Pleasantly surprised by the quality of food. Calamari was perfectly light with nice sauce sides. Eggplant Rolitini was very good. Loved the sauce and pasta. Very nice espresso with an adorable mini biscotti. Cream puffs were perfect. read more

Johnny's - Smooth espresso with mini biscotti. Light cream puffs were perfect. - Italian Near Me - Schenectady, New York

My family and I stopped in Friday evening. I asked the hostess if it was ok if we just had a drink and some dessert for the kids. She told us they would only permit us to sit at the bar. I asked if this included the high top bar tables. She said she was sorry but only at the bar. I understand completely that a busy place might have tables reserved however the place was half empty. I didn't want to be belly up to a bar with my 9 & 12 year old kids. We kindly said thank you and left. I for sure won't be back, as this place is obviously too high end to cater to a family on a road trip. To bad, I would have gladly spent some money to support a local place and absolutely would have over tipped the staff to make up for the lack of the food order. Zen restaurant down the street was wonderful and had a great selection of desserts for the kids. read more

First time in Schenectady and stumbled on this place on yelp....and the Yelpers did not disappoint! Very laid back atmosphere, good service, great food! Heavy vodka pours are always a plus for me, but the homemade pasta was seriously fantastic. I had the pink sauce with chicken on the ziti. Very rich and a lot of flavor. My only complaint would be that I asked if the portions were large (because I was going to order a side salad) but my pasta portion wasn't completely overwhelming, so I didn't get my salad! Otherwise everything was on point, and I will definitely be back next time in town! read more

They always have an excuse for why they can't seat one person, even when you can see all the empty tables and that no one is waiting. The one time I did get seated alone, I was forgotten about throughout the evening, never asked if I wanted more water or dessert, and I was overcharged for spaghetti with garlic and oil. Hugely disappointing customer service, overall. read more

You have to try the Chicken Cognac! Delicious! If you want pasta I would suggest Joeys Barese. I can't wait I go back and enjoy the food, fun atmosphere and great wine selection. A must for date night or a fun time with friends. read more

went with a group of 15. Everything on the menu is drenched in some kind of cream/garlic or tomato sauce. Caesar salad tasted like a garlic salad. I noticed that most people at my table ate only a small portion of their meal and boxed the rest. Waiter bragged about how good the fish special was, even brought one by to show us when he was on his way to deliver one to another table. It looked amazing so several us decided to order it. But, when he came by to take our order he said he ran out. I was forced into a meal drenched in something. If you like food that is smothered in something, and love extreme garlic,go here. I will say the deserts were very good. read more

Hands down the best Italian I've had in the capital district! Their pasta is always perfectly cooked and made fresh! The service they provide is always top notch as well, we've never had an issue here. Their sausage is so tender that you don't need a knife to cut through it. I love their calamari. The only down side is that they close very early compared to other restaurants, but we understand it's family owned. read more

I dined at Johnny's and the food was great. I had a salad and Chicken Marsala w/Pasta. I was a walk -n and the place was busy with the typical after 5:00 suspects. It was also a little on the loud side. I showed up about 7:45. The hostess was very friendly. I waited only 3-4 minutes for a table. I would suggest reservations. The server was informative in regards to menu offerings and nightly specials. That's always a good sign. Overall, I was very pleased with the experience. The service was slower than I wanted. But again, it was a very busy place. Given the food, I will be back. read more

We walked into Johnny's on Saturday night, anxious to try a new to us spot. We were told it would be an hour and a half wait- understandable, we didn't have reservations and they are a new establishment. We told the hostess she could find us at the bar. While waiting, the hostess approached us three times to ask if we wanted to eat dinner at the bar. We politely told her we were fine with waiting for a table in the dining room. The last time she approached us, she said it would be 10 minutes until our table was ready. We had ordered clams casino for our wait and rushed through them as we did not want to pass up our table. Long story short, it wasn't 10 minutes-- it was another 40. Once we were seated, our salads and app (stuffed shrimp, not really worth a mention) came out at the same time and our entrees were served while we were still working on our salads. After almost a 2 hour wait, we felt completely rushed. Aside from the semi-pushy and ill informed hostess and the bad timing with our dinner, the food was fantastic. My husband was in love with the lamb osso bucco he had and my filet medallions were cooked perfectly and tasted even better. I'm hoping that Johnny's gets their sea legs and that the bumps even out. read more

My lover and I were treated very courteously when we walked in without a reservation on a busy Friday night, and scored a high-top in the bar. We were rewarded for a short wait with a wonderful meal and attentive service from Donna B, who took good care of us, but left plenty of room for conversation. And the food! Our salads (Caesar and house with a few blue cheese crumbles and the house Italian) were so crisp that the greens might have been picked from Nona's garden that afternoon. Our entrees (veal sorrento and sea bass with scallops and chopped asparagus sautéed in oil and garlic) were superb. The veal was "melt in your mouth" tender, and the garlicky fish stock infused the pasta base for the fish. Johnny's makes their own pasta, and it was delicious and perfectly al dente. Lover reminds me that the bread was "stupendous!" Alas, no room for dessert this time, but we saw some gorgeous items going by. We heard later that the restaurant owners also own a bakery. We highly recommend this restaurant, but suggest that you make a reservation! read more

Love this place. Lasagne!!! Mmmmm Can never finish my plate. The cheesecake my daughter got for dessert was enormous. For kids, they get a "passport" complete with their picture. Good atmosphere...loud and upbeat. read more

We arrived at 6:15ish on Monday, September 15, 2014. There was a show at Proctor's so it was crowded. We had no reservation and we were seated in about 8 minutes after some sort of employee huddle. We ordered Spiedini alla Romana as an appetizer It was slices of bread skewered with fresh mozzarella cheese and covered with a delicious mushroom garlic sauce. It came out promptly and tasted great. They also brought a bread basket with olive oil with balsamic vinegar. The bread was very fresh as well as warm! Beth ordered the Johnny's Scallopini alla Marsala and reports that the dish was delicious. The chicken was light and tender, the roasted potato wedges and green beans were cocked perfectly, and the sauce was light but filled with garlic and mushrooms and complimented the rest of the dish perfectly. I ordered a special-of-the-day with grilled chicken, homemade ziti and roasted tomatoes over a creamy pesto sauce. I liked it, but did not like it as well as Beth's dish. Our server was Andrew. He was obviously well trained and did a good job. The atmosphere can only be described as LOUD due to other diners speaking quite loud. read more

In my view, a little pricey for pretty average food. Service before a Proctors show can be a bit slow when crowded which is tough with a curtain deadline. Nothing very good or very bad to say. Wings are good. read more

Excellent and quick service. Perfect Italian atmosphere complete with excellent homemade pasta. It was so good I thought my grandma made it! Perfect spot to get a bite before a show at the theater! read more

The food and the drinks here are great. I have been here twice and have not been disappointed either time. The Italian nachos are spectacular. I have no idea why it only gets 2 stars. We will go back here again and again it is my favorite Schenectady dinner place. It is very loud but totally worth the noise level read more

It's a toss-up between Johnny's and Aperitivo for our favorite restaurant in downtown Schenectady. Some of the best Italian food I've ever had, and I've been in upstate New York for a long time. Homemade pastas are always cooked to perfection. I could eat a bucket of their ziti and red sauce, the red sauce is addictingly good. Even the fresh bread with oil & balsamic is great. My go-to is the veal sorrento, just a classic done perfectly. Lobster mondello always blows my mind at the portion for the price. Then there's the American twists, starting with the awesome Italian nachos - they're a revelation. Also don't miss the Sicilian cowboy if you love a good burger - easily in the top-5 of burgers I've ever eaten. Also ask about ordering a bottle of the chianti that they've got hanging from the ceiling. It's not on the menu, but your server will know about it. Only $18 for a quality bottle of wine, then you get to sign it and they hang it up! read more

We had a train layover in Schenectady, and bf needed a haircut & we both wanted some good lunch with outdoor seating. We ended up going to the barber visible from the train station (best haircut he's had since we moved to WNY) and the barbers told us about Johnny's two blocks up on State. They had menus handy, and my only pre-recs -- Diet Pepsi & outdoor seating -- were met, so we strolled down. Surprisingly downtown Schenectady is kind of adorable, and the main strip that Johnny's is on reminds me of Main St in Montpelier, with boutiques and used book stores and restaurants galore. We were sat immediately outside as requested, and our server Matthew was attentive & helpful. I got the fish special - grilled marinated salmon (prob about 7 ounces) and a nice big salad of fresh greens, cherry tomatoes, and cukes with an in house dressing. Everything was fresh and delicious, salmon was perfect. BF got the mussels marinara (prob 15-20 mussels, plus fresh homemade pasta & marinara) and he said it was excellent. Portions were more dinner-sized than lunch sized (good for us, because we had a 6 hr train ride ahead of us!) but the best part --bill total with a Diet Pepsi & those two entrees, plus fresh bread & olive oil for dipping: $22.04. INCREDIBLE lunch value. And if I lived in Schenectady, the food was good enough that I'd be back, for dinner, and pay dinner prices. And bring friends. We will return on our next layover. Yum! read more

We were searching for something good for dinner. The other places popping up on Yelp did not look good upon a drive by menu check. So we ended up at Johnny's. We were concerned the food or service might suffer because they could relay on their location and new, fresh and clean facilities. We were pleasantly surprised by some of the best service we have had in a long time and great food as well. Our server was personal, attentive and took exceptional care of us. He went above and beyond what we expected. If I am back in Schenectady I will be back at Johnny's for dinner. read more

This place was right across from Proctors, so when my little cousin was playing with the orchestra the entire family went here first. I'll start off by saying the food came out very quickly, and the waitress was friendly and helpful. The food. We started with the calamari, which was great. Perfect breading, tubes and tentacles, loves the marinara and the "other" sauce. They were a little greasy, but really good. The bad part was the oil on your fingers hit the table and the table got greasy. This was the kind of grease that just moved around and never went away, which was frustrating but whatever. I went with the steak, which was cooked perfectly but absolutely overloaded with oil soaked vegetables and garlic poured right over the steak. I'm not talking about a little oil either, this plate was a pool. Maybe it's because I don't usually consume fried foods with a liter of olive oil, but my bowels have yet to regulate as of Monday morning. My aunt went with some king of shellfish mixed seafood platter, which had her in the bathroom all night and in bed all day Sunday. Definitely food poisoning. Gotta watch out here. read more

If Canalis is good, Johnnys is great. If you ask the locals they will tell you to go to Canalis but their food and decor doesn't hold a candle to Johnnys. It's finding the parking and paying a few bucks more. read more

Great service and better food. Toya at the bar and michala serving at the tables are. Great team. Can't beat the price and the quality of food. Highly r commend. read more

Meh, this place is over rated. Food it mediocre and they don't have fresh shredded Parmesan cheese, I was handed a shaker like I was at a pizza place. For the price it should have been much better. read more

I suppose this is just yet another affirmation of my opinion that the Mallozzi establishments are grossly overrated. The food at Johnny's is acceptable (read: mediocre or average at best), but leaves a great deal to be desired. The restaurant itself is nice-looking, and service is quite friendly and attentive for the most part. It was actually better on opening day than it has been on my subsequent visits. I was actually very impressed by how smoothly the restaurant was operating on their first day. They were clearly well-prepared for it. The food... ehhh. Sure, prices are reasonable, but the food itself really isn't that impressive. The sauce is at least a little better than generic jar sauce from the supermarket. The plate came out with an OK amount of food on it. It's certainly better than Olive Garden, but that's not a difficult thing to be able to claim. Probably the best thing going for this place with respect to food is dessert. They've got some good dessert options, but nothing is amazing. It's not bad, but I'll generally go elsewhere, especially if I'm looking for Italian. read more

First and foremost, make a reservation! I got seated with a party if 5 through a combination of luck and great service. That being said, fabulous food. Fabulous service. We had the Italian Nachos, the Eggplant Rollatini, and the fantastic Sausage and Eggplant Capri. And..the desserts are Villa Italia so save room. The Gelato Cake is out of this world! read more

Not only is the food outstanding, but the service is great too. The staff there LOVE their jobs and the family that owns the restaurant. I ordered the chicken cutlet milanese and fried calamari. The chicken was probably my favorite part. A cutlet fried to golden perfection, topped with seasoning over a bed of roasted potato wedges and green beans. My boyfriend and I frequently visit Johnny's and they never disappoint. You cant go wrong, anything you order will be delicious. read more

Unless you plan on spending the rest of your evening on the toilet I would not recommend attending this restaurant. The food was ok nothing special at all and reeked havoc on my gastrointestinal system. Not worth it. read more

This was a fantastic place. The menu was so amazing it took me a while to decide since so many items looked good I could not chose. I could not resist the Ravioli since it was hand made on site. That is not always easy to find. I would had preferred to have a tomato cream sauce without the smoke. However it was delicious as the smoke was slight enough and did not over power the rest of the dish. Even the homemade Cesar dressing on the salad was a fine quality and excellent. Service was good with a few specials to consider however with a powerful menu as that, who would need specials. read more

I just wanted to update folks on my initial review. I have increased my reading to five stars! Chief Eric Clifford has had the men and women increase their presence in the downtown area. I have found officers on foot and in plain view occupying a marked patrol unit. Keep up the good work SPD and please continue your outstanding effort in keeping downtown safe. read more

I was excited to see Johnny's go into downtown state street, I work in the area and to me it is amazing to see downtown come alive again. The building on the corner of Jay and State was in need of every last bit of work they put into it and the end result is brilliant. From the minute you walk in and are greeted at the door, until the time you leave the experience is one the feels, smells, and tastes truly authentic. It also feels very much high end, however it does not hit your wallet the same way other "high end" Italian places do. Both the house red, and house white are well chosen for the menu and very flavorful. I like the look at feel of Johnny's and it is both excellent as a lunch time escape from the office, and an intimate night out on a weekend. The music is excellent, and keeps the atmosphere light and moving, as do the staff, and decor. They have a lot of comfortable seating, and the way they separate the bar area from the main dining area is both open, and yet ensure privacy while keeping unwanted noise to a minimum. I have never felt that the bar was too rowdy or distracting, and I have never felt crammed in so that more seats could be added for maximum revenue. Deserts are from Villa Italia it appears and that is a bonus in my book. I strongly recommend Johnny's for lunch, dinner, or just drinks. read more

Went to Johnny's for a post graduation celebration. I don't often give 5 but this place was the perfect combination of good food, friendly staff, super service, and generous pours. Started at the bar where the bartender was professional and accommodating to some special requests. Normally, I would ask their name but timing wasn't on our side. She was young and had blonde hair. I hope that is enough info for someone at Johnny's to give her a well deserved "good job". Donna the wait staff was equally good and tended to us like we were her only table (which wasn't the case). I had the lasagna bolognese and sampled the eggplant parm as well as the veal Sorrento. All were top notch and authentic Italian cuisine. I also recommend their calamari and Italian nachos. Ambiance is a nice relaxing atmosphere that makes you feel like you're a regular even when you've only been there a few times. Take away: Johnny's doesn't disappoint. read more

Wow they really have shrunk their portion sizes but have kept prices the same. Used to easily split their lasagna for $20 and it's now about a single serving size. Ok to do it but prices doesn't reflect the serving size. Noticed the same last time I was there and got the Chicken Parm. Others I discussed this with also said they thought the same thing. So now it's become overpriced in my opinion. Food tastes very good but it all used to be better. read more

My SO and I tried Johnny's on a Tuesday night. Although we were terribly hungry, I don't think that played a large part in feeling our wait was interminable. When we arrived and asked for an outdoor table, we were told there was one party ahead of us. Although looking around we could see empty indoor tables, we decided we'd manage at the bar for a few minutes. A few minutes turned to over half an hour, when we were finally escorted to our table. Inside. We pointed out that we had asked for an outdoor table, and back to the bar we went, assuming it would be quick. The bartender comped my SO a beer, and there we sat for another 15 minutes, imagining what it was going to be like to finally put food in our mouths and wondered about the empty tables and if we had been forgotten. We were pretty sure that was the case, as parties arriving after were seated already. Finally we were at our table and ready to order immediately. One parm and one ravioli. Another 15 minutes and the waitress comes to say that there is no more ravioli. I wanted to tell her to bring us 4 loaves of bread or I'd commence to gnaw on her arm. I did not say that. I ordered the Marsala. The food came. It was fine. Perfectly adequate but not completely delicious (considering how hungry we were, the napkins would have tasted ok). The fries were not so good, but I cleaned my plate. Most Italian restaurants- even those who don't charge $20 a plate for chicken parm- load you up and you have leftovers. Not so the case with Johnny's. Yes, I was starving, but the portion was perfect for a 125 lb female (which, luckily, I am. Boyfriend could have eaten twice what he was given). The staff was friendly. The atmosphere was nice. But, all in all, we arrived at 7:45 on a not-busy Tuesday and were not served for about an hour and a half and the meals were not fabulous and on the smaller side. 2 or 3 stars, definitely not 4. read more

I give this Resturant only for the excellent service by our waitress. We went to dinner on a Thursday Nite, a little busy so we sat at the bar to have a drink, nothing out of the ordinary but couldn't transfer the tab to our dinner bill ?! We ordered our food and took a bite into our appetizer, finding a long dark hair wrapped around the cheese and tomatoes, our waitress handled it immediately and brought us another. Dinner came and we had similar dishes so we asked the runner twice to make sure we had the correct dishes, 2 bites in we realized we in fact did not have the right dishes. Now at this point I would have expected to see the Resturant manager, remember the hair, no management personal in site so I went on a hunt. She follows me back to the table and we had to relay our experience to her as she claimed to know nothing of our adventures. She apologized and offered one free dessert, are you kidding !! I said no, demanding they made our main course from scratch, to go and take care of our bill. Well....... We had a dessert brought to our table, ok And also a bill, insult to injury while we didn't get charged for dinner we did have to pay for the remade app. Silly me, why did I think we shouldn't of paid anything. Needless to say we won't return and hmmmm retelling our tale, I wonder which of our friends will visit ??? read more

NY PIZZA? No way, not a chance. What a waste! $3.50 for a slice that goes into a triangle box twice it's size. Sauce is no better than some jar sauce. It's a wait to boot. Throw your slice money in a slot... read more

Great Italian food that makes you feel like family is cooking it for you. The helpings are generous, the prices are acceptable and the variety of food is pretty impressive. read more

I went in with my 8 year old last Thursday night around 6 for dinner before a show at Proctors'. Didn't have a reservation, but was able to get in pretty much right away. The group next to us told us they had reservations 3 nights in a row. The restaurant itself was very nice on the inside. Service was very fast, very attentive. Our meal was also out very quickly. The food was well above average, not quite excellent in terms of temperature, texture and flavor. I had a sausage and meatballs over ziti. Prices for my meal and my childs meal were also fair. If we were back in the area we would certainly consider going again. read more

Sorry, but when you order lasagna at an Italian restaurant and it comes with mushy noodles and no sign of ricotta cheese, it's tough to give a thumbs up. In addition, the "homemade mozzarella " is not what it should be, and the bread is frozen something or other that was warmed up. Not good. If you want great Italian nearby, try Chianti in Saratoga Springs. Fabulous. Johnny's does make a good Margarita, and eating on the patio out front is nice in the summer. That's about the extent of the positives. read more

Slow service. Mixed up order. Refused any sort of apology or reimbursement for hours long delays and wrong order. Ruined a very special occasion. Will never go to this restaurant again. read more

On June 6 MY Husband had a delicious lunch and Noah was our waiter. First off he never brought our salads, or bread. I had to keep asking him for the bread, and some butter. He never brought butter as I explained we do not like the oil/vinegar dip. Our lunch was delivered nice and hot very good. Also, we needed beverages refilled, My Husband finally spotted him, flagged him down to ask for drinks. Noah never came back voluntarily to our table to ask if everything was ok! I suggested to him to write all his customers orders from now on because he was not attentive to our needs. We did tip 20% because he was trying, but looked very tired out. read more

Got takeout from Johnnys. Lobster fra Diavlo and linguini with clams were great, even taken to go. One of the better Italian meals we have had in the area. read more