We used to come here when it was the Lighthouse and then stopped coming after having a not so great…read moreexperience at a banquet hosted right after the change. Recently, we decided to try again and have eaten outside on the patio 3 times where it is an absolutely beautiful atmosphere eating by the water. We joke that it is like being on vacation for the night. The food is good, some dishes better than others but overall enjoyable. The prices are a little high for what you get. Our waitresses have always been kind and efficient. One of our top 5 most frequent restaurants visited.

Amazing!! In town for nephews graduation and we came across this gem…read more.. Fantastic service, menu superb... food ( fish and chips, superfood bowl and wagu burger ). Delicious

I'm out of superlatives for Hooked, but since it had been a while since we had been, I thought it…read morewise to update my review. This is a haute cuisine place that is masked by the casual dining atmosphere. Seriously: top notch chef, original recipes, a core dedication to quality seafood, paired with a fresh fish counter and some prepared food to go. We usually go for something special, but tonight I decided to get an old childhood standby, fried clams (the Boston Basket) and the fish burger sandwich. I did not expect either to be as transportive as they turned out to be. The fried clams were as delicately done as I've ever had: not crispy, but not too floppy, with excellent breading. And while I prefer my clams naked, we tried all three of the dipping sauces -- a remoulade, tartar sauce, and cocktail sauce. Now normally I loathe cocktail sauce and can take tartar sauce or leave it, so I figured we'd eat up the remoulade and ignore the other two. Still, I gave them little nibbles. Man! The cocktail sauce was like no other I've had, with a heavy hint of horseradish and a far fresher flavor than I've ever had. Then the tartar sauce -- genius! It had a delicate spicing, with capers providing a floral backdrop. That was only a preliminary, as the fish burger proved to be complex, with hints of multiple kinds of fish, and a fennel-based spicing. I ended up having that afterglow, as if I'd had a couple of cocktails and was sitting next to a fireplace, that is the hallmark of truly fine food at an advanced level. We also had the usual outstanding service, attentive without being pushy. I seriously think Hooked should consider splitting into two restaurants: one where the ambiance is upgraded to match the high caliber of the food, and another cheaper one that is strictly fast casual and takeout, and they'd more than double the business. There is a restaurant back where we come from in California, Turtle Bay, that did this with fine dining on one side and the quick, simple, and affordable food on the other side, with a big shared kitchen between them but with completely separate ambiances. That way I could come back more frequently, and still have the original Hooked for special occasions!

Well, the oysters were fantastic, and that's why I made the 35 mile trip. I hate city traffic!!!…read more I also had the calamari with peppers, also good. Not like rubber bands, tender. Now the downfall, the chicken sandwich. I did notice other plates coming to tables looking like the fryer temp. is too hot, or cook time was too long. Some fish fry that came out looked quite dark as did my chicken, as you can see! A slight burnt taste was evident. It had good flavor under that burn, and the chicken was close to not being juicy, almost dry. The place is clean, and if not for the location, I would sit at the bar and have the raw bar! Something very important to me that hit me the instant I stepped through the door, if you're looking for a great shot of A/C on a hot day, not here!!! Barely got comfortable from the almost 90 degree day on a bike, and then worked up a return of sweating as the place filled up.

Union Seafood on Central Avenue in Albany is described as "Chinese meets Louisiana," according to…read morethe restaurant's website. I've been there before and the crazy, giant fiberglass crab on display in the entrance is always a hoot. So is the fiberglass shark head on the wall in the dining area. I like a place with a sense of fun and humor. I also like this place for its seafood boils. The good news is that this restaurant--which was very good to begin with-- has gotten even better. Last time I showed up, the server brought the seafood boil still in its boiling bag and cut it open in front of me. It was up to me to reach into the hot bag and pull out its contents. There was steam everywhere. A hot mess, indeed! This time, the kitchen took care of the boiling bag for me. Instead, they beautifully arranged the boiled seafood on a large platter. Wow. It looked amazing and tasted even better! This time, I'd asked for a Number 4 with mix of seasonings, including garlic and butter. There were: one big lobster tail, plenty of shrimp, clams, crawfish, potatoes, corn on the cob, hard boiled eggs and extra veggies. It was described as enough to feed three people. Coincidentally, we were a party of three. We also ordered a Cajun Fried Rice for good measure. We really didn't need it. We were so full. The fruit drinks were great, too. Union Seafood is a franchise with locations in Troy and Schenectady. They're owned by Larry Weng who also opened Ji Bei Chuan Rice Noodles & Ramen on Western Avenue in Guilderland, according to local news reports. In celebration of May being AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Month, it's probably fair to say that Asian-American owned restaurants such as Union Seafood have added much variety to the overall dining experience in Capital Region. Vive la différence.

Ive tried this once last year and i like it. Brought my friend there yesterday. They have combo…read morechoices. We chose the 1/2 lb shrimp, 1 lobster tail, clams, crawfish. It's a lot and the seafood is fresh. I would say 3 people could share. We had it mild and mixed sauce. Maybe order hot next time since i did not taste the spiciness. We both enjoyed it. Price is not that bad. The place is huge but kinda datk inside. Service is great though. For dessert we got the coconut cake. It is kinda frozen. But it taste good. Surely coming back!

Came on a busy Saturday dinner party of 5 without a reservation. The hostess was so kind. They were…read moreable to find us a table, only caveat is that it was in the vault room. And quite frankly, that was a cool area. You could snap a photo inside the giant safe. The restaurant used to be a bank. So think high windows, high ceilings, open space with beautiful tile flooring. The food did not disappoint. We had a mix of their lamb and seafood dishes. They gave a great twist to the predominantly Mediterranean menu. The cocktails were crafted wonderfully. Im very taken back on this gem of a restaurant in Schenectady NY. Great place for a date night, celebrate a special occasion, or just to have good drinks and food.

we had six in our party so we tried a lot of different appetizers start with my favorite was the…read morelamb there was also a dip, mussels in a sauce that was shockingly amazing. fun cocktails great wine list and staff is great although lots of faces. it provides great service bug not one main POC the ambiance is wide open we were in a corner which helped but otherwise very high ceilings it could be loud if your out in the middle

We've been to few different crab boil restaurants over the last couple of years. This one was…read morereally good! The woman who greets and seats you seems to wear many hats. She provides menus and gives very good suggestions for selections, sauces and heat. Even on the mild heat, there is still plenty of flavor and heat. I had the cajun butter & garlic on mild heat. It was really good. You can either pick your own contents for the boil (eg. clams, asst. crabs, shrimp, sausage) to go with your boiled potatoes and corn. The woman of many hats had a more effective method for eating my crab claws than the method I was using. She proceeded to direct me, step by step, to the method to obtain the most delicious meat from the claws. She was right on target, of course and I enjoyed every. morsel. We all enjoyed every morsel. It was also my son's birthday. She brought out a slice of cake with a candle and sang with us.. Good spot. We will enjoy again!

Greasy food and way more expensive than worth the quality of the food we received…read moreSlow service in a nearly empty restaurant Four total parties the night we were there 10/10 wouldn't go back

Absolutely loved my brunch experience at The Nest! This place is truly a gem in Schenectady. The…read morerestaurant itself is super charming with an antique feel. Our server was the sweetest, and gave us some great recommendations. We started with the honey butter biscuits, which I highly recommend! We also got the friend green tomatoes which I enjoyed too. They really do a great job a southern cuisine here. Would love to come back to try some items from their dinner menu.

I think this is the, absolute, best place to sit down and eat. The food is impeccable. Southern…read morecomfort, right on Broadway, the fried chicken and short rib dishes are undefeated. They have a hot honey sauce to pair with the chicken, please stop by. Service is excellent, once I left a bit late and I'm so sorry I did but management was super polite about it.

Fabulous visit to Ember & Cork. It was a group of 4, 3 of whom had never been before including…read moremyself. The Espresso Martini was not on the menu but they were able to make it. For appetizers, we ordered the oysters and burrata and prosciutto toast. I did not try the oysters but the others said they were good. I would order the toast again. For my entree I ordered the steak frites. One of the best steaks I've ever had. Perfectly cooked to medium rare. Had a lovely crust on it. For dessert, we shared the bread pudding with salted caramel gelato, burnt basque cheesecake and pear fritters. All three were delicious but the bread pudding was the standout. I highly recommend ordering it. Also have to mention our server Frank who was lovely and very attentive. We had a lot of questions, if there was something he didn't know he was very quick to find out the answer and was very thorough.

I was really excited about Ember and Cork. I really Love the…read morenew revitalized downtown State Street and I visit frequently. There is a parking lot behind the restaurant with free parking after 5. The menu reads exciting and includes a lot of fun and modern ingredients, the space is bright and inviting and we had great service. The cocktail menu was small and uninspired, but we enjoyed a few cocktails. My favorite of the night was a dirty martini with house stuffed blue cheese olives. Their aviation inspired cocktail called Flight 99 was okay, but left me wanting an aviation. We decided to get a few appetizers the share over some cocktails and didn't order any entrees. We started with the Shrimp Ceviche and the Foie Gras Torchon. Both plates arrived and the presentation left a lot to be desired. The shrimp ceviche was good but the baby corn and sweet potato were weird. It didn't belong at all. I don't know if it is traditional or what but it just took up space, made the presentation uninviting and added nothing to the dish. The chips were great though and the shrimp were large and of great quality. The Foie gras torchon was like a chilled pate, it was alright. 4 tiny slices of toast was not enough for the plate, the green strawberry compote was a good pairing, the dressed greens were fine but again, didn't add much to the dish. We heard the special of soft shell crab and wanted to order it. For the second round, we ordered the bone marrow and soft shell crab. The bone marrow was maybe 3 bites, the bones were very dry and didn't have much marrow to scrape so that was disappointing. The soft shell crab was a large portion and was very good and treat to have during the season. However, it was $65. Maybe our fault for not asking but that price is obscene for that dish. It was soft shell crab over spinach. We were pretty full and ended the meal with bread pudding which was fine. Our bill before tip was $280 for 4 appetizers, 6 cocktails and a dessert. I was sticker shocked. I really regret not asking the price on the soft shell crab. The food did not live up to the hype at all and I don't think I would return based on the quality and prices.

We got lucky and the weather was nice... just a bit breezy but not cold…read more It was a quiet Sunday morning about 11am when we showed up and asked to sit on the patio. Only 2 other tables on the table were occupied so it was pretty quiet. When we left about an hour later, there were quite a few more people. Connor took good care of us and made sure we were well hydrated and caffeinated. Our food was quite tasty! Had I not been planning on a long day of exploring, I would have indulged in a Bloody Mary. I saw a couple enjoying them at a nearby table and my mouth watered enviously. This is a great spot to enjoy a brunch like we did or to close out the day with a nice evening cocktail and dinner.

This place was amazing. All the food was excellent, the servers were very attentive and the…read moreambiance was lovely allng with the table settings. We look forward to coming again!