EMRY's Garden — Restaurant in Troy

Let me start this review by saying that the ambience and general feel of what Matt Baumgartner has done here is beautiful, much like June farms. Quite literally you feel like you are straight out of the set of Casablanca, but with a few more plants, creating a jungle-like vibe. The drinks were fine, and the small plant based plates (of which my party sampled almost every one) were very good. I saw on previous reviews that others had commented on the prices of the drinks and food. I will also state that, for those prices, one would expect a bartender or waitress who knows cocktails, who could describe them and explain them, who one would feel comfortable asking to just make you a drink. One would also suppose that there is table service, wherein the wait-staff could come to your table walk you through the drinks, answer questions, as is the case with the Speakeasy in Albany. There is no wait-staff here, just food runners and a bartender, which again is fine, but then what am I paying for? The bartenders, though courteous, did not appear to be experts, the drinks were fine, but really I couldn't have had a conversation with the bartender about a recommendation if I wanted to because the music was too loud. Another complaint of my friends, we were five in our party, and couldn't hear the people across the table from us. We asked the hostess if it could be turned down, and she said she couldn't ( very apologetically I might add) . I don't think loud music matches the vibe, however elegantly selected of a playlist. I do not generally like leaving anything but positive reviews. I only leave these honest comments, because I can see the potential. I think for someone like me, in their 30s, gainfully employed, willing to spend money on good food and drink, and who personally loves places with ambience, I am willing to give it another try in a few months, and see if time will improve the quirks, but for now the experience was not enough to bring me back anytime soon. I would also suggest to make the bathroom signage a little clearer, gender neutral is fine, but it was confusing. I've been to many places with gender neutral bathrooms, but for me it was the general lack of clarity about whether or not there was a particular bathroom I should be going into. Hopefully a few small tweeks could be made, and I would be...

Update: the food is now done by a company rather than an in-house chef, and it's definitely not as good or as interesting as it was previously, but it's definitely still good (eggplant fries were bomb) and the drinks are STRONG with fantastic flavor. I also still greatly appreciate the open air system where there are couches out in a completely open area of the restaurant —very safe if you're trying to still keep open ventilation for yourself in our post-COVID world!

The jackfruit buns were a little too sweet for my taste personally but I tried many other items that were AMAZING. Faux-mozz stix was melty and amazing, feta in the watermelon salad had all the tasty funk and was so balanced, and my favorites--the fried oyster mushroom "calamari" with sweet chili sauce, so balanced, so meaty, so tasty 😋, and the blackened string beans with creole remoulade, which tasted like they came straight off a charcoal grill but were so fresh. I had two drinks--blueberry Collins and frosé--and I would get both again. I came here once previously for a beer tasting and not only was it amazing, I'm left wanting forever now by the fact that I will always crave the plant-based chicken tinga tacos they created for that special night. I wish these would go on their menu because they were SO GOOD. Management, if you're reading this: please. 🥺 For my health.

PS in addition to all this: the ambiance is plants and colonization, it's open and airy. The staff is QUICK. You know how frozen drinks normally take 15 minutes at least? Try 30 seconds. They're premixed but still not lacking in alcohol. You go to the bathroom? Your food you ordered through Square is already at the table when you get back. Your water is low? Look again: no it isn't. IT'S FULL.

This place is magic. I'll be back...

UPDATE: I was back, just for a quick round of drinks, and it was absolutely perfect. The bartender is a true professional and those...

This place is weird. On its cover, a vibrant, hoppy new floral corner bar in Troy, but at its core, an identity crisis amidst chaos. We stopped in late on a Saturday, and the place was decently full. Upon entrance, a hostess on their phone walked by and said if you’d like you can sit at a table but you have to order your drinks at the bar. Got it. So no service, but there’s tables and it’s kind of a free for all. Points reduced here. Secondly, I’ve worked in restaurants, but when the chef comes out of the kitchen to have a drink, that’s nice and all, but when the staff is also eating their mid shift meal in the open at a free for all table, that’s where I draw the line. Nice marketing of their pear Gorgonzola pizza, but poor etiquette. The name doesn’t fit the vibe at all. The drinks were okay, nothing on the menu stuck out, and were over priced for Troy ($14 or so for a manhattan? These are manhattan prices in a 518 bar - no thanks) you don’t get what you pay for here and you certainly don’t get what you’d expect after glimpsing at their instagram page. I’m not sure how the food is, or the atmosphere/service if it were earlier in the day. I get it people are tired and don’t like to work, but please change your brand if that’s how your positioning yourself as a business. I won’t be back, looking forward to seeing the next rebranding of this place. Ps upstairs was much more of an experience, better drinks, cool menus and vibe, great service with the staff attentive and not just there....