Cornell's in Little Italy Restaurant — Restaurant in City of Schenectady

Long post ahead, but I don't want someone to experience what hubby and I did.

The experience I had at Cornell's in Little Italy was underwhelming to say the least.

Hubby and I don't go out often but he received a bonus at work and used some of the money towards our anniversary dinner which happens to be New Year's Eve.

After searching and reading the reviews on Google, Yelp and 518 Foodies (a local foodie page for reviews and suggestions), we decided on Cornell's. In our reservation, we made sure to state that we were celebrating our 3rd anniversary (many reviews stated that they would receive at least a card congratulating the milestone). We expected nothing too extra, maybe a free drink or dessert at the most as there are other Capital Region restaurants that offer this.

We arrived early and seated early. The restaurant had open tables and wasn't too busy (I've seen Texas Roadhouse more packed). However the waitresses were running around crazy. They let us know that there were 2 girls who would be helping us, one didn't work there. I understand it was NYE and that can be a hectic time for restaurants. However for a restaurant to be opened since the 1940s, they acted like this was their first NYE dinner.

We waited at least 20 minutes for our drinks. Hubby ordered a Pepsi and I ordered from their holiday cocktail menu. 3 out of 5 drinks were unavailable. I ordered a cranberry and vodka, received it at least 15 mins later. I noticed that tables who ordered wine received their drinks quicker.

Second, we waited at least 40 minutes for a bowl of bread. There was a larger table sat behind us, came approximately 20-30 minutes after us and they received a bread bowl, drinks AND their appetizers before us. We had to ask for bread 3 separate times. We were only checked on when they saw us without drinks and bread.

Third, we never received our appetizer which we were both excited for. We put the order in with our drinks. We received our entrees before our app. We canceled the app since we had our meals.

Now with our meals. I ordered a chicken parm with papparadele pasta and hubby got a 16oz ribeye with tortellini. My food came out and his steak came. But his pasta was missing. Hubby informed waitress who stated she would tellthe kitchen to let her know when it was ready. I took a bite or 2 out of my food before I stopped eating to wait for Hubby to get his pasta. It took a little over 10 mins. My food was then lukewarm and so was his steak.

The quality of the food was not good. Honestly, Olive Garden makes better food (and has better service). My pasta was bland and watery. The chicken was okay. My hubby's steak was too fatty for his liking. The tortellini plate was hot and the flavor was excellent. We both shared his plate. The best part of the meal was the cannoli we ordered for dessert that we ate at home. I didn't want to wait an hour for dessert, that they may or may not remembered to bring.

We were both really excited to go out. I work for the state and hubby is a maintenance worker. We don't go out but when we do, we hope for our money's worth. We would have been better going off to Olive Garden. They didn't acknowledge our anniversary, we didn't get comped anything for our missing app and the service lacked. I always pass out in the car after going out. Always. I stayed awake the entire 35 minute drive home.

I understand the labor force is limited and they may have been understaffed. But it is NYE and the many service mistakes we saw were unacceptable. We watched as a waitress brought in a large tray of hot food and it sat on a table for at least 10 mins before being passed out. Also, our table was a metal patio table with a white tablecloth on top. Idk that just felt off to me. Staff were bringing out drinks and food without knowing which table it belonged to. We asked for more butter, waitress took it off an empty table.

The experience we were expecting to have based off reviews and the experience we had were two worlds away. The money he spent was a waste and we...

We visited here with our cousins for dinner on Thu 6/02/22. Cornells established their reputation many years ago in Schenectady's north end Italian neighborhood. Later on it moved to the present location on Jay Sy in Little Italy. Recently purchased by their next door neighbor, Perreca's Bakery, and has been updated by owner Maria Papa. This building was the former Vita-Rich bakery years ago. The new emphasis builds on the traditional past with many fresh new ideas on the menu. They also have a superior wine list offered by glass, carafe, & bottle. There is a bar w/ dining tables, a dining/banquet room, & a meeting room. Very comfortable despite the size. We had a drink at the bar and then moved to our table in the same room. Our server, Ashley brought waters, menus, and told us the specials. The ladies had pinot grigios ($9 & $14), the gents had mixed drinks ($10 & $11). Dinners were Catalan Cod ($23) w/olives, tomatoes, capers-generous portion and quite robusto. The chef accommodated a special GF seafood dish-scallops & broccolini ($35). Also a Pappardelle Bolognese ($24)-densely flavored, slow cooked sauce over house made fresh pasta. And finally Cavatelli ala Cornells ($22)-Fresh pasta w/marinara sauce w/ a side of Utica greens ($11)-sweet & spicy. For smaller appetites try their wide variety of appetizers ($4-$12) for yourself or get a bunch of them for sharing. Dinners are $20-$30. Don't pass on dessert-eat the cannoli-life's too short. A great meal at a restaurant w/ exceptional food and great service. Hours: Th 4-9, Fri & Sat 4-10, Sun 3-8, closed M-Tu-W. Much thanks to Maria, Ashley, and the rest of the Cornells staff. Nick & Liz, Albany, NY Second visit here: We had our monthly brothers & sisters dinner here on Fri 7/18/25 5:30pm. Our last time here was June 2022. Our reservation request for a round table for eight was accommodated. Our waitperson Ross & his "shadow" Olivia(?) were very attentive & professional. Drinks then appetizer order w/ Perreca's bread & olive oil. He told us the specials, and then took our dinner orders on separate checks. Apps were calamari w/ banana peppers & lemon aioli ($17) & bruschetta ($13). Calamari was crispy battered & fried - perfecto! Dinners included Cavatelli ala Cornell's w/ broccoli rabe & Sindoni's sweet sausage ($16), a charcuterie board app ($19), chicken Romani ($28) w/ mushrooms, roasted peppers & procscuitto in a white wine sauce w/ a generous side on sauteed green beans, shrimp pescatore ($32) w/ lemon garlic butter & wine over linguine, Frutti de Mare ($41), Contornis of 3 meatballs ($11) & Brussel sprouts ($4.50), and a vegan dinner of broccoli rabe ($10) & something else (?). All dishes were well prepared & served promptly while hot from the kitchen. Ross was extremely patient with all questions, special requests, and the separate checks. Thank you again to Ross & the kitchen another exceptional from Cornell's. Ciao. The Parisis of...

My wife and I planned a Valentine’s Day evening at Cornell’s and were thoroughly disappointed by the entire experience. The first disappointment was the prix fixe menu that was the only option for dinner. We had never been to Cornell’s before and we made the reservation based on the promise of quality Italian food. This menu was not it. Of the items on the menu the risotto appetizer and the zeppole were the only things that remotely qualified. Zero pasta. Other tables were offered and received a complementary glass of Prosecco. Our server did not offer this to us at any time. Items on the menu were not as described. My wife’s salad mentioned it contained black currants. They were raisins and boy were they generous with the raisins. My Caesar salad was terrible - Carabba’s makes a better one. The next course was no better. My wife’s risotto was nothing special and my lamb chops were poorly presented (four chops lined up on a plate with brown sauce) and overcooked. Entrees were awful. My wife’s duck entree had a sliced dry duck breast and the description promised asparagus and what was given was broccoli that was clearly frozen from a bag and steamed. My braised short rib, while falling apart was dry and barely edible. I was promised fingerling potatoes and received mediocre and overcooked russet potatoes. They were borderline inedible. I also received the same thawed broccoli instead of asparagus. When it came to dessert we’d heard another server in the room offering items that were not listed on the menu - panna cotta and a pistachio cake. They were never offered to us. My zeppole were fine and my wife’s cheesecake was acceptable. I’ve had better meals at chain restaurants with better service for a fraction of the price. Charging $80/pp for mediocre buffet food entirely because it is Valentine’s Day is insulting. The point of a prix fixe menu is to limit the amount of work the kitchen needs to do to prepare quality food for a large number of covers - Cornell’s failed at this. Miserably. While our server wasn’t outwardly rude to us, she was not friendly or welcoming at any time. If this is the effort that Cornell’s is willing to put out on the busiest night of the year to eat out, I have zero interest in returning to try again. I feel...