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    The Excelsior Pub

    4.4 (67 reviews)
    InexpensivePubs, American
    Closed 3:00 pm - 12:00 am (Next day)
    Updated 1 month ago

    The Excelsior Pub Photos

    Business Info

    THE EXCELSIOR PUB ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Happy hour specials
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - The Excelsior Pub

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    Garbage plate
    Bruce M.

    Slowly slid into this this bar.First impression: friendly, clean. Kind of a unique place, As they serve items from around New York State. Me & my boyz Grabbed a couple beers & shot some darts in the back. Laughing joking having a good time. Talk to some people that were there, they were friendly. Little while later a couple hot babes arrived. That's when we decided to get some food and chill for a little longer. Ordered wings and a garbage plate. Yummmy. Very pleased with the Delectable delights we were given. After a few more refreshing brews, some more conversations We finished up our dart game and headed out to the big hogs parked by the road. With a loud Screech we full throttled out of there, knowing we will probably stop in again soon.

    A 2oz. pour of bourbon from Black Dirt Distillery out of Warwick, NY.
    Bill Z.

    I was told by a friend that Excelsior Pub would have a large selection of New York State whiskeys and bourbons. I don't know if it's the absolute best in the state, as I still want to visit more in NYC, Buffalo, Rochester, etc., but as far as I'm concerned it's the place to go for them in the Capital District. And the pours are very reasonably priced too for both 1oz. and 2 oz. pours. The pinball machines in the back are a nice touch. Would you like some New York State foods to go with your drinks? They've got those too, though I was expecting Utica Greens to be on their menu (maybe it's a higher maintenance item because of the produce??). In nicer weather, consider the seats outside as well. Excelsior!

    medium wings
    Corie Y.

    this little dive bar is all things NYS! fantastic beer selection, good wings, a great bartender. what more could you want? They have the rochester garbage plate, mozz and melba, spedies, beef on weck, of course wings, all NYS specialties. The entire party i was with ordered garbage plate. everyone noted that they were pretty authentic. I lived in ROC for a few years so i skipped the garbage plate and wanted to try their buffalo wings. i also tried the mozz and melba, cuz fried cheese. The wings were super crispy and the sauce was traditional. Blue cheese was not homemade. they were surprisingly good though. the mozz stocks were nothing special, skip them. The beer list is all NYS brewery's, and great craft choices. This place is tiny, and fills up quickly. but it's great beer and pretty good eats.

    Garbage Plate - beneath the meat sauce, 2 burgers, mac salad, & sweet potato fries.
    Roger K.

    Oh what memories returned upon entering the Excelsior Pub. It was over 40 years ago that we first entered the establishment (on separate visits with our respective fellow workers, never as a couple) officially known as The Calumet Restaurant, but popularly called Beansie's, in recognition of the owner. Lunch then consisted of a sandwich (or even a half of a sandwich) and a quart-bottle of beer. Now, on a late Saturday afternoon, there were no State workers crowding the place, no quart bottles on the bar or on the half-dozen of high-top tables, and only three patrons at the bar enjoying the seventeen taps of craft beers brewed exclusively within the boundaries of New York State. Add two dart boards, gender neutral restrooms (because Yelp now asks), and one pinball machine and you've got the makings for the perfect neighborhood watering hole. Starting with pints of Crossroads' Lane 4 Session IPA ($7/ 4.2% ABV/ Athens) and Flagship's Oyster Stout ($8/ 5.4% ABV/ Staten Island) we learn that our bartender Sarah is also the cook. Which is only appropriate since the kitchen behind the bar barely has room for another worker. (And according to Facebook, as of this writing, she also holds the record for high score on their Road Show pinball at 351,741,710.) The food menu also leans toward NYS native dishes. And it is with that in mind that my wife ordered a Beef on Weck (Buffalo, $10.99) and I had my first ever Garbage Plate (Rochester, $9.99). The roast beef is thinly sliced and piled high on a Kummelweck roll and ramekins of Aus Jus and horseradish sauce help to make it a pretty authentic Beef on Weck. However, truth be known, neither of us has ever had a Beef on Weck while in Buffalo, so it might be unfair to say we've had better elsewhere in NYS. With that said, we'd definitely return here to enjoy one again along with their great selection of beers. I also don't want to overlook the excellent chips that accompanied the sandwich. If you don't know what a Garbage Plate is, it traditionally consists of two of the following, home fries, beans, and macaroni salad, along with anything from burgers or hot dogs or sausage, or steak, to chicken, or fish or even eggs, and finally topped with mustard, onions and a hot sauce. Excelsior offers a choice of a variety of items to let you "make it your own." Since I didn't specify what I wanted included, I was provided a plate (actually a Styrofoam carryout) consisting of sweet potato fries, macaroni salad and two hamburger patties all covered in a meat sauce. Bottom line... it was pretty good. It was also a lot of food! (I should also mention that there is a vegetarian version of this dish called the Compost Pile.) Even though it may never make it on to Guy's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, we need to return now and try their Wings, Spiedies, and Mozzarella Sticks with Melba sauce.

    Garbage Plate
    Greg S.

    Your basic little dive bar, located in Albany, NY. Small, with about 10 seats at the bar, about 4 little tables, and three pinball machines. But it's all about the food, and today I had the Garbage Plate. Home fries, mac salad, two cheeseburgers, two hot dogs, covered in a house meat sauce, mustard, and onions. It was good, nothing stood out, but everything was good. It would definitely be good hangover food. Friendly bar tender, it's worth a visit.

    Amazing beer!
    Kristen H.

    Great ambiance, super service, delicious beer and tasty food! A fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

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    2 years ago

    sketchy part of town ... Good food. waitress was great. Good weck sandwich French fries were good. local establishment

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    5 years ago

    A great "dive bar" I love the Signature NY menu items and drinks. Best garbage plate in the city

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    3 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    5 years ago

    Great pub, great drinks, big variety. Always something fresh on tap and lots of events like trivia to pick from.

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    Ask the Community - The Excelsior Pub

    You might also consider

    The Washington Tavern - Good pickle with my Southern Smash burger.

    The Washington Tavern

    (84 reviews)

    $$

    Eight years ago I came here on a wing tour of the area and liked their food so I put it on my list…read moreto come back. It has taken awhile. We arrived on a Saturday night around 6PM and there were three people at the bar. By the time we left around 7PM, there had been at most nine people including us. Either it was an off night or it is a quiet bar. The bartender was friendly, though he accidently forgot to bring our drinks and I had to remind him 15 minutes later. We ordered wings and loaded fries, and food came up relatively quickly. From what I understand, the kitchen guy was new. It showed in the fries, which were cooked but not crispy at all. It was like eating a loaded baked potato... not bad, but not fries. (They took them off the bill- thank you!). The wings were good and varied in size, though of our 10 Buffalo wings only one was a drumstick. I like flats so it was okay with me, but odd. We later ordered 10 more wings and my wife said she liked the Lemon-Pepper seasoning. They have happy hour specials from 5-8 which is nice, though three items were out by the time we arrived. I would have loved to try their maple-bacon wings but they had no maple syrup. In the room next door was a pool table and it might be fun to play sometime if we come back.

    New owners, new review…read more There was an everchanging group of friends who would gather weekly, prior to Covid, on a Friday evening at an establishment down the street from the Washington Tavern (better known as WT's to regulars) for a drink or two. Once a year on the Saturday before the St. Patrick's Day parade these friends would shift to WT's for what was known as "corned beef day." With new ownership of WT's it was about time that a call was put out to those friends to reunite. WT's was now the ideal place. Arriving on a Thursday at 4:30 we quickly realized that they didn't open until 5PM. They were kind enough to let us have a seat inside until the bar and kitchen were open and operational. They were not aware of our planned gathering so I will not nitpick about any service. In fact, the bartender who also acted as our server did a miraculous job handling the drinks and separate-check food orders for what grew to about 15 people in the backroom by the kitchen. Kitchen staff also did a wonderful job of getting the food out in a respectable time for our unexpected gathering at the start of their day. All the food I saw coming to our table looked inviting - wings; smashburgers; flatbreads; and someone's salad. I had a pint of Guinness with a Southern Smash burger ($16). There was plenty of flavor and a mix of textures as I took my first bite into the soft roll surrounding the smashed beef patty, a crunchy onion ring, fresh leaf lettuce, sliced tomato, American cheese, and a sweet BBQ sauce. Even the pickle spear on the side was tasty. A true surprise was what I believe were house-made potato chips - so crunchy with an herbed dusting that escapes me but helps to make them addictive. I foresee additional gatherings here in our future.

    The Excelsior Pub - pubs - Updated May 2026

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