Simpson’s

Food was decent, but the night we were there, we had several world-​class rude servers – continually interrupted conversations

I don’t easily stray from the routine but today I’m happy that I did. The chorizo skillet, wow!!! Hands-​down the best chorizo I’ve had, excellent presentation and very delicious.

The 4 stars are for the Cherrystone clams on the half shell. Large, fresh, and sweet. 2 orders of these make a meal.
And, they have a real wood-​fired fireplace.

We had a wonderful dinner here on Thursday. Our first time here but definitely will be back again very soon. My husband had the special that evening a meatloaf dish. Plenty of delicious meat, nice gravy and mashed potatoes and broccoli. I had broiled georges bank scallops with mashed potatoes and broccoli. It was delicious and there were 9 scallops! very nice presentation and the place is so comfortable. we had clam chowder and french onion soup first that were both plentiful and excellent. Plenty to take home leftovers for the next day. They have a very nice varied menu and have excellent service… we will be going there again very soon… Loved the food, service and ambiance.

Very good food. Service was a little slow but not because of the wait staff. It appears that since you are in a convention center there is only one kitchen for three restaurants. Would go again maybe not on a weekend.

Overpriced drinks for sure!
But that’s what you get at a hotel bar I suppose. Staff was always friendly.

I love breakfast here! It’s so delicious and the service was great. The staff were especially friendly and social. Great prices as well. Not sure why there are 3 entries for the same hotel here on Unilocal?Any time I come to Albany I stay at the Desmond, eat in their restaurant, and drink in their bar. Always a lot of interesting people to meet and the drinks are great!

I had a business meeting on Tues. Started with a bowl of New England clam chowder and then chicken quesadilla. The soup was luke warm and bland. The quesadilla was served with a whole wheat wrap which made it too heavy and grainy.
Not a good meal.

Christmas dinner disaster! Poor service (took 1 ½ hr to receive entre). Ribeye good choice but my salmon was overcooked and dry to the point of being almost inedible. Leg of lamb not special. Poor value — for $ 35 person appetizer was only cup of soup and they refused my request for a scoop of ice cream with apple pie. Enjoyed china coffee cups and rolls. Thats about it.

The food here is okay. I think they use the same salad dressing on all veggies no matter how it’s prepared. The ambience is like an Upper Eastside Country Club. Crab Cakes are yum! Clam Chowder — hold on to your shorts delicious!

An excellent and fairly casual restaurant.
The prices on the menu are at the three star level, but service from the excellent and polite staff, deserves five stars.
The menu is varied and comprehensive without being confusing, and especially the fish and seafood selection offers some unusual dishes and surprises.
The steak I had on my first visit was beyond excellent. A triumph for steaks everywhere. The orange roughy on my second visit didn’t quite measure up to the high standard of the steak, but it was still good, don’t get me wrong.

I was at the hotel for a convention and ordered a fried and a sandwich. The portions were big, the potato chips home made and overall the food was good. The sandwich was rather expensive. The service was a little weird but overall fine.

AT 8:45 on a week day of a holiday week, we were the only customers there. Simpsons is in the Desmond hotel and it seems to be oriented towards large groups, so our experience might not be typical.
Breakfast was great and the service was prompt from the time we arrived until we left. Of course, with 3 waitstaff, a manager, and a hostess, they should be very quick with only one table seated. Regardless, we were happy with the service with one important exception.
The waitress didn’t seem to have any experience with allergies. That’s surprising but possibly explained if their typcial customers are business groups. The more disturbing part was the seeming lack of attention to the allergy. We expressed that the allergy is severe. After we ruled out a few possible options, the waitress suggested a bagle. It turned out that she didn’t check at all whether the bagle was ok. When we asked her after it arrived at the table, she checked and found out it wasn’t. We barely avoided a serious issue.
The Challah french toast and the corn flake french toast were delicious.

Excellent food and service. While the creativity of the dishes didn’t blow me away, the quality and presentation made it all worthwhile. Kudos to the wait staff, who was very attentive and who also worked with us to customize our meals to suit our dietary needs.

The husband, step-​daughter, and I had breakfast here while staying at the Desmond. This is the «casual» dining restaurant, but it is far from that. Expect a table with lovely linens and a wait staff that will give you a first class experience.
The restaurant was quite empty while we were here, but I imagine that the atmosphere would be great with more people in there. The staff was quite patient waiting for my step-​daughter to decide what she wanted and asking them to recite the list of cereal at least twice. She was a bit frustrated since their kids menu to play on had mistakes and was a poor copy, but no big deal.
I had the french toast with a side of sausage. It was delicious. The husband had the eggs benedict and quite enjoyed them. The meal was all around great and we really enjoyed our meal here.

We stopped here for dinner on our way to the Albany Airport. It is one of two eating establishments in the Desmond Hotel and is the most casual. It was my first experience here and it was delightful. The dining room was a mix of tables and booths and exuded Old World charm. The linens were white and crisp, the lighting was perfect and the service was impeccable. There were four of us, who ordered different items, and all were more than pleased. We will definitely return when the opportunity presents itself. A hidden gem.