Capitol Melts

* Owners /​workers of Capitol Melts please read this review *
Capitol Melts has such a great business model. Specialty grilled cheese sandwiches at a great price.
The location is great! Downtown Albany which is walking distance for a ton of people. My wife and I were able to walk there from work and we were immediately pleased with the appearance. It was clean and fairly cozy for a lobby of an office building. Before my food arrived, I kept thinking how great it would be to have this is our office.
Once the food arrived our experience went downhill fast. It was our first time here so we decided to be fat kids and ordered three melts to share, a ham & cheese, BBQ pulled pork and a bacon cheeseburger. Ok ok ok let’s break this down. There are really two aspects to these melts.
1. The bread: something was seriously off about the bread. I was pleased to see the size was slightly larger than regular white bread but it tasted charred and not right. It didn’t look greasy but I felt the need to wipe my hands every time I touched it. *more about the grease later.
2. The fillings: Everything inside the melts was ground or at least chopped fairly fine. The ham was the most identifiable but the other two melts unfortunately looked like cat food. My wife kept asking me what the white pieces were in the bacon cheeseburger and I continued to tell her they were onions. To be honest, I had no idea. I just wanted her to keep eating so I didn’t try to finish it all. I don’t like to waste.
In the end the melts tasted too funky to where we threw away the equivalent of 1 whole sandwich.
Side note: We also ordered tater tots and 2 cans of soda. They were good and we finished all of that. Also the staff is amazing. They are the main reason for one star, the other star is for me loving the business model.
Grease: I felt full when I left but within the hour I realized that wasn’t a feeling of being full my stomach was full of grease and pissed off. It quickly turned to heart burn and had to ask a friend for some medication. I didn’t recognize the name but I didn’t care and took it anyway. I needed relief!
All and all: Great idea but I’m afraid this business will mainly get first time customers and in order to be successful you need repeat business. I’m sure there are limitations to your kitchen bc it’s in a lobby but you have to go back to the basics. Please do it for the grilled cheese lovers. White bread, butter, American cheese and a frying pan. Branch off that. Make some BBQ pulled pork in a crock pot and add it in. I love your idea but dislike everything about the melts… it literally hurts.

My husband and I were excited to check this place out but it was very disappointing.
Located in the lobby of an office building, it is clean and modern with a handful of tables. The menu is on a flat screen tv behind the counter which is kind of awkward.
We decided to share a few sandwiches — the ham and cheese, cheeseburger, and pulled pork with tater tots on the side. Everything was bland and boring but each sandwich was also disappointing in it’s own unique way. The cheeseburger was greasy (and sometimes gristly), the ham and cheese was flavorless and the pulled pork was dry and lacking that saucy tang you would expect. The tater tots were fine — dry and boring. No fountain soda — only cans.
I honestly recall better grilled cheeses (and tater tots) in college. What’s really disappointing is that with such a simple concept and menu I feel this place could have really nailed it. But they didn’t. I will not be returning.

Great coffee and breakfast sandwich for only $ 5!!! Service was very fast and friendly. Had a made-​to-​order egg and cheese sandwich in less than 3 minutes. Glad I saw this place and didn’t walk the extra block to Starbucks.

So it’s April 12 and a few events collided today. Ben & Jerry’s free cone day, Au Bön Pain free iced coffee day AND national grilled cheese day. Problem is, I find myself in one of the most back assed pathetic cities in the country. I wandered down Lark Street for Ben and Jerry’s Cone Day only to discover the place had gone out of business. Only in Albany.
Well, it was only 1:15 pm and the free iced coffee wasn’t available until 2:00 pm. What to do? Celebrate National Grilled Cheese Day at Capital Melts.
This place could only survive in a town like Albany. It’s small, it essentially encompasses the lobby of 136 State St. The menu is also small and focused. That would normally bode well for the restaurant. You would think that if you only make one item, and you just create a few varieties of it, one would think that the item would be outstanding. Not here.
What you get is a flavorless, bland, reasonable facsimile of a grilled cheese. Did flavor cost extra? Was it available or even on the menu? I ordered a Say Cheese on Sourdough. The sourdough had absolutely no flavor. The cheese was gooey and creamy but again, absolutely no flavor. I used to make a better grilled cheese in college on the radiator in the Frat House.
The sandwich was so bland and boring. I would love to write more but there is nothing more to say. Paper has more flavor.

Quick, easy, and good. My $ 5 breakfast combo was a great, inexpensive way to start the day. Fine dining? No. Life changing? No. Would I eat there again? Certainly.

If you’re looking for a grilled cheese sandwich, that’s exactly what you’ll get. Don’t set your expectations too high. I say that because I guess I expected some sort of transcendent experience, a grilled cheese sandwich that kicked the ass of every grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever eaten. No, it’s just grilled cheese. And that’s OK.

I wasn’t terribly impressed with Capitol Melts. I got a plain grilled cheese with bacon on it. It was good, not great, and veryyyy greasy. Pretty sure I could make something comparable taste-​wise and with less grease at home. There also isn’t much seating here, and I feel like around lunch time that’s a huge issue. Despite all of this, I do want to go back and try their breakfast sandwiches, but I don’t have very high hopes for those.

Adore the breakfast specials. Perfect meat, egg and cheese on and English muffin with coffee and tots!

Came to Capitol Melts for a breakfast sandwich today! It was amazing! I got a breakfast sandwich, tater tots and a coffee for 5 bucks. Great deal for some even greater food. I will be back!

Stopped in today a bit wary because of some of the negative reviews. Maybe they worked out the kinks, because my sandwich was delicious.
I had the chipotle habanero grilled cheese and a side of hash browns. The cheese was tasty and well melted with an appropriate hot-​pepper kick, and the rye bread (they offer a choice of rye, wheat, sourdough, and white IIRC) was buttery and well toasted. My two lunch companions enjoyed theirs as well.
Also, the sandwiches are all fair in price at $ 4.95. I will definitely return to try some of the other grilled cheeses.
We got there at about 1:30 on a Tuesday and it was not crowded. Our food was prepared within 5 minutes of our order.
It’s not fancy, it’s not healthy, it’s not fresh or artisanal. It’s just quick and yummy.

I realize that «Bacon Cheeseburger Grilled Cheese» is only in the name and was promised that it would nonetheless taste like a bacon cheeseburger but never did I expect it to taste like … get this — TOMATO SOUP!!! As far as the pulled pork grilled cheese — it was more of a philly cheese steak without the peppers and onions. Won’t be coming back unless I’m in the mood for tater tots — those were pretty good.

I really want to love this place, but it misses the mark.
1) The Food: They serve a pretty standard grilled cheese on what appears to be pre-​sliced commercial bread. Despite the «toppings» it was nothing noteworthy. Some fresh local breads would go a long way here. ²⁄₅
2) The Interior. Obviously recently renovated, so it’s clean, but the layout is awkward, and the décor (or lack thereof) has no character. Feels empty and cold, even with about half the tables filled. Very little effort was put into the design of this space. ¹⁄₅
3) The Logo. This is Albany, not DC. Our Capitol building (which you can see from the front door) looks very different. ¹⁄₅
Overall, it’s a safe bet if you’ve got no other options. A solid «meh».

Capital Melts — Serves various types of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup in a very nice remodeled space. The place is clean and well laid out. The interior designer did a great job with nice looking tiles and crisp molding everywhere. Servers where polite and food doesn’t take long. A specialty grilled cheese with a soda was like $ 8. The food won’t blow you away but it is a step up from typical dinner grilled cheese. Only issue I had is there is no ketchup out on the table so you have to ask for packets like a hobo. I would like to see more crazy menu items like triple or quadruple decker cheese attack because I’m a huge bitch. Maybe even a throw in a daiya melt for the non dairy freaks out there. Overall it’s a cool place for a quick lunch or worthwhile destination if addicted to the melt.
Bottom Line: Dedicated grilled cheese shop in a nice environment

I was hoping the negative reviews for this place we’re wrong, but my visit here was similar to what others are saying.
I ordered the mac and cheese grilled cheese on French bread. (I could resist the combination of two of my favorite things.) It came our quickly, but the bread wasn’t nearly fried enough. And, the grilled cheese was just mac and cheese on bread with no additional cheese. I was hoping it would a have been a better meld of the two dishes.
I ate there with my boyfriend who ordered the fajita grilled cheese and he had a similar feeling. The melding of the concepts just didn’t work.

Some days you just want a grilled cheese sandwich. Today was one of those days. This was the second time I tried Capitol Melts. I tried them once during their opening week and wasn’t impressed. I gave it another try and I have the same feeling.
I’m happy to see they have downgraded their boxes so there isn’t a lot of waste. The sandwich is browned nicely, but once you take a bite, it’s very greasy. You can see it on the cheese. This was my same issue the first time I had them.
The staff is very friendly and that is why the third star is added.

So I went to this place opening week and had to wait an hour for my food. the problem was that day at lunch time they had a hundred and twenty people come in and it was their first week so they were totally overwhelmed. The food was still delicious though at that time and it was great.
I went again two weeks later the lines had died down and the food is still delicious. for what you pay the value is right the portions are adequately sized and fit the bill $ 5. The food is actually very tasty Stepway worth going to now that it’s not as busy as it was. I just wish they were located on Lark Street instead of where they are because that it would be more accessible and also a good place to get really really really good drunk food

Very disappointed. Was nice that was allowed in after 2 to get a sandwich but watching the guy take my money and another customers cards, not wash his hands and make both of our food with no gloves on He forgot to put the tomato I ordered in the sandwich on and so re-​opened the sandwich to put the tomato on.
When I remarked it might not be advisable to make food without gloves on and have someone taking pictures (there was a photographer im assuming from a paper) his response was «im not required to wear gloves». Very disturbing for a brand new business that should know from a food safety standpoint this is not true.
Food was ok, nothing to write home about and that they use cubed ham in a grilled ham and cheese, ik not sure they will get a chance to get my business again.

My favorite commercial is one that used to run around the holidays. A little redheaded girl wakes up on Christmas morning and her living room is filled with amazing presents — a toy train, a sports car, a kayak, a pile of toys, and lots of princess dresses. When her gobsmacked dad says, «those must’ve been *some* cookies you left santa,» the little redhead says, «I didn’t leave him cookies, I left him cheeeeeeeese.» Santa and I have at least one thing to make small talk about if we ever meet — give me some amazing cheese, and I’ll also consider gifting you a sports car.
My love of cheese is surpassed only by my love of bread and cheese together. Thus, when I saw the sign go up for Capitol Melts, I actually stopped walking, pointed, and let out a shriek. As soon as I could get there for lunch, I came.
I arrived in the middle of the lunch rush, about 12:30 so I knew it would be crowded. Waiting in line took about 8 minutes. We looked up at the menu screen while we waited, but this wasn’t all too helpful in preparing us because the menu did not include descriptions. Titles like «hot tin roof» or «Tuscan» don’t mean much to a first-​timer. After inquiring about what made up the Wingless Buffalo (my love of wing sauce is up there with my love for cheese), I declined when I was told it has chicken, wing sauce, and «bleu cheese powder.» Pretty sure nobody over the age of twelve would voluntarily choose powdered cheese over real cheese form. Thus, I went with the classic grilled cheese, the «say cheese,» on sourdough.
After waiting twenty minutes after placing my order, when my number was finally called, I felt like i was being called up for an award. We had to walk back to work with our grilled cheeses because, after the long wait, lunch hour had dwindled away. The long wait did not bother me too much, as it is their first week and likely they’ll catch up, but if you’re gonna make a girl wait, make it worth the wait…
The second I got to my desk, where nobody could judge me for stuffing my face without care, I ripped open the box. Immediately, after looking down through the wax paper, I experienced my first disappointment. The bread was not a beautiful deep brown, but instead, just lightly toasted. I love a good crunchy grilled cheese, and this one could have used an extra few minutes on the flat top for each side (maybe if you go later in the day, when they’re not time-​pressed, yours will be a little more cooked). And the cheese — I was told it was «their special cheese blend» — I just could not figure out what kind of cheese (or mix was used). It was a very mild cheese, and left an after taste. The texture was also strange, kind of lumpy and lacked that stringy quality (I acknowledge this may be in part because I did not eat it immediately). I prefer a stronger, salty cheese, a traditional American or a sharp cheddar in my grilled cheese. No need to reinvent the wheel to make a great grilled cheese. A choice of cheese option would be a nice option to match their current choice of bread option (french, white, wheat, sourdough, or rye).
My first bite, another disappointment. «Say cheese,» indeed. The amount of cheese was excessive even for this cheese lover, and it was just so, so oily. When I picked up one half of the sandwich, there was a visible puddle of oil inside of the sandwich where the cheese separated. Combine the overstuffed cheese with the oil and the less than crispy bread and you have yourself a very soggy cheese sandwich.
Of the three other people I dined with, one who also ordered the say cheese had similar thoughts as I did (weird cheese taste and texture, too oily) and those who got the specialty flavors commented that they liked the flavor, but felt their sandwiches also suffered from soggy bread syndrome.
Unfortunately, this girl will not be sneaking into Capitol Melts in the middle of the night and leaving them a sports car or a toy train or kayak any time soon. However, as a grilled cheese loyalist, I’ll consider waiting a few weeks, letting them get their rhythm down, and giving them another shot, but maybe with one of the «flavored» options. It’s nice to see a new business using the recently renovated building. The space itself is pretty and well-​done and the flowers and tablecloths on the folding tables (about six of them) was a nice (though strange) touch for a causal lunch joint.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I just didn’t think it was that great.
I figured the place was going to be busy, so I waited until about 1:30 to go in, figuring they had a half hour left of being open and most of the lunch crowd should be gone by then. I walked in, and there were a lot of people waiting. Placed my order and proceeded to wait 20 minutes for my order. At a lunch counter I’m willing to wait 5 – 10 minutes, but more than that seems to defeat the purpose of a lunch counter.
I decided to have a fat kid day and ordered a wingless buffalo grilled cheese with a side of tots and tomato bisque. All of that cost me about 10 bucks, so I can’t complain about the price. My order came out in an over sized cardboard box with the soup on top.
Tots were cold, soggy and tasted slightly freezer burned. The sandwich was lukewarm, mostly soggy, and not grilled enough. It lacked the crunch you want from a grilled cheese. I’m not sure what kind of cheese they’re using but I’m not sure if I’m into it. Seemed a bit grainy like fondue or something. Tomato bisque was chunky with carrots and basil and other spices, but it was way too salty.
Other things to note. Inadequate garbage can. If you’re going to use monster boxes, provide an adequate garbage container so boxes don’t pile up all over the garbage can. No receptacle for the bottles and cans, so people just left them on the counter in the corner. They should really reconsider the boxes, or at least offer a recycle bin so you can break down the box after lunch. Seems unnecessary to put a bunch of paper boxes into the garbage. I think their AC wasn’t working, so they had the windows open in the back of the building for ventilation, which is okay, except those fuzzy pollen air puffs were blowing in the window, and you couldn’t miss the noise of the heavy construction equipment working behind the building.

It just opened so I had to check this place out. Who doesn’t love a grilled cheese sandwich!
The business is in one of the remodeled buildings on Welling Row (Albany). Very lovely, well done and clean; but situated in the hall of what looks to be an office building but not award at all being it’s location.
I was the only customer so the service was quick and friendly. I was surprised to find it on Unilocal when I checked in and happened to mention it while there. The lady who served me said they are developing a facebook page which should be coming soon.
They have a bunch a different options/​flavors for your grill cheese pleasure such as: mac & cheese, tuscan, pieless pizza, bacon cheeseburger etc. I selected the wingless buffalo with sourdough bread. The sandwich was gooey, crisp and delicious. The buffalo was medium in flavor and it has nice chunks of chicken throughout the sandwich.
Unfortunately the grilled cheese is served alone. I think serving it with a little bag of chips and maybe a pickle would give this review a 5 star rating.