Here in Albany for my daughters college graduation. This place is a little hole in the wall we chose because they had a vegan option for burgers and a draft list! The service was excellent! Most of us ate chicken wings and they were okay. We travel to Buffalo a lot, therefore eat a lot of wings (Go Bills). However these didn't live up to the hype. The blue cheese however was amazing, and the beers, great. It's comfortable and as I already mentioned the service is excellent! read more

Giving The Local 217 5 stars for their mozz sticks with melba alone, but there are more things to love about this place. Okay, the mozz sticks: they're actually more like mozz logs which I am here for! You can tell from the breading that they are made in house, very crunchy and flavorful breadcrumbs add such a nice contrast to the huge amount of soft stretchy mozz inside. AND it comes with melba, so you know they know what they're doing here. The veggie quesadilla is also worth a shout out, because instead of just filling it with plain old Mexican blend cheese, they've decided to fill it with their spinach and artichoke dip -- genius! Mixed with the veggies, the dip adds a great creamy, slightly acidic touch; so much so that you don't even need the side of sour cream it comes with. Their beer list is solid, service is pleasant, and they have one of the nicest patios to enjoy when the weather calls for it. The Local 217 deserves your visit! read more

The Local 217 Taproom & Kitchen - a plate of food - Sandwiches Near Me - Albany, New York

Sunday early evening on a long holiday weekend, town is dead. The atmosphere was dive bar, not that we are any strangers to dive bars, but just were hoping for something a bit more upscale on our last night of vacation. Note, we didn't even venture to the dining room part (just saw the pictures here). First plus was Deschutes Brewery on tap, having recently moved from the west coast, it was like a trip home. Hard to decide what to order (another plus). Three hash wrap was amazing! Since we had to get another Deschutes, we inquired about dessert options. They only had cheesecake, two flavors, locally made. Well, if you are only going to have one dessert, this is the one. Delicious. I thought I took a picture, nope; can't find on line. Wish I could mention them by name. Oh, and service was top notch. Thanks for a great experience on the last night of a long, cold, wet Memorial Day weekend vacation. read more

When you walk in, you don't expect a lot. From the moment I sat down I felt welcomed. The food was amazing and the staff was great! We had the artichoke dip and the pulled pork sandwich. The rage cake, aka cheesecake finished the meal with a sweet treat. Amazing all around, we will definitely be back. read more

Stopped in for a quick drink and ended up having a great dinner. The bartender Cara was super friendly. Very chill place. Super clean. Definitely going back! read more

Albany staple! This place does a great job hosting late night eats and has a full bar attached. I am usually a breakfast/brunch guest here or a happy hour guest at the bar. Beer selection is excellent! Bar room is cozy and has a nice gas fireplace with comfy chairs you can enjoy while listening to your friends. Breakfast must haves: corned beef and hash and French toast. Also I routinely order a cesar salad for breakfast so clearly it's excellent! Suzie takes care of her customers with Will genuine hospitality and often checks on her guests-- thank you. read more

The Local 217 Taproom & Kitchen - Sandwiches Near Me - Albany, New York

Do not judge a book by its cover. Fantastic food with excellent service. One of the best burgers I have ever had. Great local beer selection as well. read more

After moving to Delmar, we found that much of the local dining scene was bland, mediocre, and overpriced. Looking to Albany, we were thrilled to find the 217. The atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable (kind of like a cross between Cheers and Central Perk), service good, prices reasonable, and food excellent. read more

The Local 217 has recently become one of my Albany staples. I understand they renovated recently - there are two fairly spacial rooms, with plenty of tables, a bar, and even some armchairs spaced around a cozy fireplace (blazing now that its cold outside!). It definitely gives the vibe of a local, slightly dive-y type place, but without any of the grime that you would expect from that. Beer selection is good - not huge, but always a good blend and changes often. I'm a big fan of Bell's Christmas Ale they have on tap currently, but they always have some classic IPAs (Sloop Juice or Lagunitas, for example) and some cheaper options... or Trulys, if you're part of the hard seltzer surge. The food is really good. To be honest, it was much better than I expected. Thursday nights they do a deal where you get a burger (no fries) and a beer for $12... and their burgers are really, REALLY good. Seriously, I highly recommend. Wednesdays, they have a similar deal with wings and a beer, although I haven't tried it yet. I often get the grilled cheese also, and their sweet potato fries are also good. The prices definitely aren't diner prices (think $9-$12 for an entree), but neither is the food - it's decisively better, so you get what you pay for. I have yet to try their brunch, but I've heard only good things. I am most grateful that 217 has all the elements to make it possible for me to drink beer and get serious some work/studying done. There are plenty of outlets in both rooms, the back room gets great natural light before it gets dark, and the wifi is free and reliable. I come often on weekday afternoons and evenings when it's not busy to post up in the back room, have a grilled cheese, and enjoy some ozzy osbourne while memorizing gallstone disorders. Shout-out to Mike, who always keeps the beer and grilled cheeses flowing for my late night study sessions. Try 217 for a beer, a fireside chat with a friend, or to get out of the snow - you won't regret it! read more

Definitely one of my favorite places in Albany. Like Suzie's bar a few doors down, Cafe 217 is hidden right in plain sight on Deleware Ave and Jefferson Street not far from Madison. It's a cute and unassuming little place with a very fun and eclectic menu. Despite it's name, Suzie's is much much more than a Cafe. In fact, it feels a bit like diner meets mom's kitchen with a Tuscany flair. The wait staff are extremely nice and go out of their way to make you feel at home. The food Suzie and her staff cook is absolutely delicious and if you bump into Suzie, definitely say hello because she's a total sweetheart. Additionally, be sure to give them your feedback, because they love constructive criticism and growing with the community. read more

See all

Loved the bartenders! My friends and I went in for a drink and we had a fantastic time!

I've been here a couple times, the food is good and the dining room isn't so packed as to feel claustrophobic. A great choice for a late night bite and shared drinks you can actually have a conversation around. read more

Came here after the movies tonight, because well.. this is the "cap-region" and unless you want drive-thru junk or a diner, if it's after 10pm your options are very limited. Denny's isn't even on my radar.. it's trash and there has to be a stick of butter in every meal there. So my friend suggested this place seeing it's run/owned by the same lady who owns Susie's and he said she's a cool lady who can cook. I was like "say no more..sweet". It's a cute little spot. For the spot where it is, I expected something kinda scary and was pleasantly surprised. However the look of the place doesn't really go with the menu. The menu is mostly dinner fare. Sandwiches both hot and cold and breakfasts. It's not super cheap, but it's not bad. You can def. eat on the cheap here, if you have a budget. My friend raved about the mac and cheese.. I love the stuff at Justin's and he said this was better so that's what I got. It was a ridiculously huge bowl.. but filled less then half way. They coulda just used a smaller bowl or salad plate. It was kinda random and the massive bowl mada me giggle.The mac and cheese itself.. very Velveeta style. Some people like the Velveeta.. I can't stand it. It also didn't really seemed baked. Ya know.. no crunchy edges here and there or breadcrumbs.. none of the baked qualities. Just seemed like boiled noodles mixed with Velveeta. I had a few spoons and luckily my friend finished it so I didn't feel bad about not eating it. Oh, it's was $5.95 BTW... not bad, because even if it is Velveeta from a box you'd be paying about $2.00 and here someone cooks it for you. I wouldn't go out of the way to go there again.. but it's not the worst place I've ever been to. It's just nothing special. That's my own opinion based on only one dish tho. It's a cute and small spot that has potential, they just need to bring up the menu and food quality a bit. I think given the kind of random hours it partly caters to the late night drunk crowd.. if that's you, you'll probably like it. read more

The Local 217 Taproom & Kitchen - interior.. sorry 'bout the phonecam pic - Sandwiches Near Me - Albany, New York

Noticed this place while I was walking up Lark street (it's actually off Lark on Delaware Ave). It's a nice little spot. The staff is very friendly and attentive, food was solid, and the drink menu was good. read more

This was the best brunch experience I've had in the capital region. The food was fantastic and came out extremely fast, but what put this place at a 5-star rating for me was their over the top service. This little excursion started off as my friend and I trying to go a few different brunch places that all ended up having long wait times. After going through our prospects, we were skeptical of this place because it had much lower ratings than most other places around the area but I cannot fathom as to why. We read the menu online and it seemed decent at least, so we decided to give it a try, and boy am I glad that we did! The moment we stepped into the restaurant, we were greeted by a nice young man in his late twenties who immediately made us feel welcomed and made a quick joke about the drink menu. Their beer menu was actually written in a very humorous tone with a lot of funny jokes, one in particular making reference to former pro-wrestler Koko B. Ware. I started out with a dry cider, which was absolutely delicious. Definitely the way to go if you're a cider enthusiast or have a preference for dry wines. It was really cheap too, only $5 for a pint. I also got a wonderful coffee served in a very pretty glass and my friend got their pumpkin flavored coffee which was amazing; you could smell it the second they brought it over. The waiter also made a funny comment about it smelling so good that he had them make a glass of it for him as well. Onto the food. I ordered the chipotle sweet potato hash and eggs (scrambled) and my friend got the eggs Benedict. Our food came out very fast and it smelled delicious. A couple different members of the waitstaff mentioned how great our food made the kitchen smell, which was quite amusing. Both of our meals were cooked perfectly and my meal was the right combination of sweet, savory and spicy that I like in my breakfast/brunch meals. My friend also said she liked hers so much that she'd definitely go back there again. Throughout our meal, we were frequently asked how we liked everything and if they could get us more drinks or more food, though they weren't busy so I expected that to be the case. Overall, I was extremely pleased with my experience here. I will absolutely be back again. Our waiter mentioned how great their specialty beers are and that he just has their bartender surprise him, so we want to go back and try that sometime. The only baffling part is how their rating is so low on here. The only negative things I could say would be that their location is awkward and easy to miss, the street parking wasn't great, and the outside wasn't very appealing. This was definitely a hole in the wall type of place, but once you step inside, it's a small, intimate area, beautifully decorated with an Italian theme and most importantly, you're about to sit down for a great, worthwhile meal. read more

See all

Cafe 217 is a bit cramped as you enter, but that feeling is quickly relieved once you get to the bar or proceed beyond to the 1st and 2nd floor terraces. The crowd here is pretty lively, which I feel is a plus as well - we were a large group, and folks here were immediately welcoming. We didn't have enough time to sample the food here, so we got a few rounds of drinks. They were reasonable in terms of price and size. My favorite part is the upstairs terrace, and I'd say if you can get space there, grab it. I'd love to come back and try the food here paired with drinks. read more

My first time here and was shocked by the interior. It looks like a little rustic Italian cafe. I came here with 12 people and the waitress Shannon seemed a little flustered by the amount of people. The food did take some time to come out. I think their was only her and a chef working. I ordered the Veggie Eggs Benedict. It looked and tasted delicious. The only thing was the home fries were lacking in number and taste. All in all it was filling and did the job for an after hours drunk cafe food. I would return here, but it is not a place that I would seek out and recommend to a friend. There's only street parking, but luckily it's next to the local price chopper. read more

The Local 217 Taproom & Kitchen - Sandwiches Near Me - Albany, New York

We went here because we purchased a $15 for $30 deal (which we were unable to use anyway). Despite the 3.5 star rating, we decided to give it a try. My omelette contained rotten mushrooms, which made it completely inedible. The home fries were tiny little piece of potatoes and were extremely greasy...no other flavor existed. The raspberry pancakes contained hardly any raspberries - there may have been a few sprinkled in there, but the pancake itself just tasted like flour. Coffee was okay. We we definitely not be going back for breakfast. read more

Enter on the corner of Delaware and Jefferson for the dining room. However, that's only part of the draw for this establishment. Enter on Delaware or pass through the door on the side of the dining room for the bar. During the warmer months, there's patio area that is in the footprint of a building with 4 walls but no roof. There's even an upper deck seating area and outdoor bar. The food and drinks are excellent and reasonably priced. Want breakfast at midnight with an Irish coffee? No problem. Want a tofu parmesan sandwich with a craft beer? You could do that. Want mozzarella sticks with a dirty martini? That's possible. They have quite a long list of beers on tap curated by a beer nerd who knows his crowd. The liquor selection is also quite good for a small bar. The fries though. They're the traditional hand cut and soaked fries you'd find before frozen food was a thing. The only problem with them is that too many come on a plate for you to pretend like you're being good with your diet if you only have half of them. The kitchen closes before the bar on Wednesday and Thursday. The bar closes before the kitchen on Friday and Saturday. read more

This place has always been a bit puzzling. They're always open, like a diner. They have a big bar and outdoor area (are you a bar, cafe 217?) and then they do like brunch drinks and menus. Until recently they had a weird Tuscan theme- fake grapes and all! They recently renovated and I'm into it. The only problem is they didn't measure the chairs to the tables so the chairs are too high and squish your legs. The food really is decent. It doesn't tend to have long waits, so it's good if you're looking for easy and walkable with a kid in the neighborhood. The wait staff is friendly. The prices could be cheaper- this isn't like inventive high end food usually- more just decent and accessible. read more

Good morning Cafe 217! Considering the mainly positive reviews of this place I was surprised to find it empty except for one other couple on Saturday morning. The restaurant has a homey, cozy vibe with loads of light. The server was extremely friendly and accommodating of my companion's request for chocolate chip-blueberry pancakes. From the one bite I managed to steal from my suddenly germaphobic friend, the tall stack of pancakes ($7.50) were fluffy and nicely semi-thick, but probably too sweet from all the maple syrup and mix-ins . The Chipotlé Sweet Potato Hash & Eggs ($8.95) was much more to my liking.The combination of spicy homemade corned beef hash and sweet potato was delightful. I only wish there was more of it and less of everything else (it also comes with home fries, eggs, & toast). The home fries were slightly different from your standard diner fare. They were cut a bit thinner and actually crisped most of the way through. I didn't even need ketchup to finish these! Cafe 217 is a cheap destination for a long, lazy breakfast or lunch. read more

Cafe 217 has been my saving grace for the long all nighters or late night weekends when I'm super hungry for good food and its late. Last time I came I went in at about 3am and it was empty and quiet. I ordered the pesto chicken wrap with sweet potato fries - it's so good and tastes light and fresh. Absolutely love the pesto in the wrap and actually crave it from time to time. The menu is simple and filled with sandwiches and diner-like food. Unfortunately by the time I come in, the dinner menu isn't available so I haven't gotten to try anything really extraordinary or special. But it is a good place for quick & satisfying eats when it's late and the only other options are Denny's or McDonalds ugh. read more

The Local 217 Taproom & Kitchen - Pesto chicken wrap with macaroni salad and sweet potato fries - Sandwiches Near Me - Albany, New York

My friends and I are obsessed with Cafe 217. Before we found this place, we had to drag our sorry selves over to Wolf Road for some terrible Denny's food at 3 in the morning...but now we can just scoot down to Delaware and fill up on very decent food in a nice atmosphere. It's so pleasant! Everything I've had on the menu has been great. My friends are very fond of the mozzerella sticks, served with a tasty raspberry dipping sauce, and the pesto chicken wrap. Personally, I usually stick with the veggie delight-bagel thing, which sounds bland and unappealing, but is somehow elevated to magic. For five bucks you get a soft, warm onion bagel slathered in sun dried tomato pesto and stacked high with fresh veggies. It's the sort of late night food you don't have to feel bad about. The soup is excellent, and the fries are possibly my favorite in Albany. The sweet potato hash gets a lot of hype, and I would say it's good, but would have been better if there were more delectable crispy bits. The one downside to this place is that you can't go during the day, but that's also it's niche, so hey. read more

My boyfriend and I stopped here for lunch before heading to my brother's house. When we walked in (around 1:30pm on a Saturday) there were just two tables of people there and they turned to stare at us. It was super weird and uncomfortable. The waitress was nice enough. We each had a fountain drink and a sandwich with fries. My sandwich (the Saratoga) was seriously dry and didn't taste like any of the flavors I was expecting from the description. The roast beef seemed like it was freeze dried first or something. It was a little creepy. The french fries were delicious (although very oily so it depends how you feel about grease) so that was my favorite part of the lunch. My boyfriend had the cheese steak and he didn't love it but he did eat it. There was a note on each table saying the restaurant was closing at 3pm for a private party. So if you are looking for a place to have a private party, I suppose you can consider this place. Just talk to them first about the freshness of the food! read more

Really good brunch place by Albany standards. I've never had to wait and the food has always been really good. The specials are sometimes really fun too. The food can be a bit inconsistent though in terms of precisely what arrives on your plate, but maybe I just noticed them making kitchen changes. Service tends to be spotty. It can be really good at times, then downright horrible when the servers have family or friends at a table. Parking can be terrible too, but I've never gotten any grief for parking at the nearby Chopper. I recommend this as a place that not too many people know about. So while everyone is lined up at Madison Grille, you can get right in and have a leisurely meal! read more

This is a review of the Cafe 217 pub, not the restaurant (although the restaurant is quite nice). The former Excelsior Pub was previously located in this space, which is attached to Cafe 217 by way of a small hallway. You can, unsurprisingly, order food at the bar. While the previous incarnation of the pub featured only New York State beers, the current incarnation stocks beer from just about anywhere. The pub has a well-curated selection of beers with an excellent bartender. The atmosphere is casual and friendly, and you get the sense that most of the other patrons are locals. Beer recommendations are generally excellent, if the selection is small. The prices are about what you would expect of a small, craft pub. Outdoor seating is pleasant during the summer. This is the kind of bar that you visit to spend some time with friends, and it's a nice fixture in the neighborhood. read more

Wow! We always loved the food and service here but now they renovated the two inside rooms. The main dining room is now a dining room with some high top tables and a bar. The room that was the bar is now a very nice dining room or you could have a private event there. There is a fireplace and the renovations were top notch. The food is just as good as always: excellent. read more

The food was too high and it tasted like garbage the yams taste like sugar the collar greens taste like vinegar

The best part about this place is the fact that it is open pretty much whenever you're hungry. Tied for first is the food. A little kooky at times, but in a way that really works for them. Nothing too crazy, just things you wouldn't normally think to put in the same dish together. Like fruit and granola pancakes. The service is great, which helps, though you can sometimes tell that they don't LOVE their jobs. On the menu, it says to call ahead for parties of four or more, which I think is a bit strange. We didn't know that beforehand and walked in with a party of five and the hostess seemed a little concerned. I suppose that was why. Overall, I would recommend this if you're looking for generally good-quality food done at a decent price. Especially good after you've left the bar. read more

Susie (of the eponymous bar) had the right idea in opening a place that's actually open late enough for post-night-out patrons. I've always found it disappointing that Albany lacks a good all-night diner. Even most of the suburban diners aren't 24 hours. Besides, why risk having people potentially driving drunk just for Denny's? That said, I think Cafe 217 could use a little work. I appreciate the ambitious decor, but there's a major dischord between the decor and the caliber of the food. I think it's a little too fancy for the current menu. It was 2 a.m. and I'd been to a few bars before we went there. I just wanted your basic post-drinking scrambled eggs and hashbrowns. They weren't bad, just they were a little underseasoned. A little more salt and pepper would have gone a long way, and some sort of other extra flair would take it far. Granted, this was soon after the place opened, so I'm willing to give 'er another shot. The quirky scheduling works well for the place. I just don't think Susie has to settle for mediocrity though. With just a little work, I think she could entice people to come for the food and not just the convenience. read more

I am so very down with 217. And to be honest, I'm not even sure why. The service is sub-par and it doesn't have all the nice perks that a lot of late night "diners" do...i.e. there's no homeade jam and the maple syrup is sugary and thin. But, the hours are amazing if you're looking for a break of day feast! The prices are super reasonable and the inside is so warm and cute that I am just won over by this place. And the food is, well, decent. Bordering on very decent, I'd even say. I've been there a bunch and have thoroughly explored the menu. I would stay clear of the salads on the lunch menu. It's not that they're bad, they're just not what 217 is best at. I would stick with breakfast. That is what this place is all about. I once had a killer egg-over-easy-BLT, word. Oh and the granola and wild berry pancakes are to die for! Mostly, this place is great to go with a group of people. It's the kind of joint that serves up your average diner grub in a timely and affordable manner. The ambience is also inviting and as mentioned earlier, you can't beat the hours. read more

Delicous breakfast. Cafe 217 is a great Albany eat. The restaurant is small but not too overcrowded. They serve mimosa, beers with breakfast and a darn good bloody mary. Service was great and the restaurant was clean. Pictured below is the delicious breakfast we ordered. Happy eats!!! read more

See all

My wife and I had a date night on Friday, May 27th and this was my 1st time eating @ Café 217, the 2nd for my wife (she had breakfast with her sister last year) plus I came based on a recommendation. My experience was not all that and quite surprised of the overall service since it was not crowded at all especially for a Friday night, there was an elderly couple eating and 2 take out orders. We were seated @ 7:30 pm and greeted quickly from our server with a nice smiles who then took our dinner orders. We started with Mozzarella Sticks (they were ok?), sauce was good, I had a very cheap Caesar Salad (8 pieces of Romaine and Red Leaf lettuce), I could have gotten a better salad @ McD's! My wife ordered the Portobello Sandwich with Sweet potato fries, I ordered the Chicken Cordon Blue with Linguine but server was slow bringing our food especially since I had to ask her twice because we had a show to go to 9:30 pm plus it was not busy! The Chicken Cordon Blue was ok (I had better) but the sauce on the pasta was HOT, I had my wife taste it and she said "They probably put Red Pepper Flakes in it". I called our server to confirm, she went to ask and came back to tell me what my wife already guessed. I said Who The HELL adds Red Pepper Flakes in marinara sauce maybe somebody who cannot cook or trying to hide or cover something, luckily for Café 217 that I did not experience an allergic reaction otherwise they would been shut down! I could not continue to eat it because my mouth was on fire! and drank all of my water in 1 gulp! I told my server that I could not eat my pasta, she had the kitchen make me a new batch with Alfredo Sauce to go. I wanted to eat when I got home after the show and was surprised and felt ripped off of the small amount of pasta that was in the foil pan compared to the large amount of pasta in my plate while eating @ Café 217. My wife enjoyed the Sweet potato fries better than the Portobello Sandwich but did not complain about it because she was hungry. Sorry Café 217 and Local Flavor but we will definitely not be going back and will share our dining experience with others who told me to try out Café 217. PS: The food was not expensive but I could have gone somewhere else for the price I paid. read more

Really good food. My only issue was that the service was pretty bad. The servers would disappear and there would be no one in the dining room at all. I was so dehydrated when I went and all I wanted was water. I had to hail someone down for a drink and a refill. Then we waited for the check for awhile. I would give it 5/5 if the service was better because I really enjoyed my meal. read more

Went there yesterday. The food wasn't nearly as good as the last time, but the service improved tremendously! So Yay - they lose one star for food, but gain it back for improved service. One thing I forgot to mention that has been true the past couple of times we went there - the coffee is TERRIBLE. ALWAYS tastes burned. I couldn't get past the first sip yesterday. read more

This place was absolutely amazing. While I have only been here once I was fully impressed with everything I got, and what I saw everyone else get. I ordered a veggie quesadilla which was absolutely amazing and jam packed full of all sorts of vegetables. The sour cream wasn't your average sour cream it had a little kick too it which really made everything taste even more amazing. I'm a huge quesadilla lover and while I understand they are not hard to make its pretty difficult to make one that I long to come back for. The other thing that I found impressive is the cheese sticks, they looked completely home made. Although the bread was a little overpowering to the cheese I appreciated that it didn't have that deep fried grease flavor. I could be off but it seemed to be baked. I also snagged a few bites off of the Saratoga sandwich that had I believe roast beef and some veggies on it. That was also delicious. You can tell that this place is of a great quality. Especially because I ordered all this food at 3 am. Which means that you can get homemade fresh quality in the middle of the night which is a perfect solution to feeding your drunk friends and making sober driving seem more bearable. I'm glad I was in the right mindset to taste every single flavor of my meal. This place was great and I'd recommend it to anyone. read more

A nice surprise in a city I don't know at all. On a road trip from Chicago to Boston, we needed breakfast around 5-5:30am... And this place had nice reviews (Thanks Yelpers!) and was right on the way. Nice, clean atmosphere and decor. Not a joint at all, more of a nice, cozy breakfast place that does not feel like a chain restaurant. The staff is friendly and the food came out quickly. Nice selection. I had the Monte Cristo. When the waitress brought out the syrup to go on the toast+turkey+cheese, I thought: weird combination. I decided to give it a try (I know, I know...) and surprisingly, it didn't taste bad at all. It actually was a refreshing, original taste. But then maybe I was so hungry in the first place, I could have eaten anything. The corned beef hash is pretty good too. read more

Bomb.com waiter with great jokes. French toast was awesome and so were the home fries!!! Overall a great experience, we will definitely be back read more

When I have late classes and can't imagine cooking dinner, this is where we come. Cafe 217 is just around the corner and just downright comfy. We don't go there looking for something fancy, but we always leave satisfied. The first thing that impressed me about this diner-like restaurant, is that the meats on their sandwiches are clearly fresh roasted. Imagine ordering a turkey club or Monte Cristo at a diner to find that you're not being plated up slabs of pre-cooked cold cuts! Their breakfast is pretty good. The eggs are always perfectly poached or over easy and the home fries are crispy and not greasy. But I really think that they shine with their specials. I like to order the special when I go out because ideally, the chef is preparing a dish that they feel is "special" enough to make it onto diners tables for the night even though it is not on the menu. I have had deliciously sauteed chicken in a white wine sauce with crisp-tender fresh veggies and some really inventive creamy risottos. We have experienced on one occasion, a particularly heavy hand with the salt in the kitchen, but I am happy to say that this is not always so. All in all, Cafe 217 is an easy place to go. The food is fresh (really, the meat, the produce, and it comes through in the taste of the finished dish), the service has always been friendly and I feel as though there are enough choices that range from greasy spoon to prepared at home, that we can sit back in the giant booths, have a beer (or coffee) and relax while someone else does the cooking for us. read more

Great service, friendly staff. Good food. Also very kid friendly. The waitress their remembered my sons name and our order it was a nice feeling. read more