Thirsty Owl Saratoga — Restaurant in City of Saratoga Springs

I wish I could give more than five stars!!!! Two tips for an amazing time: request Elizabeth and order the Myers Lemon Cake dessert!! Of course, you must order wine as well! My husband and I visited for an impromptu lunch while staying on a short overnight in Saratoga Springs: as we drove by the sign, we were overjoyed to see Thirsty Owl here and actually turned the car around! We are frequent patrons of the Thirsty Owl Winery and Bistro on Cayuga Lake, but we did not even know that they had one here in Saratoga. We stopped for a quick lunch and then end up having such a great experience that it was the highlight of our trip! The service was fantastic! Absolutely top-notch! Elizabeth was the kind of server that gets to know her patrons, and takes the time to make each person feel at home! She was knowledgeable, and willing to stop and talk to us about the local area, and also gave great recommendations on the menu and on the wines! It was on her recommendation that I tried the Meyers lemon cake, and I couldn't have been happier! Our whole meal was spectacular from start to finish, with delicious food that was the perfect size for our lunch needs. I had a chicken panini that had the most divine roasted apples in it, and my husband tried the pulled pork tacos, which had pork so tasty it could be eaten by itself. The wine was spectacular as always, I ordered a glass of the Diamond and he had a class of the 2016 Chancellor. We always highly recommend those, and were not disappointed! After each course, Elizabeth expertly cleared our area, and packed up our leftovers for us, a touch that was elegant and so unexpected. She even found us two commemorative wine glasses, which was perfect as we collect glassware and wanted something to remember our excellent experience with. By the time we had finished our meal, she had two perfectly packaged bags for us with all of our goodies! In summation, this was a delectable meal that was eclipsed by even better service! We were so impressed that the chef even came by our table to personally check in on us! Thirsty Owl never disappoints, and I highly recommend it, whether you are a wine connoisseur, or just two people looking for a...

This place was such a disappointment. We must have went on a bad night, although it was a Friday. We started with the cheese board for four. "A selection of gourmet cheeses and seasonal accompaniments," is how it was described on the menu. Now I'm not exaggerating when I tell you we were served a plate of Pepperidge farm crackers, rolled up lunch meat, (sliced Genoa salami, prosciutto and sliced kielbasa, deff. just Hilshire farms type) and 3 different kinds of generic hard cheese. I've made better cheese boards at home, and they were on a board. And there were no seasonal accompaniments. Just a tbsp of ground up kalamata olives. It was sad sad sad. I had the seafood paella. What I got was a bowl of rice that was sitting in some kind of grease (I think from the cheap kielbasa that was in it.) The shrimp were big but over cooked, which was odd because there was one jumbo scallop that was raw. The mussel shells were filled with rice that was still white, never seasoned. I left 3/4 of it untouched because I was afraid to get sick from the raw scallop. 2 girls got the seasonal risotto. So that was a plate of creamy white rice, not arborio, with chunks of squash, shredded unseasoned chicken and plops of goat cheese. Horrendous. One girl got a pork chop - it was so tough she was sawing at it with her knife and gave up. The sweet potato wedges were burned. Another girl got the lamb - that was actually decent but the potatoes were way too salty. Overall - no one really touched their food but the waiter just acted like everything was fine. We were hesitant to complain because what would they even do, comp our entire check? It was just terrible and we couldn't wait to leave. The wine was a saving grace I guess - but I wouldn't come back...

My husband came here the first time 4 years ago and had a phenomenal experience. Unfortunately we cannot say the same this time. We called in advance to confirm their dog policy and were told that the patio and porch were pet friendly. However, on arrival, we walked onto the porch area and the waitstaff looked at us like we had 6 heads or as though we personally disrespected her for coming there with our two dachshunds and sent us to the back patio. Of the 5 tables only one was set and had a dirty glass. When our waitress (a different person than before) arrived, my husband told her the glass was dirty and she asked us if he wanted another one, rolled her eyes, and then proceeded to tell us it's hard with all the trees. My husband asked her about the menu because it had changed since his last time here and she said it has a front and back so it's a good selection. After these three lovely interactions we decided to have one glass and bring our business elsewhere. Prior to writing this review we sought out management to let them know of our experience so maybe they could handle things on their own without the social media backlash but we were told "Josh our GM is at a game and no management is available"

Overall, With the vast selection of restaurants on the strip in Saratoga, there is absolutely no point in venturing the other way for Thirsty Owl, unless you enjoy...