Sweet Red Bistro — Restaurant in Albany

First time visit tonight. My fiancée and I came with a 5:30 reservation and were seated immediately on arrival. Greeted by several of the staff as we came in, bartender and another waitstaff. We were seated at a tall table along the wall with a long upholstered bench along the wall with additional chairs on the outside. The decoŕ is an understated chic with dark walls, chandeliers and sconce lighting with a nice "date night" vibe. Music was a tad too loud when we were first seated, but as the room filled (or I became accustomed?) it became more balanced. The classic rock was a bit out of place with the surroundings, iwould have expected some nice jazz or even blues, but it didn't distract from the ambiance overall. Our server was Jordyn, her first night as we were told by I think the owner who was shadowing her. Jordyn took our drink order and for starters - IPA & the Beast of Bourbon (old fashioned) with the Roasted Maple Brussels Sprouts & the Grilled Baguette. They were out of the IPA, so he got an amber ale instead. Limited beer selection, but lots (LOTS) of cocktails with fun names ("Purple Rain" "Hip to be Square" and CUptown Girl" to name a few) and a more than ample wine list. Drinks and starters came out quickly. The Brussels were cooked beautifully with crisp edges, caramelized and tender, with the spicy maple glaze, prosciutto & goat cheese. All the flavors pared well together, I would have appreciated less of the maple glaze, as there was a pool of it on the plate. They would have done better to simply drizzle it on the top for that touch of sweetness. This didn't stop us from devouring them... just took a break from the sweetness with the grilled Baguette which was served with both butter and an garlic herbed olive oil and seasoned with a pinot noir salt. Again, devoured by both of us. Jordyn checked on us after our first bites to see how we were doing and if we needed anything and then about halfway through our starters she asked if we were ready to order our entrées. We both ordered the bistro steak, one with the garlic mushroom balsamic glaze and the other with the cognac cream sauce. These are served with a garlic "smashed" potatoes and an oven roasted vegetable (tonight's was green beans). Both plates came out quickly, while we were waiting staff were quick to ask my fiancée wanted another beer and to check on us. I noticed that my fiancée's steak was a perfect medium rare, while mine leaned more to medium-well, but not so much as to merit a return to the kitchen. The cream sauce could have been more cognac forward in my opinion but was good nonetheless. The steak was lacking salt and was VERY pepper forward in the way of seasoning, good thing I like pepper. The combination lent to a steak au poivre presentation. The balsamic glaze with the mushroom garlic on my fiancée's was balanced and lovely overall. The sides - potatoes, VERY garlic forward, green beans slightly tough. They might want to blanch them first before roasting... but overall taste fine and well seasoned. We skipped dessert which I'm now regretting... there were several options that all sounded wonderful. The other impressive items on the dessert menu was the selection of some very fine Highland Scotch - Oban 14 yr, Macallan 18 yr just to name a couple. There's also an impressive array of "dessertini's."

But.... we will be back so we can try more of this menu that offers a bit of something for everyone. And, for her first night Jordyn was great! No mistakes, on point, polite friendly and professional. Well done.

This may become a new favorite! On first try I would recommend it overall. Relaxed, well staffed with good food. A...

Given the 4.8 rating and many rave reviews, had high expectations ... and the night started out wonderfully. Cocktail list was very good, perfectly made and quite tasty. The wine list by the glass was a bit limited and they have a rules that you cannot get a tasting of two reds and 1 white; which seemed odd to me. Service was quite attentive with water glasses never remaining empty. & The food that we were able to try was very good. Unfortunately a few things fell far short of our expectation: They advertise a "signature cheese and charcuterie board" - I was expecting local cheeses, locally cured meats or at the very least something that would make it "signature" (maybe house cured; IDK?). The server could only describe the cheese type - eg. a "blue cheese" a "Spanish Manchego" (from spain? unknown...). It was wonderfully presented and portion size was very nice (it was also $32). We started with the board (see #1, above) and drinks ... and mentioned when asked (on three separate occasions), that we would would order dinner after we enjoyed our board. On visit #4, we were out of drinks so asked for a glass of wine and another cocktail ... at which point we were assured that we could put our entree order in and finish the board, no rush; they didn't need the table so we could enjoy. Drinks were very slow in coming - but no rush for us as we were enjoying the space ... and then ... our entree's arrived before we even had a chance to have another bite of the board - which was now only 1/2 way finished. My wife accepted her entree, but I sent mind back and asked that it just be removed from the bill. The bill arrives, not only were there nothing comped for the rushed entree (perhaps just a scoop of ice cream as an acknowledgement/apologie?), but my entree, which remember I had returned, had not been taken off the bill. Had I not looked carefully, I would have simply paid for it. An "oversight" by management ... I brought it to the attention of the "manager" she said she could give me the biz card of the owner ... who is apparently absentee/not on premise on Friday night.

Sadly, cannot recommend this...

Love, love, love Sweet Red Bistro! This is an absolute gem that we love so much, we actually came by two times during our most recent visit to the area.

On our second trip on New Year's Eve, we headed to the older location on first street, where they were serving drinks and a champagne toast to kick off the new year.

From their special NYE cocktail menu, I tried the Salsa while my partner tried the Midnight Manhattan. The Salsa was spicy (as advertised), and had a nice savory flavor with the jalapeño tequila, serrano rum, ancho Reyes chili liqueur and Calabrian chilis coming together to provide a balanced kick in the face.

The Midnight Manhattan had an initial kick of rye whiskey, which softened into cinnamon and clove notes, before finishing with a chocolatey smoothness.

After toasting to the New Year with Cindy and the rest of the patrons, we enjoyed a second round where I got the Sidecar while my partner got the Paper Aeroplane.

The Sidecar was beautifully balanced with cognac, lemon, simple and orange liqueur. It contrasted nicely with my first cocktail (the Salsa), which was tasty but savory and spicy, so the sweet smoothness provided a nice finish to the night.

The Paper Aeroplane was the only slight miss of the night for us. The bourbon, Aperol, amaro and lemon provided an interesting combination of flavors, although we felt the flavors didn't go together as well as in the other drinks.

Overall, it was a charming and cozy way to ring in the new year and we are very thankful that Sweet Red Bistro is a part of downtown Albany, as the service and drinks (haven't tried the food yet) are top notch. This is a must try...