, didn't want to punish him. Been there many times and have noticed a decline in food, so never again will go there. read more

One big, critical piece of customer service is customer interaction. D'Raymonds fails on that metric harder than any restaurant I've encountered. They generally don't answer their phone for reservations, yet reservations are nearly mandatory to get a table on all but slow days. Their phone system apparently doesn't take messages, so customers are left to call over and over again to no avail. They could easily attempt to solve this problem through digital reservation systems, but haven't done so. read more

Just go somewhere else, if this is your first time eating at d'Raymonds and you have not grown-up on this oily, weirdly flavored food it is not enjoyable. I really don't know how this place has won best Italian 13 years in a row but yikes - salty, greasy and flavorless... you can't always get all three but somehow this place manages to pull it off. We had 5 different entrees and 3 appetizers - enough to know we won't be returning $200+ later. Our server was nice and attentive, too bad the food wasn't as good as the wait staff. The wine list is reasonably priced also. read more

I made a reservation a month ahead for two for our anniversary. It was for 6:30 pm. When we arrived my husband checked with hostess and she said it was for seven pm. We didn't argue but when I went back to check again she had a name Freeman for four at seven. I explained that it couldn't be us and I didnt want to take someone else's reservation. She looked at me and said" what do you want me to do" like this was my problem. We did get a booth in the bar area and our waitress was great so it smoothed things over for us.Food was delicious as always. Next time I will get the name of the person taking my reservation. The ambiance is always the same read more

Came here again for our anniversary but our experience wasn't as good as the first. We were sat at a tiny table (I guess someone has to sit in them) and it was cramped. I ordered the Veal special ($30) of the day: veal with smoked ham and cheese on top served over a bed of red pepper risotto. It was good, though the ham was so smoky that it tasted like bacon and in fact it overpowered every other element on the dish. The risotto had one or two pieces of roasted peppers that I saw, but not much and it tasted only of garlic. Not a bad meal, but not as good as I hoped. My wife had veal with jumbo shrimp and prosciutto and cheese with a tomato sauce (Scaloppe Di Vitello Con Gamberi Alla Formaggioveal, $27). It wasn't bad either, but the prosciutto was so salty that it overwhelmed everything else. Even the waiter admitted it was salty. Our service was mixed: a really friendly waiter but after we told him we were ready to order he served other tables for a good 5 minutes before returning. He also forgot to put in our order for an appetizer (which he apologized for) though he gave them to us for free to go at the end. ] For the prices, I expected more. In each of our entrees, the inclusion of the pork took over the dish. If we ordered chicken and paid less, I probably wouldn't mind. But to pay a premium for veal and have it lost in a sea of smoke or salt is disappointing. I want to rate it 3.5, but Yelp doesn't allow that so it stays at 4 right now. read more

Went there last night, we walked in at 4:15 and they said they were fully booked, so we had to sit at the bar, every table and booth was empty, anyways we sat at the bar, my hubby ordered steak, it was very fatty and tough, we brought most of it home to the dog, I ordered pasta with hot sausage, there was chicken in it, was very not satisfied, no we didnt complain, I will never go back , by the way when we left there was still empty tables and booths empty,,, the waitress said they will be coming, well we would have been gone,,Not good service. read more

Not personal in any way shape or form me and my husband called for our anniversary dinner and this girl claiming to be the manager started flirting with my husband right in the phone, I couldn't believe it, last time me or anyone i know goes there. This was an Italian place me and friends and family enjoyed eating at, and for them to be so unprofessional, and when i called she wouldn't even give me the actual manager, this is ridiculous and disgusting read more

Great food and service. Classic Italian dishes. Some of the best Italian food you will find in the area.

This has to be the best Italian restaurant in the capital district! Every bite had amazing flavor and it was difficult to stop eating! read more

D'Raymonds - Amazing dinner once again. They never let us down. - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

The best Italian Restaurant in the Captol region? I hope not. This restaurant did not live up to my expectations at all. Most of the menu options are covered in cheese. Which is great for some dishes, but not all. Upon our party of 5 being seated, I noticed dirty silverware. When pointed out to our server, it was speedily replaced. Our table ordered the antipasto platter, bruschetta, and Tuscan calamari. We ordered a bottle of a "Super Tuscan" wine. After some difficulty, he opened the wine and just left it on the table. He returned with wine glasses, still hot from the dish washer and did not pour the wine for ourselves and guests. Our appetizers were delivered to the table after a long wait ( the restaurant was busy). The antipasto platter had supermarket quality meats and cheeses - certainly not worth the price. The portion was generous. The bruschetta was large slabs of bread, more like Texas toast than the bruschetta we are accustomed to in the NY Metro area or as it is served in Italy. The portion of calamari was small for the price and appeared to be overdone. Our entrees were delivered rather quickly after the appetizers. Each entree portion was large - more than enough for 2 to share. Among the dishes our table had were Veal Antonio, Chicken Parmigiana, Rigatoni with Shrimp and Broccoli, Veal Piccata, and Amerosa Estate Salsa. Our guests who had ordered pasta dishes were pleased with their dishes. The Veal Antonio had very little of the promised red sauce and eggplant. The meat dishes came with a side of pasta with marinara sauce. The marinara had an off/putting burnt taste. Overall, we were disappointed in our experience. Would not recommend D'Raymond's. read more

Finally got to D'Raymonds and forgot to make the reservation! Got seats in the bar, and if you have the time, the ambiance of a classic well run warm Italian restaurant is great to slowly get into at the bar. Great bar selections and a great bartender but went with a Peroni draft this time, and not my usual bourbon on the rocks with my orange twist, for a better real feel of Italy. Started with the appetizer special, grilled shrimp in puff pastry, and it was excellent. The bread brought to the table with three spreads and dipping sauces was awesome, my favorite being the roasted red pepper aioli. Then they brought out a dish of light zeppoli with dusted sugar, which would have been great after dinner with a cappuccino or latte. I had the Gnocchi Genovese, as Gnocchi in a garlic cream sauce is one of my favorites. This topped my favorite, with a baby grilled lobster added to the mild pesto cream sauce. Service is excellent, with the always excellent and confident recommendations. read more

Saturday the 20th I placed a large order for catering my wife's birthday party. They did not disappoint. Phenomenal service and food. I highly recommend to anyone who appreciates authentic Italian cuisine. Thank you to the excellent staff for making my wife's birthday that much more special. read more

Huge portions, quality Italian food at great prices. I can see how this is best in capital region. Now that being said, I prefer a less thick gravy on my pasta and they used sliced mozzarella on my chicken parm (no-no). I expected more from a real Italian joint. Reservations are a bit annoying and we stood for ten minutes in the bar area before anyone even greeted us. That being said my brother thought the lobster and veal were great and I'd return again to try another dish and different sauce. read more

D'Raymonds - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

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Food here is great and I've never had an issue before today. I have been coming here and ordering from here for over 10 years and today that might change. I placed an order through DoorDash and I called to make special instructions (since it is not allowed in the app) and I ended up with a salad with no dressing. I called to be refunded or at least get an apology and that's not what I got; instead, they told me they couldn't do anything and I heard employees in the background talking shit about me in the background. I hope management will address this as this is so unprofessional and disrespectful to someone who has been supporting your business even during covid. I am disgusted. read more

There is nothing, I repeat, almost nothing, I repeat, some things, again, lots to get excited about at D'Raymonds. Sorry to be confusing. I started going there years ago and the food was great and it was so romantic then I was left in the bar for an hour even though I had a reservation and no place to sit down and then the food seemed to just get worse and so did the service so I gave up, quit, moved on. It's not like there aren't 500 other Italian restaurants in Albany to hit up before I die. The last visit, just a few weeks ago for lunch, was great, well maybe darned good, or just okay, depending on what you ordered, but overall the ambiance and service made everything feel special. The loser for the food at our table was the Chicken Piccata ($12.95) - sitting in a pool of butter, this needed both wine AND capers. Rigatoni Ala D'Raymonds ($12.95) - loaded with sausage, tons o' pasta, nice and creamy was a bit of a bore and a little too salty. My Spaghetti Con Polpette ($9.95) had one large dense garlicky meatball but the red sauce was absolutely delicious over perfect al dente pasta. Top of the line was the Orecciette Carbonara ($11.95) - rich, cheesy, decadent - hard to stop eating, not too pretty in the presentation, but I'm not either and I'm still very tasty, FYI. Oh, and great side salads laced with ricotta salata. Perfect. Need a date? Got a date? Would rather eat out alone than date any day??? If you answered YES to any of the above D'Raymonds is your place. Zena, Goddess of Fire read more

D'Raymonds - Perfect pasta and a very garlicky meatball - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

So I ordered D'Raymonds for pick up because they're packed I got pesce alfredo this is literally one of the best pastas I've had in the 518 and I've had many (almost all). This was a very large portion which is normal for Italian but it was so much it could barely fit my plate and it was sooo flavorful not too much not too little sauce was just perfect! Definitely going to order this again and more from there next time!! read more

D'Raymonds - Pesce Alfredo - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

First of all, I love D'Raymond's food. I've been going there for 30+ years. I also realize that some places are having a tough time since COVID. However, I tried to get someone to answer the phone around dinner time to place a take-out order for one SOLID week. (Apr 22-29, 2021). I finally get through on Apr 29 at 4:00. After several employees yelling back and forth to each other trying to decide if they were doing take-out orders, I start to place my order, only to have him put me on hold to seat someone that came in the door. He set the phone down, and NEVER came back. It has now been 1 hour (5:05pm)......yes, I stayed on the line. I can hear them talking in the background, I can hear the phone ringing in the background. Their customer service leaves a lot to be desired!! read more

D'Raymonds is my go-to Italian restaurant in the Albany area. It's one of those old school family run establishments that's earned accolades from the local's for many years. They're close to the Wolf Road corridor, but way classier than any chain restaurant that you will find there. The rustic charm and cozy atmosphere is just the kind of place to meet a business associate for lunch or take a special someone out for a terrific evening. Outstanding service and food have always been the cornerstones of this great restaurant. The homemade sauces, pastas, seafood and veal dishes are extraordinarily fresh and delicious. Dinner always begins with fresh bread with three choices of herb butter and dipping sauces. They often serve complimentary zeppoli (Italian fried dough), which is just fantastic! If you're looking for a great Italian restaurant, then you cant miss with D'Raymonds. I've always been able to get a table, but recommend that you call ahead. They're closed Sunday and busy every other night of the week. Buon Appetito! read more

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