The Fountain Restaurant was the third stop of the second unofficial Albany wing crawl back in July. I was here with a small group of Albany Yelpers and we arrived here around 8:45PM on a Saturday night and this neighborhood pub was really hoppin'. We did manage to find an open table near the window. I looked over the food menu which offers wings, finger foods, pizza, sandwiches, burgers, Italian dinner entrees, and daily desserts. The prices are reasonable with sandwiches & appetizers under $10 and entrees $8,50-$16.00 (prices in 2008). On Wednesdays, a Hot & Cold Lunch Buffet ($9.00) is offered 11:30AM-2:00PM. It took a while for our table to get some service. We ordered some drinks (I stuck with Diet Cokes throughout the crawl because I had a long drive afterwards) and we ordered some Hot Wings and Mild Wings (served with carrot & celery sticks and bleu cheese dip). I also ordered a bowl of Pasta Fagioli, which was decent tasting and had al dente ditalini pasta, white beans, onions, spices & sausage in a hearty beef broth, not a tomato base broth. The wings were pretty good and tasty, messy and had the right amount of meat on the bone, a bit chewy on the outside. Overall, the food was good and the service was a bit delayed since the place was busy. read more

So, I'm a bit of a wino. When you've had as much wine as I've had in my twenty-something years you do begin to recognize brands and start to know (roughly) what the mark-up on the wine that your drinking is. I am happy to report that it is quite reasonable for what they charge for a decent glass of Pinot Noir in this place. Heavy pours, too... They had some great appetizers listed on the menu. Sadly, I had just eaten. I met up with some people and they said the food was great, so I'd go back to try it out. I like the feel of the bar. Cool bartender. Everyone relaxing and enjoying the game. There aren't tons of TVs, but the ones in front of you are good sized. If you're there to watch the premier sports event, then this is a great place to go. If you're looking for ESPN Ocho's Dodgeball Finals, then... not so much. read more

The pizza is by far the best around. The service however is terrible. If you go on a Fri. night it will be packed and you will have to wait around for a table. The food always seems to take forever also. This last time we went on a Tues. so we were able to get a table right away. The food only took a fair amount of time but the waitress was no where to be found after the food was brought out up until it was time for the check. It would be nice to have a drink with my meal, and its usually common courtesy to check back and see how the food tastes. The wings are average at best and the medium sauce tastes more like cheap BBQ mixed with a little hot sauce. If it wasn't always so crowded and they improved their service I would go there on the regular but I can't go long without craving that pizza either way. read more

Fountain Restaurant - Medium wings - Pizza Near Me - Albany, New York

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I've lived in Albany for 5 years now and never eat the pizza here because it is terrible. (At least around the colleges) I started venturing to other places but still never found anything fantastic, until I ordered pizza from the Fountain.. Best pizza in Albany, hands down. It was a little more expensive than the typical college pizzerias but SOOO worth it. Thick but soft dough, sweet sauce, and perfect amount of cheese and pepperoni. I found what I have been looking for. I did take out and my bf went inside to get it so I can't even say how the restaurant looks or how any of the other food is, but I have heard it is an "older" crowd at the bar if you're looking to drink. read more

Fountain Restaurant - Best pizza in Albany. Pizza and magic hat at the bar - Pizza Near Me - Albany, New York

Kind of torn on how to rate this place because the food is really good but the service is abysmal. I was seated to a full house around 7:30 PM...ordered 10 wings and a pizza with a friend. Our waitress took our drink order, dropped off our drinks, took our food order and never came back. 8:00 comes...8:15 comes....8:30 comes no food, no waitress, no nothing. When I tried to ask one of the waitresses what was taking so long for wings she told me I needed to ask my waitress and she couldnt help me. Cool. Great service. I'm seeing tables who sat down way after me getting served pizza and other foods. I'm wondering how my food can possibly be taking so long, and why our waitress didn't say a word about it. At this point, I'm extremely hangry. I've never seen wings take almost an hour to cook, or pizza for that matter. I could've ordered delivery for that wait time. I finally decide to get up and ask the bartender if he knows what's going on, because our waitress was impossible to flag down. He asks my waitress who says "she doesn't know she doesn't work in the kitchen she doesn't know whats going on". I said do you not work HERE? Don't you go in the kitchen and communicate with the cooks? She said yes but she doesn't cook the food. OBVIOUSLY! She then mumbles something under her breath, and walked away. I sit down and she brings out our food. Funny that it was ready right after I had to get up and say something. Then another waitress comes over and tries to fix the situation, which I just wasn't in the mood for. Then I overheard her and our waitress talking about me from behind the bar. Again, great service. The food was great, wings were cooked perfectly and the pizza was delicious. This was the first time I've actually eaten AT the fountain, as I've gotten take out before. Lets just say it was a terrible first impression. I understand it was very busy, and the fact that the kitchen was backed up was not the fault of the waitstaff. However, it would've made a world of a difference if our server let us know what was going on, or let us know that there was a wait. Instead, she said nothing at all. All the servers were not friendly, and probably shouldn't be working in a field where they have to communicate with people. Some of the menu items are pricey compared to other places. I probably will not return for a sit down meal, but will just stick to take out. read more

I was only able to go in there once before the shut down. My Mouth has been watering ever since I ate a cheeseburger that was so good well I want more can't wait to go back everything that I saw around me looks great but I am I can swear to my cheeseburger and fries thank you fountain restaurant great service great food read more

We enjoyed our time at the Fountain tonight. Very relaxed atmosphere for a casual dinner after a long week. We ordered the small cheese pizza (6 slices) for $8.50 and it was enough for the two of us. It is thin crust but has a hefty layer of cheese on top. My only complaint was I felt it could have used more spice. Next time, I would order it with a topping, like olives or onions. We loved this place! We are coming back soon and bringing a friend. read more

Fountain Restaurant - Good pizza at the Fountain. Thin crust but cheesy. - Pizza Near Me - Albany, New York

Great local eatery featuring affordable Italian fare that almost tastes homemade! We visited the Fountain as a party of five looking for a nice place in Albany to get some tasty pizza and the Fountain suited that need quite well. The atmosphere is that of a low key Italian eatery, wood paneled walls and old fashioned photographs, nothing too fancy, very casual. The service was very friendly although it could have been a bit speedier since the dining room was not busy at the time of our visit. It took about five minutes to be greeted and seated at our table, another five for drinks and the food took about twenty minutes to arrive at our table after ordering. That being said, the food was well worth the wait! The garlic butter wings were crispy and hot, absolutely delicious and perfectly cooked. The pizza was flavorful and the portions were surprisingly generous for the price. The large pizza without additional toppings cost only ten dollars, which was an excellent value. I ordered a spaghetti with sausage, which came with a house salad and fresh Italian bread. The pasta was cooked eldente and the sauce was sweet and very consistent, it tasted homemade. The house Italian dressing was almost perfect as far as homemade dressings go, it was excellent. The only drawback to our visit to the Fountain restaurant was the chilly ceiling fan directly above our table, however, our server was very polite about shutting that fan off for us once we asked about it. Overall we all had a very pleasant experience at The Fountain. read more

Fountain Restaurant - Picture of the menu cover - Pizza Near Me - Albany, New York

The Fountain offers up some of the best pizza and wings in Albany. We did takeout last night and let me just say, the quality is the same as it was prior to the pandemic. I'm sooo glad they reopened! read more

They have great food reasonably priced . Pat , manager does a great job. I used them a lot for pharma luncheons. All of their food is delicious but hands down the best pizza! read more

Just tried the cauliflower crust due to dietary restrictions and it is awesome! Crispy thin absolutely delicious. Thanks for helping a girl out. read more

Actually so gross. The fact that they upcharge for Fridays jalapeño poppers is sad. No restaurant should hold themselves to such low standards. A prime example of wasting money. Just make ur own gross food. read more

Whale hello there (you'll understand my fish pun) I've never done a review or post and I know the usual bad or negative reviews may not got be posted (or get torn apart). We decided to stop at The Fountain today to get some soup and a pizza to share. The French onion soup was great! I will give credit where credit is due. However the rest was a series of unfortunate events. When we got the pizza that should've been 1/2 pepperoni 1/2 cheese it was also covered in anchovies. We called them over to inquire if the anchovies were normal and were told "oh no that shouldn't be there". Then it was suggested we could just take the anchovies off and eat around it. We aren't really the types to speak up usually when something is wrong so this was even more uncomfortable for us because it was clearly evident we didn't want a pie covered in anchovies and I made us almost feel bad for wanting it fixed. They then offered to make a pie but said it would be 15-20 mins, we opted not to get a new pie because we needed to leave. We then picked at it but clearly couldn't eat it because it was incredibly salty and fishy due to the aforementioned anchovies. When they offered us a box to go, we said "oh that's definitely not needed." We then we're asked "you sure you don't have a dog you want to bring it home too?" The worst part was getting the bill and nothing being comped at all. It is easy to say "you should've asked for it for free" or something to that nature but as people who try to avoid awkward confrontation I just opted to pay the bill and leave. It was clear we were not happy with the pizza and they were well aware of it. Instead of fixing it we just felt more uncomfortable by the way it was handled. I do think the whole thing wouldn't be an issue and we wouldn't have care much if the pizza was comped because they were well aware of the error. ‍ read more

First time back at the Fountain since COVID. Have been going here for years, love their pizza. This time it wasn't the same. The crust was not as crisp and kind of doughy. Also the sauce didn't taste as good either. The old Fountain would bring the pizza out on old stainless platters. They do the same now, but the platters are a different shape. The pizza wasn't bad and the service was good but I probably won't be going back. So sad because we used to see lots of friends there. read more

How do you not like The Fountain Restaurant, been the same for a lot of years lots of familiar faces a great atmosphere and always clean, the staff is polite/attentive. Pizza yes, Shepherds pie absolutely, soup of the day HELL YEAH, and of course the drinks are cold at all times! read more

The food was not the bad and the server was nice but it took almost 45 min just for our appetizer.I have gone here for years. I have never waited that long for food. I hope next time I come here the food will not take that long. I'm just wanted to say I've seen better service and I hope to get better service in the future. Very disappointed. Thank you for your time. read more

I used to give the Fountain 5 stars for excellent pizza, wings and blue cheese. Ordered take out twice in the last week and the Blue Cheese taste like standard jar blue cheese and not homemade fresh blue cheese like they used to have. The Pizza crust on both pizzas over the last week was not what I expect of the Fountain...crispy edge and bottom with a softer center. It tasted like pizza dough from pre-made crusts. The lemon pepper wings were a huge disappointment tonight. Nicely crispy, but barely a lemon flavor and no peppery flavor. I was excited for the take out and side walk seating to begin again, but after two marginal pizzas and un flavorful wings and not the fresh garlicky blue cheese I have come to expect, I probably won't be back anytime soon. Hope this is just a case of getting back on their feet. read more

I've been going to The Fountain since 1985 and I've only eaten three things there: pizza, chicken wings and antipasto. There are other menu items -- and yes, I may have consumed the occasional chicken tender off a child's plate -- but that's it: pizza, wings and antipasto. And I've never been disappointed. The Fountain is a solid neighborhood place and long-standing local institution. Because I grew up downstate, I'll always prefer the thin New York pie, but The Fountain's pizza is one of my local favorites, The main attraction is the crust, which is nicely crispy and garlicky.  Get some wings and an antipasto to share and you're good to go. A note to celebrity spotters: keep an eye out for former Albany County Executive Jim Coyne at the bar, which is a terrific spot to sit and have a beer. Make a reservation if you're thinking Friday or Saturday evening. You can end up waiting a half hour or more. read more

It can get extremely loud in here sometimes. They are known for their pizza and for a good reason. It's pretty unique in my opinion. We always go here with a large group for the most part, and my group is always a pain in the butt, and I know it. But they never make use feel like we are and take great care of us. Good bar food and we are regulars because the consistency. It gets four stars for bar food, not prime dining. Lol read more

It would be nice if you could post the daily specials. So I can have more options before I get there instead of calling to find out what they are. Just saying I pretty much love your food. Loaded fries are great! Chicken Parmesan is great... nice oven roasted turkey sandwich too . read more

Had a great night at The Fountain. The band was packing up their equipment when we arrived around midnight, but that didn't stop the jukebox from putting out some good tunes. Our group of 5 sat at the bar and got situated with drinks. Being late and most kitchens closing early in the Albany area, I was relieved to see late night munchies being served. Went ahead and placed an order of wings-hot (recommended by the bartender) and a pie, half cheese, half sausage & pepper. Wings were hot indeed and crispy, might try the medium next time to compare. The pizza was great, packaged up the rest and brought it home. We love this strip on New Scotland and The Fountain is a wonderful neighborhood tavern that satisfies the late night crowd. read more

Longevity and consistency speaks volumes! I love the pizza and the huge anti pasta salad. Always busy here. Parking can be challenging call ahead on weekends for sure. All ages here. Fairly large menu- something for everyone. I wish that had a little better beer selection tho. read more

I enjoy this place. Started going there around 1980. We ordered 2 pizzas, meat lovers and plain cheese. The meat one was great, the cheese needed more love. Go there, get the pizza. Theirs is the best in the area of that style of pizza. It is unique. It's a welcoming place, and good for families. Parking in the back is easy. read more

Simple food done right. This place was around when I was in High School just up the road, and trust me, that was a LONG time ago. You don't stay open serving pizza and more downtown for more than 30 years without doing something right. We stopped in for some wings and pizza after a movie at the Spectrum, and were pleased once again. The wings were meaty moist & flavorful, piping hot, served up promptly with garlic-laced blue cheese dressing and crisp veggies on the side. A hot from the oven sausage pizza also rekindled old post-CBA-football-game memories, with tasty Italian sausage, lots of cheese, & crisp garlic crust, just the right thickness. Nephew's burger and fries were pronounced yummy as well, and not a scrap was left on his plate. A few cold beers, pleasant service and a nice old neighborhood atmosphere combined to make a nice dinner stop indeed. This is no fancy spot. It is simply a beer and pizza and more pub with a deserved reputation for good food at good prices. I hope they are around another 30 years. read more

The Fountain is an odd-duck of a restaurant, at least to my west-coast sensibilities. It's far too much of a dive bar to be a nice restaurant, but there are too many tables and much better food than I expect from the average dive bar! I ordered a small pizza, while the rest of my group opted for various sandwiches. Normally, I don't think that pizza and sandwiches should be available at the same restaurant (jack-of-all-trades is a master of none!), but all the food met our expectations! The pizza was good; nothing particularly special about it, just all-around A-OK. (I could almost finished the small by myself). The sandwiches seemed to be decent, as well, and came with pretty good french fries. Nothing really special about any of our food at The Fountain, but nothing to complain about, either! As for the rest of the scene, during lunch at least, I was a little surprised at the average age of the patrons here... I'd wager that three-quarters of the customers were collecting social security. read more

I was in Albany and I wanted a REAL bar pie. A place with checkerboard tables and good old-time pizza with pitchers and wings and whatever else goes with it. I knew I could get it; Albany is upstate... and low-profile... and the locals like to drink. We found everything I was looking for at Fountain. Saturday night we walked in. Can you believe it? A 6 member old-tyme jazz band playing. I love that stuff. What is that? Swing? I can't stand it on the radio, but in person, oh man, I'm in. Old guys kick butt. The pizza was delicious and so was the rest of the food. Maybe it was because it was a special treat for me, I don't know of any bar pies where I live. It's more of a middle of nowhere kind of bar food in the middle of Albany. Do you think the locals tire of it? Do they tire of butter soaked mushy potato skins with supple orange globs of cheese on top? Does the excitement of garlic and parm wings on the menu wane when I can drive over to Ralph's Tavern as well? It's doubtful, it's always busy here. It's been a year, but let me describe it from memory: hard, thick, sweet crust. hot, light, melted cheese. soft red sauce. corners slightly burnt. ohh does my memory recall or create? UPDATE: I've been back. my memory is perfect. read more

What's the big deal? Granted, I may be a snob, but all the fuss about The Fountain just left me confused. OK, I did not have pizza,, but went there with about 10 middle aged friends, who had drinks and sandwiches, and 1 pizza. We were there on Wed night, expecting some peace and quiet and conversation, but ended up in a typical pub: loud, overcrowded, serving greasy, fried stuff. Burgers were at most OK. Nothing to write home about. Conversation was impossible due to noise level, and that was without a live band! Won't listen to hype again. read more

I have more or less grown up with this place so it's hard to review it outside of nostalgia, but it's worth saying a several things. One, get the pizza, with toppings. It's great tavern pizza. I have a soft spot for the BBQ wings as well. I would stay away from most of the rest of the menu. Not because it's terrible or anything, but just because it's unremarkable. One side note is that they use Doritos for their nachos which, while I enjoy it, I realize that is probably not to everyone's taste. Two, their kitchen is open late and it's really nice to know that you can head there after midnight and get something to eat. This was a godsend growing up and being under 21 because we could always head to the Fountain and have some pizza and soda. Three, the service is incredibly warm and friendly. Four, the Skip Parsons Jazz Band plays the second Saturday of every month. If you've never been, it's incredibly special. read more

When it comes to Pizza in Albany there are very few places that meet my expectations of what pizza should be. Leave the college style, late night cardboard crust on lark street and go to Fountain Restaurant for a good pie. The crust is perfect and the sauce has that perfect amount of garlicky, home cooked taste. I can't speak on the rest of the menu, but the pizza here has me coming back again and again. The place itself is pretty basic but nothing shy of cozy and quiet with the occasional patron spouting around the bar. Great for groups and kids. Not ideal for watching a game. read more

We went here after a co-worker suggested we try it if we were looking for pizza. The inside sort of looks like it belongs in an episode of The Facts of Life, straight out of the 70's. Appearance aside we settled into a table near the entrance. We were seated next to a large group of women whose loud conversation drowned out our thoughts. Noise aside we shared a salad and a pizza. The antipasto salad was one of my least favorite in the Capital Region and the pizza crust was crispy but greasy. Service was a little haphazard. I don't think we'll be back since there are so many other great places to go nearby. Something tells me this place will do just fine without my business as they've got a strong 1970's following. read more

After a long day of working outside in the blazing heat, I made the unfortunate mistake of heeding the advice of the Times Union, who claimed that the Fountain had the best pizza in Albany. The pizza was awful. The cheese was burnt, the dough was undercooked and the edge of the crust was so unusually hard that you could've broken a tooth trying to bite through it. I hate chain pizza places, but I honestly would have had a more pleasant dining experience if I had ordered from Domino's instead. Patrons, beware: if this is the best pizza in Albany, you're wrong. read more

It was packed, the service took forever, and the loaded potato skins were greasy and over cooked.

When we first walked in one waitress seemed annoyed told us to stand in the front where there was no room. It was busy and packed, which we anticipated for a Saturday night. The waitress seemed annoyed by our presence and sat us. We sat for about 10 minutes before another waitress acknowledged us and brought us menus. This waitress was fantastic and busted herself running around. The food was brought out by the first waitress we were met with - my food had a bun on it despite me telling our waitress (it's an allergy). I told her I couldn't have a bun it was an allergy she seemed annoyed and brought it back into the kitchen. Not even 2 minutes she comes back with a burger without a bun. I asked if it was the same burger and she said yes I explained I couldn't have a bun do to allergy and I couldn't eat it. She was snippy and said it was going to be awhile. Our waitress apologized and double checked the ticket said it did say no bun. Family with me said pizza was not good, meatball was very dry. My burger had little flavor. I only give this a star on the effort of the waitress who waited on us most of the evening. read more

My wife and I shared a pizza and an antipasto on a recent visit. Shortly after returning home we both got sick - nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. We called the Fountain the following day and said we weren't complaining but wanted to let them know. The bartender that answered the phone couldn't have been any ruder or more condescending. Within two days we've spoken to three friends who shared similar experiences. We'll miss the Fountain but the bartender's attitude was a complete and totally unnecessary turn off. read more

Personally , I (myself) truly believe that The Fountain (in my humble opinion) is a restaurant that I , Derek , have been to on multiple occasions and I , alone , will now state my own beliefs and opinions thereof . The Fountain is really good . Their pizza is gnarly and their wings are , dare I say , ti dilating . Their beer is cold and their service is warm . Good stuff . God Bless . read more

The ONLY pizza that I eat the crust. Mushrooms seem to be canned, doesn't matter. Still fantastic. Love the mood here.

We were regulars at The Fountain for several years. The menu has not changed and even the specials lack imagination, but we were regular customers just the same who supported this neighborhood business. Kimmie is fantastic, as are a couple others, but the norm seems to be rude service. The saddest thing about no longer eating there (at all) is missing out on their French Onion Soup. While many rave about their pizza (which isn't bad, It's just not great.) think their soup, especially the French Onion, is the best. read more

Always thought the best pizza in Albany! Until tonight. Got a pepperoni and cheese takeout. The sauce was tasteless, the cheese "mushy", and just an overwhelming taste of garlic. What happened Fountain? So disappointing. read more

After years of hearing about how great their pizza is, I had to stop and give it a try, and honestly, it reminded me of a frozen Tombstone pizza. Flatter crust in style, with a canned sauce. It was an okay pizza, but not worth going out of my way for again. Maybe the pizza had been over-hyped to me before I got there. The atmosphere and menu isn't vastly different from many other similar casual Italian restaurants with an offering of bar food also present. Maybe, I'll come back to try a dinner, if I'm in the area. Efficient and nice service. read more

Originally, my review for the Fountain was going to consist only of an ASCII heart... you know, the less-than sign followed by the number 3. But Yelp doesn't allow symbols in reviews, and I should probably post a more meaningful review anyway. OK. So, the Fountain. I had heard of it, but had never been there. A few months ago, at the recommendation of a few co-workers, I tagged along with them to this place. It was a great time, and great food. We basically ordered the entire freaking menu. A couple pizzas, wings, other random appetizers. You name it, it was on our table at some point. Nothing was disappointing. In particular, I really loved their wings and their meatball pizza. It's a bit out of the way, but I try to get here whenever I can. I've never had a bad experience here. Be advised: this place gets INSANELY busy during peak times. It's small to begin with, and it fills very quickly. Plan accordingly. read more