The Skinny Pancake Albany — Restaurant in City of Albany

The atmosphere was very relaxing. We were greeted by a hostess and told we can take a seat anywhere. There were tables along the walls and the center of the room was open with a couple of couches and comfy chairs. There was a huge cast iron stove across the entrance. Artist works (for sale with QR codes) decorate the area.

There are QR codes on the wall you can scan to bring up menus and you can place your order through an app. There is an option for the hostess to take your order and you can pay at the register, but we opted to use the app to order (thinking we could pay at the register but that wasn't the option unless we missed it). Through the app you are billed immediately so if you want anything else it's another open the app and place another order vs running a tab to pay for everything at the end. I did like that the app has a section to notify if anyone in the party has a food allergy. My dislike about the app is the tipping. There are 3 set percentage amounts or you can put in a custom amount. My thought about this is, if we are ordering through an app and paying immediately, it's a) too early to determine the service experience to base the tip on, and b) if you are ordering and paying through an app, the only service we really received was someone bringing the food to the table. After we ordered though the app, our drinks came out quickly. We were told our food would be up soon and if we needed extras there were condiments over by the stove. This is self-service so no need to tip if I'm getting things for myself. Despite this, because the people were pleasant and the atmosphere was warm, we left a 15% tip. I figured if there was more interaction, I would leave more of a cash tip.

The hostess was very pleasant and great manners. A refreshing change of customer service you don't see very often anymore. The food came out quickly and was hot off the stove. DELICIOUS!!! As first-timers we weren't sure what to expect but it was superb! I did get up to ask for to-go containers when we were done. We sat a little longer to finish our drinks. Someone did come over and cleared 2 out of 3 of our plates and then asked if we needed any to-go containers. The two staff members that we interacted with were very pleasant. We would definitely return to enjoy this...

EDIT: Below this post is my original post. However, I have given this eatery another chance due to the owner reaching out to me about the issue with our food. I initially gave 2 stars. Michael was kind and sincere and issued my BF and I a full refund with a $30 gift card to come back. He reached out personally and wanted to rectify the situation which I thought was really big of him. This place just recently opened and deserves a second chance. Michael's response alone spoke volume about how he feels about his customers.

ORIGINAL: My boyfriend and I ordered takeout today for dinner. We purchased 4 food items from the menu. 2 classic burgers, 1 chicken tender meal, 1 blueberry crepe. We tried everything so you will see bitten food.

The burgers were dry, not seasoned, and overcooked. The cheese was missing and there were no caramelized onions. It came with fries and they were cold and bland. $14 each for the burger meals. A diner charges less for burger deluxe and usually taste better. The chicken tenders were cooked to perfection and seasoned well. (The only purchase on the menu that was tasty which is why the 2 stars instead of zero). Those came with fries also. Fries were cold gross and not seasoned. The blueberry crepe was just skinny pancake topped with blueberries. I could have prepared this myself. Nothing special. Cold AF. $10 for this!

Altogether our meal came up to over $50. My boyfriend and I are both essential workers and work close to 80hours a week and don't always have time to cook. When we get home, we're both exhausted from the day. I'm really disappointed in this place. I only heard about it yesterday in the Times Union newspaper. For a place that just opened, please do better. Opening up a restaurant is hard and asking for people's hard earned money when you serve SLOP is even harder. Nothing special about this place and the...

This is the first time we visited. We were immediately greeted. It was really busy after a lunch rush on Saturday. We were seated at the bar table. It was acceptable by us. We were explained how we could order by scanning a QR code or we could go to the register to order. We ordered using the code. It was simple to scan and place order. There were many options to choose. Once I chose an item, I was able to customize it the way I wanted. It also included options for allergies. After placing the order, our waiter came to us to ask if we would like to change to a booth. We obliged. Our drinks were sent right away. I chose a savory Johnny Crepe. The pulled pork was very delicious. My husband ordered an all day burrito. He said the crepe held the filling better than a tortilla would. My daughter ordered the blueberry pie crepe. I stared her down the whole time until she finally let me try it. It was so good. If I had room for more, I would have ordered it for dessert. The atmosphere was very cozy. There were booths and tables. There was also a couch and some chairs in the middle. It reminded me of Central Perks on Friends. The manager came to our table to see how we liked the food. We had no complaints. It was delicious and just the right amount. The waiter was friendly as well as the rest of the staff. We had a choice to pay our check from our phone or the register. We chose the register. I would definitely recommend this place for anyone looking for something different for a change. Although, they do serve hamburgers, sandwiches, and kids menu too. The crepes were amazing. They serve breakfast all day as well. We'll definitely be back to get some...