Sybaris Bistro — Restaurant in Albany

I really wanted to like this place. The hype around it is amazing. The experience, not so much. To be fair, I'm a pretty decent home cook and expect that people that do it for a living, especially in fine dining establishment to do it at least as well as I do.

The good The wait staff is well trained to sell each dish. The only detail we didn't get about the preparation was the ear tag number of the animal butchered for the dish. They were pleasant and accommodating. The front of the house is on par with some of the finest places I've dined here and abroad. The least expensive item we ordered - the beet salad was to die for. I wouldn't know where to start to make this at home. I had a gin martini and my dining partner had a craft gin cocktail and both were good. They lightly seasoned the food and had a salt shaker on the table. Too many upscale restaurants believe that the chef can season food to every diner's salt preferences. Kudos to Sybaris for knowing that is impossible and avoiding that awkward ask for salt.

The mediocre The appetizer was a duck and goose offal sausage in a goose neck. The spicing was good, however, it was dry. More fat would have moved this to the good category. I make my own sausage and have learned that all else being equal fat is the difference between great sausage and mediocre one. The kielbasa seasonal sausage was again well spiced, but, was dry. Enough fat and higher serving temp would have turned a mediocre kielbasa to a good one.

The bad The flat iron steak was just bad. I ordered medium rare and it was. Unfortunately, the preparation with just some grill marks and no hard sear gave the steak an odd flavor and the texture of liver. The expectation of flat iron is hard seared, thin sliced. Different is OK if it's better. This preparation was much worse. To be fair, the server offered to have me order something else off of the menu, but, it was late, my dining partner was already eating and it took a good over 20 min to get our entrée and I wasn't willing to wait that long again.

This review is an outlier and I suspect that the awesome sales job by the servers strongly influences most people's experience of their meals in a positive way which adds to their star ratings.

Again, the front of the house is great. If only the kitchen could serve the food the servers sell, this would be an...

I'm quite biased towards Sybaris. I have been eating meals there for over twenty two years. I know the owners Matt and Janel Bennett personally. We have had meals together, shared recipes, and I even have the greatest honor of having a dish I made on Matt's menu. Besides being close friends to my family Matt and Janel are great friends to the Albany community. If you have a fundraiser,cl community event or even a pie contest you can be assured that both will be involved in some way. I can go on and on about their generosity, I'm sure you want to hear about the food.

At my most recent visit I ordered the duck entree and had the peanut cake covered in the seasonal fruit compote. The duck was cooked to a medium rare served on polenta with seasonal vegetables. Now lets talk about the sauce. It was so delicious that it needs its own review. It was so delicious, a combination of red fruits and dijon mustard, I would have licked the plate if it wasn't frowned upon in public. Don't get me wrong, everything served contributed to an enjoyable meal, it's just remembering the taste of the sauce will return me to this meal instantly.

Now dessert. I chose the Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cake with fruits of the moment compote. There are a few things I eat every week, one of these are PB&J sandwiches. I could tell from the description that was what I was going to be eating and Matt delivered. What more can I say about dessert, sweet fruit acting as the jelly and the cake cast in two roles the bread and peanut butter. My wife tried some and kept on tasting and tasting till I forcefully retrieved it. It was a super satisfying end to my meal.

If you want to have true fine dining in Albany do visit Sybaris in Historic Downtown Albany. The staff will make you feel at ease. They offer a great selection of wines and cocktails to get started or to pair with your meal. Say hello to Janel, who most nights runs the front of the house and most nights you will get Matt. Be sure to tell them I sent you and...

1/8/2021: Phoned in to place an order for the Raddichio appetizer, Meatloaf, and BBQ pulled pork. The person who took the order was very pleasant, and gave great instructions for pickup. Pickup itself was very smooth, and took great caution regarding the pandemic protocols. Much appreciated.

The raddichio was surprisingly good. For reference, I'm more of a meat and potatoes kind of guy. The raddichio itself was grilled I believe and the flavor was savory and nutty. Fresh lettuce (mustard greens?was part of it, as well as artichoke hearts. Red peppers (Bell, maybe California Red) rounded out the flavors nicely. Two portions came in the box which was more than enough for the wife and I. Very generous for an $8 appetizer.

The meatloaf was fantastic. It included a sort of rustic mashed potato and fresh baby spinach. The meatloaf came in 2 large rectangle portions, and was very dense. Super filling, and once again a very generous portion for $15. The meatloaf was cooked perfectly. It had a sweet BBQ sauce topped on it, and it actually had a "bark" similar to a Texas brisket. It worked really well. The potatoes were tasty, but nothing super spectacular which is fine. The meatloaf was the star.

The BBQ pulled pork comes in a box like a really really thick stew. Corn, mashed sweet potato, and baby spinach are sprinkled in with the pulled pork. Definitely a comfort food at heart, and has a nice little spice thrown in for a few bites. Once again, very generous portion for $15. The wife and I barely touched it because the appetizer and meatloaf was enough for 2 themselves. As leftovers, it has excellent flavor, and the pork was very tender.

This was our first experience with Sybaris, and I believe the menu changes frequently. Our experience with this meal gives me confidence that anything else we might have ordered would be just as great. We look forward to coming here again, as the price was beyond reasonable, the portions were large, and the flavor combos...