The Horses Lounge — Restaurant in City of Schenectady

I have had many a meal and drinks at the original Horse's Lounge, so when it was reopened with a goal of continuity, I made a point to stop in one night for dinner. On the plus side, it's very clean. The old joint had a bit of a "dive-y" feel to it, probably due to the pool table. Alas the pool table is gone now, replaced with tables. I miss the pool table. It lent an air of "neighborhood joint/workingman's bar" that the new Horse's lacks, so far. Maybe in time the interior will get a little scruffy around the edges and develop a sort of patina of age. And I hope at least some of the other regulars will come back.

The menu features wings, burgers, foot-long hot dogs, and flatbreads and will look familiar to anyone who has been to the sister restaurant, the Broken Inn in Niskayuna. There is an incredible range of options available for these entrees: sauces, cheeses, veggies, meats, and dressings. There must be thousands of different ways to put them together. Totally customizable. Prices are reasonable, too. Bring cash or an ATM card, cause credit cards are not a thing here. Service was attentive, accurate, and upbeat. In fact it was my server's first shift, ever, at the Horse's but she handled herself like an old pro. The walls are decorated with framed photos of Schenectady in the days when it was the OG industrial powerhouse.

The old Horse's had a regular series of specials, like Burger Monday, when burgers were half price during happy hour, and Taco Tuesday where little street tacos were 3 for $6. I am glad to see that the new owner has brought back taco Tuesday. I'm going to have to go and check it out. I don't expect the old prices, because that was pre-Covid and before suppliers realized they could get away with sticking it, pricewise, to restaurant owners. Note to the owner: please put micheladas on the drinks menu on Taco Tuesday! Nothing goes down better with tacos on a hot summer night than an ice-cold, spicy michelada. It was unknown at the old Horses' but it's a Mexican standard.

The only complaint I have is that my foot-long dog came on a six inch roll. I had dog sticking out a couple three inches at both ends, which made things messy since I had asked for sauerkraut and chopped onions on mine! I wanted each bite of the dog to have the condiments with it, but they did not balance well on the naked dog ends. Come on! It's not hard to get a roll the same length as the dog! Today I walked by the Broken Inn and they had their hot dog cart operating on the sidewalk....but wait a minute! Same deal! Standard sized rolls with foot-longs! It's not cute. It's not quirky. It's just irritating and looks silly.

I want to try their whole hawg dog from the cart, but I'm gonna insist that cut it into two pieces and put each one in a roll! Only way to keep the add-ons on! Get longer...

Was finally able to try out this local bar in Schenectady. First impressions of the place gives off a warm and welcoming vibe. Friendly wait staff and awesome bartenders led to a great experience. First ordered a couple of drinks and they have a wide variety of craft and locally brewed beers in New York. Started it off with two appetizers one was loaded tater tots with homemade chili, sour cream and cheddar cheese. For such a simple appetizer it was very good the chili was not heavy and tater tots had the perfect crisp. The other appetizer we ordered was the Chicago style hot dog which was a nice sized all beef hot dog with the fixings from Chicago and they pulled it off well. We kept our dinners light and ordered two dozen wings which one dozen included salt vinegar and dill seasoning which I've never seen before and the execution was phenomenal. The fact that they kept the wing so crispy but also giving a great vinegar taste truly left be coming back for more. The other dozen wings were everything bagel seasoning. The wing was coated in a honey garlic sauce so that the everything bagel seasoning could stick to it but the seasoning that they used was an amped up version of everything bagel seasoning that you would get from the store. Definitely recommend if you want to try something different. The cherry on top of the entire night was ordering the Clydesdale Clucker to go. It is a specialty burger that could be described as massive meets elegant. It is a combination of a flame grilled burger with a chicken patty tossed in buffalo sauce on a brioche bun with blue cheese. I ate half of it when I got home and my fiance ate the other half and I can see why the owner wanted me to try this as I was left speechless. Hats off to the owner, wait staff and the kitchen for producing an exceptional experience and I will definitely be recommending this to all my family and friends as a stop to eat in...

Years ago, I didn't like the name of this bar. Its sign showed a picture of the back of a horse with a fence in front of it, that resembled a tic-tac-toe symbol that replaced that bad (or that dirty word) with the words "the Horses" just above it with its slogan just below it, and years ago, the name of this bar was too inappropriate for the city, and too offensive for both children and adults years ago that had a swear word that was mentioned on that sign that children are not even allowed to say to their own parents (parents would punish their children for saying it), which was: "The Horse's -- -- --," (but that dirty word itseIf wasn't mentioned on that sign, because it was against city regulations to put it on that sign). That sign also had a picture of a horseshoe on top of it on the top right hand corner. That picture like the one shown on that old sign was even seen on its menu, or its ad when that bar did daily specials years ago. That sign years ago was black with gold writing on it. Today, its new name is appropriate for both the city, and for both children and adults who walk by it, which is called "The Horse's Lounge." This new sign has a picture of two horseshoes on top of it. This building where this bar is located in on McClellan Street, from the outside almost looks like a medieval-style castle with a porch out in...