Cafe Hollywood

My favorite thing about Café Hollywood is the space itself, more so than the food and drink. These were, for me, fine but not spectacular. It would certainly be a place I’ll go again, but more for enjoyment of the atmosphere. I was with a very large group, and we were easily accommodated. Drinks were okay and served quite quickly. We didn’t have enough time to sample the food. If I’m here again I’ll want to try their burgers.

Usually busy and a less then desirable crowd, I only go here when one of my friends makes me or if we can only stay for a brief time.

I’ve never been to Albany before, but wandering around town and landing on this place for dinner and a drink was a great choice. The bartender was super sweet, the food was definitely worth the money (delicious and a lot of food), and it had a good atmosphere. If you’re looking for a good bar and good food in Albany, definitely stop here.

I always have a great time playing pool and having a few craft beers. the staff is always nice and allowed me to have a small sample of some of their new selection that I wasn’t so sure about, but it turned out great. The new renovation makes this place look more open and spacious. The new placement of the dart is out of the way and there’s always room upstairs to play pool.

Good burger (love that i can get it with tots). Good draft beer selection. Big place with upstairs, patio and a pool table. Only been on a lazy Sunday, not sure what it’s like when busy

I ordered a jack and coke. I got a house whiskey and coke. I saw the bar manager pour this drink from a jack bottle. When I confronted the bar manager, he said there was nothing wrong with the drink. Either it was a bad bottle, or they’re filling mid range bottles with house whiskey. You know what I think.

Yes, it’s kinda divey, but in a good way. I love the back patio, the drinks taste fine, and the service is usually decent. The food is also pretty good. What more can you ask for?

This is a pretty decent bar to go in the summer time. There is a rather large back patio area where one can sit and converse without having to yell over background noise. The food is also pretty decent although not excellent. They have a decent burger and appetizers.

I love this place! I have been going there for years and still enjoy going there. In the summer they have the huge back patio which has great atmosphere. And a smaller front patio which is great for people watching. And you can bring your dog out front. They have very reasonable happy hour prices and a huge selection of craft beer. The food is also excellent. It’s nothing fancy. But it’s bar food done just the way you want it. Great burgers. Even better wings. The staff is always super friendly and accommodating. On top of the great food and huge beer selection they have two pool tables and three electronic dart boards.

Wanna grab a burger on lark? This is the place to go. With the first bite I could tell it was fresh. These guys know how to cook a burger, nice and juice. Feeling different? Try the soprano burger, to die for!
The back deck is probably the best on lark. It’s huge, fancy bulbs and ponds!
The beer selection is huge! Craft beer galore!
Went with a large party and the check got messed up. The staff was great, walked us through it and the problem was resolved in no time.

Got an IPA, sweet potato fries and burger, which was pretty tasty. I dig the outdoor patio space and laid back atmosphere. Seems like a nice, chill after work spot.

Café Hollywood was one of the first bars I hit during football season with the boyfriend. I’ve never had a bad experience here. The bartenders and waiters/​waitresses have always provided good customer service, although when it gets busy, it’s harder to get a hold of them. I love the fact that they have the backyard area where you can go and get some air if it’s getting too crowded/​stuffy for you. And if downstairs is too crowded, you can always go upstairs to shoot a quick game of pool or play a game of darts.
Their food is pretty average, and their drinks are pretty standard (although they do have a pretty great selection of beers on tap), but I don’t have any complaints. It does get a bit loud though, so if you’re looking for a place to relax after a long day, this probably won’t be your best bet. But if you’ve had a couple of drinks and just looking to have a good time that night, this is a great sports bar to hit.

Really good, chill, attentive bartenders here. Usually a pretty good crowd that plays good music, meaning more rock and metal than generic hip-​hop or r&b. Since school is back in session the crowd has gotten a tad more obnoxious, but that can’t be helped. Decent darts setup. Really excellent bar food and an awesome patio, if you come early enough. Definitely my favorite place on Lark.

It’s a bar: It’s noisy. When school is in session, you might see some frat douche getting thrown out when your walking in. Sometimes the toilet paper on Saturday nights is on the floor rather than on the roll. It has decent food– magical food that changes into «gooood» tasting after you having two to four drinks.
I will say the staff is very nice. Once upon a time, I left my whole purse here after a night of too much fun and all my items were safe when i manged to recollect myself the next morning.
What I like: Café Hollywood is good for Happy Hour Monday– Friday ($ 3 well drinks!) The patio during late Spring to fall is sweet hang out spot — It’s open until 11 pm. There is a pool table. If you like sports, there are t.v.‘s by the bar. Also, there a electric jukebox music player thingy that somehow manages to steal all my singles on Friday nights.
Everyone knows your alcohol tastes way better after listening to some one hit wonder from the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Went here Sunday the 1^st of July, met a friend for lunch and mainly beers, went out to the back patio and man was i blown away on the size and quietness of the space. We both order beers and for lunch I had the spring rolls and the Santa Fe salad, and my friend had the friend green beans and the bratwurst. we both order the crab cake sliders at first but was told they were out of them and it would take awhile for the chef to make a new batch. All was good and it was just a great space to be outside in. I would def go back again and on a Sunday afternoon.

I stopped by around 5pm on Friday 6-​Jan-​12 for happy hour and no one there was happy. 6 people hanging out and the place was slow. Talked the the friendly bartendar and he said that the place will be much better after 9pm. So I left for the movies.
Got back around 11pm after hitting Garney’s (thats another post) and the bartendar was right this place was packed and doing well. I stopped by here because I was told its a little bit of a meat market and I am looking for some action.
Went to the bar got a Shot a Jack and a Sam Adams and worked my way to the Pool Table. If you come to this place to play pool you are a fool. THe table is un even and the Cue are below avg. With that I played 2 games winnign the 1^st. Then being out of beer I headed back to the front and got a refill. Got into a couple of dart games and talkin to a little blonde. Now I am not into Blondes but she was into me so I talked to her, bought her a beer, played some darts and by 2:30am we were walking together to the Pizza place down on the corner. Got the number and a nice good nite kiss. If her Roommate did not play security who knows.
I had a real good time for 50.00 with tip on the tap. Music was loud but if it is too loud you are too old. It was hard to walk around but made it easy to bump into the ladies and stike up a conversation. Restroom was trash and some dude was face 1^st in the bowl. Ahhhh College days. This place is a strong 3.5 stars, the extra ½ star is for the number I got.
One huge Con, someone kept busting ass in the bar. I mean heavy industral ass gas that would clear an area. It happen twice while I was there and the bartendar said that someone has been doing it all night.

Came on a Thursday night to watch the strangely facinating Tim Tebow defeat my much maligned New York Jets.
The beer on tap was good but more expensive than I remember (6.50 a pint). There were no drink specials either to cut the rising costs. It was also crowded. The music was mostly top 10 junk and way too loud considering there is no dance floor here. The clientele was a little edgier (probably the UAlbany Long Island folk rooting for their team-​not that I have a problem with that), and thus the chill vibe I like here on summer visits was gone. More of a college crowd on Thursday nights I suppose.
Late ‘90s punk (Social Distortion, Less Than Jake, Bouncing Souls) came on toward the end of the night which was refreshing, but still much too deafening.
I think I will stick to this place for summer time patio only.

Café Hollywood is an interesting place. Always a different crowd there, so you never know what to expect. I have nothing but high praise for the good though. I was out and and out with the guys and remembered that I hadn’t had dinner a couple drinks in. So I decided to get some fries with chili on them. Maybe it was the couple of the drinks speaking, but they were good quality, a decent portion, and a very fair price. As a PBR fan, I know a thing or two about a good value. So why am I dinging this place a star? Well, they close at 3. They’re still making good money, jukebox is pumping, but then you have to scramble far and wide to get your last hour of drink on.

I go here during the week for happy hour b/​c:
1. $ 3 Sierra Nevada on tap
2. Sit outside (in front or in back if you have a bigger group)
3. I can’t go to Lark Tavern anymore…
4. It’s closer than Lionheart
Draught is a little on the warm side compared to other bars in the area, so you have to drink it fast, and the food is good if you stick to things you can’t screw up (anything fried…)

Went here for drinks during larkfest last year. They had the back deck/​patio area opened and I was really surprised at how nice it was back there! It’s nicely shaded by a canopy of trees and has a lot of seating. It’s not the classiest of joints but would be good for some drinks in the summer after work.
I always get mad at bars that have a single-​stall women’s restroom, that’s just unreasonable.