Hattie's Restaurants Downtown Saratoga Springs — Restaurant in City of Saratoga Springs

In Saratoga Springs for work and I've asked the locals about where I should go to eat. Numerous people mentioned Hattie's so I pulled up, tried out a few things and here's how it went!

Atmosphere/Appearance: This place is ALL ABOUT THE FOOD and none of the fanfare. I dig it. This place has been around FOREVER and it has kept its charm. I can totally respect that. The front dining room is a pretty decent size, but this place is located downtown Saratoga Springs so space is limited. There's so much history strewn all over the walls that give way to the red/white checkered tablecloths. Lol. The bar is small, however... If you go out the back of the dining room you'll get to a hallway where the bathrooms are and you'll pass through into a sort of "speakeasy" that transport you back into the south. The atmosphere back there is more lively, the bar is bigger and the focus is more on the alcohol.

Service: I can't remember who took care of me, but she was awesome. The recommendations were great, she was patient and made sure I had everything that I needed.

Food: So while I was here I was able to check out a few things! So when you get the FULL PORTION of Hattie's Famous Fried Chicken it comes with a breast, wing, leg & thigh. It also comes with 2 sides. I was able to split my order into 1/2 traditional and 1/2 Nashville Hot. The skin was so crispy, crunchy and the meat was incredibly juicy. The flavor was a lil' oily and a bit spicy, but that's the nature OF Nashville Hot. I also had an order of their red bean & rice, a southern stable. They come served side-by-side on the same plate, though I'm used to them being mixed together. It was a bit spicy, about a 3 on my scale. My other side was the Cucumber Salad with consists of red onions, cucumbers and various seasonings. It was deliciously vinegary, crunchy, soothing if the food was too spicy and a bit pickle-y. Last, but not least, was the original recipe! The skin was even crispier since there wasn't a sauce on this piece. The chicken was incredibly juicy and left me speechless honestly. It was so hard to describe the flavors, but they were SO WELL BALANCED.

Value: Everything I had costed my $26.00. It was absolutely enough for 2 meals and I think this place has an excellent value.

In conclusion, I really loved this place. A hack I learned while here is to eat your chicken OVER your sides so that when the skin flakes off, it falls into your sides and boom, more seeeeeasonin'. Lol. Check this place out whenever you...

Want to start off with I love the people and the non-profit concept. I had the absolute treasure, not pleasure of meeting Hattie in the late 80s early 90s, what a wonderful lady. I feel like the place has gotten way to small for the times. The original building is so beautiful, and I understand the concept of needing to improve capacity but there are way too many tables and I feel this affects everything overall. Idk if they can't build a vestibule becuse of restrictions, but the heavy curtain in your face upon entering is otherwise bizarre. I will add context and say I'm never eaten here in the winter. Like I said waaaay to many tables. Chairs are falling, everyone is bumping into each other, and while people are kind, it's not very comfortable. We were a party of 4 and the table was too small for us, plates, drinks, apps, and entrees. Just way too small. We ordered sodas (didn't want to take up more space with wine, glasses etc). It took 35 minutes to get 4 sodas as our server said the bartender was "making" them. Staff was kind and friendly, but it's like watching the keystone cops cuz its so small. I think this also affected the overall quality of the food which other than the amazing shrimp, I would characterize as bland. 2 catfish dinners,chix waffles and 4 PC chix. Sides were great, Cajun slaw bland. I will continue to patronize Hatties, as I loved that old lady, but I think I'll stick with the take out which has always been good.

Maybe share a plate or stop for an app, wish I had an answer.

Interestingly the check came in...

So...while visiting Saratoga Springs my husband and i decided to check out if the town had a cool Food Network featured restaurant. We found only one "Hattie's" a soulfood-ish kinda of spot known for its fried chicken. Cool! We go and see this cute kitchy place and order fried chicken,greens , mashed taters ( him)& Red beans and rice ( the only veggie entree for me). Fried green tomatoes for an app. They offer corn bread and biscuits complimentary (more on that later).The FGT were tasty and came with a great sauce (more on that later).then our food came....my h it husband's chicken looked great. My rice and beans... i ate a few mouthfuls before i had to stop...the rice was hard....not to mention the beans were not seasoned. I sent it back (i hate doing that but for a place so highly spoken of you'd think the basic skill of rice boiling would be down pat). I got hushpuppies and asked for a side of the sauce served with the FGT .....i dipped my first hush puppy in and pulled out a long hair!!!! THEN as my husband finished my overly sweet greens i hear what's sounds like ice being chewed....he spits out A ROCK!! We had both been silent about the sandy Greens but...A ROCK??? A HAIR ?? HARD RICE!! let's go back to the things we tried to ignore...the bread was cold, the drinks were iced to the hilt... they didn't refill our drinks...and the final kicker...the fried GREEN tomatoes were...RED , red ripe tomatoes. So screw what Guy Fieri or Bobby Flay says HATTIE'S SUCK MONKEY BALLS !! I'd give it NO...