Food - Excellent!!! It was delicious. Service- It was good. We had a waitress who was in training. Her and the waiter worked well together. Ambiance- It was noisy in the beginning but as the lunch crowd left it was quieter. You could carry on a conversation easily with six or more people. read more

In for the night after a great meal at Lanie's Cafe on Albany Shaker rd. . I started with an appetizer of calamari with marinara sauce - they really need to start offering that with cocktail sauce as an option-, and repeating what she said on our wedding night, my wife exclaimed " that's huge." even after sharing with her I needed a box to take the rest home. My wife ordered Veal Parmesan with a side of spaghetti while I went with the prime rib sandwich. I managed to finish my meal, but the serving was so large that she had to take hers home in a box. The hostess was kind enough to seat us at a table so I could have my back to a wall saying only that we need to be out of there in 90 minutes because it was reserved. We sat down ate , paid our bill and left in almost exactly an hour. Olive Garden could learn a thing or two from this place as the food was nice and hot and neither the hostess nor the waitress ever argued with me, even Lanie herself, stopped by to check on us. It was nice to see her as it's been quite a few years since I've been in there. How about that? I actually sat down and had a meal at a restaurant with no complaints.With a decaf iced tea for my wife and a glass of ice water with lemon for me the bill came to $80 and change, because everyone was so nice and accommodating I put a $100 bill on the table and left, we will return. read more

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We sat on the patio Thursday night for a sunny dinner. The pinot grigio we ordered was pretty hot, boozy, but we didnt order anything upscale. My friend had to send his wine back because of an unidentified floater. I hate returning items but we couldnt tell if it was glass floating ? My half order nachos were really loaded up layer by layer filled with toppings. I would have loved to request more salsa because the ramekin was tiny. The steak sandwich and sweet potato fries were delicious . The bread had a light crunch and the au jus well flavored. Our server was very polite but the dinner lasted over 2 hours. The pause between greeting, ordering drinks, then ordering food was substantial. The wait to obtain the bill at the conclusion of dinner was a bit too long too. I would give Lanis another try on a weekend when we have more time to dine. read more

We have been coming to this place for many years now and I simply cannot get enough. It's one of my favorite places to go while in the area and I make sure that for one of the nights we go and have dinner here. The espresso martini that I had was really good and the waiter did a fantastic job talking and entertaining us throughout the night . The food here is fantastic. I always get the chicken and broccoli Alfredo as it's one of my favorites and it's so much food but for a reasonable price which is awesome. The salad bar is simple and delicious . Everyone's dinner was really good and I cannot wait to go back read more

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I go to Lanie's all the time. I love the vegan bolognese and especially a trip to their salad bar! The service is always very friendly and the ambiance is like a Nonna's dining room. Cozy. Their wine list is great as well! read more

Lanie's Cafe - Vegan bolognese - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

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1st time here, food and service were excellent. I had the Chicken Picatta over Linguine, Superb. Everyone enjoyed there meal. Highly recommend and I will return. read more

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My family tried Lanie's on a Wednesday afternoon, while visiting my daughter at a nearby college. After a brief wait, we were seated. Always a good sign to see a restaurant filled with customers. We had a nice waitress, who is going through the training process. She's definitely off to a great start, as she was friendly and professional. I selected the Gorgonzola roast beef wrap and enjoyed it quite a bit, nice flavors and definitely fresh. I helped finish my daughter's chicken quesadilla and my wife's hot chicken wrap, both were tasty. Certainly worth a return. read more

Lanie's Cafe - Gorgonzola roast beef wrap and coleslaw was excellent! - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

Waitress was good. Have not been in a while prices are like 43.00 for veal and eggplant, swimming in so much sauce!!! Was not enjoyable, don't think I will. Return 130. 2 dinners 1 drink. read more

Lanie's has a classic neighborhood pub and restaurant fare with an actual local neighborhood touch. Lanie's could have been the prototype model of a Ruby Tuesday style chain restaurant. Let me say, do bot sleep on adding that salad bar to your order! A trip to this salad variety is a must. Always fresh and fully stocked, they have a variety of toppings, fresh Italian style sliced bread and what might have been seasoned butter or spreadable cheese? Not too sure about that. The staff was really nice and this is a great place to take a mixed group of people, especially family. We like to come here with our mothers. They really enjoyed the traditional menu items and we love the plentiful vegan options! This time we ordered vegan pizza, and seitan BBQ flavored wings. We also got a side of fries and that is why this review is a 4 ans not a 5 star review. Honestly, I couldn't tell you if we ordered fries at Lanie's before. I feel like we might have since that is something we typically order when we go out. But these fries were coated in like a batter of some type. I'm not totally sure if they contained dairy or egg in the coating but I can tell you my wife was sick for the rest of the day and part of the next day. I don't have the food sensitivity she has but as a vegan, I would recommend staying away from the fries. She didn't feel ill until shortly after leaving the restaurant so we didn't inform anyone on the staff. I don't know of they have an allergen menu like Juniors or Spinners but I know at those restaurants the fries and onion rings also are not vegan friendly because of a batter coating. Just be aware of that kind of thing bothers you, we would prefer fresh hand cut fries or just a regular straight cut frozen French fry. Still Lanie's is a great place and we will be back, we will just be more cautious about the things that aren't explicitly marked as vegan and not make assumptions. read more

Lanie's Cafe - Vegan Wings - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

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Generous portions. Delish ! Service excellent . Took my son for his birthday we will be back.

We on Fathers Day Long wait, VERY loud (like sports bar loud) inside. Patio was nice - quiet and chill. Food was great! I got shrimp&scallop ala vodka, my husband had stuffed steak (sub - marsala) Service was pretty good, they were understaffed though read more

Lanie's Cafe - Shrimp and scallop ala vodka - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

We know how busy it gets and that lanies doesn't take reservations - why? So we went early- 5 pm and still had a 20 minute wait - but excellent service. Awesome salad bar. The Russian dressing is fantastic! I ordered the stuffed steak- wanting to try it for awhile. It was good. The steak itself was a bit overcooked and tough. But the shrimp were fantastic and the concept is ingenious. My partner's ribeye was much tastier and tender BUT at least 40% of it was fat and uneatable. I love Lanies. Would love it so much more if they organized and took reservations. read more

Lanie's Cafe - Stuffed steak - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

I ordered the chicken parm and eggplant rollatini combo. This is just awesome since I love eggplant but can never decide what to get. The food was delicious and served nice and hot. It comes with their salad bar which again is modest but all very fresh and tasty. Service is good and our server was quite friendly. read more

Phenomenal, attentive customer service given by Dillion who also suggested the fried ice cream in place of tiramisu (which isn't on the menu... darn) yet the fried ice cream was a great recommendation and was delicious. The ambiance was very pleasant for a great afternoon lunch. The burger was so good, it didn't make it to the photo shoot for this post. That means....I must return for the delicious burger with cheese and a side of fries that I ate along with this delicious fried ice cream. I left very full and happy nonetheless. read more

Lanie's Cafe - Fried Ice Cream... yummy - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

From the raspberry mojito to the Tuscan panini, everything was delicious! The best part was the vocals of Nick Horace. What a great evening.! read more

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Every time I've gone, the food has been excellent, huge portions, and very friendly and helpful staff. Love it in the summer when we can sit outside. The Italian specialties are the best but there is a huge selection. read more

Try it they have Great Food.. I've been going there for years.. Every thing you want they have.. They want to please everyone.. it's a very Clean Restaurant.. They also have meany Choices to choose from. Let them know what you like to eat and they can order it for you.. read more

The food was great and nice waitress. Nice experience all around. Always worth the trip.

The place was busy. Staff very helpful in finding us a table quickly. Waitstaff was very cordial and helpful. Food was delicious and priced well. read more

Not coming back, unfortunately. For food, I got a Personal Pepperoni Pizza. It was merely okay, I found it to be doughy and pretty flavorless. The Mediterranean Haddock was good, but drowning in sauce. Blackened Cajun Steak wasn't cooked to requested medium rare, and seasoning was underwhelming. The mozzarella "logs" were good and I would recommend. In terms of service, we were rushed through our entire meal. I made a few requests, as I have certain dietary restrictions. Our server seemed put off and annoyed by this. Decor was nice, but our table felt cramped. If your okay with it being quite loud and bustling, it's okay. For me it was definitely overwhelming. read more

Lanie's Cafe - Personal Pepperoni Pizza - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

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My niece and I enjoyed a lovely lunch at Lanie's. She dined on the eggplant appetizer and an order of French onion soup. I had my usual:the express lunch--one trip to the salad bar (I love all the fresh veggies and homemade thousand island dressing) and an order of French onion soup. Their food is delicious and service was good, too. I recommend requesting a booth as the table area gets loud. read more

Regulars at Lanies ... regret having to write this one. We have been going to Lanies for years.. always been pleased. Last night we ordered coconut shrimp appetizer. After we ordered the couple next to us asked if we came often ... we said yes! They asked what is good .. I immediately said anything on this menu you will like! The food here is fabulous! Ironically, as I finished talking our coconut shrimp arrived. I picked up a piece and it was literally like shoe leather! I could not bite through it... it was overcooked beyond any standard and should never had been plated LET ALONE PUT IN FRONT OF A DINER! How it escaped the kitchen is beyond comprehension... I quietly pointed it out to the bartender ... It was redone ... the second iteration was better but at the very top of done ... but edible This is a good place Very busy Needs a wake up call ! Here it is. read more

Food was delicious! Service was pretty good on a busy night, staff were hustling, felt rushed.

Been here on multiple occasions. Always good service, and excellent food. Good place for a small group, or large. Very accommodating read more

Three of us arrived early for lunch since we heard it gets really busy at lunch time and by 12:30 the room was practically full. All three of us enjoyed our respective wraps and sandwiches and since the portions were large we all needed leftover containers. Service was super friendly. Most notable, 6 years ago, my dad was given a $50 gift card that he never had the opportunity to use and we tucked it away. We weren't sure they'd allow us to redeem such an old gift card (we thought in the last 6 years the restaurant has changed owners). I figured let's see if they'd accept it, if not we'd understand. They redeemed the card, no questions asked. That says a great deal about the character of the owners and management of Lanie's. We were pleased and impressed. read more

I was traveling with some co-workers and randomly picked Lanie's. I ordered the Black and Blue Filet Mignon. What a great dish - yummy! The sauce was ridiculously good and plenty of it. Plus the menu is huge with lots of great options. I will definitely come back. read more

Lanie's Cafe - Black and Blue Filet Mignon - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

I married a S. Philly Italian. My MIL's nickname is Cookie. I don't eat pasta outside of Philadelphia, except now. The ambience reminded me of Dante & Liugi's, yea THAT Dante & Luigi's. The vodka sauce would make Nomi mad but it was delicious and satisfying for me. Of all places....Albany. read more

Lanie's Cafe - Chicken & Eggplant Parm with Vodka Sauce over penne pasta - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

My boyfriend and I stopped by for lunch on our way from NH to Niagara Falls. One of my coworkers recommended Lanie's since she frequents the area with family, and we are so glad she did. My steak salad hit the spot, the french dip was flavorful, and the drinks were delicious. read more

Salad bar could use some romaine or iceberg-all masculine mix is a bit harsh. I ordered veal francaise. The sauce was very good. The pasta was cooked well. The veal was tough which was a shame- the breading was perfect. Maybe offer a chicken French? My waitress was very nice! You guys are close to a 4 star. Tighten it up! read more

We decided last minute to visit Lanie's on NYE. Very disappointed with the food served. I ordered a chicken meal with penne. The pasta was cold and mushy. Like mushy how they serve at nursing homes. I returned it n literally got the same thing just doused with extra sauce. We've been to lanies on non holiday days and the food is usually good but they were not on their a game that night. The food was not worth the price we paid. Very disappointing. read more

If you eat in the restaurant its definitely 5 stars! We ordered a few takeout dinners and appetizer's for a recent birthday and it was pretty disappointing. You seem to get better portions when dining in person. read more

Best. Favorite. Restaurant. Ever. Anytime we make a trip to Albany we go to Lanie's. Their drinks don't compete with anywhere else and don't get me STARTED on their food. Their coconut shrimp is the best hands down and their sauce for it is rich with coconut and pineapple chunks. If you're ever in the area - it's a MUST go. It does get busy and they don't take reservations, but do have a waitlist. Service is great, never had a bad experience here. read more

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Ambiance: The space was loud, challenging to hear the people with you, the acoustic could use a little help. With the added music and kitchen noise it really could have dropped the score more. Also, the silverware is located right outside of the women's bathroom...we just find it disgusting when this happens. On that note, the waitstation and computer are right outside of the bathroom and it's very uncomfortable to get in and out. Bathrooms were clean and the mouth wash was a great added touch! Service: The service was okay, we needed to ask for things or get our servers attention whenever we needed anything. Not ideal, but not awful. Food: The salad bar was a great added touch. Some of the items were not the freshest, and others were great. Their specialty butter for their bread was delicious! The seafood pasta Alfredo, was a hit and our 9 year old daughter loved it! The red sauce pasta dish with chicken was delicious with the perfect touch of spicy red peppers! The fish was not good? It looks like it is full of flavor but it did not have much flavor and tastes very watered down. We found it odd that the pasta that accompanied it has red sauce on it? The water is not good, make sure you order the pricey bottled water! We likely will not go back, particularly due to the silverware location and inability to visit with eachother. However, the two dishes we enjoyed were so delicious and we would highly recommend them if you stop in! read more

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Great food & service. We only go there in summer months, it's too noisy inside. Otherwise we would highly recommend it.

This restaurant is great! I went with a party of 8, and we were able to just walk in. The restaurant is beautifully decorated, but not over the top either. Service was nice, however, the food took a little while to come out. The food was delicious though, and I enjoyed the burger I got. It was extremely delicious, and the fries were good (I got regular fries). I also stole a sweet potato fry from my friend in exchange for one of my fries, and the sweet potato fries were really good. Overall 10/10, I would recommend this place to nearly anyone who likes this kind of food. read more

Lanie's Cafe - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

5/12/25: The four of us enjoyed delicious dinners and great service, but Laura left behind her favorite blue leather jacket. Thankfully staff found it and safeguarded it until we could return the next day to retrieve it. We highly recommend this restaurant for its food, cozy booths, friendly service, and its honesty (). - Laura & Mark VanValkenburg, Myrtle Beach, SC. read more

Tried this place again. The server was almost existent and so was the pizza cook. Our personal pizzas came out almost raw. I kid you not! The dough was barely cooked. It's clear whoever was cooking had no idea what to do. It's sad that this one great menu item is no garbage. It's true with most of the food under the new owners. There is no flavor. In the food or the place. I'm read more

The food here is the best. Service is outstanding and you may have to wait to get in but it is worth it. The portion they are you are to die for. Best place to eat.... read more

This experience was for the patio. We've sat inside previously and it wasn't a good experience. I tried to make a reservation but they only accept them for groups of 8 or more. They have an option to add yourself to a wait list online but it said their was no wait. I called closer to 5 to check again for a party of 6 plus a child and was told they had round tables that they could add chairs and accommodate us a little bit tightly but they could not hold a table for us. When I got there at 5:15 I spoke to the hostess as directed and she told me we couldn't be seated unless more than half the party had arrived. By this point I was a little exasperated because I'd tried to make a reservation and couldn't, tried to get on their wait list and couldn't and now I was afraid we'd have a long wait for our table with a toddler in tow. The hostess understanding that I had called and not been told that the whole party needed to be present made an exception to sit us. They only have 2 tables that can sit more than 4 on the patio. Most tables are in full sun this time of day but they do all have umbrellas which help a little. Our waitress was attentive and polite. The food portions are large for everything and everything looked good. My sons burger was over cooked and dry, they forgot the ketchup. Im assuming it was cooked well done because they're worried about making sure it was cooked all the way for a child... I would eat here again but only on the patio, inside is too loud. read more

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My wife and I have now eat in several times at lanies cafe. One of the things I really like is the selection the menu. They have everything from sandwiches and burgers, to high-end meals like prime rib and seafood. No matter if you're getting lunch or an expensive dinner, it all is good and is all been very satisfying. The service is great, and everybody. That works part is friendly and does their jobs. Well. It's always a great dining experience to eat at Lanie's and it will continue to be one of our top choices. read more