Ordinarily, I would trust Lai-Yee, but she came here on a double whammy night - St. Patty's and Karoke! Oddly enough, the thing that drew me in to the Side Door Cafe was their Marquee. Wireless internet? In a tavern? You mean enjoy wings and a beer in a casual environment and catch up on my Yelping at the same time? Sign me up. I don't know why I didn't listen to my instincts and run away when I first stepped foot in this place. It had the distinctive smell of toilet soap-cakes. Plus the restaurant was almost deserted. Two women in their 80s were eating a sandwich, drinking a bottle of bud (from a glass, mind you, they were ladies) and playing keno. You get the picture. I could go into more detail, but it's just not worth it. The wings that I ordered crispy, were some of the slimiest I have had in the area. The blue cheese dressing had turned and was curdled. A few of the wings were mangled, with bones sticking out in all directions. I'm a pretty tough customer. It takes a lot to turn my stomach. But I actively tried (and ultimately succeeded) in keeping those wings down. It wasn't easy, but mint gum and herbal tea are very soothing. And the punchline: Yes they have wireless internet access... but it's password protected. read more

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Amazing food especially Pizza and Wings. Made with homemade sauce! Staff is friendly and super attentive! karaoke on Friday also super fun! read more

Side Door Cafe - Buffalo chicken pizza! Amazing! - American Near Me - Albany, New York

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Nice people, nice place, and great food! Make sure to try their wings with a cold one. absolutely the best. read more

A very nice atmosphere! The food was delicious! Karaoke on Friday night was Great! Thank you!

An old friend suggested we meet up here the other night because it was sort of equidistant from our respective locations. Unfortunately, I arrived before him and felt the need to seem as fully engrossed in the ice in my drink as possible. I think I've figured it out -- the Side Door is where you take that sort of unattractive girl you're embarrassed to be seen with in public. You know, if you're that kind of shallow jerk. Or it's the place where you go to escape your wife and kids and play OTB if you're a middle-aged Guilderland resident with a penchant for country music and younger female bartenders. On the plus side, the drinks are really cheap and it doesn't smell as bad as I was expecting. And the juke box is a bizarre, country-heavy melange of top 40 hits, 80s hits, classic rock and the occasional unexpected song by, say, the Kaiser Chiefs. read more

I come here for pizza & beer & I'm never disappointed. Great sausage pizza & Rebel IPA. read more

Side Door Cafe - Sausage pizza & Rebel IPA...yum. - American Near Me - Albany, New York

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After all the bad reviews I felt I needed to try and redeem the Side Door Cafe. Is it a fancy restaurant? No. Is it fine dining? No. Is it a tavern with good bar food? YUP. Sure, it's not the nicest place I've ever been, but every time we have been there the food was very good! The pizza is good, as are the burgers and they have a really good sausage burger that is delicious! Prices are very reasonable. The ambiance is that of a hole in the wall sports bar, with a bazillion televisions with a different game on every channel. Lots of guys at the bar watching the ponies and placing their OTB bets, so it can be quite loud at times. I'm not a big sports fan or I'd probably give it 4 stars instead of 3. Fine dining it's not, but if you just want a yummy sandwich, burger or pizza it's definitely worth checking out. read more

The pizza and wings are by far THE BEST in Albany!! Delicious and the wings were cooked perfectly!! I can't wait to go back. Bar staff was friendly and excellent read more

I met some friends here to see a band on a Saturday night. This is my first time at the Side Door Cafe. The band was great but every once in a while the band's equipment would blow a fuse and some of the power in the restaurant would go off. This happened about 3 times within a four hour period. Overall we enjoyed ourselves, the only complaint I have are the drinks. I asked for a Kettle One and cranberry. When I got the drink I tasted absolutely NO alcohol at all. It was overloaded with ice and was basically a watered down juice drink. I decided to order another just to see if maybe it was me. The second was the same. I even tried a third time and once again no alcohol. I watched the bartender pour the Kettle One from the bottle, so to me something's not adding up. I probably would not go here again just for that reason. read more

i don't have much to add to what they others have said here except to relate my own story (no worries. it is very short) we came here a few years ago for much the same reason as jess. i didn't have my id - keep in mind that i turn 40 on the 18th... so i was maybe 36. they absolutely refused to serve me even though all of my friends had id's that said they were around the same age as i. and then they wouldn't even let me stay and drink soda. needless to say i have not even considered going back. read more

The sidedoor is where I go for pizza and wings from time to time Don't bring a date to impress. But come for karaoke and food specials.

The food really isn't that bad for a sports bar. Every so often they will have local, live entertainment.

If I could give this place zero stars, I would. Everything about this place made my skin crawl, but a friend really wanted to go for someone's birthday, so in we went. Parking wasn't bad at all, and the location is easy to find and, blessedly, easy to leave (though we couldn't do that quickly enough). From the outside, it almost looks like just a good ole working man's bar, and there is nothing wrong with that. On the inside, it is a smelly, dirty, simply gross petri dish. The moment we walked in the door, we exchanged glances as the mix of cheap air freshener, urinal cakes, and feces was unmistakable. We ordered our drinks at the bar, and it took the bartender a while to make them, but he wasn't stingy with the alcohol (and hey, that kills germs, right? I hope?). We placed an order for some fries figuring they should be fairly safe. They took over 20 minutes, and were oily and soggy when they finally arrived. Come on. Even fast food places can make decent fries. I am not even going to let myself think about the nasty guy who brought us the fries. On top of this, we watched a group of people all get up and move to the other side of the room. This was a bit distracting as they blocked the person singing, and we were irritated until a bit later when we saw why. THEY WERE SNAKING THE TOILETS IN THE DINING ROOM. I understand that plumbing fails but did they really need to do it IN the dining room? People were eating!! The one redeeming thing was the karaoke. The guys doing it kept it going and were entertaining, and most of the people singing were good or even great. The few bad ones were at least entertaining. It was much better than places like Maxie's where karaoke is painful. I wish I'd asked if they are anywhere else because I'd gladly go see them again but not at this vile place. My advice? 1) Don't go here. Just don't. 2) If you end up here despite my warnings, do NOT order food. I'm not even sure you should trust the glasses; I'd suggest you stick to bottled beer. 3) Bring Purell. Lots and lots of Purell. 4) Plan to shower and wash your clothes as soon as possible after you leave. 5) SERIOUSLY DO NOT GO. If your friends want to go, FIND NEW FRIENDS!! read more

Some of my friends went here for trivia and invited me......had I known, I probably wouldn't have gone. I didn't care for the place at all...it seemed dark, and dirty and in need of some fresh vibes. I was hesitant to eat, but I was hungry....they had next to nothing on the menu that was vegetarian, so I ended up with a Lettuce and Tomato sandwich on wheat bread...yum yum. My bf ordered fish and chips...and it looked disgusting, it was this thin log of fish in a hot dog bun....I didn't enjoy my experience here, and will avoid going back..there are plenty of other places that offer trivia. read more

The only reason I go here is because The Karaoke Masters host Karaoke there and they have the best karaoke in town, with amazing sound, a great selection of songs, good singing regulars and friendly hosts!! Otherwise, the food is terrible. It's gone way downhill over the years. You can tell they are really cutting corners to save bucks. Go for drinks and karaoke, but arrive with a full belly. read more

I went to the Side Door Cafe tonight with my girlfriend. When we walked in, there were a bunch of people arguing with each other, using foul language. One guy was banging on the bar. What was worse is that the waitress was in on the action! We ordered drinks and felt uncomfortable the whole time we were there. It was a bad crowd. The other waitress pointed to us and asked us if we wanted anything else to drink. I told her the atmosphere was crappy and we were leaving. She looked at us as if we had three heads. Apparently, that is the typical crowd at the Side Door. My girlfriend and I will never go there again. read more

Divey, working person's place - friendly crowd and bartender - reasonably priced food with generous portions - great pizza you can get to go - someone else mentioned the odor of toilet cakes - I smelled that in the vestibule and I suggest they change their airfreshener there as it is offputting as you enter - but I liked this place - it has a homey feeling to it - like a place you can just go and relax and not worry about putting on airs which I prefer over places where everyone has a poker up his ass - had a lovely chat at the bar with a man in the HVAC business - there are tables in the back and there were some families eating there with kids - everyone is welcome - they have typical pub food - it is prepared to order so it comes out hot and fresh - they serve food til 1 am on Fri and Sat which is great to know if looking for a late bite read more

Best pizza and wings in Albany Guilderland area plus many other menu items are far better then others in the area. Low price beer and drinks as well. This place is for the working blue collar crowd and not for the limp wrist reviewers on this page. If you are a working blue color person then you'll fit right into the atmosphere of this bar. read more