Originally, my review for the Fountain was going to consist only of an ASCII heart... you know, the less-than sign followed by the number 3. But Yelp doesn't allow symbols in reviews, and I should probably post a more meaningful review anyway. OK. So, the Fountain. I had heard of it, but had never been there. A few months ago, at the recommendation of a few co-workers, I tagged along with them to this place. It was a great time, and great food. We basically ordered the entire freaking menu. A couple pizzas, wings, other random appetizers. You name it, it was on our table at some point. Nothing was disappointing. In particular, I really loved their wings and their meatball pizza. It's a bit out of the way, but I try to get here whenever I can. I've never had a bad experience here. Be advised: this place gets INSANELY busy during peak times. It's small to begin with, and it fills very quickly. Plan accordingly. read more

My wife and I shared a pizza and an antipasto on a recent visit. Shortly after returning home we both got sick - nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. We called the Fountain the following day and said we weren't complaining but wanted to let them know. The bartender that answered the phone couldn't have been any ruder or more condescending. Within two days we've spoken to three friends who shared similar experiences. We'll miss the Fountain but the bartender's attitude was a complete and totally unnecessary turn off. read more

My review focuses on pizza take-out. While at my parent's house in Albany this past week we ordered pizza from the Fountain. I called in my order and was told it would take an hour, and I was willing to wait for the sake of avoiding Domino's or something worse. I probably should've gotten Domino's; the Fountain's pizza just wasn't that good. The cheese was over-browned and the crust and sauce were on par with what you find in an institutional cafeteria. I've had better frozen pizzas, and they were a better value, too. If you're looking for a beer, they appeared to have some decent stuff like Spaten Oktoberfest on tap. The get half of their 2-star rating for that. I wish got the beer instead. read more

I love their pizza. they actually cook it so the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. I can't stand pizza where the cheese is barely melted. Also, the sauce had a nice garlicky flavor, another quality I look for in a pizza. The crust is a bit thicker then I prefer but I just found out it can be ordered with a thinner crust upon request. Oh, and they use fresh mushrooms, not the canned rubbery salty ones most places use. However, i found that their pizza doesn't hold up to take out. It's best ordered in house for a nice crispy bottom crust. The wings, oh the wings! They're huge! And perfectly cooked so the skin is crisp and the meat falls off the bone. No small shrivled wings here. And their bugffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing are to die for! The antipasta salad is the best. Crisp greens, marinated vegetables, and plenty of provolone and Italian meats. So good! I finally ventured to an entree last time i visited. Shrimp Scampi. WOW! Nothing here is fancy but the flavors are amazing! I'm a huge fan of the place. Just come early because the place is always packed. Service is brisk so don't expect to get waited on hand and foot. But this isn't that kind of place so it's ok. The servers are always friendly.. read more

We love stopping in when visiting Albany, Th pizza here is that good. They did some light updates to the decor since the last time we were here, it brightens the place up a bit but not enough to take the old Tavern feel away. The Pizza was awesome, service could have been better, I think our waitress was doing some other chores in the Kitchen area as she was gone for a while. We will be back, the Pizza is that good read more

I've frequented the Fountain for years, but somehow never reviewed. That's probably because I don't eat pizza anymore, although I'm always picking up pies here for the boy and his friends. I love that this feels like such a true neighborhood joint. Every time I go in to pick up late night food, there's a group of regulars at the bar laughing it up and enjoying whatever game's on that night. And yet, amazingly, I never feel creeped out there. Even better, I recently discovered they have a live Dixieland band one weekend night a month. It's so much fun! I stopped in last Friday to order takeout and we ended up having a few drinks and enjoying the sounds of Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz Band. The place was packed! And for some reason, their antipasto is total comfort food to me. I've had better at many a place, but theirs just holds a special spot in my stomach, er, heart. read more

Always thought the best pizza in Albany! Until tonight. Got a pepperoni and cheese takeout. The sauce was tasteless, the cheese "mushy", and just an overwhelming taste of garlic. What happened Fountain? So disappointing. read more

After years of hearing about how great their pizza is, I had to stop and give it a try, and honestly, it reminded me of a frozen Tombstone pizza. Flatter crust in style, with a canned sauce. It was an okay pizza, but not worth going out of my way for again. Maybe the pizza had been over-hyped to me before I got there. The atmosphere and menu isn't vastly different from many other similar casual Italian restaurants with an offering of bar food also present. Maybe, I'll come back to try a dinner, if I'm in the area. Efficient and nice service. read more

Definitely my favorite place to get a pizza. Been coming here since I was a little kid and luckily nothing has changed. The pizza is the right mix of crispy somewhat thin crust, flavorful sauce and cheese with an emphasis on the cheese (which I like) The fact that they are heavy on the garlic is a plus. Toppings are fresh and plentiful and the overall size of the pie always seems to be just right. I can't speak for all of the other food, but everything I've had has been delicious. Combine the good food with the (usually) attentive wait staff and you have a great place to eat. The atmosphere is cozy with a lot of regulars. Can't beat it. read more

After someone recommended that Fountain has the best pizza ,I took my family there. The waitress serving us was really seriously gave the worst service ever in my life. She was just snapping at us for trivial questions and I was telling my wife that she is going to say no soup for you if you ask one question. Waitress spilled the juice . She never bothered to refill water or ask me for more coffee. She never cared to answer my question about draft beer. I even started thinking if it could be some kind of racial thing. Who cares about their pizza after that we finished eating and gave just $4 tip and left. Worst tip I ever gave in my life. read more

This is a great family ran restaurant in Albany. Their sandwiches are classic with wonderful fries to pair. The pizza and the toppings have a fresh Italian feel. If you want great comfort feely food or exciting sport appetizers this place is great to dine in or take out. A good place for a quick fun bite or a relaxing sit down with the family. read more

The pizza is delicious and the place is extra packed on a Friday. But be warned the pizza was expensive. I paid +20 for a small personal pizza. 4 slices - I guess if you go with a bunch of ppl and split the bill it won't put too much of a dent in your wallet. But don't be surprised that it does read more

PIZZA ONLY! The pizza in here is really good, however I would not reccommend anything else, particularly not anything fried. As busy as they are you think they would pay a company to clean their oil, or replace it more frequently but one taste will tell you they don't. it is vile and tastes really gross; living around the corner I was hoping it was a fluke but after several disappointments its pizza only. They do steamers in the summer which are of really good quality, so if you dine in stick to those and pizza. I find the antipasto to be overpriced and way over lettuced with little accoutrements, but if you are feeding a large group of kids I guess it would be ok. They could also stand to give the place a deep clean (I often find the bar and tables sticky) but if you get take-out pizza you won't be disappointed. read more

We had a nice night out my brother and I. The atmosphere is awesome. The drinks are great and the employees are efficient and quick. The owners Ginger and Vern made us feel like long term friends. Very fun night out. Appreciated their empathy shown for our dad who is sick and dying . Thank you folks we will be back... read more

Great family spot. Excellent pizza! Ice cold beer! Super neighborhood spot. The staff go out of their way to make you feel at home. Something for everyone. read more

I kind of feel bad for leaving this review because my friends and I are from the NYC area where pizza is stellar (sorry) and we mainly only ordered pizza from this restaurant. Although it was tasty flavor-wise, the pizza was just "okay" according to our pizza standards. The dough was thick and the texture was too soft - almost soggy. I like my pizza crust to be toasted with that crisp when you bite into it to balance with the cheese. The cheese wasn't the best, either, and somewhat gooey. Afterwards, I felt like a had a huge brick in my stomach. I do realize there are other items on the menu, but I'll most likely come back to try other things because the service was excellent and their prices are very reasonable. The jalapeno poppers were good. Also, my group was seated right away on a Friday night. read more

The pizza is not the original Fountain pizza that we have all enjoyed for over 40 years. It was always the best pizza in Albany. The pizza was ok but I was very disappointed that it didn't taste great. read more

My wife and I hit the fountain any time we are looking to get non-delivery pizza. It is definitely my favorite pizza in the Capitol region at this point. It's not NY style like Paesans, so if you're looking for that style, you might be surprised. I was not terribly impressed with the wings. The sauce flavor is good, but there is way too much of it. They are the kind where you end up with a ton of sauce on your fingers. I much prefer Ralph's. For starters, I reccomend the fried mozzarella. They are solid. As for ambiance, it is a good mix of bar/restaurant. Generally there are a number of folks watching sports at the bar but there are also families with children as well. The wait staff is great and service is quick. read more

Good waitress super sweet, but the pizza was disgusting and made me wanna boot. The sauce was awful took 2 bites and spit it out.

This is my second time ordering wings to go here. My bf swears by this place and there sauce but Idk I don't think there special. There pretty much dry and barely any sauce on them from my experience. Asked for xtra crispy last time but that was extra dry and not crispy. read more

Fountain Restaurant - Pizza Near Me - Albany, New York

I like the pizza but the wait for the food was forever. They even said there was food with our name on it just sitting in the kitchen! I was on a schedule and I almost missed it because of the wait. The food itself was fine. The chicken tenders were good but the fries were kind of burnt. I would not recommend this place if you have a time limit. If you want to talk to your party for a WHILE! Then come here read more

I've been coming to the Fountain since I was a child. It's hard to beat their pizza. I order it well done to get a little more crisp on it, especially if you have a lot of toppings. Other options very good as well, lots of apps, sandwiches, burgers (house ground), pasta dishes, soups and salads, and specials. Great reuben sandwich whether it's corned beef, turkey, or their common pastrami reuben special. Great neighborhood spot and all the servers are very friendly. Perfect for a late night drink or bite. read more

My Husband and I ordered a small chicken bacon ranch pizza and garlic parm wings and each were delicious! The pizza you could tell was definitely homemade and the flavor and crust were great. The wings were the right amount of crispiness and not dry at all. I would recommend ordering food from here! read more

I came here after work with a few coworkers. I love the local vibe. I knew what to expect based on my friends description. The space is 1/3 bar and 2/3 local pub dining. It's long and narrow with a demi wall between the length of the two spaces. The servers are seasoned, experienced, brisk and efficient. The clientele is a mixed bag of laid back casual locals including families with children, some students, local workers from all walks of life right up to a few suits and ties. We ordered a few items to share with the table. First we ordered a large antipasto salad. It was standard with mixed Italian meats and cheese rolled into pinwheels and sliced atop a bed of crunchy lettuce with olives and pickled Italian Gardiner. I really liked it. My friends weren't as impressed but said it was good. We also ordered a half meatball half sausage hot sub. It was so good! A fork and knife was required to eat it since it was baked open-faced in a large casserole dish topped with lots of tasty red sauce and melted cheese, all nice and bubbly. Next we ordered wings. They were perfectly cooked- large crispy and juicy wings. My only complaint is that I ordered them buffalo style hot yet they came out more like spicy BBQ wings. They were good so we didn't return them. My friend stated that they must have given us the wrong wing order since usually the hot wings don't taste like BBQ. We also ordered one small pizza, extra sauce and well done. It came out nice and saucy with bubbly browned cheese. The crust is thicker then I prefer but it was well seasoned, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I added extra garlic powder and grated parmesan cheese to it to give it that little extra kick it was missing. This is really a 3.5 review but since it's not possible I'm rounding up. Oh, and they have pitchers which go great with pizza and wings even though the hot sausage and meatball sandwich was the shining star, for me. They have a rather extensive menu I need to further investigate. Burgers, Ruebens, pasta, soups, sandwiches... but I have a feeling this is a pizza, wing and munchies kind of place. Oh, they have a large lot in the back so if the street is full, fear not. read more

The Fountain is a neighborhood bar and restaurant - parking in back as well as on the street - kind of old fashioned, noisy, friendly in all respects. I had heard they made good pizza so today I went with Red and Pony for a happy birthday to us lunch. We shared a large traditional pizza (meaning it has red sauce) with mushrooms, onions, sausage and green pepper. It came properly cooked with a nice char starting on the bottom - a lovely crust, not too thick or thin, with a hearty chew, but not terribly flavorful by itself. There toppings were generous,and the mozzarella had nice long stringies when we pulled out that first slice. But it was, according to Pony, meh. I thought there were way too many onions and they were cut rather thick so they didn't soften up properly. The mushrooms, SADLY, were canned. They tasted like can. But the worst thing was I kept tasting something tinny and bitter so, like a 4 year old baby superhero, I started pulling out bits of ingredients and tasting them - a bit of crust, cheese, green pepper, mushroom, onion, sauce and what??? It was definitely coming from the sausage!!! And it didn't abate as I ate though a slice.Totally not appetizing. Added red pepper, salt, black pepper and grated parm at the table were helpless rescuing this poor innocent slice from bland badness. Maybe it needed a beer. read more

Fountain Restaurant - Pizza Near Me - Albany, New York

Not good food, ordered take out the pasta with sauce wasn't even good everything was tasteless. The wings were undercooked and I asked for buffalo sauce medium and it was this gross sweet sauce. An $80 meal out the window. Never going here again. read more

Spent 15 minutes studying the tablecloth. The same waitress passed by numerous times, even taking orders from two tables that walked in after us. We left, with not even a glass of water to review--and no plan to return. read more

just Not the fountain pizza I remember. Food was good, but,doesn't deserve 4 stars. Just your average pizza

In the half dozen or so times we've eaten here, they've managed to mess up the order just about each time. Tonight we ordered a vegetarian pizza and got one with pepperoni and sausage, and this is actually the second time that's happened. Yes, they'll correct the order, but it's still a 45 minute wait. We live nearby and would have liked to make this a neighborhood favorite, but they just can't figure out the connection between taking an order and delivering the food as ordered. There are too many good restaurants with good service nearby to bother with the Fountain. ***You won't believe this - my husband returned the meat pizza and picked up the "correct" pizza, and it was still wrong! Instead of green peppers, they put pepperoni on it! So for the second time in one evening, they screwed up a pretty simple order. Obviously, we've gone elsewhere and would recommend that you do the same! read more

I've been in many times and different days, so far Sunday night is my favorite. Very attentive wait staff, super friendly and always smiling. They seemed to all work together, our food came right out even though it was busy. read more

Rude service. Good food but the waiting staff are rude and don't pay any attention to you. It takes forever for them to take your order and the food to come out. read more

This is a classic Albany establishment and a mainstay in the row of restaurants on New Scotland Ave. It draws people from the neighborhood who have been coming for decades and newer customers from the hospital, law school, med school and pharmacy college - all down the street. The Fountain has their own version of pizza (excellent) and other Italian-American standards. And on the second weekend of every month Skip Parsons Riverboat Jazz Band plays late into the night, as they have for the last 45 years. read more

have been going to the Fountain for years, their pizza is by far the best in the area.service has always been outstanding. gone in their late at night the food is as good as it was during the day. their meals are excellent as well. my complaint about the Fountain is not about the food, but their parking lot is not in the best of shape. read more

I come from the land of thick crust (Buffalo, NY) however, I appreciate a well executed thin crust slice any day of the week. This pizza falls somewhere in between the two. Not too thick or thin with a high volume of toppings. If you're looking for a basic create-your-own-pie and some reliable, cold, draft beer to wash it down: check this place out. read more

When calling for a pick up pizza told that it would be 30 mins. Arrive and told that they are behind and it will then be 20 mins more. It seems impossible to me to not know that you are this behind that an accurate time about be given and then be told it will be 80% longer to wait. I wouldn't have cared of I was told 45, but to be blindsided. Just stop taking pickup orders. read more

I had a great meal at the Fountain last night. I honestly think it might have been the best pizza pie I have ever had. Something about eating it there fresh out of the oven made it taste even better then usual. The wings and mozz. sticks were awesome too. The servers were really nice and timely with the food and drinks. Contrary to what I said in my prior review, I might have to eat in here more often. read more

My review might be a little biased but, I've been eating here for 30 or so years so that should tell you something right there. This is THE pizza place for me. The pizza place that all others are compared to. I've had some good pies in my travels but, this is still the best. Perfect crust, flavorful sauce, plenty of cheese and great toppings. I haven't lived in Albany in over 10 years but, I still got their number memorized! read more

Get the pizza, but all the food is good. Beware of the live music nights, they aren't for everyone! I've been coming here for five+ years, the food is always great, the drinks are good and the atmosphere is always nice. read more

Best pizza, wings, and antipasto in the Capital District! Well worth the trip from anywhere!

The food was just okay. Everyone raves about the pizza, but I wasn't overly impressed. It was good, but not great. What I really didn't like was that the nachos had all the toppings on the top only; get past the first layer and it's just regular ol' Doritos. Yes. Nacho cheese Doritos! read more