Hot Harry’s Fresh Burritos

Until recently, Hot Harrys has been a consistently good experience. However, 3 out of the last 4 visits they had no Chocolat chip cookies and their cheese is different. The staff are always courteous and friendly. I hope their inventory improves.

Hot Harry’s on Union Street in Schenectady is destined to be our go-​to fast food option since it is close to a house we’re renovating. My husband is on a low-​salt diet so what makes Hot Harry’s bland to my palette is really what is saving his kidneys and heart. I like all of their hot sauces and added three different ones in increasing heat levels, culminating in the «Hot Damn» sauce, to my chicken bowl.
They have one of those newer pop machines that by touch of a button you can get some soda. This is conducive to inventive cocktails such as Pomegranate Smart Water with Cherry Pepsi, which was my handcrafted selection today. Simple, syrupy pleasures makes adulthood fun.
After two visits, one of the workers already recognizes us. I imagine we are a far cry from the usual customers, since we are always in dirty, paint-​splattered clothes and steel-​toed boots. It is nice to get such a warm welcome after spending hours toiling away in a house with no heat prying stubborn nails up from their 100-​years’ slumber.
I like that the food is relatively healthy and quick, and my husband and I can enjoy a quick sit-​down meal and get back to work pronto.

I love Hot Harrys. The owner is fantastic and usually the staff is very friendly. Food is good– I like that they have some unique options you can’t find at other burrito places. :)

I really don’t get why so many of these reviews tear this place apart. I go here regularly and I think the food is excellent. The staff is always very friendly. The burritos come in different sizes, so you don’t have to destroy your stomach to enjoy one. Yes, if there’s a line, it takes time, they make everything by hand in front of you… just like all the other local burrito places. I’ve been here many times and would go back many more. Plus, you can order online through
and just pick it up.

The staff is nice and whenever I stop by I always see someone cleaning so that’s pretty nice to see. Personally the food here is ok. Not much flavor inside. Good for children to eat but if you want somewhere with more flavor, you should probably go elsewhere

The staff is very friendly the place is very clean. However the food is not great. The food its okay to leave your car. Great place to bring the kids on Sunday because they eat free. Don’t expect too much here bomber and chipotle are down the street in a much better. I am giving 3 stars for friendliness and neatness. The food alone is 2stars

Good was good, exactly what is expected from a chain Mexican joint. Portions were a bit bigger than the others. What sets this place apart from other chain joints is the salsa. Seems to fresh even if it’s not? The range included very spicy as well as a corn/​bean combo.
Staff was nice, one lady appears to be the one who runs the place, she did actually seem to care if my kids enjoyed the meal.

Don’t expect brilliance here, but for a quick, yummy meal that isn’t too expensive, I enjoy their burritos.

Its OK for the kids. Get quantity not quality here. Sunday’s kids eat free. This place is great for a quick filling meal.

Thought I’d give another burrito place a try today. They had the new Pepsi touch-​screen fountain and the interior was clean-​ish in a saturated light. The staff was courteous and friendly but this did not extend to the salsa bar, which was self-​serve and poorly maintained. The quality of their ingredients was poor and the final product barely seemed palatable compared to other burrito joints in the area.
Also, while they had a vegetarian option, they proceeded to cook the tofu right next to meat and didn’t seem to comprehend why that wouldn’t be okay for a vegetarian– to their credit, the staff appeared to be 16 and they may just be naïve on such things.

So two visits ago, I went on a Sunday and one of the workers was sleeping on a hightop table while another worker who was brand new did everything and kept making errors. I vowed I would never come back, but alas, I do like their food, so I gave it another try. I’m a vegetarian and ordered a Burrito with Tofu, well the worker made my burrito’s Tofu less than an inch away from the person behind me’s chicken. Well guess what, I bit into a big chunk of chicken. I’ll never go back. This place is very poorly run, which is a real shame as the food can be good.

Hot Harry’s is a local chain that advertises burritos for American tastes, and I happen to like it, since they aren’t pretending to be something they’re not. Anyway, I’m a repeat visitor to Hot Harry’s, and usually tend to get their bacon cheeseburger burrito, which I find to be quite tasty. I also have tried their Oktoberfest burrito with chorizo sausage, which seems to be a seasonable option (can’t find that chorizo much around Albany). I do get my choice of toppings at a reasonable cost as well. The staff is friendly and starts working on your order quickly. Chips come with your meal, and there is a salsa bar as well. I usually order queso on the side though, since I do enjoy their queso. Definitely will come back from time to time.

So, we’re very recent Californian transplants — you know, the land of taquerias, carnicerias, burritos mariscos, and queso fresco, and I just have to laugh aloud (really, I am actually laughing aloud right now) at the outrage in the «poor Mexican food» reviews.
Pardon me for a moment while I say something to our paisanos Californios: ¡no es la comida Mexicana! Si tu quieres encontrar de cilantro o chiles verdes, buena suerte! Es completemente para los gabachos, ha ha ha. Pues, claro que si – pero, ¡esta bien! Es bastante sabroso si tu olvidas la comida autentico de su casa. Es la verdad. Es mucho mas mejor de la comida Americano rapido.
OK, so here’s the rough translation: this is totally decent, even excellent, bargain take-​out chain food if you’re comparing what you’re getting to what you get down the street at McDonald’s for the price of a Big Mac combo. Amply filled burritos, with unusual combinations (thai, buffalo chicken, bacon cheesburger) that, if you eliminate the thought from your head that you’re somehow buying «Mexican» food, perhaps you will be free to understand you’re getting fast food that’s higher quality and probably in the end more healthful for you than the alternative.
By all means, if you _​want_​Mexican food, look elsewhere. This is fast food in burritos.
As far as the location, the staff are extremely nice, the service prompt, and the location convenient. Got no complaints here at all.

Another nasty burrito joint in Albany area. Very bland food and they charge you for every extra item you want on your burrito. Not going back.

2 stars is being nice because the guys that where working were very pleasant and helpful being that this was my first time there.
The food was SO bland. Even though you get a lot of it … the saying, «It’s quality not quantity» that comes to mind.
I got a steak burrito with normal fixin’s. Bleh, pfffffft, shrug. It was nothing grand. Nothing even mildly great. I wont go here again.
It’s a poor mans Chipotle or Moes, even Bombers. If you have the option, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! La Mexicana Grocery and Restaurant on State Street is authentic, flavorful, and extremely reasonably priced. Go there instead.

Great vegetarian options. Friendly staff and clean tables. Plus they recycle their Styrofoam cups!

Nothing I couldn’t make at home. Wifey and I went for lunch recently and left disappointed.
Anna’s Taqueria (Boston) over Chipolte over Moe’s over Hot Harry’s
We both got Super Burritos, hers chicken mine pork. Generally flavorless ingredients, I couldn’t taste any seasoning in anything. They use «bag» guacamole crap, which is not good. They also forgot to put sour cream and guac on my wife’s burrito. Other than the guac, the burritos ingredients were fine, just not good/​flavorful. Their «hot» salsa at the salsa bar wasn’t even remotely spicy. I had to douse everything with BBQ to eat it because it lacked flavor, and mine had jalapeño’s on it!
Also, as others noted, pricey. Two super burritos and two smallish fountain sodas were $ 19.

Good, cheap, franchise-​style place to get Americanized burritos. If you don’t go in expecting an authentic experience, you’ll be happy — this place is like Baja Fresh or Qdoba, not «authentic» Mexican food. It’s fast food. It’s good. The prices are reasonable, and the staff is friendly and helpful. I love the salsa bar and the variety of burritos they have (including vegetarian and vegan-​friendly options).
Great when you’re too lazy to cook on a weeknight.

One word– franchise– and this is a bad one. The service was great, so for that they get two stars. There are nice people working there, but that will only go so far. A smile will not fill my belly with good food.
1. This is not Mexican food, thus not the best burritos in Albany. I make far better ones at home! Flour tortillas should NEVER be steamed to warm them. They should be heated on a warm surface to make them have a crispy texture– not a sticky one! YUCK! The rice may have been made recently from a box with «Mexican seasoning.» This is so wrong. It would taste so much better if the rice was cooked with water, rice, tomato sauce and a little salt! That’s all ya need!
2. This is not fresh. The guac is obviously processed elsewhere… and does not taste good. It tastes like preservatives. If it tastes bad, why add it? Esp. to your SUPER burritos? I could not figure out if the beans came from a can… so, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on that one!
3. You call this salsa? Yeah it looks decent, but it tastes awful! The salsas they offer have NO heat. The tomatillo based salsa is SWEET! YUCK! This is not the kind of salsa you would find in Mexico! Maybe the Carribean?
Now, I am not a Mexican Food snob. I have gone to good Mexican Food chains and franchises… some of which are really, really good for a quick bite! I don’t expect to have a terribly authentic experience in this kind of restaurant, but I do expect a little more!
For example, Baja Fresh and La Salsa are great Mexican food franchises! The last ones I went to were in Southern California, but I know that there are some out here in NYC and NJ. I wish we had one of these here over Hot Harry’s Burritos! After my experience, I believe a more appropriate name for them would be Harry’s Wraps. The words «Hot» and «Burritos» in their name are misleading and made my experience extremely disappointing.

Decent place to grab burritos. This Hot Harry’s is located at the corner of Union Street and Keyes Avenue. The restaurant is clean with ample seating and the staff is friendly. The food is made to order in front of you. They serve up burritos with chips, breakfast burritos, tacos, quesadillas, nachos, salads, kids meals, and Pepsi products (bottled and self serve fountain drinks). There is a neat little salsa bar offering hot sauces and fresh homemade salsas: mild, medium, spicy & cowboy caviar (beans, corn, tomato salsa)-YUM! The food is far from being authentic Mexican, but good enough to satisfy the hunger for a quick meal.
We stopped here for lunch since we had a Clipper BOGO burrito coupon. I had a BBQ Burrito (with Cilantro Lime Steak, rice, grilled peppers, onions, lettuce, & BBQ sauce) wrapped in a flour tortilla, which was tasty and I finished it all along with the crispy tortilla chips. We loaded up on that cowboy caviar to dip the chips. My buddy had the Thai Chicken Burrito (marinated chicken, rice, red onion, lettuce, Thai sauce) which was decent tasting, not much chicken though.
The burritos are on the pricier side, most $ 5.89-$ 6.99, adding a fountain soda ($ 1.79) would bring the total to around $ 8-​$ 10 with tax. With the coupon, we saved $ 6.99, so the total came out to just under $ 11 with tax for two burritos and two drinks.
(3.33 stars overall)