$300 to eat on a plastic tablecloth on Valentine's Day, not even a candle on the table. I'm…read moreembarrassed I suggested the spot to my date. The experience felt stingy and rushed. I'm sad because I loved this spot and I'm disappointed the quality has gone down so drastically. Portions were very small and the food didn't taste special or interesting. The octopus came out room temp and had been sitting out. Entres lukewarm. The drinks were by far the best part of the meal and it took half an hour to get them. Service was all over the place but they get a pass because it's Valentine's Day. Do yourself a favor and try Rosanna's instead.

RESERVATION ONLY * WOW! What an amazing meal! Best carbonara I've ever had. Husband ate all of his…read morevodka pasta with chicken. High quality ingredients. Lovely glasses of wine. Service was great. You can tell the people working here take care of their space. Someone was always cleaning. Tiramisu was light and flavorful. What a great gem in Albany.

I was in Albany for my doctoral hooding ceremony and subsequent graduation, when I was left…read morewondering where to take my family for dinner afterwards. I was promised that Grappa 72 would exceed my expectations. As an Italian-American AND a foodie, it's hard to wow me at an Italian venue. I can honestly say that this place was all that I was promised and more. What we ordered to share: crispy arancini (special app that day), eggplant parm, fried calamari. I am a red sauce snob, and all three of these delivered on presentation, quality, and overall flavor. Entrees we ordered included: halibut (entree special and my choice), pappardelle loaded with shrimp and chicken (also a special), pork osso bucco (stole the show!). We ended with individual desserts, and their Italian cheesecake was smooth and creamy. Service was reflective of high-end dining, yet the check for six people was moderate to affordable. Considering the quality, quantity, and overall experience, this is a place I need to get back to. Now I need to find an excuse to be in the Capitol Region so I can go back!

My boyfriend, his family, and I arrived at Grappa '72 to celebrate my boyfriend's graduation from…read moremed school! Our hostess was just the sweetest. She had lots of recommendations for what drinks and dishes to order, and she was really attentive towards our party. When we sat at our table, we helped ourselves to the fresh table bread and tapenade while we decided what to order. I decided to get the seafood special, which was a grilled branzino served with blistered green beans and wild rice. While the dish tasted a bit too oily for my liking, there was LOTS of food that came with this dish - enough for me to pack as a lunch the next day! What was also memorable about this experience was the live music playing at front. This is a very nice Italian resto for special occasions and date nights.

Wow! I've wanted to try Rosanna's for some time now and I regret waiting so long. This is like one…read moreof those local best kept secret spots. I was able to book a reservation online for the same day. Of note, when you have the option of Main Floor or First Floor & Bar, just realize the Main Floor is up a flight of stairs. I'm not sure if there is a separate entrance but my wife was on crutches and she managed to get up the first three into the restaurant from outside but I don't think dining on the main floor would have been an option for us. Our server, Mike, was awesome and full of energy and enthusiasm. He offered suggestions and answered questions about details of the dishes. We were pleasantly surprised with how many menu items were marked v - vegan and v* - can be prepared vegan. This is great for us because it's another place in Albany that we will be able to go out to dinner with friends and everyone will be able.to find something to enjoy. The fried Artichokes are a must if you're looking for a starter. We were eyeing up the Fennel salad or vegan Caesar salad but opted to move on to main entrees. On this night they were out of the Gnocchi Cacio-Pepe which personally, I am not a gnocchi fan to start and Mike told us they were substituting a buccatini pasta instead... this had my attention! I went for his suggestion and chose the Arrabbiata instead which was delicious. My wife enjoyed her Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto. We skipped dessert for this evening but there were vegan Gelato and cookie options for dessert as well. From start to finish it was such an enjoyable experience in this cozy corner restaurant which offers outdoor dining in the summer in the heart of Albany. We will totally be back with friends for another delicious meal at Rosanna's, the hidden gem in downtown Albany!

I am very surprised by all of the five star reviews. Our party of three had burger/fries, chicken…read moredish, tortellini, and garlic bread. No drinks. We all had water to drink. The burger/fries and chicken dish were average. The tortellini and garlic bread were below average. Tortellini tasted like it was just frozen and undercooked and then served warm, not hot. The garlic bread...how do you mess up garlic bread. It was $7 and it was literally two pieces that were the size of my pointer finger, and one of the pieces was burnt. I would have been embarrassed to serve it as complimentary, let alone charge for it. The three meals plus the two mini pieces of garlic bread came to $110 including tip. It was overpriced for the quality of the food. I would say at the most this should have been an $80 meal including tip. I would have given a 3 star review if that had been the price. I live in a pricey area and I'm not picky. I believe this is the only time I've given a restaurant anything below 4 stars. The place was clean and I like that they bring a glass bottle of water to the table.

This is a nice Italian restaurant that is several steps above Olive Garden. Reservations aren't…read morerequired but I can certainly see why they are recommended, and they were more than kind to us in allowing us to shift ours when our babysitter was delayed. We were seated in the back of the main room which was cold (the A/C was cranking due to the heatwave outside), loud (from people, not music). The side room was lit more invitingly and I think I would want to be there. I heard Frank Sinatra on the radio when we walked in, but within 30 minutes the place was packed and it turned into a raucous environment. We started off with garden salads with their homemade tomato basil dressing. It sounded fantastic but I quickly discovered it was loaded... absolutely loaded... with red onions. My wife bravely ate hers and the pile of onions kept growing on the side of her plate. I couldn't eat mine because of them so they took it away. They offered to remake it sans onions but I decided to hold out for my entree. My wife thought it was overdressed, but for a chopped salad such as it was I think it was fine. My veal Marsala was excellent. Every restaurant does theirs differently and here it wasn't too sweet or too garlicky. The bread on the table was crustier than an old pirate which made it difficult to eat with the table oil dip provided. However, it was perfect for sopping up the veal's sauce. My wife had Chicken Sorrento and the portion was absolutely humungous with a slick cheese shield on the top. She felt bad that my portion of veal was much smaller in comparison, but I had the last laugh as I thought her dish was just average. It all came down to the red sauce: every place tastes different and here it tasted a bit more like stewed tomatoes. (FYI: no place makes it as good as my grandmother). I am glad I ordered a non-red sauce dish, though my side of penne with only light sauce (per my request) was decent. Their dessert menu was nice but uninspiring. That's okay, as we were mostly full. Prices were fair for a white table cloth Italian restaurant, though not inexpensive. That being said, I much prefer the place in Loudonville which has more interesting entrees and comparable prices.

Simply outstanding! Amazing Eggplant Parmigiana. Truly wonderful chicken francese - best I ever…read morehad. Bread is fresh and warm and plentiful. The waitstaff was exceptionally attentive without being overbearing. The bartender is a master drink maker. I strongly recommend that you get a reservation as the restaurant is extremely busy - a testament to how good it is - or you not get seated. One caution- the restaurant is rather noisy and the tables are fairly close so be prepared to potentially get friendly with the guests at the next table

1st time here, service was great! Very warm and inviting. Chicken parm excellent, the best I have…read moreeaten. The sauce great flavor. We'll be taking some home.... Definitely recommend if your in the area or live here what a great place to eat .. if we are ever back in this area we will definitely be back.... Come give them a try.

It's kind of a unique venue as it appears to have once been a house converted into a restaurant and…read moremaybe was a deli as well? I can describe it as organized chaos as they were busy and the staff really do hop around trying to keep up. Starting with over warm bread and a nice oil/garlic dip the menu offers some nice choices and is not overwhelming large. The bruschetta was good and the calamari fresh but somewhat over salty but the red sauce kicked that down some. The entree's were good and the plates plentiful with extra to take home. Several dessert choices as well and the cannoli fresh and over stuffed.

Visited Albany on the way back from a wedding in Vermont and needed a good hearty meal after a long…read moreweekend of fun! No reservation, and a smaller restaurant we tried on a whim and were offered two seats at the bar promptly and decided to stick around. Immediately upon entering Nicole's, the atmosphere takes you to a small Italian restaurant scene depicted in many a movie. Dimly lit, but not dark, fragrances of perfume overpowered by garlic, tomato, and all the fresh seasonings and herbs in their dishes, and many many happy customers with big plates of pasta, bread, and red wine on the table. After receiving our app of fried artichokes, which came with a wonderful dipping sauce, and a side order of meatballs that melted in our mouths, but were not soft, or squishy we decided we did only needed one meal after a long day of travel. One of my go-tos when trying a new to me Italian spot is always the clam sauce, and this one hit it out of the park. I highly recommend Nicole's, and looking forward to returning again in August for my next visit to the area.

A really perfect experience. The ambiance of Nicole's is romantic, intimate but not too crowded…read more Perfect for date night or girls night out. Highly recommend starting with the short rib and burrata flatbread. The pear martini is a very refreshing sipper cocktail. For my entree I had the chicken Marsala which was prepared wonderfully, great balance of sauce and mushrooms over the chicken and pasta. Enough to bring some home without being a huge portion for no reason. Highly recommend a visit here!

We had never been here so decided to give it a try. The food was wonderful!…read moreI had rigatoni in marinara sauce with meatballs. This was a large portion. My wife had a balsamic wrap. Also large. The pasta dish was great. Perfectly prepared. The wrap was outstanding and loaded with delectable contents. Lastly, we had a chocolate mousse chocolate cake which was sinfully fantastic! The service was very very friendly- but- very very slow. The restaurant was not overly busy because we arrived fairly early. We highly recommend this restaurant but expect to spend some time there unless this visit was unusual.

Food was fantastic…read more Seating was a little discombobulated we asked for a table they told us all the tables were reserved. They gave us a high top. The high top chair was coming apart on the bottom screw is missing. The bag was actually coming off. Our server, a polite young man was over and beyond friendly and very attentive to everything we needed We will be coming back again and again Inside was very nice and pleasurable to look at just the seating was the issue

Came here with coworkers for a business dinner, and from the outside you'd never expect how great…read moreit is inside. The restaurant itself is smaller and broken up into different rooms, which actually makes for a really nice, more intimate dining experience. The service was top notch. The staff and our waitress were incredibly attentive very professional and always right there when you needed something without being overbearing. As for the food, everything we had was excellent. I ordered the duck, and having it prepared in different ways including as a sausage was honestly amazing. The eggplant appetizer was on another level, and the grilled octopus was cooked perfectly and full of flavor. I also had an espresso martini, which was made really well. To top it all off, the pistachio cake for dessert was the perfect finish. Overall, this place is truly top notch great food, great service, and a great experience all around. Definitely worth checking out.

Delicious Italian food, great ambience, and welcoming staff. Also enjoyed the wine we had! Would…read morerecommend!

Nice family restaurant. Went for a family birthday dinner, service was excellent and we never felt…read morerushed. The food was wonderful.

This place is excellent in every way! outstanding menu, service, and the meals are awesome!read more

Excellent food and service! Lindsay was our server, she was great! very busy but she was there to…read moretake care of us. will ho again for sure!

Favorite restaurant in world. Please get the chicken Frangelico! It's the best dish on the menuread more