Iron Gate was honestly the best brunch I've ever had in Albany. The place had its aesthetics down, and the customer service was amazing. Not to mention, the food was delicious. When we got there (my party of four), we were immediately seated with our reservation, and the waitress made us feel very comfortable. There were bees outside, but the waitresses were so accommodating and allowed us to switch inside. In addition to the friendly and flexible service, the food was also flavorful and delicious. The Friends with Benedict was smooth and cooked well. The sauce was a perfect balance against the eggs, and the home fries too had great seasoning. I normally don't give out 5 stars, but Iron Gate has made a great impression. The food, aesthetics, and friendly service make this place live up to its high reviews. Highly recommend to anyone wanting a delicious brunch! Prices reasonable too. read more

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Amazing chill ambiance - very friendly and happy staff. I danced the whole time while eating my food lol it was just such a good vibe in there. We sat at the bar and ate every bite. The cappuccino was delicious, the pancakes are a must. Every omelet on their menu is full of Flavor, and the home fries were perfect. I will definitely be back to try more of the menu and drinks. Make sure you come before you're hungry because it's a busy place, well worth the wait! read more

Iron Gate Cafe - Elvis' Memphis Scramble on the left, Pancakes, Sunny side up Eggs, and Caprese Omelet on the bottom right. - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

Cool spot in Albany. Tasty food, nice vibe but long waits (add yourself to the waitlist before heading over!) staff was awesome

What a gem! Fabulous garden restaurant with two patios and a large indoor space. Award winning cuisine, great selection, deftly prepared by a world class kitchen! Watch out for the Cajun Bloody Mary - delicious! A restaurant is only as good as the staff...in this case - a homerun. We got to meet Samantha (Sam) today. Gorgeous, funny, welcoming, and as knowledgable as you might like on the reccs! Really made the day nice! If you find yourself in downtown Albany, give this great place a try. You won't be sorry! read more

5+ Stars for this find, thanks YELP Members. Stayed overnight in Albany area and hotel was no longer serving breakfast do to COVID rules so onto Yelp. Downtown Albany opposite Library - on street parking - took a little bit driving around but found this gem. Waitlisted via Yelp and our table was waiting for us. Service was EXCELLENT by Samantha L, Coffee is local, cup was always refilled without asking, and was great as well. Nice VEGAN Menu, found out Nephew comes here often. Elvis' Memphis Scramble 13.00, Three Egg scramble with bacon, Vermont maple sausage, green peppers, & onions topped with melted Pepper Jack. Served with cornbread was my choice, heads up take the Cornbread, normally NOT A FAN but theirs's was like a dessert. Eggs were cooked to perfection and tasted great. Iron Gate, 13.00, Applewood smoked ham, English muffin, & Pepper Jack Hollandaise Benedicts for the spouse and she really enjoyed hers as well. Highly recommend and waitlist yourself they do get busy. COVID RULES ARE IN PLACE. Felt safe. read more

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My friends and I were staying near Albany for a wedding recently, and when a group of us wanted to go to brunch, I found Iron Gate Cafe--and I'm so glad we did! As soon as we walked in, the vibes were wonderful, welcoming, and warm: everyone said hello to us, and was very kind, and the decor of Iron Gate was lived-in and charming. There was a group of seven of us, and the staff was able to seat us right away, and even gave us our own room in the back of the space. Our server was awesome, and checked in while giving us enough time to review the menu (and seasonal specials). They were attentive and absolutely nailed our orders, even with seven of us, most of whom ordered a couple of different drinks. The food and drinks themselves were also delicious; I had an apple cider mimosa (easily my new favorite mimosa!), an iced coffee, and the Big Iron Breakfast Sandwich, which was warm, hearty, and an awesome breakfast sandwich. The peppers gave it a fantastic kick! I can't recommend Iron Gate more, and if I'm ever in Albany again, look forward to going back. read more

My favorite restaurant in Albany the Raspberry Brie French toast is The best. Their pancakes are amazing too read more

this is our favorite breakfast place in the area. service , food and atmosphere are all tops. get on the waiting list so you dont have to wait for a table there read more

Great food and service that we went back 2 days in a row! Will definitely make it part of my travel itinerary to Albany! Thank you Kevin and staff for amazing hospitality and great service Also the space is amazing and great play list of music read more

Great food, service and the outdoor garden seating is like being on vacation. I highly recommend this place, but encourage you to go online to get in the queue as it is very popular. read more

Breakfast is always great! It gets pretty busy yet their crew stays on top of it. Live the layout and the old building.

Whoa what a fantastic place this turned out to be. We were visiting family in Albany and were searching high and low for a brunch spot (that was vegan friendly) AND open on a Monday. We discovered this cute café and had an amazing brunch on the front patio. About a month later my sisters and I met up in Albany again, and this time decided to get a 2 mile jog in from our Airbnb down to this café and enjoyed another amazing brunch here yet again. This has come to be our favorite local spot to eat when we come into town. Fantastic menu, amazing drinks and they have two for one mimosas on Mondays! read more

Iron Gate Cafe - Mimosas! - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

Very tasty brunch Nice outdoor seating Dog friendly (outside), although a bit of a wait to sit outside read more

The raspberry and Brie French toast was delicious, as was the pistachio sweet cream cold brew. read more

Iron Gate Cafe - Raspberry Brie French Toast - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

I found this on Yelp and was so happy! Such a lovely place to have a leisurely breakfast with a friend! Huge portions and eclectic decor! 10/10 would go again! read more

Iron Gate Cafe - Elvis omelet- sooo fantastic! - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

Love the ambiance and food is amazing. So cute inside and the coffee is great. Always bring friends here when they come to town

Great place to eat that is close to the Capitol. Fair prices for deliciously crafted meals! I would definitely go here any time that I'm in Albany. The place is spacious and intimate. Great for all types of groups or single meals! read more

Service was great. Breakfast was delicious. I had a variation of an eggs benny. Went with my 2 kids. Reasonably priced. Pretty nice building with an interesting history. Easy parking right out front. read more

Great Atmosphere and Awesome Food I first visited the Iron Gate Cafe in October with my realtor so I was quick to suggest it to my husband as we were considering a local restaurant for lunch. The Iron Gate offers quality food and great service in a unique and comfortable setting. They still had covid safety measures in place as staff, for the most part, wore masks over their noses and offered a scannable QR code menu; physical menus available upon request. For this visit, we ordered the Kickin' Chicken and Chicken Club sandwiches which both came with fries. Our server suggested subbing fried chicken on the Club which was a good suggestion. You'll see in the pictures, the chicken breasts had a beautiful brown, crispy crust and were still tender and juicy. Their fries, while light on seasoning, appear to be double fried them giving them a wonderfully crisp crunch and soft center. Our server was helpful in answering our questions and providing suggestions. She was extremely pleasant and helpful, checking in on us a couple of times during the course of our meal. The restaurant itself has a wonderful atmosphere about it as the majority of the indoor dining spaces are in various rooms on the first floor of an old brownstone home. There is a small dining room in the back which isn't quite as impressive so try to get seated in the house. The outdoor dining spaces look inviting as well so I'm looking forward to warmer weather. They have a nice selection of vegan and vegetarian options as well as a nice-looking breakfast/brunch menu. ATMOSPHERE - 5 (3 if in the backroom) FOOD - 5 SERVICE - 5 VALUE - 5 nice-looking read more

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First time at Iron Gate! I wanted just a few things, so the waitress suggested I order some a la carte items. I had a piece of french toast, 2 scrambled eggs and turkey sausage. All was delicious! The waitress remembered that the french toast was supposed to come with whipped cream and berries, and went back immediately to retrieve it without me having to ask. My boyfriend got the breakfast burrito and said it was just okay, which is why I'm giving 4/5 stars. But def would return again! read more

Iron Gate Cafe - A la carte french toast, turkey sausage, and scrambled eggs - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

We came on a whim after landing at the airport. It was a Sunday afternoon, and we were able to snag two seats at the bar. Paige, the bartender, was lovely. I was blown away by the amount of vegan options, and quickly ordered the French toast. Fellow vegans, when was the last time you had French toast!!? My breakfast sandwich accidentally came out with bacon on it, despite being vegan, but Paige and the manager quickly re-fired a new order. It came out perfect! Easily one of the best vegan sandwiches I've had. French toast was unreal.The staff were so accommodating and kind. Thank you again for the hospitality and delicious food! read more

Iron Gate Cafe - Ultimate Vegan Breakfast Sandwich - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

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I'm not even a French toast fan but this was the best French toast I've ever had. So fluffy and light!! Apple cider mimosa tasted exactly how you'd imagine an apple cider mimosa to taste read more

Iron Gate Cafe - French Toast - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

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Delicious food served in a delightful environment. Most recently, we shared black bean sliders and gluten free pancakes. Both were fabulous.

Amazing ambiance! The cafe is in some beautiful old house with wallpaper, chandeliers, etc. Food was also awesome; my friend and I went for brunch. read more

Iron Gate Cafe - Breakfast BLT - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

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I'm from out of town so the online positive reviews brought me in. They were all right! Amazing servers with kindness and care. I felt like I was in someone's home. Amazing bar-service, too! The farmhouse eggs were poached perfectly and the cardamom latte was just sweet enough while the spices kicked in. I should have ordered 2 of everything! I will definitely be back! read more

Iron Gate Cafe - Cardamom latte with farmhouse hash (2 local poached eggs on top a bed of sweet potato hash with local sausage pieces) - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

Such a charming old home turned into a restaurant. Super friendly staff and the food was excellent. We both ordered the 2 egg breakfast with a side of bacon and toast. Cooked perfectly. read more

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We had brunch yesterday at this place and everything was excellent!! Food was phenomenal and staff is very friendly and warm too!!

Great menu sandwiches soups salads great breakfasts nice indoors or outdoors. Nice service friendly easy street parking

Always super fast, the food is amazingly fresh and well seasoned, and the environment as a whole is 10/10 read more

Iron Gate Cafe - Sweet potato tots, Spinach & Mushroom Omelet - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

Best brunch in Albany, hands down. Anytime someone visits, we bring them here. The feeling of eating good food in an old brownstone just hits different. And it's perfect for the couple where one person loves breakfast food and one person loves lunch food because I can never make up mind and always leave happy. Pro tip: it gets busy so use the yelp app to hold your spot in line to limit your wait time. You won't regret it. read more

I enjoyed my meal! The outdoor seating looked lovely but our group was too large, so we sat in the bay window. The menu has some variety for all diets. My coworkers complained that their fries were insufficient but all in all everyone felt their meals tasty. I knocked off a star since it seemed like the whole restaurant was a bit dingy and dated, needed a refresh so it would appear cleaner and sanitary. I liked that the water didn't come automatically with a straw. read more

Iron Gate Cafe - Thai chili bowl with shrimp - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

Our first time here and we loved it! I must say the wait was over an hour but if you are within 40 miles from the restaurant you should add yourself to the wait list to minimize your actual wait time when you arrive. The entire place gives me an Alice in Wonderland kind of vibe. That's just me though! My husband and I ate in the garden towards the back. They have lots of shade and they even went the extra mile to place big zappers at each table. Genius! We ordered the breakfast burrito. Which came with a small green salad, that had a slight lime flavoring to it and a side of red sauce that reminded us of a Mexican mole sauce. The burrito was packed with eggs, potatoes, cheddar cheese and beyond sausage with an avocado spread. They also added the cheddar cheese on the outside of the wrap. It was perfect! We had our eye on the vegan buffalo wrap and some of the alcoholic beverages! Can't wait to give those a try! read more

Iron Gate Cafe - a plate of food on a table - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

First time eating here and it was fantastic! Definitely one of the best breakfasts I've ever had and the coffee was great too. Iron Gate has a very creative menu so it was hard to choose but the Phoenix Rising benedict was great. Definitely will be back! read more

Maybe more like a 3.5. We were looking for a good brunch spot on a Sunday morning and Iron Gate kept coming up and we saw that the reviews were decent. It's surprising how little breakfast/ brunch spots are in Albany. We came in to find the wait to be 1 hour and 15 minutes. So we put our name on the waitlist. Between the reviews and the wait time we thought maybe it was a great sign for some really awesome food. The wait ended up turning into more like a one and a half hour wait. We ordered our food and found it to be just average. Nothing necessarily bad about it but nothing exceptional either. Sort of like typical diner entrees. We were starving so at that point we were satisfied that we were sitting and eating. The lattes were good, however. I ordered the corn beef hash and it was just ok. read more

This place is amazing! Great friendly staff, great food. I've been going to IGC for years and everything about the place is terrific! I can't wait for the patios to open great ambiance and relaxed place to enjoy with friends! read more

Great food. Cool atmosphere. Crazy wait times but it's good enough to have a wait for. Had the Raspberry and Brie French toast and a matcha latte. Friend did gluten free pancakes with blueberries. All very good. read more

Iron Gate Cafe - Raspberry Brie French Toast. - Cafes Near Me - Albany, New York

Amazing food, great service ,love the ambiance everybody is always really friendly cool people always nice

Amazing food, service, and environment. Love the matcha, breakfast quesadilla, and that you can order one pancake on the side! One of our staple restaurants in Albany! read more

Food- service-people are all terrific! Best to make a reservation online. Vegan options. Very quaint space.

LOVE THIS PLACE!! I've came here twice now with my boyfriend and we loved it both times, food is DELICIOUS!!! Coffee is great aswell. They are also so friendly and amazing at customer service. Only complaint is the lack of parking but they can't control that so I don't mind I love it here I need to come more often. I got the breakfast blt and my boyfriend got stuffed French toast and neither of us had any complaint. Def a 10/10 place read more