Peter Pause Restaurant

I’ve recently moved to Schenectady and my cousin has been bringing me to her favorite spots– one being Peter Pause.
Peter Pause is a small café/​diner on Nott street. There’s not much parking, we ended up parking on the street. We were greeted by a beautiful blonde waitress who knew my cousin by name. There were a good amount of people eating at 8am on a Monday, with more parties piling in as we were seated.
Peter Pause has a great menu and very reasonable prices. My cousin, her 2 kids and I ate a great breakfast for under $ 20. I had a bacon egg and cheese on a hard roll, and they all had eggs with bacon sausage, home fries, & homemade Italian toast. The bacon is fresh and crisp, the bread warm, the eggs hot and cooked just right. The bacon, egg & cheese I had was perfect.
Service was fast & friendly. They have some amazing lunch specials that I’ll have to check out some time soon!

In reading two of the previous reviews I was quite surprised in their negative comments. Today we had a delicious breakfast and much pleasant conversation… I would recommend those people try it again… I posted a picture of eggs, homemade Italian toast and home fries.

Wow… I’m missing something here. Peter Pause, should be Peter Please. Please use seasoning. I don’t understand how hard is it to use seasoning? Oregano, garlic, parsley etc would add layers of flavor’s to the food. We tried the meatballs. Plain. No seasoning, as well as the eggplant and chicken cutlets. I wanted to like this place cause I’m a softly for a neighborhood local place. But I found nothing authentic Italian. But on a good note, Our waitress was so nice and accommodating which wanted me to like it even more, but the food lacked flavor.

I just finished lunch and felt I had to write a review. I had the spaghetti and meatballs with a salad, and was so happy with my choice. I am very picky about my meatballs and sauce, and this was just the right amount of Italian spices and thickness and meatballs were amazing. The bread is homemade and was so tasty. I loved the atmosphere, made you feel like you were one of the many regulars that obviously eat here. Donna and Dean were awesome. This will definitely be my go to restaurant when I am in this area. Definitely two thumbs up!

OK — I felt bad after reviewing the restaurant although the truth. I do remember when the former owners had it — much of the time I would go was at breakfast. So today while in the area went in at a time — just before lunch — when typically the place would be packed, and there were but a handful of patrons with only one guy at the counter. I sat down and ordered eggs, Italian toast and home fries.
This is what progressed — two main cooks one with a new grill on the right (cook 2) and the older grill with the main chef (cook 1) on the left. Guy on the right precooks most items and transfers them with a spatula to the main grill. Cook 2 wearing gloves yet when he needs ketchup reached over on the counter grabbed the ketchup bottle everyone else uses to apply ketchup to a to go order. I bet the gloves he put on at the beginning of the day are the same at the end as he was even touching non food prep items with the gloves and then preparing foods for patrons, it was all kind of icky until I saw cook 1. Let’s just say I am NEVER eating there again.
Cook 1 wears no gloves and touches almost every item on the grill by hand. Picking up the precooked bacon over and over again, sausage patties, etc. The whole time no gloves. Wipes his hand on this disgusting rag and again touches — touches — touches. Two college age guys now sitting to my left and since I have now been served my two eggs and potatoes — after a 20 minute wait — I get to watch the cooks willy-​nilly break multiple health code violations as they prepare the new victims, er I mean customers. They are served also eggs, potatoes, toast but each ordered bacon. I watch as one guy takes a bite of bacon and says to cook 1 that he likes his bacon crispier, the chef with his ungloved hand and spatula scoops up the bacon right off his plate and back onto the grill were some other patrons eggs are cooking to crisp them up. Then 5 minutes later transfers them the same way back. Continuing the whole time touching, I even saw him flip an egg onto a sandwich and then use his ungloved hand to fold a section of the egg over.
I commented before that the bread was still good — nope that is gone now too. Almost doughy to the bite.
Don’t take this as a rogue review from a disgruntled customer that is not what this is. I will state again as I did in my first review. I want to cry!!!
Say goodbye to Peter Pause because this clearly isn’t the same restaurant.

As a college student far from home, I find Peter Pause to be one of my favorite places to eat in Schenectady, it’s got the best home cooked food feeling and there are always regulars there. Like a small town diner. Their breakfast is to die for

One of Schenectady’s best! They are open for breakfast and lunch and have great selections for both.
Their eggs and French toast are delicious. Red sauce and meatballs are a good choice too. Quick and friendly service makes the experience even better. A favorite among Union College students.

Worst eggplant parm I’ve ever had, mushy, no cheese. Thin it was but that’s all I can say about it, also ordered the chicken parm for Christmas dinner, expensive patties, such a thin slice of mozzarella on the chicken that you could see the meat underneath. The meat was not all that good either, a bit dry even though I reheated exactly as she instructed not 1 minute longer. The sauce for the top was nothing more than canned grocery store Hunts or some other brand, no seasoning, no flavor, what a rip off. This lady has some nerve charging what she does for what she gives you. Steer clear! Next time I’m looking for good eggplant parm I’ll look elsewhere!

Schenectady is full of these gems. It looks like some combination of a diner and grandma’s house. There’s counter seating for around 10 in addition to the dining area. You can tell that the Italian bread is fresh — chewy with just enough crusty crunch. The eggplant sandwich is as good as people say, and the Stracciatella soup of the day was delicious.

Well, this place certainly was hyped a lot. Overall it has a nice homemade kind of feel to it. The food is hearty and filling, and reasonably priced. The place sure does get crowded, and is only open for lunch, so you kind of have to make a note of trying to go there. Good eats, good times.

Meh, we love the greasy spoon ambiance here but the food has disappointed on repeat visits. It’s nothing bad, it’s just blindingly bland. I cannot justify the fourth star anymore.

This restaraunt is a Schenectady institution. I do take offence to the previous reviewer that trys to compare Peter Pause to a Brooklyn neighborhood Italian restaraunt. Peter Pause is simply a great place to eat. The ambiance is half the fun and you always get a warm welcome and thank you from Bruno the owner… without a doubt the best breakfast in Schenectady. Everything at the Peter Pause is a little better than you would expect for a neighborhood diner… the homemade italian bread is awesome… bring cash… they don’t take credit cards… you won’t need much though! Sorry Brooklyn… Ill keep Bruno and Schenectady…

Looked like a great place, went in for lunch today, got seated at the same time as a table of 5 guys, waited 20 minutes, waitress twice told us she would «be right with us» as she talked to other customers and served other tables. We ended up leaving after waiting for more than 20 minuntes… this place is not worth the wait!

Peter Pause is a great little place with generous serving sizes, fresh home-​made bread, and excellent prices. I unfortunately haven’t been over to it since the facelift but my only complaint about it before was that it could be extraordinarily difficult to find a place to sit. Especially around lunch time, Peter Pause fills up and you can find yourself with no other option than having to take the food to-​go. Calling ahead to place an order is definitely recommended because if the place is packed, at least the food is ready for you to box it up and take it out.
The food and the sauce are by no means amazing, but for what they are and what they do, it works very nicely. Combining that with the price, you really can’t go wrong here.

Oi, I feel so ashamed even writing this. I’ll confess my bias up front so you can determine what size grain of salt you want to add to this review: I grew up in an Italian family, with homemade pasta, meatballs (the size of a child’s fist and very very delicious), and sauce being the standard on a week to week basis. Nobody, and I mean nobody, beats my grandmother’s meatballs. And coming from the Bronx/​NYC area, and eating out at a lot of small, family owned Italian places there, I can be very, very VERY picky when it comes to Italian food.
This is why 1) I don’t eat out at Italian places very often in the upstate NY area and 2) if I do, I don’t bother writing about it, because it feels almost unfair. But I keep seeing these great reviews for this place, so I was determined to try it and put in my two cents. They’re only open from 6 am — 2pm Monday through Friday, and as I happened to be home during the day today, I decided to stop in.
I will start with the praise: the bread — A++. Crust is the perfect hardness. Very delicious. So glad they gave us 3 enormous pieces each. The stracciatella (Italian egg-​drop chicken soup) — super good. I wanted to take a gallon of it home. The prices — very good. Extremely reasonable and good sized portions. The service — good. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive.
The not so good: the pasta e fagioli. The sauce was very ketchup-​y. Fiancé finished it, but I wouldn’t have. The sauce — super meh. Seems like it came from a can and is a little sweet for my taste.
The in-​between: the meatballs — *shrug* I suppose people like them. I don’t get the big deal. I do believe they are homemade, which is a bonus. I just didn’t find them remarkable at all. The pasta — not bad. I got the ravioli and fiancé got the cavatelli. Nothing good or bad to say.
So, in conclusion (and this is going to sound super snobby, so brace yourselves) if you don’t know any better, this is a great place for you (whoa, that WAS super snobby… crap…should I delete that… nah). If you’ve been raised in an Italian family surrounded by Italian food all your life, you might not be as impressed.

Talk about a face lift. I haven’t been to Peter Pause in months and almost walked right past it this afternoon. I miss the old sign, but in the words of Don Draper, change isn’t good or bad. It just is.
Here’s one thing that hasn’t changed: the food. You ever sit down somewhere hoping for the perfect meal, a meal satisfying both the stomach and the soul? Peter Pause met my needs today. Imagine a perfectly fried piece of eggplant, dripping with cheese, nestled between two pieces of Italian bread and doused in red sauce. Delicious, right? Add two moist, savory meatballs to the mix and not only do you have an outstanding lunch, but you’re on your way to quick heart attack at age 44.
Food like this brings me back to my childhood with the Italian American family I never had. It replaces the meat and potato memories with warm, red sauces and hearty Italian bread. For that, I will travel back to Schenectady on the rare weekday lunch I have off from work.

I keep meeting people that live in the area who have never heard of Peter Pause. And that my friends is a crime.
I love this place. Which is why I have upgraded this institution to five stars.
This is big for me, because I don’t generally help out praise. And I’m a bit concerned about setting people’s expectations too high. Not everything on the menu is fantastic.
The Italian bean soup is unfortunate.
But the things that they do well are delicious and so reasonably priced, it is no wonder that even at 1p on a weekday, there may not be an open table.
What they do well is red sauce. And Italian bread. And eggplant. And meatballs. Recently I asked them if they made their own meatballs. Honestly, I think they were a little offended by the question. But they do, and they are delightfully light and moist. The meatball sandwich, drenched in tomato sauce between two pieces of Italian bread weighs in under $ 6 and its a steal. The eggplant sandwich is pretty fabulous too.
Plus, I love how this humble little place pulls in a cross section of Schenectady. There are professionals in suits and ties, retirees, blue collar laborers, parents with children, college students, and even ladies who lunch.
Sure you may feel out of place coming here as a first timer. It seems as if the people who go here, have been going for years. But in a few years, you will be one of them too.

Great No-​nonsence diner with fun wait staff, food like grandma cooks and delicious fresh baked bread. My parents had the Eggplant Parm sandwhich (it was massive) and, they said, excellent. I had the grilled cheese and Cappicola ham. So tasty. Real comfort food at it’s best. Amazing chicken noodle soup like my Mom makes. Great prices. A real diamond in the rough. Enjoy!

This place should be on DDD on the food channel. If it didn’t have the sign, it could be a speakeasy, no one I know seems to have heard of it and you only find it through word of mouth. The food is so amazing, you need to become a regular, not get into a rut and try everything, then go back to your favorites. You’ll think nothing of getting a heavy meal at 11AM. It’s definitely suited for dinner, but you have to make due. If I were a student at Union, you would find me at school or here.

This is probably my favorite place to eat in Schenectady, not only because I love the food, but also the owner, Bruno! He makes all of the food himself on a grill and always has a smile and a friendly attitude. The menu is pretty simple, the basic breakfast and lunch but I have never had anything that I did not enjoy.
They make their own Italian bread every day and it is to die for! My personal favorite is the Bacon McBruno on Italian bread, which is a breakfast sandwich grilled to perfection. The home fries are also delicious, especially when you ask for them extra crispy. I’ve yet to try the pasta because I can never get enough of their sandwiches. I also highly recommend the tuna melt.
The only downfall of this restaurant is that it is only open Monday-​Friday from 6am-​2pm. At times it gets pretty crowded but it is definitely worth the wait!