The Nest — Restaurant in City of Schenectady

We chose this place to celebrate a birthday because a friend raved about it. Beautiful ambiance, nice bleached nest with a bleached wooden bird at the hostess station. Was greeted quickly by 2 staff and seated quickly.

As we went to our seats we passed a table being cleared from the food left by a diner that had already left. We glanced their plates and saw quite a few pieces of fried chicken and what appeared to be 2 large pieces of Belgium waffles still on the plate.

The chicken looked good and crispy. My spouse said oo you should get that. I thought about it and wondered why someone would leave so much chicken behind and waffles. It looked like 3 or even 4 pieces of chicken on the plate. The waitress came and grabbed the plates and headed to the kitchen. That really stuck in my head as to what made them barely eat their food. Maybe the portion size was way too large for them to finish, who knows?

Anyway we sat down proceeded to browse the menu. Menus had plenty of unique looking dishes like roasted beets and a squash ricotta dish and much more.

My spouse came there specifically for the lobster mac and cheese. I was tagging along with no real appetite and was a little chilled from the lengthy walk from our paid parking spot, I was ready for a nice hot cup of soup.

The menu said soup of the day, ask your server what soup is for today. So naturally when our server, Danielle, asked are we ready to order, I said what soup do you have for the day. She said, "aw I'm sorry we do not have any soup for today. Actually we don't serve soup anymore and haven't for a long time. They really should take it off the menu. " I stared at her waiting for a punchline, because clearly I was being punked. Well no punchline came nor any soup, she was dead serious. The hunt for something else to eat began.

I settled for a Cesar salad, and a couple times our server recommended adding grilled chicken with it. I took her suggestion and onto my spouse attempt to order.

My spouse ask for lobster mac and cheese. The darling server said, " aw sorry that's only on our dinner menu." My spouse stared for a punchline too and recieved none. With two let downs, I think our server notice our disappoinment. She said, "I can asked the chef to see if he will make it for you." We agreed and off to the kitchen she went.

Danielle came back with good news, the chef said yes. So with much anticipation we waited not too long for our food. While we waited for the lobster dish, we saw collard greens on the menu for 5 bucks. Ordering a dinner item, one would have thought that a vegetable was part of the meal, ummmm no. So we ordered the greens. They brought out the greens first like it was an appetizer. It was in a tiny cast iron pot that I promise you held no more than 6 oz. of liquid in it. We couldn't believe how small the serving was. We started at that in disbelief. The greens appeared to be tasty but just not enough. Definitely not an adult size portion.

On to the main course. Salad came in a cereal sized bowl and lobster mac and cheese was in a medium sized cast iron frying pan. The food sever said to my spouse be careful it's very hot and walked away. Due to the lack of steam or sizzling noise, my spouse quickly forgot about the WARNING and ended up with a burnt thumb. SMH

As we began eating, I kept smelling this foul order. I assumed it was the lobster or the pungent cheese. So I began to dig into my salad. After a few bites the smell wouldn't leave. So I focused my attention on my own plate.

I picked up a piece of grilled chicken and took a whiff. My head involuntarily repelled backwards. It smelled like body order or bad breath. It had like a gamey smell to it. I did read on the menu that their chickens are GMO free, no hormones, never caged and allowed to roam free. So I thought maybe this is how fresh chicken smells and I'm not used to it. I tried to eat more of it by holding my breath.

(Hopefully to be continued with ending paragraphs with part...

You don't know how BAD we wanted this night to be a DELIGHTFUL 4☆☆☆☆experience. We have literally made several attempts to make reservations but never successful, never any open seating which is good for them, bad for us. But on Saturday 7/3/21we were successful and made reservations for a party of 3 @ 8:15, which is much to late for my perfect Dining Experience, but at last we're in. We were welcome by the Hostess, seated then greeted by Tiana a short moment after. We also got to see Nadia a Staffer friend from Restaurants past. The Menu was Fun & Eclectic Somewhat Creative, exactly what Downtown Schenectady needs and so we started the night off by ordering several different Starters(Apps) as I normally due, we took a pause then ordered our Entrees after a second glance of the menu. I Oberserved all around me and noticed the SERVICE STAFF were well trained and Professional they all seem to now their tasks at hand. First App to arrive was the Fried Oysters stacked on top of Grilled Corn Bread, Chipotle Crab Remoulade, Smoked Trout Roe & Fried Capers, followed by the Grit Tots & last the Deviled Eggs. Started our meal ADVENTURE off with a MONUMENTAL BANG the Oysters were SPOT ON AMAZING, CREATIVE & DELICIOUS some of the BEST I've ever had...but we should have ordered four portions of them and STOPPED there and called it a night! Minus the Deviled Eggs, the Tots, Baby Back Ribs, Chicken & Waffles and the Shrimp & Grits were so OVER THE TOP SALTY even the VERY OVER PRICED Specialty Cocktails couldn't quench our thirst. Many diners...well almost all diners I know would have sent the undesirable meals back to the kitchen but we don't it's not my policy, we evaluate all circumstances and reasons, press on move forward and give the benefit of the doubt to the Restaurant. We did order the Apple Galette to split amongst the three of us to HOPEFULLY finish on a high note, and again as SMASHING as the BEGINNING OVERTURE(OYSTERS) WERE, the Dessert was a GRAND FINALE. Now I'm a HUGH believer of you don't JUDGE a book by it's COVER or FIRST IMPRESSION, and that everyone has BAD DAY'S(But Restaurants Shouldn't) I believe in SECOND attempts for a Establishment to get it right. I've been in the Restaurant Industry for 50 years and has Eaten all over the world, so I take MY EVALUATIONS very seriously and claim as being a very OPEN MINDED person and FAIR with my CRITIQUES when it comes to JUDGING my experiences. So with that said PLEASE give the Restaurant a try don't take my word for it, and have your own experience to SAVOR the night of your own as I will also give "THE NEST" another...

Simply fantastic. If you're in Schenectady, this should be on your list of places to visit. Restaurants with rotating menus can sometimes be risky business, but these fine folks have truly turned it into a work of art. Even on the less busy nights, there's always a good crowd of people, and every part of my experience there justified why that's so.

After my lady and I were seated, we were quickly attended to and offered water while we waited to be served. Both the food and drink menus were filled with a fine selection to choose from, and there was not one thing we were served that we didn't enjoy! To start, we had the crab dip and the pork belly. The crab dip was creamy and loaded with flavor, but the pork belly was truly the star of the show. Every component of that plate worked together so well, and the presentation truly brought it all together. With a larger portion size, it could easily be a mean all its own.

For our entrees, we both ordered the chicken and waffles. In the years we've been together, not once have her and I ever ordered the same thing, as we order different things to compare. If you're some fried chicken eating folks, you know that not all fried chicken is created equal. Nothing ruins good fried chicken like dry meat and a lack of flavor. Their chicken was FLAWLESS, and I don't say that lightly at all. There was not a dry/chewy piece of chicken on the plate! The breading was crispy, crunchy, and flavorful. The chicken itself was juicy and required no additional seasoning whatsoever. The waffles were buttermilk clouds, and soak up the syrup and butter so well. I'm not sure who's frying the chicken here, but somebody's ancestors are working through their hands. The syrup wasn't too sweet, and the hot honey complimented the chicken well.

As if the food wasn't enough to bring you in, the drinks were also well executed. Two drinks in apiece, we were feeling real good. The staff was patient, attentive, and ensured that we were thoroughly satisfied with our experience. Not including tip, I spent about $165 on two apps, four drinks, our entrees and a bottle of sparkling water. I say this because you will spend a few bucks here if you thoroughly want to enjoy the full experience. That being said, you get what you pay for, and I look forward to the next opportunity to do it all over again!

*Pro tip: Be sure to make reservations,...