Uncle Mario's Garage — Restaurant in Town of Queensbury

Our first review for UMG as it has just recently opened. Currently it is incredibly average. Startups too often fall into this category. The location has potential. The outdoor component certainly has potential. However the jump from mediocre to "awesome" is a big one. I'll leave it at that from a business standpoint.

Now for some of the experience...arrived and greeted by multiple hostesses. While not unusual until you see they are seated next to each other behind a hostess stand and don't get up to greet...that is their spot. Haven't seen that before and doesn't exactly spill over with "welcome". I constantly see restaurants fail in this area where one great hostess, trained to truly be an ambassador of the dining experience will beat multiple bodies at the door anytime.

We asked if we could get takeout as we were in a hurry. Clearly the whole takeout as a function is still a work in progress. Hostess did not really know the menu and the wording on her tablet did not match the wording on the menu. That's a miss. She took the order and read it back, then walked us to the bar to have the bartender find the order placed on her handheld and then have me pay. Ok, fine, but why not just greet me, and let me know that I could order takeout with the bartender since that is really how the order is placed with the kitchen...after paying.

A note about the other working staff. Bartender was extremely cordial and the wait staff we saw working were all friendly and always on the go. Go job there.

Our order took 22 minutes to prepare...and while waiting we noticed both hostesses basically had just the one duty...watch the door and drink shirley temples. It was also evident that their new facility needs a bit of air conditioning help...and the dining rooms might even benefit from ceiling fans if the A/C function is not top notch. It was quite warm. We waited far away from the pizza oven but that may have everything to do with the lack of temperature control.

Our order: two identical turkey sandwiches; we chose the same bread type, the same cheese, and both asked for no-mayo; with the rest of the fixings as noted on the menu. The sandwich is called the "Challenger". Unfortunately when we returned home the first thing noticed is we both received a turkey, tomato and bacon triple decker sandwich. No mayo-great! However no lettuce, and no cheese on either. If you are going to have a club style triple decker, you should note that on the menu. Also, if you make a sandwich with two of the noted items missing...it will be found lacking. Also, the turkey is average grocery deli turkey, not fresh turkey. The french fries provided were amble but again, very basic grocery store frozen fries with no seasoning at all.

Prices were average and fair for this region, with the sandwiches being slightly higher in price that what is posted on the Facebook menu so be aware. Facebook had this item as $14, and we were charged $16 each plus tax, and we included an 18% gratuity so we were at $40 out the door for the two meals. Again, pretty average for this area, just maybe not meeting our expectations of accurate orders and food quality.

Overall...new...yes...average...yes. We do wish them all the best. The property does...

I really wanted to love this place! The building and decor is charming. Its location is great, right off the bike path. Our young blonde girl server was a true sweetheart! But the long wait, lack of kitchen staff and the bland food was completely unacceptable. I had a chicken panini that was dripping in a balsamic vinegar (not balsamic glaze) that drenched the bland white toast. There was zero flavor, a sparse amount of fries and was missing the roasted peppers from one half of the sandwich completely. But I think the most frustrating part of the experience was the hostesses that initially told us that we can stand at the bar or sit outside at a table, but don’t expect to be served for atleast 15 minutes. We were fine with that but when I asked her to take down our name, she didn’t want to. Then about 10 minutes into a sitting outside. She comes over and asked us to leave the table because it’s confusing to the servers. We didn’t understand because we planned to sit at that table and we were totally fine with waiting until we could be served, we had our electric bikes outside so wanted to keep an eye on them anyway. But she takes us inside and now decides to take our name and enters into the computer after probably another 25 people have entered the restaurant! Just all around confusing. They seem so unorganized right now. I know it’s a fairly new opening restaurant, so I just hope they get their act together and hire some more kitchen staff to keep up with the patrons. The restaurant was barely half full and yet they didn’t want to sit anymore people so the bar area got pretty packed for the first 40 minutes that we were there and this was around 1:45 in the afternoon. From start to finish we were there over 2 hours and most of that time just waiting. I would like to give it another try, but need to wait for them to get into the groove of running an...

We've attempted to go here three times and had success two of the three, so this is an average of all of those visits.

Visit #1 Came in for drinks, loud band playing, quick service (for drinks) and the atmosphere was ok. It was VERY loud, chaotic and fruit flies everywhere. I'd give it a 3/5

Visit #2 We came in about 30ish minutes before close. We just wanted to sit at the bar and have a cocktail before heading back for the evening. The bar was about 60% full. People were in the middle of eating or ordering another drink and the band was playing. We waited 10 minutes with no acknowledgment from anyone. A quick, we'll be right there to let us know they saw us would be more than sufficient. After 10 minutes of being ignored we left. Only then did the bartender roll her eyes and throw up her hands. I'd give it a 0/5

Visit #3 Most recently we popped in yesterday (8/26) after Northway Brewing Company closed (so just after 6pm). We sat at the outside bar and were immediately greeted by Nikki. We had drinks and an order of wings. The wings were surprisingly good (you get 10 of them) and the drinks were cold. Nikki was friendly and attentive and we would certainly love to have her as our bartender again. I'd give it a 4/5

My suggestion is to run some type of promotions or otherwise with not only the local brewery but also the campground (Lake George Campsites) as they're both well within walking distance. Last year for example they partnered with local food truck vendors and it was a big hit. There are a ton of seasonal people (from April-October) that stay and would have no problem walking down to Mario's (especially on a Monday or Tuesday when a lot of things aren't open or...