Albany Ale and Oyster — Restaurant in City of Albany

I’ve been to ale and oyster many many times (this is where my boyfriend and I had our first date so it has a special place in my heart despite what I've recently experienced) and have noticed it get progressively worse throughout this past year. Tonight we were served by a waitress with an extremely irritated and mean demeanor. I work in customer service so I understand the job more than anyone but this particular waitress was rushing us for our orders the whole time - acting annoyed and hostile toward us anytime she came to our table, and overall just giving us major attitude. I’ve honestly never experienced a worst waitress when dining out. She was just downright mean. When it came to our food my kale caeser salad was quite delicious, but my boyfriends patty melt was extremely subpar. The beef patty inside of it was dry and tasted like it was freezer burned. And overall the sandwich was dry and not good. It was sad :( I really did love this place I just don’t know what happened, when it came to our bill though - this was the worst part. The waitress who was giving us extreme attitude gave us our bill with incorrect charges not once, twice, but three times - ok. No problem. People make mistakes! But on the third time when we went to inform her she snapped at us and we said okay we just wanted to let you know so you could correct the amount again :). She snatched the check away from us and didn’t acknowledge us for the rest of the night and sent someone else over to talk to us who was EXTREMELY nice and very courteous. He was 10/10. My suggestion for this place - lock in place kinder and more compassionate and service oriented workers and put more effort into your food options for the price point. I have no issues paying 14 dollars for a patty melt but paying 14 dollars for a disgusting dry frozen patty melt is disappointing....

Update 8/10/2025: we've continued to frequent Albany Ale and Oyster since they moved to their new location a few doors down from their previous restaurant. The place is beautiful with a comfortable, welcoming bar as well as plenty of tables and an outdoor space. The food is still exceptional. I order either the Green Curry Tofu (AMAZING) or the helderberg salad without cheese and with crispy tofu. This is seriously the best salad I've ever had. Maple vinigret and tons of pecans over mixed greens plus the tofu which is cooked to perfection. I could seriously eat it ever day. As always, the beer list is extensive and the beers are served cold with just the right amount of foam.

We decided to try Albany Ale and Oyster House on a chilly, rainy Wednesday afternoon since we had to be on New Scotland Avenue for an afternoon doctor appointment. I'm so glad we did, and also happy we arrived just as they were opening because we were able to sit at the bar and visit with one of the owners, Mia. We tried a flight of beer opting for all pilsners, one each from Italy France, Czechia and from our own New York region; all tasty, just the right amount of foam and nice and chilled. I ordered the Beyond brat which comes with comes with kale slaw and honey mustard, crispy potato chips in a brown paper bag for soaking up the oil and keeping them crispy, and a mixed green salad with the best sesame honey dressing. I love good salads and this one was perfect, with dressing on each lettuce leaf. Mia said they take their salads seriously, and you can tell. My partner had the Reuben and he proclaimed it the best he ever had. Overall the taste, presentation and preparation of the food was perfect. Combined with the cozy atmosphere and the friendliness of the owner and all who work there; Albany Ale and Oyster House is now one of my top...

After hearing rave reviews about this place, I decided to take a trip with my parents when they came up to Albany for a visit. From the get-go, the water brought to our table tasted like tap water... I took a sip and didn't touch it again. I ordered the unsweetened iced tea which had a ton of ice, so again, I didn't drink much of it. We all ordered the Clam Chowder to start and it was unlike any Clam Chowder (New England, Manhattan, or otherwise) that we ever had. It was essentially a seafood stew. If I knew what it was, I would have never ordered it. I ate two bites and left the rest. For the main course I ordered the Thai Cod, my mom ordered the Chicken Schnitzel, and my dad ordered the pork chop with a side of french fries. We all agreed that the french fries were the best part of the meal... My cod and rice were bland and the mushrooms were SO marinated that it killed any other flavor of food that you ate with it. I tried a bite of the Schnitzel and the breaded portion was so oily and the chicken was tough and bland. I tried a bite of the pork chop and it was touch and chewy. Despite barely eating, at the table I needed to eat a ginger candy to quell my stomach which was reacting to the medley of "strange" food I ingested. Waiting for the check, I had to leave to use the bathroom because the smell of my food was making me more nauseated. After dinner, my mom shared with me that her stomach was hurting and later that evening her liver was in pain and she needed to drink herbal tea to calm her upset stomach. My dad shared that he also was disappointed with the dinner particularly because everything looked good at first glance. Seriously baffled at how such a seemingly-popular restaurant left me so sick and...