Thanks but no thanks. Not again. Our dinner experience gave us some good laughs. For a low-key upscale restaurant that has been open for some time, you've got to have the kinks ironed out. If the waitress was in training, she shouldn't have had her own tables but rather been shadowing. The food (primarily the sushi) was tasty, the service was subpar and with so many choices in town, it wouldn't be worth it to us to give our money again to this restaurant. A little bit behind the synopsis. +Our waitress had no idea what beer list was. She had to go downstairs to the bar and came back with a list of beers on tap. +She didn't ask how we wanted our $57 filet mignon cooked which we forgot until we got it and it closer to medium well. +When our beers arrived, they weren't the ones we ordered. She went back down to the bar to check. “We are out of Allagash so the tap pulled from another keg. We have... listed off the bottled beers. Do you want to just keep your beers?” +We watched the manager / owner bring all sorts of samples to the large group at the table across from us. He asked the other table if they're from the area. We got a half-hearted, is everything ok when the food finally arrived. +My miso soup and salad arrived then sushi served about 3 minutes later. We were given one set of chopsticks. I got another set for us myself. My husband's steak came about 10-15 minutes later. The steak while tasty was not a filet mignon. And for being $57, the least they could do is offer bread before the steak and ask us how we want it cooked. +Eventually our waitress asked if we're all done. I replied yes and she started to walk away. I asked if we could have a dessert menu. Again, she had to go somewhere to write them down. +We realized when we got home that the sushi dinner was supposed to come with mochi or ice cream dessert which was never given to us. It seems like this restaurant caters and leans to a certain clientele and needs to work on their service.
Michael Herrmann
We had an early dinner reservation. After being seated we waited up to 10 minutes or so for water glasses. Then someone came to fill them and filled mine halfway and my wife's just a quarter cup and the carafe was empty. He never came back with more and that was emblematic of the entire visit. We ordered a glass of wine and a soda which never came in the hour and 20 minutes we were there. We ordered an app at the same time that never came either. After 45+ minutes of no meal items we bagged any thought of an entree and asked to split a piece of cake. Our poor waitress was apologizing the whole night saying the bar and kitchen were extremely busy. She nicely brought out two pieces of cakes complimentary, probably because she could grab them herself. It's small place with close tables and we could hear that the other diners were experiencing the same excruciating waits for food, plates and other items.Example; one table of 6 got an order of sushi as a shared app. But they received no plates. They finally flagged the owner and he brought over one plate. One plate. They politely indicated that they each wanted a plate.The manager/owner was walking by and we stopped him to inform him of all the problems. Yet he seemed to blame it on the staff. Wrong answer. They need someone who knows how to manage a restaurant. He stood around the whole evening just watching the whole flustercluck that was happening and did not help out or do anything. Extremely disappointing visit.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
My wife and I really enjoyed the decor of the restaurant. The restaurant was very understaffed and overwhelmed. It took 20 minutes to get a server to take our order for drinks. Other patrons were getting upset because of wait times and not being able to get their bill. The burger and steak were really good. Our sides came out cold.
MichaelH
We had an early dinner reservation. After being seated we waited up to 10 minutes or so for water glasses. Then someone came to fill them and filled mine halfway and my wife's just a quarter cup and the carafe was empty. He never came back with more and that was emblematic of the entire visit. We ordered a glass of wine and a soda which never came in the hour and 20 minutes we were there. We ordered an app at the same time that never came either. After 45+ minutes of no meal items we bagged any thought of an entree and asked to split a piece of cake. Our poor waitress was apologizing the whole night saying the bar and kitchen were extremely busy. She nicely brought out two pieces of cakes complimentary, probably because she could grab them herself. It's small place with close tables and we could hear that the other diners were experiencing the same excruciating waits for food, plates and other items. Example; one table of 6 got an order of sushi as a shared app. But they received no plates. They finally flagged the owner and he brought over one plate. One plate. They politely indicated that they each wanted a plate. The manager/owner was walking by and we stopped him to inform him of all the problems. Yet he seemed to blame it on the staff. Wrong answer. They need someone who knows how to manage a restaurant. He stood around the whole evening just watching the whole flustercluck that was happening and did not help out or do anything. Extremely disappointing visit.
Marianne
LOVE the atmosphere. The Food and drinks are always great. And the service is excellent. My husband, Our friends and i made our first visit a few months ago, and had Mac as our waiter. very welcoming and knowledgeable. He even remembered us a couple weeks later.Kudosl
Christopher Long
I simply can't say enough great things about this restaurant, between the delicious food, professional and friendly staff, I look forward to going back. Even the owner made a point of walking around the restaurant to ensure that all of the patrons were happy with the food and service. I strongly recommend this restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Faith
Dylan and Mack were awesome! I had the best time. It was easy better than going to the restaurant/bar at the Hilton. It's worth the 5 min walk if you're at the hotel. Nothing big, very cozy, and the atmosphere is great! I can't wait to come back and visit. Thank you guys for such a great time and making me feel welcomed! ❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Side Salad, War Room Burger
John S.
First and foremost the food was great. Several excellent vegan options too. Next best thing...the atmosphere is perfect for downtown Albany with an amazingly storied political history. Extremely interesting historical pictures of Albany and NYS political figures (both parties) everywhere. Very private and authentic feel. The service was also excellent and the pricing was right on. Our waitress Molly was terrific. And lastly, knucklehead me left my favorite pen at the table and the manager Mickey is sending it back to me. Need I go on about the service? Just go there folks...
Dennis Cullen
Steak was overcooked. Ambience was meh.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
DebbyS
Food was delicious, but drinks were overpriced and generally lacking in alcohol. Very cool ambiance, and great proximity to The Egg. The menu included a lot of delicious and incredibly fresh sushi options as well as the choice of several steaks, however, the rest of it was largely devoted to hot sandwiches and burgers.
Disappointed that the food at this pricey restaurant was mediocre. A side of truffle fries came out to the table and were just plain ordinary fries, not up to the standards of most restaurant, including tavern types. Salads were ordinary. Gourmet grilled cheese was tasty but served on small, damp wheat bread. Attentive friendly service; good cocktails; ordinary wine by the glass list. The whole kitchen needs a boost in quality to match the interesting ambience, capitol location, and prices.
JenniferM
The service is great. The atmosphere is really cool. We love looking at all of the political photos on the walls. The food is phenomenal - we had sushi which is always fantastic. We also had the lobster roll, the chicken poutine and filet. You cannot make a bad choice here.
Clinton Mathai
Overall pretty bad experience. Had a reservation for 2 arrived on time (5 min early) Waited over 15 minutes to get seated... (the upstairs dining area was less than a 1/4 full) things happen and that is understandable. The tables were too close together and sloppily aligned and my table and the table next to me had empty soy sauce jars... We ended up taking a soy sauce bottle from the sushi bar table... Once seated it was almost 30 minutes before orders were taken. Drinks (beer) were brought around 20 minutes after the order... 45 minutes later food comes out. Ordered a salmon avocado roll. It was not bad but was not good, the salmon did not taste fresh and the avocado was hard. Also ordered the war room burger medium rare. Came out well done... and the chef forgot to put the smoked pork belly on the burger... which is the signature ingredient in this burger. The waiter went back to the kitchen and gave me the pork belly on the side. The pork belly was tough and overdone. The roasted red pepper mac was good. We then had a 30 min wait for our bill... I would not recommend this place to anyone. It is below average to average food. The service is very slow. It was a Sunday afternoon and the dining area was not packed.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Kate Fitzpatrick
I had dinner with two others here on a Friday night and it was delicious. I had the Lobster roll and my other party members had the sushi dinner. Everything was amazing. The service was great and the space felt very cozy. Will definitely return.Wheelchair accessibility: Steep steps into the establishment and up to the dining area.
Thanks but no thanks. Not again. Our dinner experience gave us some good laughs. For a low-key upscale restaurant that has been open for some time, you've got to have the kinks ironed out. If the waitress was in training, she shouldn't have had her own tables but rather been shadowing. The food (primarily the sushi) was tasty, the service was subpar and with so many choices in town, it wouldn't be worth it to us to give our money again to this restaurant. A little bit behind the synopsis. +Our waitress had no idea what beer list was. She had to go downstairs to the bar and came back with a list of beers on tap. +She didn't ask how we wanted our $57 filet mignon cooked which we forgot until we got it and it closer to medium well. +When our beers arrived, they weren't the ones we ordered. She went back down to the bar to check. “We are out of Allagash so the tap pulled from another keg. We have... listed off the bottled beers. Do you want to just keep your beers?” +We watched the manager / owner bring all sorts of samples to the large group at the table across from us. He asked the other table if they're from the area. We got a half-hearted, is everything ok when the food finally arrived. +My miso soup and salad arrived then sushi served about 3 minutes later. We were given one set of chopsticks. I got another set for us myself. My husband's steak came about 10-15 minutes later. The steak while tasty was not a filet mignon. And for being $57, the least they could do is offer bread before the steak and ask us how we want it cooked. +Eventually our waitress asked if we're all done. I replied yes and she started to walk away. I asked if we could have a dessert menu. Again, she had to go somewhere to write them down. +We realized when we got home that the sushi dinner was supposed to come with mochi or ice cream dessert which was never given to us. It seems like this restaurant caters and leans to a certain clientele and needs to work on their service.
We had an early dinner reservation. After being seated we waited up to 10 minutes or so for water glasses. Then someone came to fill them and filled mine halfway and my wife's just a quarter cup and the carafe was empty. He never came back with more and that was emblematic of the entire visit. We ordered a glass of wine and a soda which never came in the hour and 20 minutes we were there. We ordered an app at the same time that never came either. After 45+ minutes of no meal items we bagged any thought of an entree and asked to split a piece of cake. Our poor waitress was apologizing the whole night saying the bar and kitchen were extremely busy. She nicely brought out two pieces of cakes complimentary, probably because she could grab them herself. It's small place with close tables and we could hear that the other diners were experiencing the same excruciating waits for food, plates and other items.Example; one table of 6 got an order of sushi as a shared app. But they received no plates. They finally flagged the owner and he brought over one plate. One plate. They politely indicated that they each wanted a plate.The manager/owner was walking by and we stopped him to inform him of all the problems. Yet he seemed to blame it on the staff. Wrong answer. They need someone who knows how to manage a restaurant. He stood around the whole evening just watching the whole flustercluck that was happening and did not help out or do anything. Extremely disappointing visit.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
My wife and I really enjoyed the decor of the restaurant. The restaurant was very understaffed and overwhelmed. It took 20 minutes to get a server to take our order for drinks. Other patrons were getting upset because of wait times and not being able to get their bill. The burger and steak were really good. Our sides came out cold.
We had an early dinner reservation. After being seated we waited up to 10 minutes or so for water glasses. Then someone came to fill them and filled mine halfway and my wife's just a quarter cup and the carafe was empty. He never came back with more and that was emblematic of the entire visit. We ordered a glass of wine and a soda which never came in the hour and 20 minutes we were there. We ordered an app at the same time that never came either. After 45+ minutes of no meal items we bagged any thought of an entree and asked to split a piece of cake. Our poor waitress was apologizing the whole night saying the bar and kitchen were extremely busy. She nicely brought out two pieces of cakes complimentary, probably because she could grab them herself. It's small place with close tables and we could hear that the other diners were experiencing the same excruciating waits for food, plates and other items. Example; one table of 6 got an order of sushi as a shared app. But they received no plates. They finally flagged the owner and he brought over one plate. One plate. They politely indicated that they each wanted a plate. The manager/owner was walking by and we stopped him to inform him of all the problems. Yet he seemed to blame it on the staff. Wrong answer. They need someone who knows how to manage a restaurant. He stood around the whole evening just watching the whole flustercluck that was happening and did not help out or do anything. Extremely disappointing visit.
LOVE the atmosphere. The Food and drinks are always great. And the service is excellent. My husband, Our friends and i made our first visit a few months ago, and had Mac as our waiter. very welcoming and knowledgeable. He even remembered us a couple weeks later.Kudosl
I simply can't say enough great things about this restaurant, between the delicious food, professional and friendly staff, I look forward to going back. Even the owner made a point of walking around the restaurant to ensure that all of the patrons were happy with the food and service. I strongly recommend this restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dylan and Mack were awesome! I had the best time. It was easy better than going to the restaurant/bar at the Hilton. It's worth the 5 min walk if you're at the hotel. Nothing big, very cozy, and the atmosphere is great! I can't wait to come back and visit. Thank you guys for such a great time and making me feel welcomed! ❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Side Salad, War Room Burger
First and foremost the food was great. Several excellent vegan options too. Next best thing...the atmosphere is perfect for downtown Albany with an amazingly storied political history. Extremely interesting historical pictures of Albany and NYS political figures (both parties) everywhere. Very private and authentic feel. The service was also excellent and the pricing was right on. Our waitress Molly was terrific. And lastly, knucklehead me left my favorite pen at the table and the manager Mickey is sending it back to me. Need I go on about the service? Just go there folks...
Steak was overcooked. Ambience was meh.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Food was delicious, but drinks were overpriced and generally lacking in alcohol. Very cool ambiance, and great proximity to The Egg. The menu included a lot of delicious and incredibly fresh sushi options as well as the choice of several steaks, however, the rest of it was largely devoted to hot sandwiches and burgers.
Restaurantji Recommends
I had a grilled cheese it was
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Disappointed that the food at this pricey restaurant was mediocre. A side of truffle fries came out to the table and were just plain ordinary fries, not up to the standards of most restaurant, including tavern types. Salads were ordinary. Gourmet grilled cheese was tasty but served on small, damp wheat bread. Attentive friendly service; good cocktails; ordinary wine by the glass list. The whole kitchen needs a boost in quality to match the interesting ambience, capitol location, and prices.
The service is great. The atmosphere is really cool. We love looking at all of the political photos on the walls. The food is phenomenal - we had sushi which is always fantastic. We also had the lobster roll, the chicken poutine and filet. You cannot make a bad choice here.
Overall pretty bad experience. Had a reservation for 2 arrived on time (5 min early) Waited over 15 minutes to get seated... (the upstairs dining area was less than a 1/4 full) things happen and that is understandable. The tables were too close together and sloppily aligned and my table and the table next to me had empty soy sauce jars... We ended up taking a soy sauce bottle from the sushi bar table... Once seated it was almost 30 minutes before orders were taken. Drinks (beer) were brought around 20 minutes after the order... 45 minutes later food comes out. Ordered a salmon avocado roll. It was not bad but was not good, the salmon did not taste fresh and the avocado was hard. Also ordered the war room burger medium rare. Came out well done... and the chef forgot to put the smoked pork belly on the burger... which is the signature ingredient in this burger. The waiter went back to the kitchen and gave me the pork belly on the side. The pork belly was tough and overdone. The roasted red pepper mac was good. We then had a 30 min wait for our bill... I would not recommend this place to anyone. It is below average to average food. The service is very slow. It was a Sunday afternoon and the dining area was not packed.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
I had dinner with two others here on a Friday night and it was delicious. I had the Lobster roll and my other party members had the sushi dinner. Everything was amazing. The service was great and the space felt very cozy. Will definitely return.Wheelchair accessibility: Steep steps into the establishment and up to the dining area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi Dinner