Yono’s
CITY GUIDES | NEW YORK
Essential Albany Restaurants: Steakhouses, Taverns, and One Very Serious Burger
By Maria Rodriguez | Jan. 5, 2026
AUTHOR BIO: With a day job that requires constant travel, Maria Rodriguez is likely a regular at your favorite restaurant. She’s reviewed restaurants since 2007 in magazines from Barcelona to Bakersfield.
Albany is a small city with a big appetite, and it shows up at dinner the way a serious place does: quietly, consistently, and without needing to perform for outsiders.
I like it here because the best meals aren’t chasing trends—they’re chasing the simple thrill of getting things right, whether that means a steakhouse that understands ceremony, an Italian dining room that still believes in white tablecloths, a bar that treats oysters like more than a garnish, or a burger that tastes like someone argued about it in the kitchen until it did what it was supposed to do.
When I’m looking for the best restaurants in Albany, NY, I’m really looking for the spots that make the Capital Region feel like a place with its own dinner rhythm, not a copy of anybody else’s. Here are the best Albany restaurants right now.
677 Prime
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If you’re on a steak-seeking mission, 677 Prime’s sleek interiors and upscale cuts, from tender filet mignon to decadent Wagyu, won’t disappoint. Add a wine list long enough to take you from Bordeaux to Napa, and you have a prime pick for Albany’s discerning meat eaters.
Best for: A classic steakhouse night
The Albany Ale & Oyster
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In the heart of downtown, The Albany Ale & Oyster is the kind of place that makes you wonder if you've accidentally stumbled into Brooklyn. This industrial-chic gastropub is a temple to two of life's greatest pleasures: craft beer and fresh seafood. The rotating selection of local brews is impressive enough to make a sommelier switch careers, and it pairs perfectly with their oyster platters that are fresher than a legislator's expense account.
Best for: Oysters and a cold beer
Cafe Capriccio
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Cafe Capriccio is the Italian restaurant of locals’ dreams, with rich flavors and classic plates that are simple but expertly executed. It’s a cozy spot, ideal for a slow evening with someone special or just a plate of gnocchi all to yourself.
Best for: Old-school Italian dishes
dp Brasserie
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Next door to Yono’s, dp Brasserie offers a more casual French-inspired experience from the same talented team. With comfort staples like coq au vin and a standout burger, dp’s warm, refined setting makes for a low-key yet polished evening out.
Best for: A brasserie-style date night
Dove + Deer
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In Albany’s Center Square, Dove + Deer is the kind of cozy gastropub where the food is as warm as the ambiance. Their crispy Brussels sprouts with maple glaze are the stuff of local legend, while the short rib poutine feels like a hug in a bowl. The charming brick-lined interior and expertly crafted cocktails make it an easy choice for a laid-back but elevated dining.
Best for: Cocktails and comfort food
Iron Gate Café
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This family-owned gem offers a whimsical escape with its eclectic decor and lush garden patio. Always good for a hearty brunch, Iron Gate serves up creative twists on classics like stuffed French toast and savory breakfast burritos. Tucked into a historic mansion, it’s the perfect spot to start weekend morning—or extend it well into the afternoon with one of their signature mimosas.
Best for: Brunch that turns into a whole-day plan
Itameshi
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Itameshi is a Japanese-Italian mashup in the Industrie building, built by chef Mike Pietrocola and Dave Zheng with the kind of confidence that comes from people who already know how to run busy rooms. The menu gets specific fast: wagyu meatballs with miso tomato sauce and furikake, cacio e pepe gyoza with cherry pepper sugo, and squid ink spaghetti in uni sauce topped with caviar. Then it swings into bigger plates like udon noodle bolognese with whipped miso ricotta. When the mood calls for something more direct, there is also a prime New York strip with a porcini-furikake rub and wasabi mashed potatoes, which is basically the restaurant’s mission statement on one plate.
Best for: The Japanese-Italian night out
The Olde English Pub
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This British-inspired pub offers hearty dishes and a wide selection of ciders and ales from a restored 1730s building. Whether you’re in the mood for fish and chips or a Scotch egg, this is the kind of place where you could imagine Charles Dickens himself popping by for a pint.
Best for: Pints and familiar plates
Savoy Taproom
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Savoy Taproom plays the hits of a grown-up night out: strong cocktails, a buzzing bar, and a dining room that still feels like Albany. Chef Patric Rawson’s menu reads like it was built for ordering in waves: pimiento-stuffed pretzels, piri piri shrimp with toasted baguette, and street corn fries that disappear fast once they hit the table. If the plan turns into dinner, it holds with bigger plates like the Savoy strip steak with mashed potatoes and asparagus, plus comfort moves like butter chicken mac.
Best for: Cocktails and small plates
Sushi by Bou
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Sushi by Bou runs a speakeasy-style omakase in the basement of City Beer Hall, and it leans into the fun of feeling like you found something, even though the reservation link is right there. The signature move is a timed, chef’s-choice lineup of nigiri that keeps coming at a steady clip, with flash-torched moments and “this is why I showed up” bites like their over-the-top Big Mac piece when it’s on the progression. It is the Albany sushi night for people who want the ceremony of omakase without clearing an entire evening for it.
Best for: A 60-minute omakase splurge
Villa di Como Ristorante
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For a more refined Italian experience, Villa di Como brings traditional flavors with an upscale touch. Located on Lark Street, this family-run spot is all about attention to detail, from hand-cut pasta to perfectly executed risottos.
Best for: Traditional Italian in a refined space
Wellington’s
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Inside the Renaissance Albany Hotel, Wellington’s offers contemporary American fare with views over the New York State Capitol. With locally sourced ingredients and dishes that highlight Albany’s seasons, it’s a good spot to appreciate the city from a different angle.
Yono’s
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Yono’s is still the Albany standard for a night that feels like an occasion, with Indonesian and French influences running through the cooking and a dining room that feels right when the stakes are high. The big update is that the old three-course prix fixe is gone, replaced by an à la carte menu that lets dinner take whatever shape the table wants. For the full-commitment version, there’s also an eight-course tasting menu, which is the move when the plan is to make a night of it.
Best for: The special-occasion Albany meal
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