Garden Bistro 24

The best steak-​frites in the area. Seriously, Garden Bistro’s take on the dish would stack up well against most in Brussels, Paris or anywhere else for that matter. Garden Bistro offers the dish with a flat iron steak or a hanger steak. The flat iron is nice, but we prefer the hanger. A good hanger steak is truly special and also somewhat hard to find locally (though you can also get one at the Epicurean down the road). A choice of topping is also offered so you can customize it somewhat though we are partial to the simple and perfect red wine jus. There’s always an interesting beer on tap to go with it as well.
Sometimes the adults all get steak, but over the course of a number of visits, we’ve sampled quite a bit of the rest of the menu and a number of specials. The crispy calamari appetizer is a favorite for the kids. They also love the homemade chicken tenders and recently discovered the PB and J crêpe. The mussels are wonderful and offered in a variety of sauces. Great crab cakes, savory crepes, and when in the mood for a burger, one of the best available. We typically skip dessert though there are enough temptations that we sometimes indulge. The dessert crepes are nice and they make a fantastic chocolate mousse. The chocolate cookies are delicious too and travel well for a next day treat.
We’ve had more dinners here than lunch though lunch is also quite good. Recently, we also had a Sunday brunch. The little one enjoyed the berry crêpe. We also had a fantastic bacon, egg and cheese crêpe and an absolutely perfect croque-​madame. Both came with the breakfast frites. These were the same as the usual frites, but served with onion, pepper and seasoned. Ok, so not the same. A warning that they were pretty spicy. I loved them, but could see others thinking the seasoning was a bit much. Oddly, we were the only party in the restaurant when we arrived a bit after 10:30 and still the only one there when we left when our meal was finished. I’m going to spread the word on brunch because I’d like to see it continue. Not worried for the restaurant overall though as it is always pretty crowded at dinner.
One last quick note as I’ve seen a few recent reviews mention an administrative charge added to the bill. We’d hate this too, but in the last 6 weeks, we have been to the Latham location twice and the Slingerlands location once and have not seen any such charge so perhaps the ill-​advised experiment was pretty short-​lived.
We’re always looking for slightly nicer places we still can comfortably take the kids and Garden Bistro definitely meets this criteria. It has been in our rotation for a while and as long as it keeps up the good work, it certainly will remain.

After being blinded by the unflattering fluorescent lighting and sickened by the unexplainable sweetness of the butter for our dinner rolls, I found an enormous bug in my chicken Caesar salad. You’d think that, after we told our waitress, the manager would come out and apologize or that some other effort would be made to make amends. This was not the case – nobody apologized, no manager showed up, and the waitress said nothing about it for the rest of the meal. Needless to say, we will not be coming back again.

Having visited the previous location in Colonie (see my review at that time for comparison), I expected it to be somewhat of a reincarnation at its Latham location. The atmosphere is more lively and well decorated, space is larger and sort of classier.
While our server was friendly and responsive, the overall service didn’t make us feel at home or bring it up another star. We ordered mussels in a white wine and shallot broth in time for «mussel Monday» ($ 13.50) served with a cone full of fries and a small baguette to soak up the broth (similar to the little baguette you’d get from Panera’s you-​pick-​2). We also ordered the Parisian burger (applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onions, brie cheese, truffle dijon aioli, + crispy potatoes, $ 13.50). I’m not sure what mussel Mondays are all about, but both the website and their printed menu say $ 13.50…not sure what’s so special about that, unless you’re telling me mussels are only available on Mondays.
The white wine and shallot broth was amazing though, with just the perfect amount of broth for each bite and even enough for the bread to soak up. The mussels themselves were very small and did not live up to my expectations (I’d goto Merry Monk instead). The burger we had was a medium temperature as requested when we ordered and had a slight truffle taste to it which I’d prefer even more of. The fried potatoes on the burger resembled somewhat like potato chips but we’re drowned a little too much in oil, making it seem like wet chips atop the burger. The fries were nothing to write home about, and most pieces we got were short and thin, almost never longer than 2 inches each french fry. We ended our meal with a crème brûlée ($ 5.50) and while it boasted a good torching job, the custard was too thin and resembled more pudding — like than egg custard like.
I’d like to give it more than three stars but at this point in time I can’t justify to do so, especially after receiving the check and found that a 5% administrative fee was added. I flagged down the server to ask about it and was told that was implemented as part of a new year new prices/​wages increase initiative, so that they don’t have to change menu prices.

We made the mistake of trying this place for New Years Eve. When I made the reservation there was no mention that you wouldn’t be able to order off the regular menu, and that our only choice was going to be 55.00 per person –plus tax and tip for a four course meal with a few choices. We arrived at 6:30 pm the parking lot was empty should have been a red flag there, only 4 customers in the restaurant,
I ordered the duck and it was very dry and had no flavor. It appeared to have been popped in the microwave just before serving, It was steeping hot and very dry and rubbery. There were No dinner rolls available we were told «not tonight». It was a ghost town in the place, no music playing and we were seated in the booth beside the cash register so all we heard for the time we were there was the sound of a cash register. When we left the place was empty and they probably closed.
My recommendation In the future when someone makes a NY eve reservation they should be told the regular menu will not be available. I would have appreciated knowing this and i would have saved the trip for another day. The cost per person with tip was 72.00 that was with no extra’s– very disappointing, I Would not recommend it and I will not return !

I love this place for lunch, however, it is a bit heavy for dinner. The dinner entrees are very rich, almost too much so, and the serving sizes don’t reflect the costs as we’d expect. One of us had the shrimp crêpe which was $ 23 and had 4 shrimp — didn’t really connect for us. My lunch favorite is the Marabec salad except I substitute goat cheese instead of blue cheese (only because I don’t really like blue cheese…). One thing that was odd today is there was an additional 5% «administrative fee» to close the gap for the increase in hourly wages with no explanation as to why. We had to ask and the reason was not changing the prices on the menu. However, the servers had to explain this to everyone (we saw this at several tables) which was awkward and left us wondering, so now how do we tip? We asked if we should lower the tip and the response was no. Very confusing. I’d have normally given this a 5 star for lunch and overall service but the 5% fee and heavy dinner dropped the rating down. I recommend this for lunch for sure, however, we may not return for dinner…

Caramelized onions with herbs and chicken gravy with no sign of cheddar cheese curds. You call that poutine? Sacrilegious. Take it off the menu. Or at least call it «my interpretation of poutine which doesn’t taste very good» And when someone asks for their burger medium, you don’t have to fully cook it. I mean for gods sake. It’s already dead. Do you really need to kill it again? Was not impressed with the Parisian burger nor its poutine accompaniment. Took a bite out of the hangar steak, and was not impressed either. Whats with the caramelized onions on almost everything? and why does this place get such glowing reviews.

Had a week night dinner there with my daughter. I had the days special hamburger and she had a salad. The service was somewhat slow. The flavor of the food we OK. This was our first visit and will probably be the last. The pricing was too high for the low quality food. To quote my daughter, «you can get a better meal at Applebee’s.»

We love this restaurant. We’ve followed them from the Central Ave location to their current location on Troy-​Schenectady Road.
We’ve dined at GB24 many times for brunch, lunch, dinner or a quick small plate snack and never been disappointed. We seek out restaurants with locally-​sourced, grass-​fed meats and quality ingredients with sources indicated on the menu and that’s one of the main reasons we love it. There is something for everyone, our teen and his friends love the burgers. We have enjoyed every entrée we’ve had. The crepes are excellent and the mussels the best in the region with unique and flavorful broths. The pomme frites are closer to what we’ve had in France than anywhere else in the area.
We’ve taken family and friends to brunch and everyone has always been happy. The wine and beer selections are perfect matches for the menu.
In addition to the mussels other favorites of ours are the Merabec salad and the grass-​fed flat iron steak. The dessert choices vary and are dependably good, but we especially like the chocolate mousse.
The service is consistently excellent and the environment pleasant and comfortable. It’s one of our main go-​to restaurants for any occasion or no occasion at all.

First time here and we will definitely be coming back! Fiancé and I were looking for a new, casual place for a good meal tonight and stumbled upon this place nestled close enough and far enough from the airport. Food and service were awesome! Seated quickly and had an awesome waiter named Matt who took great care of us and gave us great food and drink suggestions. We settled on a couple of salads, the poutine (AWESOME), Pulled Pork Fritters (AMAZING!!!). For dinner I had the mussels and he had the bistro burger. Both were delicious and cooked perfectly.

Love this place! It’s really worth a venture in if you’re ever not sure! I haven’t ever had a bad meal here! Simple menu, yet fresh and flavorful everytime.
Excellent salads and homeade dressings, big selection here. This is my go to place for a fresh salad. The pulled pork sliders are very simple yet flavorful. The crab cakes in my opinion are the best in this capital region area. The burgers are simple but delicious. My husband ikes the french dip and hangar steak. The pomme frites are so good, they’re crunchy and flavorful. The tomato bisque is one of my favorite soups! so good! I sometime call and go just for that and a salad.
I loved them on central ave in Colonie, and happy to see some of the old staff has come over with the new location. From what I have seen so far, they are more busy in this new location. The parking lot is very strange to maneuver in from Route 7. I hope they continue to do well and not leave anytime soon. I thought they were closed but glad to see they just moved to a much larger location. The ambiance is fair, I feel it lacks personality but is very clean and well taken care of. Thanks GB24!

Thank you Unilocal for leading me to this little piece of heaven. Very good french onion soup, delicious salad customized exactly how I asked, and flawless service. All a girl can really ask for.

I went on a Wednesday and was pleased they had a three course special. I got the shrimp cakes and the stroganoff and dessert to go. Shrimp cakes were very good; crisp on the outside and buttery inside. Stroganoff was ok… Needed more seasoning and was a bit overwhelmed by the veggies. Dessert wasn’t actually great either, but I do factor in the travel time. Service was friendly and prompt. I’d definitely try it again!

My guest got the french steak dip for lunch. I had half and I didn’t love it, but I’d say it’s about average taste with an $ 11.99 price point which was ok.
I however had a different experience with my meal. I like to try new different things and I like seafood, so I went with the Salmon Crêpe with Spinach and goat cheese. The pairing was absolutely awful. I asked my guest if it was just me, and they confirmed it was not. I hate wasting money/​food and I’ve trained myself to stomach most flavors, but I have to say this was the first thing in about two years that I couldn’t eat.
All that being said I know other people that like it and the staff was friendly, service prompt and décor clean and modern.

Service was very good, staff extremely friendly. My free range chicken meal with butternut squash was out of this world. Great flavors, awesome atmosphere! Definitely would recommend giving this place a try!

(I’m negligent in getting this review online. It was originally written on 7÷30÷15. I was waiting for the address to be updated and then forgot.)
Now that the original GB24 has relocated to Latham it’s much closer and more convenient for us. It does require a somewhat circuitous weaving route to get out of the parking lot, and probably just as puzzling for customers driving West on Rt. 7. But I’ll bet that they will be getting a good lunch crowd on weekdays from all the office buildings in the area now.
So today was the official opening day at this location and our approximate 2 pm arrival gave no hint to how crowded it was the night before for their unannounced soft-​opening. Only our server was able to fill us in. Right now there were only three people at the bar and I think two other tables in the dining room. The layout looks attractive, but there is nothing to absorb the normal sounds. Above the music playing «C’est Si Bön» it is easy to hear the crashing of dishes behind the bar on the other side of the restaurant.
I’m no expert on Poutine, but seeing it on our lunch menu I knew right away that I would have to order it as an appetizer to share. GB24’s version ($ 8.50) uses their standard pomme frites covered with caramelized onions, melted cheddar cheese, roasted chicken gravy, and fresh herbs. Now from what I’ve read in the past and sampled elsewhere, the traditional dish is served with cheese curd and a light brown gravy — no caramelized onions, no herbs. But I must say, this was the tastiest Poutine that I’ve had so far. So damn tradition and thank you GB24.
My wife started with a glass of White Bordeaux ($ 9) and I had to resort to unsweetened Iced Tea ($ 2.75) since the draft beer lines were not ready yet and the list of bottled beers was unappealing.
My wife decided on their Quinoa Burger ($ 13.50), a vegetarian burger comprised of quinoa, sautéed kale, house-​cured pickles, avocado relish, and aged cheddar cheese. It looked like no other vegetarian burger we’ve ever seen before. Instead of being comprised of finely ground and chopped ingredients, the burger was made with more coarsely chopped veggies that were only loosely held together by the quinoa. This made the burger more sloppy to hold and eat, but the flavors were delicious. I just don’t know what else it could have possibly been called other than a burger. Lunch dishes came with a choice of either pomme frites, salad or a seasonal soup. My wife went with the frites.
For my lunch accompaniment, I chose the Tomato Bisque since I had probably already had my share of frites in the poutine. Besides, I knew I would still be able to have some of my wife’s substantial serving size of frites. I decided on the Smoked Scottish Salmon Crêpe ($ 11.50) with red onions, sautéed spinach, capers, and local goat cheese. The tomato bisque did not have a really strong tomato flavor, but with a blend of herbs and topped with pinola nuts it was full of flavor and quite enjoyable. The crêpe was equally enjoyable. There was an ample filling of tasty salmon and spinach which blended nicely with the goat cheese.
Service was friendly and efficient. With no room to consider dessert or coffee we’ll just have to return sometime soon. Btw, GB24 is directly across the street from Ayelada yogurt.

I arrived in Albany after flying for many hours, and after taking a nap at the hotel, I was looking for a good place for dinner. The Garden Bistro showed good reviews on Unilocal,so being in walking distance to my hotel, I decided to check it out, and boy am I happy I did! The waitress recommended the burger — which turned out to be one of the best burgers I ever had! And I have tried many good burgers in my life so that says a lot. In fact, the burger was so good, that I ordered another one!
For dessert I had the chocolate mousse which was airy and delicious. Highly recommend!

Very good burgers! Pumpkin soup was amazing! Best Pomme frites I’ve had in a while. Theo was very friendly! Best poutine south of Ontario! Thanks Unilocal for recommending! Almost forgot about the caramel martini! Well worth the wait! For the 4 meals, appetizer drinks. $ 82.

So I guess I like quinoa burgers! Or at least this one. I happened to be across the street from Garden Bistro and found an incredibly appetizing pic of a quinoa burger (shout out to Roger K) and when I read the description on their website, I absolutely had to try it.
I didn’t know what to expect about this spot located pretty much in the middle of– … Route 7! It’s located across the street from a shopping center with a starbucks… and that’s pretty much it.
Wow, was I pleasantly surprised– Not only by my meal but the appearance of the restaurant. I enjoyed my meal outside because our days of nice sunny weather are numbered! But the inside was nicely decorated and had a cute bar area which had southern tier pumpking on draught! That being said there were a handful of other customers but I attributed that to the time of day I visited.
The menu has a nice variety of offerings and they have Sunday brunch as well. Seems like the mussels are a signature item although I went with a bit of tunnel vision and honed in on the quinoa burger… And It was great! It looked hearty and sounded flavorful and fulfilled both expectations! It was a very «crunchy-​granola-​type» veg-​burger and it really felt like I should be eating it at some hip foodie spot in Portland or something, not in a strip mall on route 7. But I’m glad I only have to travel the short distance to enjoy it.
My quinoa burger came with both fries and a side salad– talk about best of both worlds! And the best part? It was all $ 13.50! The fries were standard but nice to have the option and the dressing on the side salad was delicious.
I was a bit bummed I liked it so much since this location is quite a drive from me but then I learned it’s a small chain and there’s one in slingerlands! Hopefully it’s just as quaint and the quality of the food is just as good.

I’m between a 3 and a 4 on this place. I want to love it more than I do because I think the food is really good, but it’s missing a few things in terms of atmosphere. Maybe we’re just not the right age group because the last time we left this place it was like a reunion of the Golden Girls. That being said, the food is great.
I ordered the spring mix salad with dried cherries, blue cheese, and added grilled chicken beast. I ordered the maple vinaigrette on the side, overall major winner.
My husband ordered the French Dip, which is apparently their claim to fame and for good reason! I am not a fan of the French Dip in general, but I have to admit this sandwich was phenomenal in every sense. It will have you considering whether or not you should literally lick your plate clean.
Service was solid, food came out quickly. Overall solid place. Good for a family dinner, dinner out with you parents, or maybe a retirement party.

Fine French bistro that has relocated from Central Avenue to Troy Rd by the Niskayuna/​Colonie line. Hanger steak, crepes, mussels, crab cakes and calamari are all outstanding. Many locally sourced products cooked with care. Small salads which are big enough to share. Excellent bar with solid craft beer selection. Beautiful outdoor patio. New location closer to Niskayuna and many corporate offices. Save room for their excellent crème brûlée.