I stayed one night at the Renaissance because I was overnighting in Albany and it looked close to City Beer Hall which looked good on Yelp. Well that's a confusing sentence. I walked the half block from my hotel room and saw the lighted sign on the building drawing be to City Beer Hall. The bar is old school wood, long tables, and people generally having a good time. I was alone so chose the bar for sitting because that is more convenient for me and the wait staff. The beer menu was long with a few regionals new to me. Too many sours though for my taste, but those are popular now. I am not going to talk about the beers available because those will surely change by the time you read this. I ordered a beer and checked out the food menu. There were some good looking items on the menu, I really wanted a good pizza after my earlier airport pizza debacle, but a whole pizza was too much for one guy. I discussed the food choices with my friendly bartender and settled on the chicken nuggets and a side of fries. The nuggets are hard breaded from thighs and pretty good. The fries were crispy, well seasoned, and overly abundant. Overall the meal was great! It was Thursday night and they had a trivia-like game that was related to Family Feud so I played that. Might have stayed a little later than I should have but the beer was good. I was looking at the beer refrigerator and saw Fiddlehead IPA and asked my bartender about it. He was not really keen on it but that is the best beer they had there, but that is one really good beer. Later I notice that was the beer they were giving you if you ordered the $8 beer and a shot, which is an excellent value! There was some kind of drama this night. There was a lady who first tried to order Jager Bombs for her table and the bartender told her sorry we don't do those so she ordered Tito's shots instead. Well this ended about how you would expect with her losing a credit card and blaming everyone in sight for her problems. The bartender and manager were S-tier professionals managing her and keeping the food and beer flowing to the rest of us. Guys, thank you for your service! If you are in downtown Albany and you are hungry or thirsty hit up the City Beer Hall. read more

See all

I'm conflicted about this review but, here goes: upon entering the restaurant it smelled "dirty" and it was, in fact, pretty dirty. There was dust collected around on windowsills and walls throughout the restaurant. The while building was run-down. The employees were mostly indifferent except the food runner-he was pleasant. The food, however, was fabulous! The meatball sub had delicious bread. The wings were crispy and flavorful. The veggie burger and hot honey pizza were also very tasty. I had to overlook the cleanliness and hope the kitchen had higher standards! read more

I was staying at the Renaissance down the street for a conference at the Albany Capital Center. I needed a quick dinner before I went to do more work in my room. The City Beer Hall fits the bill. Located on Howard Street, the City Beer Hall has the local hangout vibe for professionals in town like me and locals wanting a beer and a pizza and fun times. The building at one point housed the city's old telephone company, and now is a cool pizza bar joint with a speakeasy that wasn't open when I went. The large room that houses the bar and long communal tables with high ceilings and large windows is like a Biergarten that is works great for happy hours and evening hangouts. Pizza wise, I was pleased with their Hot Honey Pizza that balances sweet, savory, and spicy flavors between its delicious crust, pepperoni, creamy ricotta, tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh basil, and a lovely drizzle of hot honey. I enjoyed the pizza with a Ommegang Blueberry Falls that was a "Blueberry Kolsch" whose crisp and slightly sweet flavors balanced well against the spicy and savory I was noshing. The only downside was I found the service behind the bar to be a bit slow and distracting from conversations with other customers. I felt I was forgotten until I finally flagged for the check. But overall, the City Beer Hall was a solid experience highlighted by their hot honey pizza. read more

See all

Halloween at the City Beer Hall is fun. The party was supposed to start at 10pm but as with most parties it took a while to get underway. The DJ and music were great from the get go but it took a while for the people to dance. There's no cover charge which was great. The costumes were fantastic! So creative. But given the fact that I don't photograph people without permission, not sure what I can show you. By 11:11pm the party was underway. A couple of astronauts, a giant Neimo fish, Sailor Moon, Pikachu, Willy Wonka and a giant can of Spam were among those who took to the dance floor. The bartender was awesome as was the young woman running the Photo Booth. Thanks City Beer Hall for a great party! read more

The City Beer Hall - Dance floor without showing all he people. - Bars Near Me - Albany, New York

Great little find in Albany! The City Beer Hall is slightly off the beaten path but definitely worth checking out. Loved the communal seating concept, although I grabbed a seat at the bar. Enjoyed a few pints on tap with an excellent crispy chicken lunch. Great atmosphere, food, and beer selection. Highly recommend! read more

An Albany staple with long communal benches, solid pub grub, and two dozen draft pours. Great spot for a patio pint as well.

The day bartender was fabulous. The kid who came on afterwards, phew. On the cell, talking to co worker and just completely ignoring the bar... our beers sat empty for 45 mins. Just absolutely ridiculous. Probably the worst bartender I've ever had ..you're losing money with that clown behind the bar.. good luck and the best, hopefully you'll fire him and make money in the Albany that's rebuilding.. read more

The City Beer Hall - Bars Near Me - Albany, New York

Stopped her while visiting for a conference and it was super busy for trivia. Lots of large tables and a big bar. Trivia was fun. I didn't get any food but it looked like great bar food. Super neat inside! read more

I had just gotten in to Albany and needed something to eat. The City Beer Hall popped up on Yelp so I stopped by and sat at the bar. It wasn't busy and the bartenders were attentive and polite. I got a small peach cider and the caprese salad, add bacon. The vibe inside is cool with natural light and high ceilings, communal tables giving it that classic beer hall feel. The salad was really interesting - definitely not your typical classic Caprese salad, but I liked the addition of the arugula. They brought the bacon out on the side, which was totally fine by me. It was a big portion and I wasn't able to finish the whole salad, but I liked the freshness and the creamy cheese. I'm glad I got to experience this spot and I'd recommend it to any beer lover! read more

See all

Stopped in here for lunch while visiting Albany for the day. It was a great choice - friendly service, good food and great beer selection. Seems like a place that workers in the area go to for lunch or after work get togethers. read more

I really like what they've done with the food at CBH. Blue Pizza running their kitchen and putting out great wood-fired pizza, among other things (like some CBH classics) was a great choice. I also enjoy the updates they've made to their cocktail menu, including the more than handful of NA options. This summer they've been doing all you can eat focaccia Fridays, $5 per person for a 90 minute limit -- the focaccia is delicious and comes in very generous serving sizes. My "all you can eat" usually stops at the second slice. Special shout out to their scratch made mozzarella sticks which have a great crispy breading and are served with Melba, which is the only way to eat a mozz stick IMO. I love having CBH in walking distance and have been really impressed with the changes they've been making, kudos to Kurtis and his team! read more

The City Beer Hall - Bars Near Me - Albany, New York

See all

I was excited to try the new food at the city beer hall: Blu Pizza. Especially after seeing some of the pies come out of the kitchen. Unfortunately, the entire experience was a let down. 1 of the 2 pizzas, the blu & greens, tasted good, but the 3 appetizers were embarrassingly sad. The pizza is extremely thin. $12 for 3 meatballs, just okay, the "charcuterie" had a few slices of 1 kind of cheese and 1 type of the cheapest grocery store style salami: nothing else on the board was edible.There was some cabbage? and shaved raw carrots? Not pickled, not spiced, nothing. The burrata wasn't great and just had the cheap grocery store cherry tomatoes around it, and 3 slices of plain bread toasted. Between the service being super strange and subpar (I'll spare most of the details) and the price point for portion/value, I feel like this won't last. I was certainly disappointed and we had a table of 5, for a birthday, when it wasn't busy and our drinks sat empty most of the meal. We would place a drink order, a beer, and 10-15 mins later, have to re ask multiple times: the reply was I'll check on that for you or should be coming shortly. This happened the entire time we were there (to all 5 of us, at different times) and the bar and bartender was NOT busy. read more

See all

The City Beer Hall was just a couple of blocks away from my hotel in downtown Albany, NY. It was delicious. They were in a lunch rush so we had to go up to the bartenders to order something while sitting in the dining area, but they were on top of it! I had the blu hall salad with arugula, pickled onion, cherry tomato, carrot, and a white balsamic vinaigrette. For drinks, I loved the Deschutes Fresh Squeezed wheat beer. The ambiance was a young working folk vibe and very busy. I would have given it a 5/5 except I did kinda want to be waited on and linger a bit. No problem, I will be back. read more

This is a lively spot for dinner, within walking distance from MVP arena. Expect a crowd and to be seated closely to other parties on family style benches. The food is excellent! Very tasty and reasonable priced. Servers are very busy but friendly. read more

The City Beer Hall - Hot Honey Pizza - Bars Near Me - Albany, New York

The food here was surprisingly delicious. The owner makes his own bread, which is always a plus. It's nothing pretty or frilly, so stay focused on the food and you should be OK. read more

City Beer Hall is such a great place for dinner! A group of my friends and I came here and we all enjoyed our meals! The grilled chicken sandwich was fantastic and the hot honey pizza was also delicious! We really loved the garlic dip that came on the side. I really enjoyed the menu that Blu Pizza has put together. A lot of my friends had the burger which they also enjoyed so I think you really can't go wrong with anything on the menu and their side of chips was also a great pairing. This restaurant also has a great selection of drinks. The cocktail was definitely strong but tasted great and they have a fun selection of beers on tap and can too. Our waitress was super friendly and everything came put together and very timely! Overall I definitely recommend this place for a fun night with friends. read more

See all

Had an amazing time. Overall excellent service and good food. Will come back. And we highly recommend them.

I met a co-worker for dinner here. Burgers and salad were extremely well priced and upscale to boot. The salad was especially good, burger was decent. Amazing beer selection on tap. Only real ding is I felt like they were a bit understaffed, I never was asked for a refill on my beverage while sitting at the bar and both me and my colleague struggled to get attention to place the food order or drink orders. The food was much appreciated, especially at this price point; I am getting tired of being abused by fancy burgers in the $16 - $18 range and this was as good or better at a much lower price. Kudos to City Beer Hall for treating customers right. J.Ja read more

The City Beer Hall - beer hall burger, beer hall house salad - Bars Near Me - Albany, New York

I highly recommend this place! It had a cool vibe. The margherita pizza was really good. Service was awesome. Great beer menu. Cider was delicious. read more

I came back here on a work trip to Boston after having previously visited about a month and a half earlier, and I can confidently say that this is one of the greatest restaurants I've ever stepped foot in. My first time here I tried their pizza, and it blew me away. The second time, I tried their wings, and they were among the greatest I'd ever had. From now on, I will personally make a detour to come here when I'm making a drive to the Northeast. Great food, great atmosphere, and great service. read more

The City Beer Hall - buffalo wings, hot honey pizza - Bars Near Me - Albany, New York

Nice old building with wooden interiors, so that's already a plus for me. Rustic, quaint, with nice beer selection. Another plus. Wasn't that big of a food selection but the portions are big and surprisingly taste good. Those chicken nuggets were fried perfectly and seasoned well. Definitely several notches above fast food nuggets, highly recommend the nuggets with your beer, you won't be disappointed. As you can see the portions are HUGE! And they taste good too! Awesome. They did have a free personal pizza with your drink, . If you are hungry and strapped for cash, the beer and pizza would hold you. But if you want tasty grub with your drinks, you can skip it. Definitely a place to visit again. Service is outstanding! read more

See all

I stopped by The City Beer Hall in Albany since it was one of the few dinner spots that were open after 9 PM on a weekday. I tried the grilled chicken sandwich, which was quite good. Come for the casual vibe, kind service, casual meal and a great selection of drinks. read more

The City Beer Hall - Bars Near Me - Albany, New York

See all

Our first visit here won't be the last! We had the hot honey pizza (sans pepperoni ), fried pickles (to die for) beer and the Chocolate Old Fashioned. Arguably the most unhealthy meal we've eaten in years and completely delicious! Throw in a cool historic building, great patio at night and friendly service and this is a winner! read more

Alright, we've frequented this establishment on several occasions. The place is spacious and clean. Newer menu doesn't disappoint. Main issue was the young bartender. One 3 occasions we went on "Family Fued" night and the same bartender was there (don't recall his name). He was the least attentive bar that we've come across in Albany (and we go out once a week to different bars). We had to flag him down for EVERY drink! Not once did he come by and ask if we needed anything as our glasses were empty. I failed to mention, there were 6 people at the bar and we were 3 of them. Pay attention to your bar young man and stop gabbing with your friends at the end of the bar. read more

Food came in a timely manner even with a preconcert crowd starting to come in. Our waitress and hostess were very nice. Our beer hall burgers were perfect! Neat looking place, wish we had more time to hang out. read more

The City Beer Hall - beer hall burger and we upgraded to fries - Bars Near Me - Albany, New York

The food was terrible but the staff and vibe were cool. Also had a good selection of beer. Don't get the burger. Pizza looked good.

We wanted to find a place in town that was not like anything we seen in any other town. This place fit our search, the list of beers on tap made it so hard to find a favorite. I gladly would have paid to have a tasting of them all. In the end had a great ale from NY and loved it. Paired with a great kale Caesar salad and the vodka pizza it was a true experience this town gave us while sitting on the patio. If you get the chance you have to experience this place on the patio at night, our server was so nice she went out of her way to make sure we had the right beers we wanted and offered us tastings to find what we liked. This is a must visit experience in this cool city of Albany. read more

The City Beer Hall - Loved a great view of the sky while enjoying our meal - Bars Near Me - Albany, New York

See all

The food was sooo delicious! The watermelon burrata salad, french toast and bowl was so good. Definitely a good place to eat. Great service! read more

See all

We had dinner relatively late on a Sunday evening, about 20 minutes before the kitchen closed. I had ribs, the other diner had the half chicken. I subbed out asparagus instead of fries with my half rack of ribs. The chicken came with fries. I had a single can of Apple Pie cider from 9 pin cidery and my dining partner had a soft drink. The ribs were ok. These weren't anything adjacent to fall of the bone. I felt like a dog chewing away on each rib to get the meat off. The ribs were fatty which probably aids flavor and I thought the BBQ sauce was great. The asparagus were incredibly thin spears, thinner than the slimmest French-cut green beans. They had a good grill flavor but it would have taken about 20 of these spaghetti thin spears to make a filling side and I only got about 10. The half chicken was seasoned well and quite generous in size. The fries were AMAZING. I don't know what they fry them in (I probably don't want to know) but they were rich and almost creamy and served nice and hot. The leg part of the half chicken was very red and seemed a little soft. It was probably cooked and safe but the soft texture was off-putting so after I tried it and wasn't totally confident it was cooked he just didn't eat that part. There was plenty of chicken even ignoring the drumstick. Based on the food alone this might have been an ok meal but there were two issues that held it back. First, our server was snippy. She seemed overwhelmed since she was seemingly the only server working. When we finished dinner I asked if there were any deserts and her response 'the kitchen closed 20 minutes ago' was delivered dripping with disdain. I knew the kitchen was closed by then but I imagined that it was at least POSSIBLE the deserts were something the servers put together without kitchen assistance. Still, I felt reasonably ok about our visit until the bill came out. 72 dollars! My jaw dropped, I couldn't believe that this meal was 72 dollars pre-tip. My asparagus sub was a 5 dollar up charge making my half rack of ribs 31 dollars (!). The can of cider was 9 dollars. The chicken seemed reasonable at 24 dollars. This is a combination of 'welcome to 2024' and unfortunately, based on our previous experience, the high price of eating in downtown Albany. read more

Love this place. It's been here since I moved here over 11 years ago and is still here. The reason is it is just an amazing place. The beer selections and the food is unbelievable. Come here for a few food drinks and leave here with a full stomach of mouthwatering tasty and satisfying grub. It is not your typical bar food. This stuff is 5 star quality. Probably why it has lasted. The servers are all so friendly. The place is spacious, with a HUGE bar and dining area, plus rooftop for the summer months. This is one of my favorite places here in Albany. read more

See all

Stopped in to meet a colleague for a drink and a bite to eat. I sincerely wish I had more time to enjoy this establishment. The smash burger was delicious and the menu is a la carte. I ordered the juice bomb IPA. Fortunately Monday nights was half off burger night and so glad I splurged with the one I got as it was delicious. The ambiance was really cool and was within walking distance from the renaissance hotel. read more

The City Beer Hall - Bars Near Me - Albany, New York

The food was GREAT!! My absolute favorite was the hot honey pizza. The drinks are okay just really strong. Great place for bigger groups and friends! read more

See all

Great pub with amazing wings and really solid pizza. The atmosphere is warm and lively, and the staff are especially friendly and welcoming. Definitely worth a visit, we'll be going back! read more

Arrived on Sunday and Everything was closed up except for this place. Good selection on beer and cocktails. The atmosphere was cool. The food was such a wonderful surprise. I ordered beer chorizo mussels, excellent and the carrot roasted salad with fresh fruit. The mussels were so good I asked for extra bread to sop up the extra sauce. The salad was beautifully plated and loved their choice of fruit. I would definitely come back. read more

See all

The vibe of the bar is great and just LOVE the old school historic wooden look at feel. Also really enjoyed the live music set up, got to see 2 different acts, which was welcomed! Not intrusive and great sound. The drinks were fantastic! My compatriots ordered beers and I went with a seasonal Manhattan, and it was really delicious. Our server was super helpful and gave great recommendations. While we did get the pizza tickets, we did not take advantage, but I do love that business model. The brussel sprouts and mac and cheese were both separately some amazing food and very much enjoyed. The bacon on the sprouts mix was so tasty and meaty, the dressing was excellent as well. The mac and cheese was a standout, I'm a huge fan of shells and the cheese sauce was SO creamy and delicious. Very cool spot and would come back. read more

The City Beer Hall - Bars Near Me - Albany, New York

The atmosphere is great for a date night! The food is great; the pizza and the wings are awesome!

Literally at the restaurant as I write this review. Wait staff are ignoring us. We've been sitting at a table in the main dining area by the bar for half an hour without having a drink order taken. Are you serious? read more

We were stayed at the Renaissance Albany and this is literally down the street within walking distance. The main part of the beer hall was packed and very noisy. I was thankful that we were placed in the back closer to the kitchen because it was quiet. You could almost say you were hidden, but that is okay, the noise was more tolerable. Service: decent, not too attentive, but you only waited a few moments when your beer was empty. The young girl that was hostess this night was barely functioning. I had to greet her and then she finally asked how many. But we are promptly taken to our table. Food: Ordered the burger and a side salad. Sides are all purchasable items. The house salad was very good. The server even suggested it over the fries because of the homemade dressing. And she was right, this salad and the dressing was super delicious. The burger was super delicious too and served piping hot and a great compliment to the beer. The free pizza that you have to go to the kitchen and order yourself was meh. I would recommend that you just ask when the person orders a beer if they would like the free pizza and give it to the customer instead of having them wait awkwardly in the kitchen on their own. The pizza is a very thin crust with sauce and cheese. It tasted like a frozen pizza. The kids would love it. Beer: Reissdorf Kolsch was delicous. Full of body and just the right pairing with the burger. The George is nice too, but I prefer the Reissdorf. I forgot the other one, but there was a beer from grape juice. Oh, that was just bad, it had overwhelming grape juice smell and the taste was like drinking Dimetapp cough syrup. It was undrinkable. Bathroom: Women's is tucked away by the kitchen. It is small and cleanliness was just okay. read more

See all

Let's start with Hill Farmstead on tap. Abner and Arthur during my visit - you can't beat that! The menu is diverse and fun. I went with the carrot and chickpea salad which was really good - whole roasted carrots, crisp arugula, chickpeas and a light dressing. Lots of good flavors there. My colleagues went for the other salads as well as the French onion soup and enjoyed. The space is warm and convivial - it reminded me of a rustic tavern. The joint was packed on Tuesday night. Highly recommend! Service was superb. read more

I contracted for a bridal shower here recently. It was amazing! I chose the upstairs marble bar. It was beautiful and perfect. The attention to detail was top notch. They even had an electric pump for balloons! If you are looking for a place for an event whether it be small or large, consider this place. They even have their own private parking lot in downtown Albany. I've Yelped! this place before and it had been a while since I've been here, and it did not disappoint. The food was exactly as ordered and it was plentiful and delicious. The staff was super friendly and attentive and really made a heartfelt effort to ensure the shower was perfect. Thanks Kurtis and staff for a great day! read more

See all