dp An American Brasserie

One of the top spots in Albany in my opinion. I always recommend it to friends who stay downtown. Their hours are favorable on the weekend when everything seems closed. They’re capable of providing good drinks and flavorful food that never disappoints.

The best service!
dp’s is such a gem. Their food and drinks are great, but what really stands out is their service. They are more than attentive, friendly, fast, and knowledgeable. They always go above and beyond, every single time.
I just had a simple question/​comment on how expensive one of the Cognac was, and our waitress came back a few minutes later with a full explanation, talking about the history and prestige of it all. I wasn’t complaining, I know they can get that expensive ($ 400 a glass), and she knew I wasn’t. It was a casual and friendly conversation about Cognac, even though they were pretty busy. Anything you need, they are there and will make it happen.
The complementary pretzels are usually pretty hot, ours were only warm this time. I was slightly disappointed, and I knew that if I said anything they’d have taken them away and given us fresh ones. I’m just not as picky as your average Unilocaler. The service and experience more than make up for that hiccup.
My wife asked for no bleu cheese on her salad and a different server came out and it ended up having bleu cheese on it. She’s not intolerant or anything, she just didn’t really feel like having it. Our waitress noticed as soon as she came back and sincerely offered to get her another one. It was fine. The expediter gotta wake up tho.
They always have great beers on draft. Amazing wine selection. The entrees are a bit expensive but dp’s is a great example of getting what you pay for. The bit extra you pay is well worth it, as you expose your taste buds to sensations they have never processed before. Really. Such amazing flavors that really surprise me every time I visit.
Again, excellent excellent excellent service. I think our waitress’ name was Tina. Great job! We love dp’s and can’t wait to come back!!!

I had my doubts driving up since its inside a Hampton inn. I was so wrong. Great food and service. We were seen to by Josh and he was so helpful and fun. He made sure the kitchen knew of my GF diet. All the food (and extensive bar) was great. I had Indonesian noodles and veg (gf) and date had dP burger. Bananas foster to share. All delicious. We would definitely return and not hesitate to take out out of town guests here.

Good food but the service was rubbish. I had an appetizer and was told the table I was sitting at was reserved for the show at the nearby theater so I didn’t get the main course I was looking for. I also had to chase down a bartender and a waitress even though there were… Let me count…5 people in the restaurant and… Let me count…8 restaurant staff. Ridiculous. Especially for the prices on the menu.

I don’t know why it took me so long to discover what is clearly the best dining experience in all of Albany! Fantastic food, great ambiance and good service. Truly a gem! Gets crowded fast so I highly recommend making reservations in advance. I will be back and making this part of my weekly restaurant routine!

Each time I come here I’m less and less enamored. Once upon a time this was a great dining option for Albany– and it’s still a good one don’t get me wrong. But on my last couple of visits there’s just been a lack of a certain je né sais quois, if you will, with some of the dishes.
The pretzel bread is excellent, and depending on your order, maybe the best part of your meal…
I’ve tried the Salmon on a few separate occasions and each time I’ve been disappointed. They offer it with a glaze that each time has been just too abundant for my taste. The pear, pecan and bleu cheese salad is a winner, however, and I would get that again.
On our most recent visit the food was ok– especially for the price points and our service was subpar.
Our evening began with our server’s gripe about her day– just the way you want to start your meal. My husband requested a lime for his rum and coke which elicited an interesting face from our waitress. She said the bar was all out of limes and didn’t seem interested in double checking this until prompted. From then on the tone was set for the service throughout the night.
This may be overlooked if the food is exceptional but it was just standard. We started off with the chicken avocado rolls, their version of southwest egg rolls– not a bad app. My husband opted for the chicken Gabriel– essentially a pasta dish for $ 19. He liked it but there was something about the taste that I just didn’t care for. I stuck with the pear, pecan and bleu cheese salad mostly because I didn’t want to be disappointed. And to their credit, I guess I wasn’t.
DPs has a great vibe for drinks with friends and I’ll probably stick to that.

The tuna tacos were very average with very little tuna taste, particularly for the price ($ 14). When I noted this to the bartender, the response wasn’t «let’s fix that» which is what I would expect for the level of restaurant.

I had a decent dinner here in the fall on a slow night – but just had a terrible weekend dinner with my wife and her friend. Glacially slow service (more dinner rolls were promised to us twice but never showed up, we had to wave staff over to order drinks, etc) but, more importantly, the food was extremely poorly executed.
My fish and chips were burnt on the bottom side and I had to send it back to the kitchen (there were bits of charcoal actually on my plate). And my wife’s French Onion soup was way too salty, and her burger and fries were both overcooked to oblivion.
I just had a $ 6 burger at Whole Foods and it was 10 times better–

Great, cozy downtown spot for dinner in Albany.
My wife and I recently had a delicious dinner at DP. When we first arrived, we were a bit late for our reservation, so our table took a few minutes. This was understandable and we went to the bar for a drink. The bartenders were very professional, thorough, and turned out some great cocktails for us. They have a large selection of spirits and drinks, which is all contained in a little red book. Although I appreciate the selection, the book was a bit hard to thumb through efficiently. I flipped through at least 20 or 30 pages of options, it was a bit overwhelming at first. Eventually, I found the mixed drink list somewhere in the middle. If there were tabs separating the sections, I think that could have helped.
Shortly after we got our drinks, our table was ready, so we took a nice spot by the window. The service and décor of the restaurant are very modern and slightly swanky. For our appetizers, we ordered the brussels sprouts and lobster bisque. Both were tasty, though a bit salty. Our entrees were similar, tasty yet salty. The meal was still delicious, though with that much salt, we couldn’t finish our entrees and took the leftovers home. I ordered the General Tso’s chicken, which was definitely an elevated version of the classic Chinese Take Out dish. It was spicy, the proper type of spicy. So spicy in fact that, when our waiter came over to ask how the food was, I remarked about how the dish was properly spicy, so I would definitely need more water. I said all of this with a laugh, of course. Our waiter returned one minute later with a full carafe of fresh water that he placed on the table next to me. As I mentioned before, excellent service.
All in all, this was a good dinner spot.

Great food and the nicest bar in Albany! It’s perfect for happy hour after work. I’ve been there several times and have loved everything I ordered.

Food was terrific, perfect even. I ordered the lobster cobb salad, and it lived up to its billing. The reason for two stars is that I have never encountered such disinterested, apathetic waitstaff (redundant, I know). I was seated promptly but it was 10 minutes and a long-​since-​empty water glass before my server came back to take my order. And here’s the kicker: I was the ONLY customer in the restaurant!
After, who I assume was the chef, brought my salad, my server never once came back to check on me. Ten minutes after I had finished, I went in search of someone, anyone, to ask for my check, as waiting for my server to return was a hopeless cause.
I suggest ordering your food to go from here so as to minimize your exposure to the waitstaff, who obviously don’t rely on your tips for their livelihood.

Had the lobster Cobb and a Mai Tai.
I’ve never fallen in love with or had such an intense experience with a salad. I couldn’t concentrate on anything but the salad. why it is so good?
I know I will have to come back for this salad multiple times. I haven’t tried anything else on the menu but this salad is all I will probably order.
Mai Tai was also good. Everything in this restaurant was very good… I want to live here.

When you hear Hampton Inn you may think fine dining… or not. But don’t let the location of this restaurant deter you from giving it a try. There aren’t that many tables inside but can get quite busy on the weekends especially the bar area.
Fine dining and Hampton Inn, oxymoron you might say but DP’s provides a great dining experience. Came with a group of 15, and although DP’s is small they were able to accommodate our large party. Most impressive was the service here, which isn’t easy when you’re dealing with such a large group. They were quick to refill drinks, offer suggestions, etc.
The menu is just the right size with enough apps, salads, entrees, sides, cheese plates, etc. The Brussels sprout app was delicious. For those who like their food locally sourced they have cheese from the Old Chatham Sheepherding Co. that is delicious and went beautifully with the pretzel bites which were light, airy and just salty enough. I’d recommend drizzling a little honey over your cheese spread on the pretzel bites. Amazing!
I also had the Cesar kale salad (mix of romaine and kale) which would delight any kale loving millennial. A great ratio of dressing to greens.
For my entrée I got the burger special which was an onion ring, BBQ sauce and a beef patty with melted cheese served on a brioche bun. The BBQ sauce was good but perhaps a little too plentiful because it made the bun soggy, so I skipped the bun and just went straight for the meat. It saved me the carbs so it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for me. The whole burger was daunting and not for those with a petite mouth. They definitely didn’t skimp on the patty which was juicy, flavorful, and not too salty. The frites served on the side were pretty standard.
My husband got the General Tso’s chicken which was grilled, though the sauce was a little sweet and lacked another dimension of flavor my taste. I do appreciate the chicken was grilled and not fried for those of us who are diet conscious. The meat was tender. The veggies were ok.
I also snuck a taste of the braised short rib which was delicious, juicy, tender, and almost had me wishing I had ordered that instead.
A word about ambiance. It’s hip, a little loud for my taste, cozy because their aren’t that many tables, and I would recommend a reservation to get a table. Seems very popular place to come and get a drink at the bar. You can come in a fanny pack, shorts, and a Virginia is for Lovers shirt if you want to blend in with the tourists or dress up in your best Saturday Night Fever outfit if you’re in the party mood. Either way you will blend in as you’ll see the full spectrum here.

We came in for dinner while staying at the connected hotel and were very happy with our experience!
After browsing their menu of items that all sounded fabulous, we all decided on dishes that we delicious and more than satisfying. Followed up by a delightful dessert, we were stuffed before we left and what we thought would be a bill through the roof turned at to be quite reasonable for the amount we had.
The staff was very friendly and attentive, the area was well decorated and fit the mood well, and we were very happy with our experience. I would recommend the fried brussel sprouts and don’t miss out on those pretzel rolls!

So I wanted to treat my family to a nice meal the day before my swearing-​in ceremony in Albany and this was the spot I picked given the great Unilocal reviews and the fact that it was located in our hotel.
I booked on Opentable and requested the corner booth table (the only one in the whole restaurant) and that’s just what we got, even though we went for dinner at 8pm when the restaurant was full! So that realllllyy impressed me.
The restaurant is modern but smallish. It has a lot of windows but considering the multitude of parking lots just outside, its not the best view. Anyways on to the food!
For starters we order the soup of the day which was a curry chicken soup, chicken & avocado rolls and crab and corn fritters. First of all, it was wayyyy to much for apps. Their portions for being a fancyish restaurant were muchhhh larger than I thought. The curry chicken soup was ahhhmazing. It had large pieces of chicken breast in it and was topped off with sour cream, green onions and bacon. It all went so well together!!! The rolls were huge but I was sooo full from the soup that I didn’t taste them. The fritters I could have done without as they were nothing special.
For our mains my mom and I got the catch of the day which was lobster with spinach pasta. I loved loved loveddd it!!! Again, the portion was huge and I finished a ¼ of the dish. Lets just say I took a lot to go! My brother got the Half Roasted Chicken which again was huge. My dad got the Roasted Leg Of Lamb which was pretty good. But since he likes his meat well done it was kind of tough but that was his fault!
The bill for 4 without tips and two glasses on wine was around $ 170 USD, which was a pretty decent price. The conversation rate to CAD was deadly though lol. Overall my family and I really liked the food. They are very creative with their flavors. The service was great as well.
Two thumbs up!

Ate here last night for my wife’s birthday. In short, we loved the flavors in our food, but both our main courses were a bit overcooked.
We had reservations at 6:30 and arrived about 10 minutes early. The place was only about half full, but within the hour, it was bustling. The ambience is relatively casual, given the location of Yono’s only a door away.
I began with a Vieux Carré — one of my favorite cocktails — and wasn’t disappointed. It was a little sweet (more sweet vermouth than I might otherwise have liked), but it was delicious and the brandied cherries were an excellent garnish.
We ordered the fried brussels sprouts and, y’all, this is a dish I’m going to dream about. Crispy exterior leaves sheltered tender and juicy interiors. The sambal glaze had a great flavor. The fish sauce stood out, providing a salty, umami kick, while (I think) maybe some tamarind was in there as well. The crispy pork belly bits are like little lardon chips, providing a crunchy bite (along with the fried scallions). We devoured it and used the pretzel rolls (also amazing) to sop up some of the remaining sauce.
Lauren got the main course special — a Wagyu ribeye with a chimichurri sauce, «dirty» rice, and… well, something else I can’t recall immediately. She ordered it medium, it came out medium well. With a ribeye, that’s not a total loss — the flavor was still quite good (I tried a bit of the ribeye).
I got the roasted leg of lamb with crispy rosemary potatoes, a fried egg, and chimichurri. I ordered medium rare and got… something between medium and medium well. After reading some of the other reviews, it seems DP has a tendency to over-​cook their meats, which is a shame. As a result, a word of caution to future diners: Don’t bother getting a filet. If it comes out over-​cooked it’ll be inedible. Stick to fattier cuts that can handle a bit of over-​cooking. The lamb still tasted really good, as did the potatoes and egg and chimichurri. I didn’t send the lamb back because I only do that if it’s pretty much inedible. Flavor matters most and, though the over-​cooking did deaden it a bit, it was still mighty tasty.
I hope to go back for lunch or dinner to get the dp burger. Contrary to what one reviewer says, the price is just about perfect for it, given what you’re getting (truffles and foie gras = $$$$$).
I’m looking forward to more meals here, but I really hope the kitchen stops cooking the heck out of what’s supposed to be some of the best meats in the country (Wagyu).

This is in the Hampton inn hotel. This place and Yono’s seem to share the same location. Confusing. The food here is good though. Much better than you would expect from a place connected to a hotel. I would have gave them 4 stars, but I ordered a beer and the drink by date was 2013. I ate here in 2015. They made it right and I didn’t fuss. The wait staff responded perfectly to the situation. Very professional. Someone needs to be monitor their stock a little closer though.

We’d made reservations at Yono’s, but when I walked in, our group was in a more quiet room and I realized the menu was for dp’s. So to avoid any confusion, no matter which restaurant or menu you’re looking for, these two are literally just a door apart. Excellent appetizers, even duck fries which I love, and the I couldn’t stop eating the warm bread bites (not sure what to call them) with the stone ground mustard and butter. The dumplings with the sweet Thai chili sauce and the soy dipping sauce were so good that I forgot I was in upstate NY! I had the slow braised short ribs, and the sauce it was in was spiced perfectly with almost a Garam Marsala exotic sweetness. Others had the Thai Noodles, one with shrimp and another had it with chicken, and again, this was an excellent preparation and not to be confused with it from any other restaurant. The bone-​in steak tempted me, but now I have to get back to try it next time.
Finished off with the day’s dessert special, a vanilla cheesecake with fresh berries from New Hampshire with whipped cream and had-​to-​be handmade ice cream. We also had the «chef’s special surprise» homemade gelato, today’s being a salted caramel.
Excellent service, consummate staff that obviously take pride in their work and workplace. And I always respect a bar that has and makes a great Bulleit Rye on the Rocks with perfect ice and a true lemon twist.
5-​stars and will be back!

Reviewing dp is tough because of the ‘big brother’ factor: it lives in the shadow of Yono’s. Dominick and the staff try hard — mostly with success — to create individuation, but the battle is tough and being located in what still feels rather like an entrance hall increases the struggle: tables close to the central path mean that people *are* going to walk into you, and the wait staff struggle not to bump customers repeatedly while getting through the cramped tables.
The upside is that the vibe has been uniformly excellent on our visits: hip, not too loud but a definite buzz. The cocktails are some of the best in town, the staff know their menu, the range of drinks is good. As a place to meet pre-​show I think it would be hard to beat.
Food is surprisingly unexceptional. The menu *sounds* good, often, but our experience has been that it’s a little too afraid to take chances and ends up a notch towards — well, not bad but uninteresting. And I think the pricing is higher than one would expect — the signature burger is $ 27, and it’s a fine burger but that seems $ 10 too high, for instance.
All of which means that we’d not pick it as a food/​relaxed dinner destination, in general, but then we’d choose Yono’s for that anyway. You’ll never have a bad meal, nor other than excellent service, but you’re likely to get jostled and your focus should be on the drinks, not the food.

I have to first thank the restaurant, which gave my fiancé and I a generous gift certificate in order to enable us to try this establishment again. We were finally able to go last night, and found the experience to be a complete 180 from our previous visit.
As with our first visit, the food was very good. We sampled several small plates that were all delicious (pork dumplings, chicken avocado rolls, calamari, and french onion soup). Our entrees were also very good. My steak was well done rather than medium well, but I typically assume that to be the case when I order medium well, as most places cannot achieve that delicate balance successfully, and I do like well done.
Our service was excellent. We were particularly impressed with the manager, whose name escapes me now, although I recall that he said he is new. He came out to open the door as we walked in, was very friendly, and checked in with us at the end of our meal. Our waitress was also very good; she was able to check in on us without being obtrusive, which can be tough. Even the coat check woman was extremely friendly an welcoming.
The lighting and music worked in concert to create a warm, inviting environment and to enhance the sounds of dining and conversation around us. We were also given a choice of table this time, which was wonderful. Despite the full house, we did not feel cramped.
I would be happy to return here again. I am impressed that the owner took time to address our concerns and truly enjoyed our second experience. I would probably sample several small plates and forego an entrée in the future visits, as I feel they are stronger than their entrees, and I love the chance for variety.