Barnsider has been in business forever, and it has maintained its independent (non-chain) style for many decades. It is nice to see it is still a nice place for dinner and it is still doing great business. I love the open kitchen - you can watch the chefs working and you can see that everything is clean and professional. The staff is very attentive - at least three different people keep an eye on every table, and they ensure you have everything you want without hovering. The salad bar is good - nothing particularly creative or extensive, but good quality, fresh items for a really good salad. The steaks are okay - not outstanding for a steakhouse, but not bad. The prices are slightly above the price points for Outback Steakhouse, but the quality of the steaks is slightly below Outback. So I can't give them 5 stars - they would need to either improve the quality of the meat or lower their prices. But I enjoy Barnsider, and I will definitely be back again. read more

I'm really on the tail end of the demographic for the Barnsider. The average eater there was business men in town bitching about their wives and also lots of nice friendly families there for birthdays (apparently half price for the birthday guy or gal - who knew?). That being said, I really enjoyed this place and the nostalgic vibe a classic steakhouse has for me. While the whole premise of the Barnsider is wildly outdated I enjoyed a very friendly and comfortingly "starched" meal there. As we walked in, I felt completely overdressed. Everyone on the patio had flip flops and shorts on. The bar area inside was the same. Come to find out those those areas weren't a good indicator of what to find inside. Once we entered the "true" dining area everyone looked nice and Barnsider met my expectations. Some odd decor included a cat statue and some old abacus game looking thing hanging on the wall. The drinks were awesome, they were brought and poured table side in a carafe that had some extra awesome Manhattan-ness in there. Cheap too, less than 8 bucks for a Maker's Mark Manhattan. A+ The salad bar was successful at what it was supposed to do, be a salad bar and nothing else. I wish the veggies were cut up a little smaller. Eating a giant circle of cucumber with the skin on it doesn't look all that classy. It was cool that they had lots of bread to sample and I think the french bread was the best. I would have loved to see healthier options for dressings (at least they had oil & vinegar) but even that made me feel nostalgic for older times where people didn't care about the sodium content in their Good Seasons. I got the strip steak (8oz) and my partner got the ribeye with the pecan/blue cheese "topping". Both our steaks were cooked well, but my partner said he really was disappointed in the char-grill flavor of his. While I kind of like that "back yard charcoal grill" flavor he prefers his restaurant steaks to be cooked "restaurant style" aka cast iron sear, finished in the oven. My steak was almost too chewy (on the menu it says "No fat, no bone, just great taste.") maybe it could have benefited from some fat or bone! The fact that you are eating bloody cow parts and want to avoid fat and bone is beyond me. Service was great an attentive while the "stuff your order ticket in your table hole" is an odd practice. Having multiple servers asking multiple times how we were doing was overwhelming while chewing my steak. Can't knock them for being helpful! TL;DR Cheap and large liquor drinks, Uneventful salad bar, nostalgic/outdated touches at I actually liked a lot, well cooked steaks and not as pricey as I had expected. read more

Went to this restaurant as a party of 4 around 6:00 pm on a Friday. The restaurant was fairly busy. Right off the bat there were some issues with service and food. My glass of water had red lipstick stains all over it. When I asked for a new glass the waiter brought me back a glad with a large chip in the rim. After taking our orders our waiter disappeared until the end of our meal. We had tried to get his attention multiple times but were unsuccessful. Luckily, another waiter picked up on this and provided us service throughout the dinner. We ordered the calamari dish and it was served to us cold and very chewy. We were offered a replacement, however, I was in view of the kitchen and when the waiter brought it back one of the cooks became angry and appeared to yell at the waiter. We each ordered a steak dish. Beef wellington, Steak au poivre, old fashioned strip, and a filet mignon. Each of our steaks were luke warm and very overcooked. We ordered medium rare and was given medium well to well done. Everything tasted very under seasoned especially the wellington sauce which had virtually no flavor at all. There was nothing of note with the steak au poivre or the filet, they were bland. Lastly, the old fashioned was supposed to come with a sauce that never arrived and a garlic crostini. The "garlic crostini" was literally a soggy piece of charred black white toast. My biggest concern of the evening was the lipstick glass. During COVID-19 there are many protocols in place that should ensure this wouldn't happen. The neglect of the restaurant could potentially lead to someone losing their life. I hope they pay more attention to these things moving forward. read more

We came to the barnsider tonight to celebrate my mothers birthday. We ate and drank and laughed and the service was just fine all along. Eventually after maybe an hour or so, half of our party left, since we had finished our meal and we were at this point just socializing/celebrating. However, even after half the party had left, the remaining members continued to have cocktails as we waited for the bill. Which, mind you, was OVER $800 for a party of 13. In total, my family spent WELL OVER $1,000 at the Colonie Barnsider, ensuring that all waiters had a fair tip, and we had planned on hanging out until our drinks were gone and our designated driver was ready to go. Our driver went out for a smoke, as we were finishing up with our bill and had asked for one more round while we settled up. At which point our waiter informed us that the female manager on duty had stated that my entire family was "cut off" because we were "wasted"..... (Again, this was a family party... Grandparents, and all...) Correct me if I'm wrong, but drinking is not illegal, especially if you have a designated driver, and we were not under ANY circumstances being threatening or violent or ANYTHING OF THE SORT, AT ALL. So I argued the point that we spent a significant amount of money at the establishment and would like to finish our evening as planned... The manager decided to LITERALLY STEP UP TO ME, PUT HER FINGER IN MY FACE, AND SAY (and I quote) "GET THE FUUCCKK OUUUTTT!!!" Sooo... naturally... in the heat of the moment... I stepped towards her and told her if she'd like me or my family to move faster, she could try to make me, but until then- I'd be going at my own pace... WOULD YOU BELIEVE THAT THE MAANNAAGGEERR OF THE RESTAURANT LITERALLY SSLLAAPPEEDD MMEEE INN MYY FAAAACCCCEEEEEE. At this point she says "I'm calling the police", to which I thought to myself, for the love of god PLEASE get the #ColoniePolice here before this becomes a MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM for this poor girl. So the CPD came promptly, and after reviewing the security footage said that it was the most unprofessional thing they had ever seen, left me with an incident report, and I will ABSOLUTELY be following up and making SURE that the proper repercussions will be taken against the so-called Sunday night "manager" of this restaurant. NEVER in my LIFE have I not only WITNESSED but EXPERIENCED such UNPROFESSIONALISM in ANY establishment. A manager literally SLAPPED ME IN MY FACE... PHYSICALLY ASSAULTED ME- in a restaurant IN FRONT OF MY FAMILY AND OTHER CUSTOMERS. I almost have to LAUGH, it's so ridiculous. At this moment, I just stepped back, knowing that the police would see the footage and report it accordingly for court records. Meanwhile, we had plenty of witnesses and family friends surrounding our table who had also witnessed this happen. I will be following up, along with my family, to make sure this young girl is NEVER in a position to abuse her power as such, EVER AGAIN. And if this sad excuse of an employee ever happens to read this, I hope that she remembers my name, and remembers that I'm the reason she lost her job at the Barnsider, and will most likely never have a managers position in any restaurant again. I'll be sure to include her name in any future matters. Colonie Barnsider; I sincerely hope you fix this problem! Your restaurant was wonderful before this strange and unnecessary occurrence, and if ever she is not an employee, my family would be more than happy to spend another $1,000 in your establishment! It's unfortunate what one bad employee can do to a local business. Complaints filed with Colonie police department against the specific "manager" who assaulted me, and HOPEFULLY we will never have to deal with something like this again. Especially while celebrating our mothers birthday, LOL. All in all... had it not been for the CLASSLESS employee who put her hands on me at the end of the night, it WOULD HAVE been a good experience. Definitely the craziest thing that's ever happened to me before. Horrible experience, and I can't wait to see her in court. read more

Well, the Yelp definition of two stars is: "Meh. I've experienced better." I certainly have. I will say this FIRST though... The food was pretty good. The prime rib I had was good, the beef wellington my wife had was really good, and the baked scallops I had were AWESOME. On the other hand, the salad bar was abysmal. Now, with that said, the service really, REALLY sucked. I know it's a staple in this area that's been around for years so they can't be as BAD as I perceive, but we really weren't all that impressed with anything other than the scallops. We evidently had TWO servers assigned to our table. Each would ask us what we wanted and would fill out a tab and slip it into a slot on the table if we placed a new order (appetizer, desert, another glass of wine, etc.) The biggest problem was, the left hand wouldn't talk to the right. The two servers never spoke and never "took ownership" of our table. It was my wife's birthday and, at the Barnsider, you get your entree at half-off ON your birthday. The FIRST server asked for her ID to verify it was her birthday. The SECOND server tallied our bill and didn't take half-off my wife's dinner. When I pointed that out, the SECOND server not ONLY asked my wife if she showed the FIRST server her ID but then, RIGHT in front of us, asked the FIRST server if he had verified the birthday!!! Not once did they ask us if we wanted another glass of wine. Not ONCE was our water refilled. If I am going to pay AS MUCH AS WE DID for that food, I ***EXPECT*** much better service. Again, MEH. We've lived in the area for 7 years. This is the first time we've eaten there. It will more than likely be our last. read more

The two stars are for the service and the cheesecake. Went here with a larger party. The service was great. Attentive but not pushy, cleared plates and brought refills without prompting. The food can be described as "not bad" in the most literal sense. The salad bar is flat and, like another reviewer stated, most of the ingredients appear to be from cans. In true old-timey and dated fashion, kale was used as decoration to cover the ice in the salad bar. The bread they put out is good, though, except if you want more than one piece or slice you have to either keep getting up or take a whole lot at once. There is also a random hunk of some kind of cheddar with the least possible almost non-functional cheese knife I've ever experienced. I guess you're expected to stab at the cheese by yourself with one hand on the knife and another on the cheese. Sanitary! I had the lobster casserole. It was full of lobster, which was good, but it was extremely rubbery and overcooked. It had entirely too many bread crumbs on it. A colleague ordered the filet mignon and it too was overdone. A bit pricey at $40. The turtle cheese cake was good, I'll give you that. Like the kale, the rest of the decor is extremely dated. I don't mind old-timey but it's a weak callback to a more vintage style of dining. Skip it. read more

I was invited to a holiday luncheon party at the Barnsider recently. Our event was to begin at 1 pm. The 30 of us arrived and then sat. And then sat some more until 1:50 when our first course arrived... bread. Being on a diet I wasn't pleased because by then I was ravenous and had trouble holding back on the bread for the salad. The bread was good but nothing spectacular. Same goes for the New England Clam chowder. It seemed to me that they were short on wait staff (and very possible kitchen staff). For our 30 people we had one server. He did well under the circumstances, but it was a bit depressing to be the last one served. By the time we had finished our meal it as 3 pm. That was just waaaay to much time in my book to be served a luncheon. I had come there expecting to eat by 1:15 or 1:20 at the latest. The best part of the meal was the chocolate cake which was very moist and flavorful. Chances are, I will not be coming back on my own accord because: - Food was ok and certainly not creative in the slightest .. "do you want rice or baked potato with your hunk of meat?" - Although the waiter was great, it just wasn't enough to keep the food coming when we were ready for it - Even though it is very clean, the dining rooms are just huge. A lot of chair and tables making me feel that it is more of a feed-lot rather than an enjoyable place to have a tasty, well prepared meal. The place is clean, but vast. It's huge in there. read more

I have to be honest! This was my fav for years, many years! But now, since reopening, I must say not good! First and foremost, this place had the most incredible breads!! Now I understand those days of beautiful buffets are gone! They had one of the best! But!!!! There is no rhyme nor reason to go from beautiful breads to something horrible!! Now you bring two rolls, that can sub as hockey pucks, to the table! Hard, cold, lousy!! The meals were ok, but lackluster all around! Real shame!! read more

Great food I ordered pork chops they gave you a nice portion Two thick cut style .. They where cooked too perfection , The saled Bar comes with all the diners which is a plus all in all I would say stop in . Great place too eat .......... read more

The food was good but i was appalled at the lack of gloves usage when waiters and chefs touched/handled the food. You can observe food prep in the open concept kitchen. This makes me concerned about food contamination/safety. I observed waiters cleaning tables, handling checks and then use bare hands without gloves or washing hands to touch garnishes and other food items. Saw kitchen staff wipe nose at times and touch food with no gloves. That is a huge turnoff and concern read more

I went to the Barnsider, which appears to be a Colonie staple, for the first time for my mother-in-law's birthday. After hearing so much about it, I maybe had some high expectations. The place was pretty busy on a weekday afternoon, which I figured meant good things. Important to note: there are two "sides" to this place. The dining room side and the bar side. The bar side is where we met the other people joining us and it was a bit loud and crowded. The food options vary by side and the bar had more "pub fare" and dining room was a bit more formal. We headed to the quieter dining room side and were seated promptly. Pretty much every meal comes with a salad bar, even the kids meals. After ordering, we headed to the salad bar. I had heard great things about the salad bar. Come to find out, it was a pretty standard salad bar. It looks bigger, but it's really just double sided (same stuff, two sides). The bread was warm and kept coming out, but that didn't make up for the just okay offerings. At least they get credit for having fresh veggies and salad items out - for once I didn't see a ton of wilted lettuce and such. I ended up ordering beef wellington as I had never had it before. Thus, I really can't comment on how it was prepared compared to normal. It was good and the beef was cooked to the temperature promised (medium rare) and the pastry was fluffy and tasty. The waiter was friendly and joked around with us at the table. The service was prompt and I had no real complaints, but then again, I wasn't wowed. I'd go back, but I think next time for the price I'd try the bar side. read more

Nothing more nothing less. I absolutely hate it when your first impression is negative. To lose points at hello is not good! Walked in, went to the hostess stand and received a attitude. Not a smile, welcome or hello. Told her we had reservations, and she said just waiting for a available table. Ok. We went to sit down. Bench right in front of the door and we froze. Our server and busboy were really good. Explained the menu and specials. Not impressed with the wooden chairs. Not comfortable. Large "barn" style rustic decor, which took away from the intimacy. Every meal came with a trip to the salad bar, which was really fresh. However, I hate paying top price for a steak, and having a salad bar offer. I rather be served the salad. Just my personal opinion. I ordered a 16 ounce Ribeye. The Steak was cold. Disappointed with that. Big clue, if the butter doesn't melt, usually means steak is cold. My daughters had Shrimp scampi, and it literally was swimming in oil. I did noticed the mixed reviews lately. I think it has to do with pricing. I believe it's over priced for the portions, & quality. Shrimp Scampi for 24.00. 5 small shrimp, over linguine. Pasta is cheap. Fill the bowl. Make sure my 16 ounce Ribeye for 35.00 is cooked correctly and is hot. At least our sever was quick to fill our drinks and very pleasant. I was expecting much more. read more

Barnsider - Shrimp Scampi 24.99 - Steakhouses Near Me - Albany, New York

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I'm not typically a fan of steakhouses. So when my boyfriend informed me last year that this was the place he traditionally went for his birthday, I was less than thrilled. But...it was his birthday so I figured he should get to choose. It's also one of the few places around that was open on the day in question (his birthday is New Year's Day.) I was pleasantly surprised. The salad bar was fairly decent and the main dining room had a nice rustic but homey look to it, thanks to the wood-beam ceilings and wooden floors. We had reservations, so there was no wait for us. I had a steak and shrimp combo with the garlic-smashed potatoes, which were delicious. My steak was cooked just how I asked. And, even better, you get a free steak on your birthday so my boy was unselfishly saving me some money by wanting to eat here. This would be a great place for a large group, and it definitely seemed kid-friendly. read more

Atmosphere is nice rustic barn, and acoustic. Salad bar is above average, but being a place supposedly known for their steak, I shouldn't have to send my steak back multiple times, on multiple occasions for it not being cooked right , not once , but two times. Especially for the prices. read more

I was with a work group when we visited - apparently an institution in the Albany area. Without any reference point of the restaurant and not a huge steak eater myself, I enjoyed the dinner and would consider going there again if I was in the company of avid steak eaters who like to eat a lot. We started with appetizers in the bar area before moving to a back room for the salad bar and dinner. Next time I would skip appetizers and enjoy the salad bar more - the bread was very good and there was a bunch of cheese that I didn't try because I knew I was going to be super full by nights end. A bit pricey for my usual fare, I typically am not a fan of everything being an al a cart price. But when you order the side items, they are large enough to share with a group, so I guess it could be considered a family style arrangement. I am torn between 3 and 4 stars primarily because of the price range. Forgot to add: I think I ordered a filet mignon with a side of some really yummy crab thing. Very good, but wish I hadn't been so full by the time we got around to the main dish. Took home some leftovers, but next time I'd skip the earlier small foods. read more

Giving three stars only b/c my wife and mother indicated their meals were good, stuffed chicken and prime rib respectively. As for my sliced sirloin, terrible. It arrived Luke warm and was burnt around the edges with little flavor. The baked potato was also barely warm and dried out. When I mentioned to the receptionist when I left her reply was "ok". As an aside, we were there to celebrate my mothers 81st birthday, but because we were a day early they wouldn't comp a dessert. Really??? read more

Service was as slow as last time. I ordered a sirloin medium rare and it had hardly any pink in it at all. It was medium well at best. Dealbreaker for me. Their salad station is great but set up poorly. They should have a larger area to the size with more than one knife to cut the bread and cheese. Instead they give you space and knife for only one person at a time at a little station that juts out into restaurant traffic while the crowd grows around it. Somehow I can never give this place one star. I just like the cheesy barn atmosphere too much I guess. Plus I did really like our friendly waiter despite the fact that he disappeared for way too long at times. read more

I've been to the Barnsider about 4 times now. Every other time I thought it was spectacular and this past time, not so much. I still gave 3 stars because it is A-OK, but if I had reviewed it before, I probably would have given it 5 stars, here is what I saw: First, I made reservations for a busy Friday night. I understand it's busy, but the reservation was for 8pm so it wasn't that busy anymore, and we still had to wait 20 minutes to get seated. Also, while we were waiting, we witness probably 3 different instances of servers legitimately yelling and fighting with each other IN FRONT of their tables and us people waiting! Being in the service industry, I know this is the biggest No-No and definitively can set a bad mood to the dinner. Thank god we were sat in a different section from these waitstaff. I do have to say, the two servers we had were fantastic-- people on Yelp don't realize that at the Barnsider you do not have one server the entire night, they switch and help each other out in order to actually bring you "better" service, if that is true or not for you, it was for us. Second, when I am spending almost $100 for my boyfriend and I, both with combo steak and seafood dinners and we each got a few drinks, the fact that for garlic mashed potatoes it is an extra $4 for each extra side is OUTRAGEOUS. They say there is an upcharge, and I have known that in the past, but I guess I never actually looked at how much it was. I am buying $30 meals and you're upcharging for mashed potatoes, are you kidding me?? Lastly, we both got a steak/shrimp dinner where were great. I've tasted better prime rib elsewhere but the sirloin was great. However, my boyfriend was sick all night I am guessing from the shrimp. We were one of the last tables sat so who knows if the shrimp was sitting out for a while. On our way out we both said that was probably our last time eating there.. not worth it anymore. read more

Visited this establishment last night and while my lovely fiancee enjoyed her meal, I left feeling as though I paid too much. Pro: Friendly staff. Nice bar area. Great salad bar. Con: Dirty ledge by the entrance to the bar where we sat, a piece of dust fell down on to my plate while eating. Dirty glass and knife. Waite staff changed during our meal even though our original waiter was still waiting on tables. Took 20 minutes to get our check and pay for our meal once we declined dessert. Unacceptable. Prime rib lacked flavor. I have made much better and for a fraction of cost. Baked potato was dry and was sub par. The prices are out of line with the quality of food and service. I will try once more only because my fiancee enjoyed her meal but the place better be clean and the prices reduced to what is acceptable. read more

Went there for my husbands birthday during a weekday evening. Asked for table for two waited 2 hours (I didnt want to leave cause it was his birthday) The hostess waited on many people coming in every half hour I asked and never got a table. I will never go there again read more

Typical been around for many years.. It is what it is... A lot of history here for the capital district. Haven't been in a couple years & years before that. Building in and out is falling apart. Love the rustic feel but needs a facelift. Strip steak was excellent, filet was cooked perfect just needs to be slightly seasoned & should have a seared crust. Could have been served hotter as well. Shrimp scampi & chicken pasta were inedible. Wild mushrooms were good just blain. The béarnaise sauce was inedible! The actual salad on the salad bar was full of water. Come on Get it together!! Take your chef up to Morton's in Saratoga try some-things maybe he could learn a thing or two. It's time. read more

Fantastic as always!!! Excellent food and staff Great service read more

Good all American steakhouse with a full menu page of steaks, prime rib, beef Wellington, and fish/scallop combinations. All the steaks are pricey, to me, with only 1-2 under $30. Had the 16oz prime rib, which was the perfect slice at medium rare. The Blackened Delmonico special was tempting but I hadn't had a good prime rib in a while. The salad bar was great, with all my favorites and go-to salad fixings, like very crisp and cold lettuce, kidney and garbanzo beans, three bean salad, beets, shredded carrots, and the house dressing is all I needed for a great salad. Try the deep fried ice cream for dessert! read more

We enjoyed celebrating our Granddaughters birthday tonight. Our waitress, sorry I didn't get her name, but she was delightful, efficient and bubbly. All the service was great and the food was delicious. Steaks done just right. Appetizers, onion soup, crab cakes and calamari were great. Definitely would return. ..o read more

This place is a gem! Their steaks and seafood are always top-notch, and service is great as well. The only thing stopping me from giving them 5 stars is their salad bar--selections are a bit limited here, but maybe I'm being biased b/c Butcher Block's salad bar is AMAZING! Otherwise, I love this place! read more

Terrible.......The three of us​ went there and the food was absolutely​ terrible! I can not believe people are rating this at 4 stars if I could rate it a 0 I would. I had stuffed frozen halibut​ with crab (not property​ defrosted) completely​tasteless​! Steak tips and shrimp was again tasteless with frozen overcooked​ vegetables​ that were spongy and​ waterlogged​. I will never go back.....its a shame it use to be great. read more

If you are looking for a pleasant atmosphere, fine/casual dining experience at a great price than this is the place. Spacious seating on two levels, plenty of space for large or small groups. Call ahead for reservations, they are always packed! You will be pleasantly surprised with an awesome salad bar filled with fresh and yummy stuff. Fresh cheese block and fresh warm bread. The dinners are awesome and reasonably priced. We have had just about everything on the menu and have never been disappointed! I had the beef wellington once and it was awesome..I wish they had Yorkshire pudding but you cant have everything!!! If you go on your birthday you get a great discount on your dinner and a little cake for dessert. i have been going there every year for 7 years for my birthday!!! A++++++++ EXPERIENCE ALL THE WAY AROUND!!! read more

Had 24 oz sirloin for 2 . It was delicious and a reasonable price , excellent service too. Can't wait to go back

I've eaten here many times and admit that 95% of the time I order french onion soup and steak (what can I say- I'm a creature of habit). Both are usually pretty good, their salad bar is decent as well. Foodwise it's pretty straight-forward, you won't find anything exotic on the menu (here's your meat, potatoes/veggies, go nuts!) I've never ordered seafood here but people I've dined with seem to like it decently well, again nothing out of the ordinary. BUT. The reason I'm writing this review (and part of the reason I eat here) is for the fried ice cream- one of the best I've had in the Albany-area. I've eaten dinner at a different place then went to Barnsider after just to have fried ice-cream. Admission #2, I honestly have no idea what else is on the dessert menu. Price-wise it's on par with other steakhouses in the area, perhaps a bit pricey for the quality of food. Quantity of food has never been an issue for me here (I eat a lot). I've been a few times for my birthday (get 1/2 off your birthday entree, used to be free years ago) which helps somewhat. Also note they don't take reservations for less than 5 people. I just realized that if you don't intend to order french onion soup, steak, and fried ice cream this review probably wasn't too helpful.. my bad, I'm still new at this. read more

Stopped for a bite to eat in the grill area after shopping with my husband . 4 individuals were standing behind the welcome desk chatting , and did not acknowledge us. We waited a bit, then decided to walk into the bar area to find a seat at the bar, assuming we should seat ourselves. We are regulars at the Barnsider on Sand Creek Road in Colonie N.Y , often meeting family, neighbors and friends ...for years. With the bar being full , we moved to a small table next to the bar . Within a few minutes, a man came over to ask if the hostess had seated us. As we explained that we seated ourselves, he rudely stated that we had walked past 2 signs indicating "wait to be seated" I was in shock . I advised we could leave and he told us to do what we want. As I tried to explain that we obviously missed the signs, and couldn't understand his being so rude to us , he told us to leave. The situation was surreal and so humiliating, especially considering our history of patronage . It's been our neighborhood place to go for years. Needless to say, we will never go back . The managers name was Joshua Spinner. I know this because I stopped to inquire if there was a manager available, and he suddenly appeared again and said he was "The Boss". Fortunately, his card was available on the table near the door. I honestly understand and appreciate the stress restaurant workers are under with Covid. But, in all my 61 years I have never had such a horrible and humiliating experience. We would have happily left the table and checked with the hostess. However, this man Joshua was straight out mean. It's heartbreaking that we can never go to this restaurant again. read more

I had way better prime rib for less, the scallops was allright. The prime rib needs to be seasoned better and dishes need to be executed properly for this price. Other than that, it was a nice place and the service is excellent. read more

Barnsider - Prime rib with baked scallops, prime rib needs to be seasoned more. - Steakhouses Near Me - Albany, New York

My co-worker wanted steak so where else would we go but the Barnsider. She ended up with prime rib from the smaller appetites menu and I had the chicken florentine, also from the small appetities. I can't imagine how much chicken I would have gotten with the full portion as what I had was more than enough. Salad bar was good as was the tomato mozzarella appetizer. We were too full for dessert but I 've had them before and I know they are very tasty. I would give them 4 stars but the place is really, really noisy which takes away from the dining experience. If they figure out how to baffle the noise a bit, I'll give them another star! read more

Delicous classy environment. We had a drink at the bar. Many seasonal/regular beers on tap. We also ate an appetizer (bacon beef wellington) so delicious. The restaurant is very clean and the staff is friendly. read more

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Great food, friendly service and a pleasant atmosphere. First time here, great choice Highly recommend !!! read more

I've been to steakhouses all over the country in 30 years of traveling for business. I brought group of 8 for business dinner to Barnsider. I usually will never send food back when not cooked properly and especially when I'm the host, but my medium rare steak was so raw it was like chewing flesh. I showed to waiter and he takes to kitchen. They bring me back a steak cooked to the exact same rawness and it took 15 minutes. The other 7 people I was dining with were done eating. I tried to eat whatever was close to medium rare but not much of the 16 ounce $35 ribeye was close. Never did I get two wrong entrees because usually they make sure that a manager delivers the replacement and it is correct. They removed steak from my bill anticipating this is where it was going. At least I did have a salad from the salad bar which was good because of the good blue cheese dressing they had. After the second wrong steak they changed waiters to our table for balance of meal. I see why they are averaging 3 stars with reviews all over the place, this may even be a very generous average. read more

This is yet another classic institution in Albany. It's expansive dining room is open and airy. It has a snow lodge type of feel to it- and not just because there was 12 inches of snow the day before my visit! The staff is friendly and warm however the food is just okay. I ordered the combination of blackened salmon and prime rib. The salad bar is fresh and the bread is good. It's an extremely popular location so go early to get a seat. read more

Our first trip to Barnsider. All members of or party loved our meal. Steaks cooked to perfection. Gluten free accommodation. Salad bar. I'm a fussy steak eater, who likes well done, crisp edges but not tough. They nailed it. read more

Where to start? Overpriced dinner club with a poor wine selection. Reminds me of a Texas Roadhouse with 2x the prices

This was my second visit to the Barnsider. I had the stuffed haddock and sirloin combo. The fish was absolutely outstanding. The steak was cooked perfectly. If it were just about the food, I would have given it 5 stars. The 3 star review comes from both price and the restaurant's habit of nickle-and-diming. I'm spending upwards of $30 for a meal, yet they charge an extra $1 for sauce? Seems a bit over the top. Two of us ate for just over $100. It's a good meal, but definitely pricey. read more

If you read my other reviews you would know I very rarely post low reviews. I was there on a Thursday evening with work associates. For a steak house I was surprised that the temperature of my steak was wrong. I sent it back. I received the corrected version after my colleagues had finished eating. The manager then placed blame on the waitress which I felt was unnecessary. Your bread is from the salad bar. I watched many people man handle the bread which left me disgusted and uninterested in the bread, something I usually love with my meal. They have great reviews so apparently I was there on a very off night as I was not impressed at all. read more