We rarely leave reviews but this was too good to pass up. This was one of the best breakfasts…read morewe've had ever. Ramona our waitress was attentive and great. The atmosphere in this Albany location was busy and vibrant. The food OMG. The breakfast potatoes were unique and so tasty. The honey butter was amazing. I had the California omelette and my wife and I shared a side of blueberry pancakes that were perfect. Don't miss a chance to visit this restaurant for breakfast if you're in NY capital region.

What a cool spot! First time visiting Cafe Madison! We called ahead and got our names on the list…read moreahead of time! Highly recommend otherwise it would be 15-30 min wait time. Service was great! The cafe itself is super cool and open on the inside. Ordered a water and coffee to start. No issues at all. For the first brunch meal we ordered the fried chicken sandwich with fries. It was delicious and well balanced though a bit messy! Ask for extra napkins! The other brunch meal we ordered was the eggs benedict special that had a spicy sauce and prosciutto as well. It was delicious! Though the sauce was a bit separated. That's an execution issue and not a flavor issue. The flavor was there! If you are in the area. Call ahead get on the wait list and give this spot a try!

Excellent service and very good food. Had a swap out Irish Benedict (for regular Eggs Benedict) no…read moreproblem and it was delicious. Good food, good service plenty of coffee. My kind of diner, cozy, friendly and courteous . I'll be back.

There was raw chicken in my son's Buffalo Chicken Wrap as you can clearly see from the picture. Not…read moreslightly undercooked. Raw. That probably speaks for itself in terms of why you would want to avoid this place, but here's a little more for good measure. The service was slow, despite the fact that there was almost no one in the restaurant - empty drinks, food taking at least twice as long as it should, not coming back to check on pretty much anything, servers just standing around on their phones, etc. Also, my breakfast potatoes were slimy and not very warm, and my toast was barely toasted and limp. However, the biggest issue for me is that they were not even going to take this tangy salmonella special off the bill until I insisted. They made my son another one, which we ended up taking to go because it took so long that my other son and I were done eating. Evidently, they thought that simply taking the wrap back and not charging us for it would be an acceptable resolution to serving raw chicken (for the record, the only acceptable reaction would have been apologizing in horror, remaking the wrap, and comping our whole bill). When I expressed to the woman at the register that it is dangerous to serve raw chicken to someone, she argued that they were chicken tenders. I think this means she thought they came frozen and already cooked, which is even more concerning and would explain why they are not cooking things thoroughly. Wow. For your own well-being, stay far away from this place.

When a friend and I were going to have breakfast in Albany, she told me that I had to try the…read moreSkinny Pancake. Didn't need to convince me! Admittedly I'm a bit delayed in writing this review so some of what I tried was seasonal dependent as I got a hot apple cider for a drink. To eat, I got a crepe and side of sausage! Just a few short minutes later, the food was ready to go. Everything was really delicious. The sausage provided a perfect savory balance for the sweet crepe that I got. The restaurant was really spacious and had lots of natural light which provided a lovely ambiance. Despite growing up in upstate NY, getting to sit at Skinny Pancake felt like a nice, peaceful perspective I hadn't received before. The food being delicious was the cherry on top. I highly recommend!

First time, got a savory crepe the cheesy chicken pesto. Was pretty good! Crepe had a great…read moretexture. Probably a 8/10. The Johnny crepe was also very good, would want to get that again next time. Service was quick and friendly. You order your meal and there is self service coffee and water which is great. Second visit, came with a group of 7. And one party of 3 before us. We all were standing around for 5-10minutes before anyone greeted us. Unfortunately they were short staffed, and many people were sat at tables and still waiting for food. We were told it was going to be a 10-15minute wait and that we cannot be seated (although it is a self order type of thing?) We were not allowed to sit at the table just to sit. We were offered the couch until they were ready. However as we were waiting, other parties came in and directly walked up to the register? And so we were kind of turned off by that...There has to be a better system :/. Was super excited to eat here again. Hopefully they will improve

Great food and service! Very popular! Suggest to reserve…read moreahead! Friendly Staff! Going there for over six years! Spot on all the time!

I have been coming here for over 8 years. Never disappoint. Between the Elvis and the Ragin Cajun…read moreyou cannot go wrong.

Waffle House aspires to be be Dan's place. Unassuming hometown diner where everyone knows everyone…read moreand you get what you ordered and it's spot on every time. Cash only. Beat the lines and fights for street parking and get you an omelette made by Tommy with fresh eggs right in front of you while you wait. 10/10

I'm a sucker for family owned/run businesses. This is a brother/sister running/cooking and daughter…read morewaitress. It's small and and intimate. Everyone at the counter seem to know each other or if they don't are friendly enough to be all talking together. Food is made to order. They are very willing to work with dietary needs. There's no short cuts going on I just love it. The feeling here is very retro and brings me back to my youth and great times. I will come back when I'm in the area. Food is very good and pipping hot!

Had a great experience at IHOP! The servers were pleasant and welcoming, the food was good, and…read moreeverything came together for an enjoyable meal. The atmosphere was comfortable and pleasant as well. Overall, a nice experience and I would definitely return.

Don't eat here. Manager was rude .Ordered 4 slices of bacon and they sent over 2. Took them off the…read morebill but then when I asked to use my free pancake coupon I could not because she took off the bacon. I asked for this bill to be redone. I will pay for the bacon 4.29 mind you the pancakes were 9.79 for a short stack. I won't be back because the manager a man refuse to redo the bill. Just rude go eat someplace else where they are friendly and not rude. I will not spend my money here again !!!! And the manager was also screaming at the employee Michele he did it twice.I was disgusted. How do you treat your workers with no respect.

Great little resturaunt in Troy - basic fare as well as some more creative options- such as French…read moreomelets, leek gravy and goat cheese. Also a good selection of vegetarian options. I got the basic 2 eggs, homefres, toast and bacon. I usually steer away feom home fries because many places under cook them. They cooked their home fries perfectly. Son got the French toast which he absolutely loved. It was thick, covered in cinnamon sugar and you could tell it was homemade. Great vibe, super nice waitstaff , would come here again.

Cute diner serving house made sausage egg sandwich. Perfect for arriving to town post red eye…read moreflight. Teen liked his generous pancakes. Staff is super friendly.

I came here for dinner while staying at the hotel…read more I started with the Artisan cheese platter which was pretty good! The jam and tapenade came in these little sorta like bowl things - I thought something was off as I used a knife to take jam/tapanade out of them because it felt like the knife was digging in to the bowl. I figures I ingest enough microplastics on a daily basis I didn't need to have more so I gave the bowls a closer look and feel and I broke one of them. WTF?? It felt nothing like plastic or ceramic. I asked the waitress. Turns out they make them out of pie crust!! Pretty cool if you ask me, but I might lead with that in the description!! I had the French onion soup and the drunker goat cheese salad with salmon. The onion soup was notable in that it wasn't wildly salty like French onion soups always seem to be which was nice. I also liked how the salmon was seasoned and prepared with the salad. All in all I'd eat here again.

The renovations in this restaurant are spectacular. Semi-private dining, lots of space. The service…read moreis very professional! Fresh warm rolls came and I ordered a side Caesar salad which was surprisingly big. It had lots of shaved Parmesan and fresh romaine lettuce and the Caesar dressing was really good. My friend got the side Mr. D's salad and it was huge. Lots of cranberries and mandarin oranges, cheddar cheese, almonds, and lots of fresh greens. It had garlic dressing. I wished I had ordered that! We ordered the crabcakes as an appetizer. It came with two nice sized crabcakes. They were meaty and tasty. I ordered the salmon and shrimp with rice. It may have been a special because I don't see it on their menu and I forget what the glaze or sauce was that was on it. It was a little overwhelming but I just took some off and it was actually very good. I think it was wine based. Two big fat shrimp and a nice piece of salmon cooked to perfection. The brussels sprouts were cooked and spiced just right. The rice was good too. Large portions of everything. I was here at a conference and I never think of stopping by here and just grabbing some bread pudding. I will have to keep that in mind!

Amazing chips and waiters with amazing smiles to match! Great for business or casual settings…read morealike! Great place to book for events as well! Has an amazing old-fashioned atmosphere that you can really relax and enjoy food and conversation.

The place has a great, olde feel to it but the contrasting 70's American rock stripped that…read moresensation away as I dined before a print of Churchill. (When I walked by the establishment in the evening, they played cheesy American pop.) Their online drink menu did not match their current menu. In lieu of a much desired vesper (I was told they couldn't make it because they no longer have Lillet), I went with their Indigo 75 of Empress Gin, lemon juice, and Prosecco. Instead of refreshing, the lemon juice overwhelmed the entire drink. The BLTEA with bacon, lettuce, tomato, egg, avocado, and mayo was wonderful. The side salad only came with a sweet balsamic vinaigrette. With a bit more attention to detail, this place could be amazing.

Any time we visit our daughter at her nearby college is a great time, Illusive made it even…read moregreater! We ran an errand nearby and I found Illusive on Yelp. We approached just as they were opening for the day on a Saturday. (Slightly after noon) Not seeing many cars in the neighborhood and having the gps seem to "arrive" outside of an empty lot was an inauspicious start but when we pulled fully into the lot, we saw that they had put some work into the place and it had a nice modern look. Didn't get to take advantage of the nice outdoor seating area because the weather was rainy. We were greeted by friendly staff and seated at a comfortable table. Our timing was impeccable because the place was full within the next half hour. Our waitress deserves her own paragraph! She knew the menu inside and out and had tremendous pride in the food served and the awards they've won! Illusive is a "foodie" restaurant, every dish is elevated yet remains unfussy. For appetizers, we shared the street corn dip and tater tot poutine. The street corn dip was creamy and zesty. The tater tot poutine was revelatory, the cheese was melted perfectly, the gravy wasn't some jarred nonsense, and the tots themselves were crispy. I enjoyed the different textures of it, some more cheesy and some more gravy. My wife enjoyed a chicken Caesar salad and my daughter enjoyed a grilled chicken pesto sandwich. Her sandwich was a nice enough portion that she finished it leftover for dinner! I enjoyed the buffalo lemon pepper wings, the sauce was a nice blend of heat and zesty flavor. I appreciated the amount of wings they served, some restaurants are going for "shrinkflation" but Illusive provides a full portion! We received quality and personable service throughout a delicious meal, we will gladly return!

Tucked away on Ferry St. in Rensselaer is Illusive Restaurant. I remember liking this place. It's…read morebeen a few years since I last visited. A friend and I showed up for Sunday brunch. It's a nice restaurant. If anything, it's even nicer than before. I like the addition of neon lighting at the bar. It's fun. When we arrived, there weren't a lot of people dining. In the interest of efficiency we asked to sit at the bar since both servers were also tending bar. There were a number of people working in the kitchen. It took a while before our food orders were filled but the wait wasn't excessively long. Perhaps 20 minutes. We ordered The Home Wrecker brisket sandwich and a Dragon Breath crispy chicken sandwich. I liked the combination of cheeses, caramelized onions, relishes and seasonings. However, compared to similar restaurant-bars, I found that the sandwiches at Illusive were remarkably thin. For the first time ever, I actually wondered, where's the meat? While some rivals might overstuff their pulled pork or roast beef sandwiches, I found myself actually peering into my Home Wrecker sandwich to find a thin slice of brisket, caramelized onions and some cheese. Since I sometimes suffer from low iron I would have liked more protein for my $17 sandwich which instead came with many potato chips. I don't know where the sandwich got its name from but not getting adequate protein does "wreck" with my dietary needs.The chicken sandwich was tastier and a bit thicker, but again the kitchen was stingy where it mattered. That's why this Yelper is giving Illusive a 4 instead of a 5. As for the two servers/ bartenders they were very nice and they did their best to keep customers happy even as the restaurant grew busier.