This was an unexpected highlight of a recenttripto the Adirondacks. Right off, I do prefer places…read morethat reflect the local flavor over places that try to reflect the tastes of other places. In other words, I appreciate authenticity. The Tavern on the Gorge boasted a friendly staff, good bar food and a welcoming atmosphere with a good assortment of beverage offerings. I happened to catch this place during a night whereby they had comedians from NYC. The comedians were very good and got plenty of laughs poking fun at the Afirondack lifestyles and values. The patrons appreciated this ribbing and a great night of unexpected fun was a much needed release for me and my wife. We will return on our next trip to the North Country to recapture this homespun experience.

Chalk it up to Upstate, NY doing what Upstate, NY does best: Cold Beer and Chicken Wings. And in…read morethis case, it should be Chicken Wings first and cold beer second. You can certainly pull up a bar stool and drop a Utica Club in a can or get a Saranac draft. No issue there. But what you really want to be doing is ordering wings. Seriously...get in car...drive to Prospect...order wings. Look, you can get caught up in wings from Buffalo, Rochester, New York City (not SF because there is not a good wing in this entire city...although at least Kezar makes an effort)...whatever. They all take a back seat to what you get in almost every establishment in Syracuse and Utica. Let's put it this way...it's HARD to be at the top or near the top (which Tavern on the Gorge is) in the wing category in Central NY. Just WAAAY too much competition and people in CNY like their wings. But Tavern on the Gorge...they get a high seat in the Top 5 category and my debate upon leaving the bar was whether or not they were number 1. Wing sauce is apparently a tough thing. I don't think it's a tough thing, but to most bars and restaurants it's essentially the toughest thing they must do. NOTHING varies more establishment to establishment than a chicken wing. Certainly there are some places trying to put their own spin on it (90% of these folks are just making a mistake btw). Not a good idea fyi. The wing sauce at TOTG is as close to perfect as your going to get. Depending on who you talk to, you'll get differing opinions on wing sauce. But in general, the diehards know the base recipe and an ingredient that can have a major impact is butter/margarine. So those wings sauces you see that have sort of a heavier texture (heavy being almost creamy)...they crank up the butter/margarine. Not a bad thing. The place in direct competition with TOTG does this and those wings are ridiculous as well. But TOTG does things a little differently and what you end up with is a sauce with slightly less creaminess and amazing tang. And they don't skimp on the heat...in fact, they dial it to perfection. Don;t worry about going in and having to order mild because you don't. If you don;t want to go hot...go medium...that's fine as well. But just know that Upstate does it's wings the right way...in a fryer, with ridiculously good sauce. TOTG has it nailed. Great place to grab a couple of UC's or a Saranac and eat wings. These are great wings. Period.

Great experience! Passing through on a family vacation and this was the closest restaurant near us…read more It's a seat yourself type deal with high tops, low tops, and bar seating. All of the staff was extremely friendly and personable, especially our bartender/waitress Emily. I got the summer salad which was amazing. My mom got the chicken wings with "monkey boom stick" sauce which was basically a boom boom sauce- also amazing. My dad got slider burger train which is 4 burger sliders. 1.mushroom and Swiss, 2.onion rings and bbq, 3.pepper jack and jalapeño, and 4.bacon and cheddar. A side of sweet potato fries and coleslaw- everything was perfect. Would definitely be a regular bar for us if we lived here! Highly recommend! We just missed the rush when we got there at 7:30pm on a Saturday.

Everything about this place is great! Warm atmosphere, great decor, fantastic food that looks and…read moretastes 5-star (not your usual pub fare, although that is there as well), and servers and bartenders who knock it out of the park!!! (Especially Nicky and Emily). If you are in the Cold Brook area, GO!! You won't be disappointed, and you'll probably leave feeling like you're part of the family!!!

Service was good and friendly and restaurant was busy…read more Walk into the restaurant and the bar is in front of you with seating available. To the left are booths and in back are more tables. Geared for private parties. Soup spicy steak and greens were absolutely delicious. Wing special orange wings were ok flavor. Asian sauce wings were amazing. Sandwiches southern fried chicken special with hot honey was very good. French fries were good, as well. Chicken and greens sandwich extra yummy. Both sandwiches were large. Private parking lot.

A really good meal here tonight! Staff was friendly bustling and attentive. The atmosphere was…read morereally nice. Not rowdy or anything. Family friendly and even a kids menu (Mini Bike) Hubby and I got wraps. The handout fries were really good. Table next to us has prime rib and that looked delish! The table behind us had wings and those looked great. We like this place and will be back. We enjoyed the kids placemats with games and the crayons.

Just an amazing evening and meal. Everything from the minute we sat down until we left was a total…read moregreat date night. Food superb, wine selection (Jack was a wealth of knowledge and total cool guy in the wine selection ) Danielle was our server and made for an amazing meal, hopefully we will get to go back while we're in town!

Tim!!! Absolutely the best. Food good good. But in my…read moreoption hospitality is more important.

Solid pub/tavern food. Service was quick and the ambience is suitable for its location.read more

Are they a real business? They serve food before hockey games. Seems fishy. They have lot of TV's…read moreand decent atmosphere--almost like Utica's best sports bar--that's open ten days a year. I don't know whether to be excited or look at it as a great place to launder money. The food is ok but don't even get excited or think about going there. They're closed.

Very nice neighborhood bar. They have quick draw and a nice homemade dinner special each eveningread more

Out on motorcycle today. Stopped here for a quick drink. All I have to say is that if I was the…read moreowner of this place I'd be a bit upset with the bartender. Waited 5 minutes to order first drink. Another was bought for us so we finished our first put glasses at edge of bar for bartender to see. Empty glasses overlooked several times. Been waiting about 10 minutes. However the poor girl has a full bar and has to wait on tables for food. So who's at fault...the employee or the owner for only having one person working........hmmmmm

Great atmosphere and staff. Daily specials and full eat-in or take-out menu! I always have great…read moretime at this pub! You should check it out if you are in the area.

Perhaps a better name would be "No-Allergy Samich Shop." It for sure is not a cafe: they have…read moreonly regular and decaf and it's not ready to go. There is a counter to the left as you come in, followed by an unattractive cooler case with signs on it. In between is a bakery case that is small but had a nice selection when I was there. I ordered a cup of decaf and a small chocolate almond cupcake, for a price of $8. I declined the plastic box and sat down with the cupcake in an upholstered chair opposite the counter. I thought my coffee would be right up but it took many minutes. I almost left. The cupcake was small but good (fluffy cake, sugary frosting). Then I noticed the sign that said everything was gluten and dairy-free. Surprise! When the coffee was ready, the cream was put in for me. I guess it was nondairy. The coffee was warm like a keurig makes. I had noticed Lunch menus in a wall pocket and Brunch menus behind the counter. So this place is actually full restaurant for people with gluten and dairy allergies. The lunches all seemed to cost ~$18 and seemed inventive. Fries were available as a specialty. There were a lot of tables in the long, cool, dark room. It seemed like a decent place to have an undisturbed meal while talking with friends.

The food was absolutely phenomenal! While not from the area I always love finding gems in new…read moreplaces, this is one of them! We enjoyed the ambiance of the cafe especially all the beautiful greenery. The service was outstanding and everything was made to order. If you are searching and curious if this will be a great choice look no further because City Cafe is the best!

This is a local GEM been meaning to go here and so glad we finally made it…read more Friendly service by staff and great friendly customer base. Food was excellent. Grilled chicken, pepper jack cheese with great fries. Extra yummy. Shaved steak sandwich perfect and had very good flavor. This is the place for draft or can craft beers with great food and service. Can't wait to return.

Beer. Impressive selection of hard to find beers. Excellent representation of different types with…read morelisting of alcohol content Food. Excellent. I was surprised as a jagged NY City resident. Hamburgers and fries were excellent. Also the pretzel type bread was excellent. The bar was scheduled to close at 9. The bartender was cool and we stayed until 9:45 PM. I'll probably never return to this bar since I was there for business; however if I do return this will be my go to place.

Stopped in on a hot Saturday afternoon to get a cool beer and sit in the air conditioning. Our…read morefirst time here. Impressed with the wide variety of brews available on draft. We opted for the Belgian Triple (Very good), and the Blonde (good). If we had been hungry, we would have gotten the giant pretzel with cheese dip. The place is like a clean and well kept biker bar. TVs, rock music playing, and a large mural of a Satanic rock band playing on the wall behind the stage for live entertainment. Nice little place.

We hosted a private themed party here and we were blown away by how fantastic everything was. The…read morestaff here are the friendliest I've ever had the privilege of working with, the facilities are clean, and the atmosphere is warm and comfortable. We loved the feel of the space and the inclusion of a sound system. In addition, the food servings were generous and beautifully displayed. We look forward to returning for a casual date night or hostingother events.