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    J.C.'s Central Deli

    3.9 (30 reviews)
    Closed 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

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    J.C.'S CENTRAL DELI ATMOSPHERE

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    Sammie S.

    I'm a huge fan of JC's deli. I frequent here for lunch weekly. My go too's are the daily changing soups along with a salad. I'm never disappointed. The Caprese sandwich is definitely my favorite completely fresh ingredients would recommend anyone. The sides and treats are amazing. The staff is great. The store is immaculately clean. Dare I say I have a warmed up day old soup from this establishment and had it for breakfast because it's just that good!

    Hot Roast Beef Sandwich
    Christine C.

    Went searching for a classic Maurice's roast beef au jus and found this place that hit the spot very nicely. Sandwich was flavorful and delicious and macaroni salad was fresh. Lots of great specials like a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich. We'll be back. Only negative was the seating area isn't very comfortable and the onion roll was spongy. My friend chose the same sandwich on a hard roll and it was fresher and higher quality. All in all a good deli experience right down to the crisp fresh pickles.

    Michael C.

    Great food and and even better staff. Fast friendly service without the low quality of fast food. Really great food served custom to order. Absolutely love the staff, very friendly and talkative.

    Wood fired oven
    Corie Y.

    This small deli is trying something new, wood fired pizza! When I came, they had only been serving the pizza for about a week. The owner was operating the oven and he seemed very passionate and has a lot of aspirations for the new oven. This deli offers a ton of homemade deli items; soups, salads, baked goods, sandwiches, bread, and now pizza too. I came to try the pizza! I saw on Facebook that they were offering white clam pie. That's one of my favorite pizzas, I couldn't turn it down! The pie was well cooked, some char, great flavor with entire bulbs of roasted garlic and lots of chopped clams. I wish the crust was a little more airy, with maybe a little less toppings, but either way it's a good pizza. I'll be back to try a different flavor soon and I'm excited to see how they improve over time. Great place for lunch in a really convenient location. Downside is they are currently only open for lunch hours, but will expand their hours when they settle in to the new oven.

    Corned beef and pastrami with Swiss cheese and cole slaw on rye...

    My sandwich was amazing. So good, I purchased a second one to go. The staff was friendly and hospitable, helping me with my order and other recommendations. They I ever find myself in Albany, NY again, I will come back.

    Best Roast Beef sandwich in Albany! Pickles are fresh, crisp and delicious. I could drink the au-jus. And the chocolate cake is AMAZING!
    Tayler N.

    Best Roast Beef sandwich in Albany! Pickles are fresh, crisp and delicious. I could drink the au-jus. And the chocolate cake is AMAZING!

    Half of my hot roast beef sandwich.
    Juliet V.

    What a nice discovery! I grew up in a time when quality delis were commonplace. I took them for granted in my childhood. Colonie alone had several. Mike's in Colonie Center and Platt's Place (my first job!) on Wolf Rd. to name just two. Anyway, over the years there have been less and less traditional delis in the Albany area. I was shopping at Kohls and needed lunch so I stopped in. It was like a happy blast from the past. A huge wall menu with all the traditional sandwiches. They also have a hot special and soups. I ordered from the top of the menu. A hot roast beef on a Kaiser roll. I got the horseradish mayo on the side along with an order of macaroni salad. The meat was plentiful,tender and flavorful with plenty of juice. Exactly what I wanted from a hot roast beef. The macaroni salad was traditional with a mild pleasing flavor. Along with a half sour pickle I was good to go. I'll have to stop at Kohls more often so I can try more of their menu items. Sometimes things are as good as you remember them. JC's Central Deli proved that.

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    Best sandwich I have ever sank my teeth into, I dream of it when I close my eyes. ( I ordered the chicken cutlet sandwich)

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    The service was great. The food was perfect. And the surroundings was something out of a movie…read more Loved everything about my experience there. Will definitely be returning.

    Absolutely the best steak house that my wife & I went there for our 15th wedding anniversary. 1st…read moretime there. ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING WAS OVER THE TOP. From Michael the manager, meeting & greeting us to checking in on us while we were dining, to Emma, our server waiting on us, anticipating our every single need, to the food being cooked to perfection. I cannot recommend enough how this is the go to place in upstate NY. THIS IS THE PLACE We waited for a few members of our party with two martinis at the bar, which cost $38. I deconstructed the Cosmo, which was a splash of peach and kettle one which was a three dollar of charge for an $18 drink. We had the back room for a large party (9)Servers staff were friendly and accommodating. I was surprised at how long it took too get seated. The seafood tower of lovely had asked for warm butter. The side dishes are all à la carte but the potatoes and the asparagus excellent. Mistakes were done as ordered just been prepared for price shock. I recommend the crème brûlée for dessert and the naughty Irishman coffee.. overall was a nice experience with attentive, weight, staff and creative and with a sense of humor! I personally cannot afford to go there except for very special occasions. A meal at Ruth's Chris feels like an event. There's so much anticipation. Yes, the prices are high but it seems that you get what you pay for. A wonderful meal with top notch service and ambiance. I did not find it pretentious. I was concerned that it might be. There is no dress code. While some dressed up, others were casually dressed. One man even showed up in a very wrinkled shirt and the staff treated him as well as any other guest. The wait staff is amazing. Our server was Valbon. He was gracious, helpful and very thorough in describing food preparation. My friend had a Porterhouse Steak prepared medium well done with just a bit of pink. It was a massive steak. He said it was prepared perfectly. Same for the mashed potatoes and asparagus. I don't eat much red meat. Valbon recommended the sea bass for me. It was remarkably tender. I enjoyed the sautéd vegetables, too. I was amazed that I finished my entire meal. My friend took part of his giant steak home and enjoyed it the next day. I asked for a light cocktail. A vodka-based Lemon Drop martini was recommended for me. It's a popular drink there. It was just right. Ruth's Chris is a chain. I know that some people frown on eating at restaurant chains because of quality concerns. But Ruth's Chris is fine dining and the food preparation is apparently held to high standards. Our meals were enjoyable. It was our first time trying this restaurant to celebrate my wife's birthday. They added decorations on our table and also gave my wife a small cake and candle which was a nice gesture. Steak was great and service was excellent. Our server was very friendly and even the manager stopped at our table to greet us. We will definitely come back.

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    Dining
    Dining
    Chopped salad
    Chopped salad
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    BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse

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    OMG! Not only was the food AMAZING- but the waiters, Patience and Anthony, were so fun and…read moreenjoyable!!! They were so friendly and had been the most enjoyable experience at a restaurant in a LONG time!

    We are from out of town and don't have a BJs near us. I have been to this location once before…read more Previously the service was horrible but we all loved the food. Our experience last night was much better service. We had Vicky as our server and she was a delight. So hardworking and caring. You can tell she pours her heart into her job. My major rave about BJ's this trip is the happy hour deals and deals of the week. We were thinking we were going to use a good sit down dinner and we ended up diving into "snacks". We just made it before the end of Happy Hour and we got some spinach artichoke dip and we both ordered personal pizzas. We also took advantage of the $5 wing specials on Wednesday. The spin dip was great but seemed to be missing something. Maybe some spice. The personal pizzas were a bit smaller than we were expecting, but for a $7 special you couldn't go wrong. I had the BJ's classic combo minus olives. It was delicious. The freshest toppings. The wings were a bit disappointing. Maybe because we're from Buffalo... but the dill pickle boneless really didn't have much flavor. The hot honey buffalo didn't seem to show any of those flavors. I almost wonder if they were the wrong flavor. But anyways, cheap deals, great waitress! I'll be back next time I'm passing through. We also loved that even though the place was packed, it wasn't loud! They have designed it well.

    Photos
    Yet more dining area!
    Yet more dining area!
    Dubai Chocolate Pizookie - the base is a brownie. This can be shared with 2-4 people.
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    Build A Burger Pub

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    If you like dive bars then get ready to dive in! I thought twice once we walked in but one we got…read morein the door we were welcomed by regulars and staff alike. The atmosphere is worn and dingy but the warmth and welcoming of the people are well worth the visit. We have driven by this place so many times while visiting Albany and thought no way I would go in there but we were looking for lunch and the reviews were so great we had to try them and I'm glad we did. We had the cheese Quesadilla and Mexican fries. Both were excellent. I really want to try the build a burger but unfortunately today is our last day in town . I would highly recommend a visit because of the warmth and food. Don't let the outside scare you.

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    Bar area
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    Joe's Grill

    Joe's Grill

    3.9
    (8 reviews)
    4.0 mi
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    What does "dive bar' really mean anyway? It's a terrible word, and furthermore I think it is been…read moreco-opted by the younger generation. There, I said it. Joe's Grill is not a place to go see and be seen. It's not where you go chasing the latest cult beer can release. One might look at it and think it's not a place to go for the food either. Those people would be wrong. Are there regulars in there, sucking down beers on a Saturday afternoon? You bet there are. If you get there early, you might even inadvertently sit in one of their seats. But don't worry about it. You're just visiting. They know you'll be gone before too long. Actually, if you order food, you might be at Joe's longer than you might suspect. The food is cooked to order, and it's worth the wait. The wings are seriously good. Now I want to go back and try the pizza. Actually, I want to try a lot of the things on the menu. I'm not entirely sure about the dining room. There's a pool table right in the middle. And while nobody was playing, I found sitting at the bar felt like a much more natural place to be. But this isn't the place to come with a group. They have beer on tap. But beer in bottles is probably a better option. Judging by the empties, It looks like they go through a lot of bottles, so I would expect product cycles through with some regularity. When drinking macro brews, I prefer them to be impossibly cold. But old refrigerators aren't quite up for the task. Still, that's okay. Because do you know what Joe's has that places with colder refrigerators don't? Character. And it's not a character that can be created or imitated. You can't artfully decorate your way to a soulful bar on a forgotten stretch of Central Avenue. But you should find a way to get yourself there. For fried fatty foods, beer in bottles, and some classic rock on the jukebox. It feels wrong to take an Uber or a Lyft. Maybe you can have the car pick you up or drop you off next door, and you can walk the 90 feet to Joe's. Then maybe you could feel like you're part of the neighborhood. More than anything else, this is a neighborhood tavern. And Albany's taverns are this region's diamonds in the rough. They may not look like much, but the culinary and cultural wealth they hold inside is staggering.

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    Photos
    Looking outside at Central Avenue and the Freebie 90 in the background
    Looking outside at Central Avenue and the Freebie 90 in the background
    Penne with Sausage
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    Upstairs

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    Upstairs

    J.C.'s Central Deli - breakfast_brunch - Updated June 2026

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