Scubber’s

Went for lunch at 11:30, service was friendly and quick. We each had sandwiches on the ciabatta bread and they were delicious. I was not a fan of the chips, very dark and very crisp. It was worth the extra money to get the curly fries!

By far the best wings anywhere! I only get to eat here when I am back in town, and always buy a bottle of their sauce to go. At least then I can keep the flavor going for a little while after my visit.
Their mozzarella sticks and tenders are also amazing.
Go to Scubbers now, an enjoy.

Something sweet? Check. Something savory? Check. I needed some sort of balance in my life after a long semester of writing papers and taking tests. This time, I put my tastebuds to the test. Knowing Scubber’s has been around for quite a time (past and present) I felt the need to stop in and taste test the wings and the fried mozzarella sticks.
I ordered the mild heat buffalo wings (10 for $ 10.99) and a small order of mozzarella sticks (2 for $ 3.29). The friendly lady at the counter informed me that mild is a light heat and not completely mild like other wing joints. I usually get my buffalo wings on with medium heat but I settled for Scubber’s mild. I was also able to choose from raspberry or marinara sauce to accompany the homemade fried mozzarella. There are tables available for those who don’t want to risk diminishing food quality and want to eat in. I took advantage of that, and quickly realized it was a good choice.
My name was called to pick up the food on a plastic tray at the counter and was given plastic utensils and paper plates. The tables have napkins and a restroom is available for those who end up with sticky or buffalo sauced fingers. I gave the mozzarella priority because I wanted to have the cheese pull tested. It did not disappoint as I was able to stretch the mozzarella out to a decent length before thinning out and breaking off. The batter was light yet crisp, not oily or greasy to touch or to taste. The raspberry sauce was a winner, as small chunks of actual raspberry existed and paired well with the fried cheese. I’d only add more salt to the batter for a better flavor, otherwise it is awesome. The wings were not what I expected… a bready and saucy platter of flats and drummettes. The breadiness caused clumping of the buffalo sauce and not crispy the way I’d prefer. After all, who knows? I might favor the dry rub kinda wing more. The complimentary bleu cheese, celery, and carrot sticks were sufficient and delicious.
As I finished and returned the tray to the counter, the friendly lady said «Thanks Vicky!»…and there were quite a few customers that had gone through ordering already. So kudos to her for remembering customer names and Scubber’s for the good hospitality. Although their wings didn’t win my heart, I’ll be back for more fried mozzarella and possibly some wood fired pizza. That oven looked very pizza warm and welcoming!

Easily the best mozzarella sticks I have ever had. So unique and different. I normally don’t even like mozzarella sticks! The cheese is so fresh and the batter is so light and amazing. Must get the raspberry sauce! I dream about these

Small place with seating for about 6 – 7 parties. Surprisingly a very large selection of food outside just wings and pizza. They offer salads, wraps, sliders, a few desserts and even fresh roasted vegetables.
Place was clean but a little rustic with the concrete cracked floor.
The real test for a place like this is the taste. I ordered extra hot wings, waffle fries and fried artichoke hearts. She warned me the wings were really hot. The wings were definitely very warm and pretty good. Not award winning but worth the price. The waffle fries were wonderful, the star of the meal. I am a huge artichoke fan and was excited to see them on the menu but was disappointed in how they turned out. The batter was very flat and tasteless.
Prices were reasonable and service was okay. The lady taking the order was not super friendly but one of the cooks was very friendly and interactive about my extra hot wing experience.

I love pizza but was very disappointed by this place. Crust was pretty good, but sauce was seasoned poorly and the cheese did not have a real pizza flavor. Chunks of canned tomatoes on the slices didn’t help either.

Over the last six months, I’ve had several friends rate Scubbers anywhere from two stars to 5 stars. My wife recalls when they were in Troy, NY back in the 80’s and one of her employees raved about the wings. More recently, the raving has been for the mozzarella sticks, especially with the raspberry sauce. I have never been a wing fanatic, but I’ve always been partial to mozzarella sticks since I first had them in the 60’s. So when my sister-​in-​law requested that we have wings and hot dogs for dinner when she came to visit it seemed like the opportune time to pay a visit to Scubbers.
First of all, I recognize that I committed the utmost mortal sin. I asked for both the wings and sticks to go. But it was likely the only way I was going to get to try them both before pigs fly. I dutifully asked the older woman who was both cook and counter helper for a recommendation on reheating my order once I got home. She was friendly enough, and without a smile, told me there was no way to reheat the mozzarella because it would simply melt. I should therefore just eat them at room temperature. The wings on the other hand could be put in a 350° oven for 5 minutes.
And so that’s exactly what we did. Daniel B. has said the term sticks is too diminutive for the mozzarella, and logs isn’t quite right. He believes spears is more appropriate. I have to disagree. Spears might be fine for asparagus or broccoli, but no child in his right mind would ever agree to eating either of those two vegetables if the spears were the size of this mozzarella. I’m reluctant to suggest what crosses my mind that might have a similar girth, so let’s just leave it at that until you see them yourself and simply say they are fantastic. And that was even after the drive home. I can only imagine how much better they would have been if I had eaten them in the store… or snuck one in the car before I left for home. I don’t want to overlook the raspberry sauce, because it actually has pieces of raspberry in it. I might like the sauce just a bit thicker, but that is such a little thing to pick on at this point.
So how were the wings after reheating them in the oven? We had ordered 10 of the Buffalo style and 10 of the BBQ style, both mild hotness. Neither style regained any crispiness, if they had it when I left the store, and this may have partly been the fault of Scubbers. Each order of wings and sticks were tightly wrapped in their individual bag. If I had been on my toes I might have recalled that those bags should have been left open so that steam did not build up and make the wings soggy on the drive home. But maybe the reheating in the oven was supposed to take care of that problem. I don’t know. I only know that everyone agreed that there was no crispness to the wings. Most were still moist and tasty, only a couple of the BBQ ones were dry. The Buffalo ones at mild hotness (Scubbers called it smoldering) were just right for our liking for our introduction to them. The BBQ ones at mild gave little evidence of any hotness, we wished for more.
Prices are not cheap, but neither is rent on Wolf Road. Ten wings are $ 10.99; 20/​$ 20.99; 30/​$ 30.99; …80/​$ 78.99. Two mozzarella sticks are $ 3,29; 4/​$ 5.49; 6/​$ 7.99. I actually think the sticks are a good deal considering the quality, portion, and enjoyment. We can’t offer an opinion for the marinara sauce, but we can fully recommend the raspberry sauce.
Their menu includes much more than what we tried. There are wood-​fired pizzas, ciabatta sandwiches, wraps, potato skins, nachos, salads, and homemade desserts. They have a few tables to eat inside, and you can order ahead by phone or online.

This was stop #2 on my wife’s UAlbany nostalgia tour. First was pizza at Sovrana’s. I’m not a wing snob but these are the best wings I have ever had. The wings were crispy and completely bathed in sauce. Usually the wings I get, the skin is mushy and the sauce was poured on. Crispy wings are awesome. The sauces were exactly as posted. We got the milds and they were «simmering.» We were warned that the mediums were «burn in your mouth.» I like spicy but I also like taste. The milds were great. Good heat and very tasty. These would have been considered hot where I’m from. One person mentioned the XX should be illegal. I believe it. I’m sure there are better wings out there but these are the best I have eaten. The pizza — meh. Sovrana’s blows this away. But this placed earned a 5 for the wings.

didn’t appeal from the outside as the location and chain like exterior were bad, I ordered take-​out through mealeo and was surprised by their menu selection and decided to try out their eggplant parm on a ciabatta, very good. my girl got the caprice and I tried a bite, the overall sandwich seemed very good but I must confess my inner italian and the pesto tasted not so great, just as bad as everyone else’s pesto. no one can come close to the pesto di pra’. but will definitely return here!

I love their wings. It is the best place hands down. The only things is I like my wings really hot so I get the atomic’s. These are the only ones that literally hurt me. They are so hot I am surprised they are legal.

5 STARS all the way! It’s dinner AND A SHOW!
When I was a small child (and we’re talking knee-​high to a grasshopper here), my parents always got a ton of Scubbers wings to take on our long annual drives to Orlando, Fl. We would eat them for lunches at the rest stops. Back in those days, Scubbers were the most amazing wings you could get. And they had many flavors. I remember them being smaller, tight and crispy and really REALLY good.
When I passed Scubbers on Wolf road recently — I had to look twice, and do a loop D loop in the car. Folks — I am going in!!! This is a little piece of my self history. The memories of scubbers wings came flooding in. Is this the very same scubbers? I think so, but I am not 100% sure.
First Visit: Pizza and wings take out. Pizza sucked. Like REALLY sucked. Like Ellio’s is three steps above it. But the wings. . they were definately not the same small wings of yesteryear — but they were surprisingly good! Good enough that I would go back.
Second Visit: Wings and Mozzarella sticks. When I read they had homemade Mozzarella sticks, I HAD TO. And when I tried one in the car. . I was like. . THANK YOU JESUS! Are you kidding me? These are off the hook delicious. Only one thing. . I think sometimes they may freeze the cheese which makes it a bit plasticy. But other times, it’s nice and stringy and you know it’s never been frozen. And really — with sticks this good. .. go ahead and freeze them! I just don’t care.
Third Visit: Mozzarella sticks
Fourth Visit: Mozzarella sticks
Infinity and Beyond: Mozzarella sticks. . and sometimes wings.
Marinara or Rasp preserves for your sticks? They are both good. It really depends on what I am craving that day.
They close oddly early for a pizza/​wing joint. Last time I checked, I was shocked that it was 8pm and 9pm. Cause this is the food you want at 11pm and after. .. good, greasy, food you can drink and hang out with friends with.
So, why on earth do I say Dinner and a SHOW?
Go inside and find out for yourself. The older couple that run the kitchen (Maybe the owners?) are totally miserable. Never smile. They look like they can’t wait until the joint closes each night. And there has been this Asian kid working the counter. He is about as pleasant as a thumb tack in your eye. But. .. (here’s the kicker). . I LOVE IT! It cracks me up. And I keep coming back. IT WORKS. . don’t change a thing. Perhaps. . if the older couple in the back would randomly say something mean — or yell at someone to get out of here! I might even come back MORE!

I had a craving for wings and decided to check out Scubber’s since I was in the area. They have a rather extensive menu for an order at the counter kind of place ranging from pizza, salads, mozzarella sticks, sandwiches, nachos and the such. But I went for wings. That’s all I ordered and on which my review is based. The wings were large and perfectly cooked. The meat was nice and juicy. But what really turned me off was the breading and the sauce. I don’t know if this is how they were supposed to be but it was not appetizing. It was as though breaded wings were tossed in a very goopy, thick, flour thickened sauce. There was no crispness to the wings even with breading and the sauce, which barely coated the wings and was gummy. Although I prefer non breaded wings, I’ve had some which were delicious. These were not. Also, I love spicy wings but usually order medium heat with wings I’ve never rated just to gauge their heat level. Medium was perfect and had me sweating and my lips tingling. I loved the heat but glad I didn’t order hot. The flavors were nice, the chicken juicy but I couldn’t get past the floppy thick texture.

Scubbers’ wings are the best I’ve gotten anywhere — and that’s after living 7 years in Buffalo. The flavor is simply unlike anything you’ll find anywhere else, and perfect if you’re into hot foods. They’re not kidding when they say how hot their wings are — I think nothing of getting «suicidal» wings at Duffs’ in Buffalo, yet that doesn’t come close to Scubbers’ X-​hot, let alone their XX-​hot wings. If you’re not into hot, their «medium» might even be pushing it!
If you’re into buffalo chicken pizza, I would strongly recommend theirs as well. You’ll never get it dried out like other places — theirs is dripping in their signature blue cheese dressing, with a thin, yet always crispy crust, and of course you can have it as hot as you’d like. Perfect!
If you’re ever visiting in the Albany area, this is a place you must try — it’s not necessarily a sit-​down restaurant although they do have a few tables, but at least order something for take-​out at your hotel! I drive all the way from Schenectady regularly — the food is definitely worth it!

It’s hard to pay over $ 10 for an order of wings at a counter service joint. Especially if they aren’t consistently amazing.
The Buffalo chicken tenders are less than $ 10 and more than enough for a meal. The problem is that with white meat chicken, some of the pieces can be dried out a bit. Some are really juicy. But it still doesn’t quite deliver the same satisfaction of a bone in wing. Perhaps I can think of this as a healthy alternative and be happy with the choice.
Really what I want is a six piece order of wings. Dare to dream.
But the strength of this review lies not in their piquant classic Buffalo style sauce. Rather, I’m adding another voice to the chorus of Scubber’s most excellent mozzarella sticks.
Sticks is too diminutive a term. Logs isn’t quite right. I’m going to go with spears. These spears are kind of awesome. Their fry job is better than Ralph’s (my favorite local mozzarella stick) with plenty of crisp and surprisingly greaseless batter. The cheese has good pull and is pleasantly milky. If only it was a bit saltier, these could be a contender for grand champion.
On my most recent visit, I found a much improved seating situation from earlier visits (which granted were quite some time ago). Now there are a few four tops and a few more high top deuces. 22 seats in all now makes it a place where one might want to eat in.
And you should eat in, because this is fried food, and nothing good happens to fried food in transit. You want to eat it as soon as its no longer skin blisteringly hot.

Worst pizza I ever had.
I’ve been in Albany for a few days, staying at the Red Roof Inn which is just behind Scrubbers. I turned to Unilocal and noticed both some awful and good reviews and since it couldn’t get any closer we thought we would give it a try.
We order a large pizza, small order of Potatoe skins and a small salad.
I ordered over the phone and spoke to the most disinterested person ever.
Drove over and walked into the place, there were others in there and picking up so I thought that was a good sign but I got nervous went I noticed that all the salads were packed already.
Got back to my room in less than 3 minutes.
Potatoe skins? Doused in sour cream, almost inedible.
The Salad was okay, and all though the dressing looked terrible it tasted fine.
But the pizza? Not only was it the smallest «large» pizza I had ever seen, but it was cold. There was absolutely no way it was fresh. The crust was soggy and the cheese peeled right off the way it would have it was pizza straight from the fridge. The only thing good about it was whatever seasoning they sprinkled all over the top. And I mean all over it, like a layer of it, as if they could hide the fact that it was cold pizza from lunch.
Waste of time and money. Save yourself the grief and go to the Pizza Hut across the street, at least there won’t be any surprises.

I just ordered wings to go. They put my 20 wings in a paper tray (the kind you would be served a hot dog in at the State Fair) and shoved them in a paper bag. I’m not a huge fan of styrofoam, but let’s at least get a paper box. The wings were so so. They tasted like they were frozen, not fresh. And I don’t understand the whole «heat rating» system — «Mild» is Hot and anything above mild is inferno. Seems weird for a place that considers the self to be a wing joint. I’ll stick with Lanie’s next time.

If you are a buffalo wing connoisseur then look no farther. This place has the best wings in Albany. Probably 3^rd best wings in all of the US (behind Anchor Bar and Duffs).
I have been going to scubbers for the last 25 years. Before the new location they were in Latham NY. The recipe hasn’t changed and it still the best.
Wings come in several different sauces: x-​hot is what I always go for and it’s pretty spicy. The wings are large, meaty, and slathered in a thick sauce which is shaken on, not simply poured on. This results in an even coating. The sauce has some texture to it (i think maybe some flour to thicken?) but it keeps the sauce on the wing while you are trying to eat it.
I drive up from NJ once every year just to try the wings at Scubbers because no place else comes close near me.
I recently went two days ago and my son tried the wood fired marguerita pizza. It was very nice classic thin crust. I loved it.

«Move along, nothing to see here.»
I hadn’t had wings in quite some time, and had a serious hankering for the spicy, crispy, vinegary goodness known as buffalo style chicken wings. I also had not tried Scubber’s, so on a Friday lunchtime I headed over.
My wings were lackluster. They were mostly flabby and rubbery, with only a few crispy bits. The «sauce» (if you can call it that) also was disappointing. It’s oddly thick. It looked tomato based to me, a horrible sin. The ‘medium’ sauce that I ordered did have just the right amount of heat, but didn’t have any flavor. There was just no «there» there.
I plowed through the 10 wings like a hungry Lion, wing sauce stains all over my burning fingertips and lips, but I left Scubber’s with my wing craving unsatisfied.
If you’re on Wolf Road and have a hankering for wings, head over to Hooters. The wings there are much better. Plus, if you’re in the mood you can grab a beer too.

I visited Scubber’s this weekend with my boyfriend– he lives in Utica, so we’re both pretty accustomed to fantastic wings. We were on a mission to find the best wings in the Capital Region, so after reading through various Unilocal reviews, we decided to try out Scubber’s.
The wood-​fired pizza is very flavorful, and we also really enjoyed the hand-​breaded mozzarella sticks. I would definitely recommend the pizza to anyone looking for a tasty, authentic wood-​fired pizza.
But I have to say, I’m not sure what all of the fuss over the wings is about! We got two orders of the mild wings, and they were honestly pretty dry and nothing to write home about. Not to mention, for $ 9.99 an order, I was expecting something much better. They’re not awful, but they are definitely expensive, all things considered.
So, to cut a long story short: pizza = wonderful. Wings = meh.

Having lived in NYC and traveled all over upstate, these are the best wings I’ve had. Their sauce is very spicy so be careful, but it has the perfect mix of tang and heat.
The nachos are really good as well. The meat is very flavorful. Pizza is also a must try.
Only downside is the wings are more expensive than most Wing joints.