Scarlet Knife — Restaurant in Town of Colonie

EDIT: I DO NOT RECOMMEND I Tried to cancel an over priced birthday dinner for my 40th birthday since I already had a party planned which was a fundraising event and took over a year of work to put together. I featured this business on my national Emmy nominated TV series that cost me thousands and $0 for them giving them national exposure and copy of the marketing at NO cost. So I thought rather than ruin the relationship and my 40th birthday that I only get once the owner would have been accommodating and understanding since I called them early in the day once I found out. The wife was rude and resorted to name calling. I Offered to pay the full amount they were charging us of 2k (which was insane) and told them to pack up the food we will be there to pick it up. They said no and told me they would charge me $1,000 and give nothing in return but I can plan a party again in the future. I’ve thrown entire events for less for over 150 guests. Had I been given ANYTHING in return for $1,000 or the items planned to be served for $2000 I would have still done business with them in the future. The way I was treated on my birthday after what I had done to support this family business is unacceptable and I do not support or recommend this business because of that and encourage anyone who supports me to stay away.

Reply to Paul below. Not true NO alternate days were offered, or discussed. Again as mentioned I was ok paying the full amount and told you to pack up the food and I would be there to pick it up. Then you said $1,000 with nothing in return and to call if we wanted to reschedule but unfortunately you wouldn’t count the $1,000 towards it since you had planned the event for that day and that was that. Obviously we would not give you more business. Since you also want to get personal again let me clear up your confusion here again. Clearly my husband was well aware of my event that was a MONTH away. He secretly took the day off work to plan this dinner with good intentions so the part I was trying to get you to understand is I had no idea he was off or doing this… he had no idea about the graduation party I had that evening for my little sister how I agreed not to celebrate my bday this day and why I was unavailable for the dinner since he was to be working anyway... You are only open for dinner it was a TUES you had no other parties you were unable to book. I called until someone finally answered the phone your wife took an hour to get back to me so I called again and requested to speak to you directly. Plain and simple we were completely mis treated, feel robbed, and taken advantage of. Your cost was NOT $1,000 and you could have said after telling me you have been there with staff prepping the additional food “no problem we will have it packed for you to pick up”. I host entire events with food for less. We will bring all our business elsewhere and have a lot of people that will follow. This cost you more in the long run. Hopefully you put more care into having better customer service experiences in the future. Based on your reviews I’m not the only one who has been disrespected by the people who are answering phones, and greeting when coming to...

Cool looking place with nice ambiance and contemporary look with dim lighting, open layout, open kitchen, and a bit more gender neutral when comparing to traditional steakhouses, which tends to have more traditional masculine décor. Nevertheless, it is a very nice looking restaurant. The bar was well equipped and the service at the bar is good. Twelve of us decided to get together for some holiday cheer. I was happy to see that they have an Appleton Estate Rum. I cannot recall if it is the 8 year or the Signature blend. I also ordered an extra dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives and a Mojito; all good. It was a little busy for a Wednesday night, but there were plenty of open tables. I ordered the Lobster Bisque ($18) and a New York Strip ($75). The bisque was a good temperature. The center had a sweet corn with lobster and a little basil oil. Two of us agreed that the basil oil tasted like sherry. The bisque was ok, the sweet corn/lobster was very good. By ok, the bisque was creamy not too thick, but the flavor was good, very mellow. We also ordered the Roasted Wild Mushroom Onion Soup. There was very little mushroom, and it was more like French-onion soup. I've been hoping to run into a good Merlot around town. By the glass, they offer Coppola Diamond Blue Label. I would not get it again. It did not resemble a dark, fruit or chocolate forward merlot that I seek. I had a taste of the Post and Beam Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley); very good. And the wine paired with the NY Strip is the Penfold, 389 Cab Blend, very good pairing. Now for the Strip Steak. Is it worth the $75? I think not. Understanding that the price of the steak is more involved than just throwing a steak on the grill. You have to consider the place, preparation, entertainment, promotion, increase in food prices, service etc. However, that is not our problem. We care about how it taste, the service and value. The steak had a good char, the flavor was very good and it was served medium. I asked for medium rare, but I do not mind medium; just not as juicy. I thought the portion was a good size, but noticeably smaller than most other places. Overall, I had a good meal with some minor mishaps and the place is very nice. The wait for food was long. Two meals, two soups and 4 drinks came up to $244 excluding tip. It is relatively new, so I would try it again. The best Steakhouse in downtown, 677 Albany, offers a NY Strip steak for $69 and the service is far better than the Scarlet Knife; it is not even close. And while not an exact category, Delmonico's offers a very good strip steak at half the price $35.99 with very good ambiance and service. Scarlet Knife is worth a try if you are not too cost conscious. For the price, the service needs to improve greatly to reach...

Went to the Scarlet Knife last night. They close at 10:00 p.m. We showed up about quarter to 9:00. Walking in the place it's beautiful. Had a great female musician playing some cool songs in the corner as you walked in. The bar is absolutely gorgeous. Sat at the bar. There was about six of us total AT this massive bar. Waited close to 5 minutes just for somebody to say hello. Watch the bartender cleaning sinks and things around the bar as we were waiting for a hello and to order a drink. Maybe I'm wrong but these are the little things that matter. Got a couple glasses of Pinot Noir and a nice charcuterie board. Followed that up with dessert. At this point it's about 9:30. I myself like to have a nice boozy coffee drink with my dessert. At this point I think we're two of three people in the entire restaurant. As I wanted to order dessert I literally had a stand up and wave my arms to finally get the attention of my bartender. Ordered a Nutty Irishman and what was essentially bread pudding. She returned from the kitchen and tell me that they turned off the coffee pots and I couldn't get a Nutty Irishman. Had to switch to an espresso martini. At this point I want to use the restroom. Maybe the best part about this restaurant is the paper towels in the restroom. Come back my dessert is there my drinks not there yet. The bread pudding stone cold. The Taste was good but again it was stone cold. I like my bread pudding warm. I asked the bartender if it was supposed to be warm or not. After looking into it the response was not as it supposed to be warm, it's supposed to be hot. She brought this up to the manager who spoke with the pastry chef. They comp that dessert for us. Given my bill. The bartender had left the bar. They've already run my card. Looking at the bill they charged us for four glasses of wine when we only had three. Being a glass of wine is the same price as the dessert I guess we didn't really get comped. At this point there's enough frustration that I just wanted to get out of there. I left the bartender a 10% tip. As we're leaving she was walking out I told her about the wine so if you're able to fix it keep it and add it to your tip. Granted she didn't deserve more than 10% for the service we received. Would have thought the manager would have want to come out just after the dessert. It was very clear that they wanted us out of the building. Lights were being turned off coffee pot was off. I've heard so many great things about this place. In my opinion the service was lacking, the appearance was great, the food was nothing extraordinary, and the price for what we received was outrageous ! All in all I don't think I'll ever be going back...