Since re-opening, new owner Ben has made Washington Tavern the absolute go-to spot for anyone in Albany looking to have a great night out with friends. From brand new pool tables, touch-tunes, and an extremely friendly & welcoming staff; in a city ravaged by unkempt and overhyped bars— WT’s is simply a diamond in a haystack.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anita Williams
Check it out. Good beer and good food. The loaded fries were awesome and the tacos were awesome as well. Ben was great. Easy to talk to and very attentive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cruor Necros
The loaded fries are absolutely goated. Compliments to Daylin for finessing some fresh cheese sauce for it, although i didn't get my added beef with it, but i ain't complaining. the wait was absolutely worth it. my friend Dani had an extra patty added to her smash burger, i think that's where the mix up happened, but this place is definitely the spot for some good grubs and espresso martinis. the tacos are an absolute banger. Get yourself a glizzy! 🌭 🤪
Joanne Leibert
We were there at 5, happy hour is 5 to 8. & it was very quiet, which we like. The menu is small but perfect in its simplicity. I got the wings, they were a spicy Thai chili, cooked perfectly & good size wings. We also got the sweet potato tots!! Again perfectly cooked, nice crispness with a Chipotle aoli dipping sauce. Hubby got the smash burger & ordered the side salad since we had the tots. Decent beer selection. Fair prices. TV's which were on but quiet, which was fine with us. Music was background music & at a nice volume so you can have conversation. The bathrooms were clean & have real paper towels!! Overall a positive experience. The wings could give the Rusty Nail a run for the money & the WT includes carrots, which is always a plus for me!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gi Gi
The bar itself is clean, spacious, and has a patio area. The owner is great at what he does, the male bartender is not.
I hate paying for drinks that I basically begged for! The bartender ignored my friend and I for so long, I finally interrupted him as he took the orders of the group sitting next to me. We got one drink and left. He was off-putting and rude.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 2
Mariana Audoeno
One of the worst service experiences I’ve ever had. The bartender, a white man with a beard, unfortunately I didn’t catch his name, was incredibly rude from the moment we walked in. The place calls itself a tavern, but has none of the charm or warmth you’d expect. It could be a nice spot, but the lack of basic courtesy ruins everything. To make it worse, we went during happy hour and were still charged full price for the drinks. It feels like they just reopened and have no idea how to treat guests.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
conner lee
The bouncer was overly aggressive and harassed multiple people about their real ID’s. They didn’t have a scanner and made decisions based on “intuition” and favoritism (lets underage people in). I understand that it’s their job but was definitely disappointed by the lack of standard and overall unprofessionalism. The staff does not care about your safety, really needs to do better especially considering it is hotspot for college students.
Service: 1
Kassie von Stein
Genuinely did not even want to stay through me and my boyfriend’s first drink. The bartender was rude and asked my boyfriend to change seats 2 times, for no reason, and then proceeded to gossip to the girls next to us, as we were right there. 😂 I’ve never seen a bartender so focused on the seating arrangements at a bar and that absolutely led to him giving below average service. Don’t come here unless you’re apart of the sassy bartender’s posse!
J L
5 stars. Give it a chance. There’s often shows (music). young-ish crowd mid 20s to mid 30s when i’ve been. great vibes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Ryan Bird
This is 100% neighbood college bar! But a little more upscale than you would think.
The Buffalo chicken sandwich was unexpectedly AWESOME!!! It was not that saucey crap. It was like a dry rub on a thick all white meat breast. It was a pleasanly unexpected sandwich.
The maple bacon wings were awesome!!! And they do flats only with no up-charged.
Buger was nothing special, and nachos were the same.
And the small cocktail menu items were well-made.
Again, 100% the college bar, but if you find yourself in the area, it's worth stopping in for the Buffalo chicken sandwich and a bar tender that can make a good cocktail.
A great rebirth of a Albany classic. Nicely redone with a real welcoming atmosphere and staff. Make sure to check hours of operation as they are in flux.
Gabriel Rojas-Salazar
I’ve been there three times.
The first time, the bartender was rude and did not apply the happy hour promotion, and his reaction was not great. The second time, it was the same situation; however, the bartender told me that the happy hour was included, which it wasn’t.
During my third visit, the owner was nice, but once again, the happy hour promotion was not included in my bill.
I wish this place didn’t have these issues, as I live nearby and Albany is not a large city where I can easily find alternatives. They need to be more transparent and improve their service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
tallboycan
Great to see WTs revived. I’ve been here twice now. Food is elevated pub food - wings, sandwiches, brussel sprouts all stood out. Seemed like it was the owner serving us - he was really welcoming and personable, which I really appreciate. A great (re) addition to the neighborhood food scene. And unlike many of the others local restaurants that often have substantial wait times for a table, WTs is quite large with many tables (the side room is big) the chance of there being an open table when you arrive is close to 100% ( for now at least…)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
O
I had never been here before but was told it’s under fairly new ownership. We got good drinks and excellent service. The cocktail menu is really nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Quinn Hogan
Amazing bar. Great staff. Great atmosphere. Never have had an issue the 3 years I have been attending the bar🤗
Since re-opening, new owner Ben has made Washington Tavern the absolute go-to spot for anyone in Albany looking to have a great night out with friends. From brand new pool tables, touch-tunes, and an extremely friendly & welcoming staff; in a city ravaged by unkempt and overhyped bars— WT’s is simply a diamond in a haystack.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Check it out. Good beer and good food. The loaded fries were awesome and the tacos were awesome as well. Ben was great. Easy to talk to and very attentive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The loaded fries are absolutely goated. Compliments to Daylin for finessing some fresh cheese sauce for it, although i didn't get my added beef with it, but i ain't complaining. the wait was absolutely worth it. my friend Dani had an extra patty added to her smash burger, i think that's where the mix up happened, but this place is definitely the spot for some good grubs and espresso martinis. the tacos are an absolute banger. Get yourself a glizzy! 🌭 🤪
We were there at 5, happy hour is 5 to 8.
& it was very quiet, which we like. The menu is small but perfect in its simplicity. I got the wings, they were a spicy Thai chili, cooked perfectly & good size wings. We also got the sweet potato tots!! Again perfectly cooked, nice crispness with a Chipotle aoli dipping sauce. Hubby got the smash burger & ordered the side salad since we had the tots. Decent beer selection. Fair prices. TV's which were on but quiet, which was fine with us. Music was background music & at a nice volume so you can have conversation. The bathrooms were clean & have real paper towels!! Overall a positive experience. The wings could give the Rusty Nail a run for the money & the WT includes carrots, which is always a plus for me!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The bar itself is clean, spacious, and has a patio area. The owner is great at what he does, the male bartender is not.
I hate paying for drinks that I basically begged for! The bartender ignored my friend and I for so long, I finally interrupted him as he took the orders of the group sitting next to me. We got one drink and left. He was off-putting and rude.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 2
One of the worst service experiences I’ve ever had.
The bartender, a white man with a beard, unfortunately I didn’t catch his name, was incredibly rude from the moment we walked in. The place calls itself a tavern, but has none of the charm or warmth you’d expect. It could be a nice spot, but the lack of basic courtesy ruins everything.
To make it worse, we went during happy hour and were still charged full price for the drinks. It feels like they just reopened and have no idea how to treat guests.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
The bouncer was overly aggressive and harassed multiple people about their real ID’s. They didn’t have a scanner and made decisions based on “intuition” and favoritism (lets underage people in). I understand that it’s their job but was definitely disappointed by the lack of standard and overall unprofessionalism. The staff does not care about your safety, really needs to do better especially considering it is hotspot for college students.
Service: 1
Genuinely did not even want to stay through me and my boyfriend’s first drink. The bartender was rude and asked my boyfriend to change seats 2 times, for no reason, and then proceeded to gossip to the girls next to us, as we were right there. 😂 I’ve never seen a bartender so focused on the seating arrangements at a bar and that absolutely led to him giving below average service. Don’t come here unless you’re apart of the sassy bartender’s posse!
5 stars. Give it a chance. There’s often shows (music). young-ish crowd mid 20s to mid 30s when i’ve been. great vibes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
This is 100% neighbood college bar!
But a little more upscale than you would think.
The Buffalo chicken sandwich was unexpectedly AWESOME!!! It was not that saucey crap. It was like a dry rub on a thick all white meat breast. It was a pleasanly unexpected sandwich.
The maple bacon wings were awesome!!! And they do flats only with no up-charged.
Buger was nothing special, and nachos were the same.
And the small cocktail menu items were well-made.
Again, 100% the college bar, but if you find yourself in the area, it's worth stopping in for the Buffalo chicken sandwich and a bar tender that can make a good cocktail.
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
A great rebirth of a Albany classic. Nicely redone with a real welcoming atmosphere and staff. Make sure to check hours of operation as they are in flux.
I’ve been there three times.
The first time, the bartender was rude and did not apply the happy hour promotion, and his reaction was not great. The second time, it was the same situation; however, the bartender told me that the happy hour was included, which it wasn’t.
During my third visit, the owner was nice, but once again, the happy hour promotion was not included in my bill.
I wish this place didn’t have these issues, as I live nearby and Albany is not a large city where I can easily find alternatives. They need to be more transparent and improve their service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
Great to see WTs revived. I’ve been here twice now. Food is elevated pub food - wings, sandwiches, brussel sprouts all stood out. Seemed like it was the owner serving us - he was really welcoming and personable, which I really appreciate. A great (re) addition to the neighborhood food scene. And unlike many of the others local restaurants that often have substantial wait times for a table, WTs is quite large with many tables (the side room is big) the chance of there being an open table when you arrive is close to 100% ( for now at least…)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
I had never been here before but was told it’s under fairly new ownership. We got good drinks and excellent service. The cocktail menu is really nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing bar. Great staff. Great atmosphere. Never have had an issue the 3 years I have been attending the bar🤗
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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