Stay away today. Being Mothers Day, the place is a zoo. People piling up inside, impossible to keep 6' apart, one idiot comes in with mask UNDER his nose. Order are taking 90 MINUTES and when you get them good chance they will be half-cold and WRONG. I ordered pancakes, got home...found french toast. Order a belgian waffle, got home was a soggy limp cold thing. $37 for a breakfast I had to shove in the oven to make it even warm enough to eat, sit around in a over crowded room. Saw quite a few people either have to check their orders before they left and have them corrected or worse have to come back. It was obvious they are NOT geared to handle this kind of take out traffic. Not enough people working. They definitely need another person to help. Poor guy working the front was frantic. I've always found the place hit or miss, this time biiiiiiiig miss. read more

The Union Café just opened in April after a long teaser period when the storefront was being renovated for a restaurant, and is now serving breakfast and lunch (only). It's basically a diner, but just one with limited hours. The breakfasts and lunches are well-prepared but not particularly original or memorable. The lunch menu features a more limited number of selections than the usual overwhelming cascade of diner options (a plus, in our books) and features traditional greek specialties (gyros, souvlaki, dolmas, et alia) as well as your basic diner options. The reuben's pretty good and we like the gyros very much, the greek stuff is not badly done but has the usual Americanized blandness typical of diner fare in the area. Burgers have been surprisingly tasty and evenly prepared. There are some more "modern" menu selections, such as wraps, and a few vegetarian options. The inside is brand new, but it fairly mundane standard lunch place. There's a handful of booths and the rest is two-seater tables; you have to know to pull tables together to get seated in a larger party if the place is full. There's a large flatscreen TV in the back that's visible from only part of the restaurant. A sore point on our multiple visits has been service. The staff are very friendly and solicitous, but the time to come and take orders and then bring extra requests (napkins, refills on beverages, etc.) has been uniformly slow. This does not appear to be a kitchen-bound problem so much as a front-of-the-house issue. The family that runs this place was in the diner business and I expect better responsiveness and cut a bit less slack for "burn in" periods in getting a place up and running. Since our visits have been evenly spaced since it first opened, and have come at both peak and off-peak times (and in no case was the restaurant full) it's hard to attribute to being there at busy times of day. Since the hours are, pretty much by definition, limited to meals around workdays, we feel they have to do better. It's also a problem in details: forgetting parts of orders, and worse, forgetting to bring things after we've asked for them more than once. We do want to like the place, given its convenience and the lowkey atmosphere, a place like this is really needed in the Upper Union Business Improvement District strip. It's going to have to try a little harder, though, to get repeat business. read more

Would give 0 stars if I could. Went with my family, including my 3 year old. Waited over an hour for my food. When I asked when it would be coming, the manager gave no apology and was incredibly rude. After that, they kicked us out for asking when our food would arrive. Do not under any circumstances give them any business. read more

Awesome breakfast selection! The environment is warm and welcoming, I had a wonderful experience. The wait staff was incredibly friendly and attentive. read more

Looking for a diner, we stumbled upon this great cafe. To start the day right, we ordered 2 corned beef hash, and egg, bacon, and ham sandwhich, and split a Belgium waffle special with strawberries and whipped cream. The corned beef hash was good, potatoes were well seasoned, and eggs were done over easy. The Belgium waffle was nice and crisp, loaded with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, which was well done. The waitress was extremely kind and attentive. The only downside was that although the restaurant was clean, there were a handful of black flies around. read more

First time visit. Busy so we had to wait ~10 minutes for a table of 5, and once available they put 3 two-tops together. We arrived at 10am and they offered both the breakfast and lunch menus. The food was VERY good. I got the 2 eggs over easy with corn beef hash CRISPY It was awesome. Coming back definitely. read more

Amazing good, amazing customer service. Get here early there are only like 12 tables. Well worth the money. There specials are to die for. Steak and eggs $11.99!!! Breakfast served all day!!! read more

Union Cafe - Menu for Union Cafe - Diners Near Me - Schenectady, New York

This place looks good for breakfast at least visually but lunch was very pedestrian. I had a taste of three different items. Turkey Reuben, the best thing I had. It was okay. Burger, very dry and overcooked. Chicken parm sandwich, the chicken was tender but the coating and the sauce did not taste very good. I would never have lunch from here again. read more

First time at your restaurant, I have to say superb service, superb delicious food, wonderful waitress ( Annette) I could not decide on breakfast or Lunch, so Had both. Outrageous French Toast & the Gyro Platter was Outrageous. The prices are superb, and the owner was so polite to converse with. I will be back many times. :) read more

Union Cafe - Delicious Awesome Wonderful Gyro Platter !!!!!! - Diners Near Me - Schenectady, New York

What a great little place. It's almost diner-esque mixed with a cafe. Warning it can get pretty crowded on the weekends so you may have to wait a little. They are extremely accommodating while you are waiting and offer you hot coffee. The service is also very good everyone is attentive and never keeps you waiting. In my most recent trip I tried a make your own omelette with sausage, onions, spinach and American cheese. This comes with a side of home fries and toast. It is a great portion size and the omelette was delicious the perfect amount of every component. Just the right amount of cheese which is often hard to do. The only thing I have to say is that I like my home fries more well done and these seemed to be more like just cooked potatoes with a dash of seasoning. Overall, great prices and a great place! read more

Very good. I'm kinda particular about how I want my food and they got it perfect . the waitress was attentive and kept my water glass full. I'll come back for sure read more

Union Cafe - The deck was exactly what I needed. - Diners Near Me - Schenectady, New York

New meaning to their advertisement outside the cafe for "all day breakfast and lunch". It literally takes all day to get your food. Came for breakfast in July on a Saturday. After one hour still did not have food. Waiter kept saying how busy they were and it would be right out. After hearing this 4 times, we got up and left. A few other customers walked out before we did. The kicker- despite the lack of service on-site, they continued to take pickup orders and seat customers. Won't be back. read more

On our way to RI we were near Schenectady around lunchtime and decided to drop off the 90 to check out what was available. After failing to find some obvious options off the Thruway, we turned to Yelp! for some suggestions. Based on our location (we'd driven in to town a ways) and filtering for $ places, we found Union Cafe with a high rating and decided to give it a try. The first pleasant surprise was the door greeting from the owner, who quickly leapt to hold it open for us to enter. We were quickly seated on a Thursday at lunchtime and we were able to order lunches and breakfast items. I chose the French Onion Au Gratin Soup and the Gyro (j-eye-row, not hee-row). Soup was clearly homemade, LOADED with onions and croutons, and was topped with the thickest slice of mozzarella I've ever seen on a soup. The gyro was fantastic - the pita was super fresh, the meat was delicious and the sauce was plentiful, along with the tomatoes and onions. It was a great meal! My 14-year-old son ordered the buffalo chicken wrap, which they happily substituted ranch for the bleu cheese. My bf went breakfast bananas with the french toast and corned beef hash with a side of scrambled eggs. The service was great. Our waitress, the owner, and another manager checked in often. Although on the smaller side, the decor is clean, fresh, and attractive -- looks to have been recently updated (as of Aug. 2014). And the bathrooms were well supplied and very tastefully decorated. We did not sit outdoors, but the patio seating out front looks comfortable and inviting. There are roughly 8 parking spaces in the back. Because of the location, there's only one single-width driveway for the in and out, so it got a little tangled on our way out, but nothing too terrible. This was a great stop and filled us up for the rest of our trip. (Which was good because we got stuck in a traffic jam on the Masspike for 30 minutes and ended up running almost 2 hours behind in reaching our destination.) read more

Union Cafe - French onion au gratin soup - Diners Near Me - Schenectady, New York

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Went there this morning sat outside , the girl came over asked me what I wanted to drink and I told her. Brings back my drinks that I ordered and I'm sitting there waiting and waiting the waiter comes out another man walks up sits at an empty table the waiter asked him what he wanted to order mean while I'm still sitting there waiting. I finally yell to the waiter hello are you going to take my order his response was well I didn't know if you were waiting for someone else or not you never came inside to let anyone know you were by yourself or with someone. Really this man walked up and sat down and you took his order right away. Takes my order took a long time to my breakfast never comes over and asks me do I need anything or how are things. Finally I say to him can I have my bill. Well that was another 15 minutes for him to give me my bill. I will not be back there. read more

By boyfriend and I are regulars here, at least once a week. We have never had a bad experience, the staff is always friendly and in a good mood. We are always looking forward to seeing Hector. He's the man. We are always having breakfast, even in the late afternoon and it's always consistent and absolutely delicious.The menu is basic, straight forward breakfast foods....we usually get French toast, or some version of eggs but I would be ecstatic with just a plate of their yummy homefries and a soup cup of their house made hollandaise. We only go here for breakfast, if they are closed we eat at home :) . read more

Food was great and so was the service but midway through my meal I found a long blonde hair in my food. It was discouraging and disgusting to have found a hair in my food. It's a shame because this is a Really nice place. read more

We live close by and this is our go-to breakfast spot. The eggs are always perfectly cooked and the hash is very well seasoned. We are always greeted at the door with a smile and seated as quickly as possible (can get busy on the weekends). I have not had anything on the lunch menu so I can't comment about that. Overall, this is a great neighborhood spot that I highly recommend. read more

Union Cafe - My favorite - cafe deluxe - Diners Near Me - Schenectady, New York

Thumbs up to the buttermilk pancakes! Topped off with fresh strawberries, powder sugar and whip cream, can you say mmmmm! It was amazing! Up there with pancakes at iHop! They were huge and very filling! It's a very small intimate joint family friendly and great outdoor seating! A must try if you are in the area! read more

Union Cafe - Strawberry buttermilk pancakes - Diners Near Me - Schenectady, New York

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We came to the Union Cafe today for our first time, and despite how hectic it was when we arrived, we had a pleasant experience. I've worked in the restaurant industry for several years and could sympathize with the stress of being short-staffed on an unexpectedly busy shift. Once seated, we had a great breakfast! The support staff and waiter refilled our coffee as needed, the food took an expected amount of time to come out, and it was all delicious! I could understand why some other patrons were upset if they had much longer waits, but the workers were running around and clearly doing their best to tend to everyone. read more

From the moment the owner welcomes you and opens the door for you, you have high hopes and they don't disappoint. Everyone is so nice and friendly. There are so many fantastic food options. They even have a substantial gluten free menu. The service was fantastic. There's outside seating, and the atmosphere is great. You gotta try the milkshakes! read more

Went to have a nice family breakfast and ended up leaving there upset and frustrated. My mother went to ask for a table of 7, the lady said we could choose inside or outside (even though there were no inside seating). We were discussing our options, since we couldn't rearrange the tables. My sister moved a single chair to give us more options and the manager came sprinting out with an enormous attitude. She began to yell at my mother for not telling her what we wanted to do (we still didn't know what we wanted to do). She would continue to argue when we were trying to calm everything down. We ended up leaving. Never going back there again. she ruined our entire day. read more

Good food good service!! Quaint spot. I'm not from Albany, but this worked out well. We were hungry, the wait wasn't long, so that made us happy. read more

Staff is rude as hell. Restaurant is claustrophobic-annoyingly small. Prices are a joke. Place sucks. Food blows. Typical American slop. Even though I guess they are not American. Save your money go to Denny's. read more

Returned to union cafe yesterday for the first time in a long time. I was glad to see waiter wearing a mask. It took a little time to get our order but it was worth the wait. I got the best egg white omelette Ive ever had and my husbands French toast looked great as did my grandson's Mickey pancake. Waiter was polite and sought to all our needs. read more

Coffee tasted very watery and the breakfast food was subpar, my girlfriend and I ordered two breakfast specials that are suppose to come with a coffee included. When we were finally given our bill he charged us for the specials and charged us for an additional 2 coffees. When I mentioned it to the waiter he said its after 11 so you can't get the specials and the bill is correct and walked away. It would of been nice of him to mention that when we were ordering. Also we got sat by 11 and most diners/cafes usually honor their specials if your sat by the time. $28 for low quality breakfast for two, I'll gladly take my money elsewhere. read more

I'm not an expert on greek food. I like greek food. But that's as much as I know. My wife and I went for lunch recently, I ordered the gyro (lamb and beef aka two meats in one sandwich aka my kind of sandwich) and my wife had the souvlaki (hope I didn't get that wrong). A gyro is most definitely a wrap in a pita, not a sandwich, and it was amazing. Meat was tender, juicy, not greasy, and had incredible flavor. The pita also had red onion and tomato with spices along with a tzatziki dressing which was like a garlicky amazing sauce perfect for the gyro. I loved it. My wife loves her souvlaki and also had eggplant fries. They were delicious. I had onion rings, and while I don't think they were made in house, they were generous with the portion and they still were very good, cooked right. Most places skimp when you pay an extra 3 bucks for onion rings; not the case here. Also, I'm not a fan of outdoor eating (sad, I know). But Union Cafe's patio has some appropriate shade from a nearby tree and they pay as much attention to indoor diners as outdoor diners; this is rare and deserves commending. I'd sit outside here again to tan up my pale skin. We liked it so much we ordered take out the following day. My wife got a greek salad with souvlaki, I repeated my gyro. Her salad was fresh, all ingredients were delicious and there was no brown lettuce. My gyro, once again, was awesome. On top of that, they said 25-30 minutes for the order to be ready. I arrived at like 22 minutes, and seriously 4 minutes later the food came out, hot (salad cold) and fresh. I appreciate when a restaurant has a handle on how long the food actually takes (I hate when someone says '30 minutes' and you get there and it has clearly been sitting). We will be back. We will eat more. Despite my current love of their gyro, I will expand and try more. I highly recommend Union Cafe. read more

My husband and I were greeted at the door.. it was very close quarters and very small but everybody seemed really nice. I feel the food was very good I had grape leaves and the chicken souvlaki PITA and french fries the prices were very fair and the food was very good I would definitely come back. read more

Friendly waitstaff, clean place, quick service, good portions, and great use of technology. Very nice owner who clearly was trying to clear tables and sit people quickly so they were not waiting. Cannot wait to return to this restaurant again in the future, and Schenectady because it is truly a nicely settled area that you should visit! read more

Havent been back to this actual location since it used to be a Pizza Hut, but was pleasantly suprised to be welcomed to a cozy cafe that I had no idea existed. Nice vibe with a large selection of food (breakfast is served all day is always a plus!) and had a notable selection of Greek cuisine - to which we had the Spanakopita (excellent!) and a Souvlaki platter. Everything we ordered was satisfying and would definitely go back! read more

This is a really solid option for breakfast in Schenectady. The omelettes I've had here are good, nice side of potatoes and toast. I also had the chocolate chip pancakes once, and they were tasty, but probably could've used a few more chips. The one thing to keep in mind, especially in the winter when outdoor seating isn't available, is that seating is limited and it gets pretty busy. I do have to say that I've never waited too long to sit, however. Service is quick and friendly and make the meal run smoothly. Always a good choice for breakfast or even a nice lunch. (One of my friends once said that their spanakopita was as close to authentic Greek as he had tasted since coming back from a trip to Greece.) read more

Solid greasy spoon. Went with the #6- scrambled eggs, real maple syrup, french toast, sausage links, hashbrowns. Awesome. Coffee cup never emptied. Everything was quick and easy. Everything I want from a cheap breakfast. read more

I live in LA but come to The capital District a couple of times a year to visit friends and family. I live a pretty healthy lifestyle, go to the gym in the morning and then try to eat fairly healthy and in this area it's not that easy. I'm definitely a breakfast person and have tried many of the places in Albany Schenectady Clifton Park and the surrounding areas. This place is the best, the best service, the best food and a pleasant atmosphere. I make sure to hit this place once or twice every time I come home. read more

Great place. Best part was the service. Good gyro and Greek salad. Hector the host was awesome and so welcoming! Must go there!

This is one of my favorite spots to take my kids. They love the Mickey Mouse pancakes. The food is great and the service is terrific. The owner is always figuring out where help is needed to make things flow smoothly and ensure guests are taken care of. We'll be back again, and again. read more

Union Cafe - Kids Pancake - Diners Near Me - Schenectady, New York

Excellent place for a nice Sunday brunch..fast friendly service, even better food. Lots of options on the menu, good variety of omelets and side dishes. Will be coming again. read more

I love the location very easy to get too from where I live. mY favorite dish is the stuffed greek leafs AMAZING!!!!! The restaurant is clean fast service, nice staff but I do see a turn over in staff so this makes me wonder if the owners or management are tuff to work for. They make a good greek dressing as well. I do have 1 complaint tho and that is there garden salads I order a small garden salad and it turns out to be a large amount of lettuce, 1 cherry tomato cut in half no cucumbers and 1 olive 1 piece of shaved red onion and that's it . That is a SAD size for a small salad . it seems that the size of the order changes but the price does not. Other then this it is a nice place. read more

My first visit to the Union Cafe proved to be the perfect spot for a morning brunch. The staff is friendly and attentive- my mug was constantly full of fresh coffee the entire time. There was a french toast with mascarpone filling and strawberries for the special that morning and I couldn't resist. A generous pour of maple syrup and the whole thing was gone in 5 minutes. I couldn't stop eating! I had the chance of speaking with the owner and found her to be a gem. The place was packed the entire time I was there but didn't feel crowded or uncomfortable at all. If you're looking for some good food in a friendly and comfortable environment, definitely give Union Cafe a try! read more

We ordered two French Dips on doordash but there was an issue with the order so we called and spoke with the manager. She was absolutely wonderful! She had the order fixed right away and all was well. The food here is PHENOMENAL(best french dip i've ever had)! We never had an issue before and this did not/will not steer us away. Great place, thank you! read more

Everything is excellent, the hospitality, fast service, food and prices. I ate breakfast on A Monday morning mid morning without a wait. Will be definitely be back. read more

What is happening? I've eaten here over many years. I've tried to tolerate the consistent slow service since the food is always good. While they're slow the servers are friendly except today, 8/5/20. Here's what I observed & what you need to improve on: Only ONE server while busy inside and outside. A female manager or supervisor who is more into just sitting at a table With either family or friends barely made an effort to show us where to sit... The phones kept ringing.. once in a while the manager would take an order but most of the time the one server &/or hard working busser were answering the phone to take orders: while also taking orders, serving & clearing tables!! I could see the utmost frustration & panic in their faces. Waitress was going to cry once but the manager wasn't seeing that but THIS patron did!! ....If you are busy you would At least come to the table and say "thanks for your patience we will be right with you" - We got nothing... We sat there 20 minutes and finally got up and then the manager finally stood up and I said "we are leaving we have sat here 20 minutes and no one has acknowledged us" and then of course she said "oh I'll get some at your table right away"... It was too late... There were eother patrons who I overheard saying that we were never being helped... But the manager should've done it! may she couldve poured coffee and water for us while her one server was working her butt off... or helped clear tables! That's what you do but the manager decided to just sit there most of the time Finally a group of nine were waiting to cash out and they had to stand up and move to the cashier to give them the idea that they had been waiting and wanted to leave as well... Bottom line is the customers should not be telling the management what to do... It's a no brainer you come over to a table and say thanks for your patience we will be right with you...and help your staff!! Very disappointing ... read more