Grill At 138

had a nice quick dinner there the other night. Nothing fancy, quaint, good food, friendly staff. I had the burger with the fresh cut potatoes and my wife had the penne pasta with salmon. all very good and reasonable.

Our party of 6 ate here on a Saturday night. The food, service and drinks were all excellent. Apparently they were short staffed, but our service was superb. Our food was served quickly and came out as a unit, which is nice when dining with a group. The fried onion ring appetizer was tasty with a nice dip. The entrees ranged from veggie bean burgers (which can be substituted for any meat burger on the menu, nice for the vegetarians), to hamburgers to salmon encased in a puffed pastry. Everyone seemed quite pleased with their meal. The salads were fresh and tasty. I also had coffee which was good and a delicious dessert, which the others had to help me finish! A very pleasant experience.

This place is a hidden gem. We almost passed it by because at 630 pm on a Sat night it was absolutely dead. What a mistake that would have been! The 5 of us all ordered expecting mediocre food. What a pleasant surprise all 5 of us were totally impressed. Excellent food and service!
I totally recommend this place.

A colleague and I who live and work in NYC were in Albany for a meeting and stopped in for lunch before heading back on the Amtrak. The atmosphere was lovely. We both had salads which were delicious.
The staff helped us call a cab to the train station after our meal and the manager went out of their way to assist us when the cab never arrived.

My fiancé and I went here for lunch today and can’t believe how bad the food was. Our waiter did let us know at the start that the executive chef was out so I will allow that as a reason for this travesty of cooking.
I ordered the tomato bisque and fried calimari. He had the chicken cordon bleu sandwich. Once it finally came I bit into my soup and into something rock hard. It was brown and not identifiable. The waiter took it back to the kitchen where they said it was crushed red pepper — wrong… Way too big for that. Whatever, at least I didn’t break my tooth. Next, the calimari. Rubberbands are an apt description. You could see the dryness of the squid through the broken and cracked breadcrumbs. I sent them back immediately. While I waited for a new dish I ate my soup which was way too spicy. The new dish of calimari made its way to me and was less overcooked so I gave it a try. No seasoning at all, not even salt. So I had a plate of bland squid with overly greasy breadcrumbs. Yum. The marinara sauce was ok but there were two huge cloves of garlic in the bowl.
Now for my fiancé’s sandwich. Chicken overcooked and dry, ham and croissant slightly burnt. It wasn’t as bad as my food but still pretty mediocre.
Our waiter did ask how things were and was open to our comments. He was the one good thing about the whole experience. In the end they comped the meal, which will buy some good will that we will try them again, but we’ll definitely eat with the memory of this meal.

The Prime Rib French dip is amazing and the Lobster Roll is great. I’ve liked everything I’ve ordered so far.

How did this place get such amazing reviews?! Yes, it’s cute – a lovely basement decorated with attention to the color red and very good customer service. And, if you like steak, you’ll love that this place stinks of it when you walk in.
But, the food – as the Sunday comics might write – blech! Okay, okay. So, maybe my food wasn’t THAT bad, but for $ 19, my plate of Pecan Encrusted Chicken sounded wonderful: served with a citrus Frangelico cream sauce (and side of mashed and veggies). But, once it came to the table, a lot was lacking. The mashed potatoes were standard, much like something you’d make at home or get in a nearby diner, while the slivers of squash with onion and peppers (if I recall correctly) were actually pretty darn good. But, the star of the meal? Total disappointment. The breading on the chicken not only lacked pecans (boasting only a few) but had no flavor in the seasoning other than salt. Plus, the cream sauce tasted nothing like citrus or Frangelico – and was instead just like a butter cream sauce that served to take the crunch out of the bland breading.
Bottom line: My co-​eater was not enthralled by his dish either (the beef stroganoff), but says the brunch is quite nice. Hence, I don’t think this place deserves 1 star. But, tread lightly… You pay a lot for very little.

I am only reviewing their Sunday brunch buffet, but I’ve made it a regular stop. A solid 3 for food plus another star for price and service makes for a good stop.
It is a restaurant that puts more effort into the food than your usual breakfast buffet. The normal breakfast regulars: Sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy, french toast, home fries, and scrambled eggs. They either have home made corned beef hash or they use the leftover prime rib from Friday and Saturday to make «hash» although they keep the chunks of prime rib fairly large and I needed a knife to cut up some of them.
Other dishes include rotating chicken choices, sometimes a very good fried chicken cutlet in, and one fish offering. There are also one or two vegetable choices
Friendly floor staff is in constant motion clearing plates, refilling beverages, and checking on buffet stations
Everything tastes good, and made with ingredients that are better than average quality, but the price is nice for an unlimited trip buffet. $ 15.50 includes buffet for one, bottomless cup of coffee, juice, and tax. I am not sure who does their coffee service, but it tastes better than most of the other Sunday spots.
If the line is long at your normal Sunday brunch stop, consider a trip here.

I rarely give 5 stars but for Albany this is a 5-​great service, cozy artsy atmosphere, good wine, decent beer selection as well as a full bar. Different dining options cozy in front of fireplace or longer tabes or bar seating. Long open space. Lobster bisque is a keeper, served piping hot with pieces of lobster! They toss their own basalmic dressing on salad. I can’t tell you the last time I saw seafood Newburgh on the menu. Although the puff pastry was external. Friend loved the beef stroganoff, the other enjoyed salmon Wellington. Dessert they make their own vanilla ice cream, and the decaf coffee was excellent!

Sat down right away. The wife ordered red wine I whit. Both great. I had the lobster bisque and lobster roll. She had the chicken parm. The service was amazing the food amazing and the atmosphere perfect. I would recommend this place to anyone.

This place is awesome. I’ve been here several times and each time I can’t wait to go back. EVERYTHING, from the bread and butter to the soup and the salad and the main entries and the sides was excellent and VERY reasonably priced. The service was great and I am going back again next week because I’m now addicted! This is the mid price point restaurant that Albany has been lacking. The food quality is excellent and the price is not anywhere near Jack’s or 677 etc. I really don’t see anything as good as this in downtown Albany. Although I do love DP’s I think the food here is much better.