Power's Inn & Pub — Restaurant in Town of Halfmoon

Bear and I decided to have a late Friday (10/18/2019) evening dinner at Power's Inn & Pub in Clifton Park. I was planning on a salad and clear beverage, when their specials popped up on my Facebook feed, as we were pulling in. They looked so appealing, I mentally bid adieu to my salad for another week.

The bar was filled, so we went to the hostess' stand where the familiar faces of Kelly and (owner) Bryah met us, who suggested we grab a drink at the bar while we wait just a moment or 2 for a table to be cleared. We were promptly served our Spaaten Oktoberfest (for Bear) and dirty martini (me) by the very capable hands of longtime bartenders Mike and Jen. Literally only a moment or 2 passed, so Bryah ended up waiting patiently for us to secure our libations.

Up the stairs we went to the 4th floor dining room, where I've never been for dinner before. It is homey and historically decorated. This floor is one of the 2 most haunted areas of the former stage coach inn (note: this was the former Olde Dater Inn until about 7 or 8 years ago). Aline and her apprentice provided friendly, personable and appropriately attentive service.

We ordered all three specials of the night (which I've copied and pasted from their FB post, below):

Fall Harvest Egg Rolls (app) Roasted chicken, butternut squash, caramelized onions and ricotta cheese with a maple adobo sauce

Surf and Turf (Bear) 8oz. sirloin topped with sautéed shrimp in a sun dried tomato scampi sauce. Served with mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts.

Chicken En-croute (me) Oven roasted chicken, red wine, poached apples, and Brie baked in a puff pastry. With a mulled wine glaze. Served with brussel sprouts and wild rice.

The (4 small) eggrolls were flavorful and very light, and we hardly felt like we had anything at all, despite the hearty ingredients. The apple probably should have been a different variety, since we didn't notice the flavor or texture addition at all. The maple sauce was the perfect accompaniment. Bear's sirloin came pre-sliced, and cooked exactly as he requested (med rare). The potatoes were scratch mashed and whipped, with perhaps just a tad more salt than I prefer, but potatoes are life, so I don't judge. We liked that the sprouts were mixed with blistered cherry tomatoes for color and sweetness. My en-croute was heaven, and reminded me of a tart cherry pie with melted cheese on top. The chicken was tender but should have been seasoned (more? Differently?) And again, the apple wasn't noticeable in flavor or texture. We mentioned this to Aline, who appreciated the feedback, and would make note of it to Chef. Really, a small nuance for a delightful, fall dinner. We heach brought half of our meals home for Saturday.

After chatting about the kids, Alike recommended a triple layer cake of gingerbread, maple and molasses from local bakery Dolce and Biscotti. SOLD (maple is ALWAYS guaranteed to sell me)! There were 5 dessert options, 4 of which were from local bakeries, and hand picked by Bryah and his wife. The Creme Brulee is made in-house. This cake was reminiscent of sitting in my grandmother's old farmhouse, eating freshly baked gingersnaps by the woodstove. Each flavor was perfect, and well-balanced.

Somewhere along the way, I ordered their spiced cider sangria (spiced rum, pino Grigio, local cider and apples), and our bill for 1 app , 2 dinner specials, 1 dessert, and 3 adult beverages was $82 before tip. We tipped Miss Aline at about 30%, and went downstairs to enjoy the live music by Erin Harkes, as well as a couple of Irish coffees. We LOVE Power's, and look forward to each visit. It's local, it's homey, there's NEVER any trouble, and they've nailed the Trifecta of great food, even better service, and long term employees who treat you...

I've been to Powers pub several times. I've found the shepherd's pie to be the best around Saratoga county. Well, we called to make reservations for three. We were told that it's not that busy tonight "on a Saturday night??" and reservations weren't needed. We arrived at 7pm as well as another couple, who also called to make a reservation. We had a 20 min wait and were seated in 15 min. Our waitress did ok accept she forgot to put in one of three dinner orders. "The shepherd's pie". My wife and daughter were served thair dinner and there I sit, waiting for mine. I started to share my wife's food with her and the shepherd's pie came out about 18 min later. I noticed that it wasn't completely prepared properly so I returned it. The manager lady came out of the kitchen with the shepherd's pie and started to argue with me about what was wrong with the food. I found this to be unprofessional. We then ordered desserts. The cheese cake looked great. After digging in,my daughter noticed a hair on it. We returned it also. No visit from the manager in regard to the cheese cake. The manager never offered anything make up for the unfortunate experience at such a well known establishment. Although I'm not sure that I would consider returning due to the arguing manager and her inabilities to overcome from our unsatisfiing experience. And I didn't get to have what I came to Powers for in the first place....

We went out for a ride and was looking for a outdoor place to get something to eat and have a drink. Have heard about Powers pub from some friends who recommend it. We were greeted by the hostess outside, was about a 20 minute wait to be seated. We were able to go inside to the pub sere there was only one other couple in there. Seats were placed plenty far apart. Nice selection of beers on tap, along with bottle beers and plenty of Irish favorites. Ordered 2 draft beers, $14.00. Soon as we got the beers, the table was ready. They send a text message to you. We were seated out doors on a very nice big deck. Waitress came over after about 1 minute, greeted us very kindly. She was very knowledgable of the menu and advised us of the 2 specials that they had for the day. Menu has a nice selection to choose from. We order a Southwest Chicken Wrap with Fries and also a Maple Cheddar burger. From the time the order was taken until the food arrived to the table was less then 20 minutes. Food arrived hot and fries were crisp and not soggy. Chicken was not dry and the hamburger was cooked exactly the way it was ordered. Did not order any Desert. Portions are of plenty. The chicken pot pue is a favorite for many and will try it next time. Tax and tip was less the $70.00. Very friendly staff all around. Will go back and bring...