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  • The Hollow Bar & Kitchen

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Reserve at The Hollow Bar & Kitchen

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The Hollow Bar & Kitchen

The Hollow Bar & Kitchen Details

  • Dining Style: Casual Dining
  • Website: http://www.thehollowalbany.com
  • Phone: (518) 462-9033
  • Hours of Operation: Monday - Saturday: 5:00pm - 11:00pm
  • Payment Options: MasterCard, Visa
  • Cuisine: American
  • Dress Code: Casual Dress
  • Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
  • Additional Details: Beer, Entertainment, Late Night, Wine

Getting there

  • Parking: Street Parking
A word from The Hollow Bar & Kitchen
The Hollow Bar & Kitchen offers not only great food but also live music in Albany.
Foodspotting photos
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Awards voted by OpenTable diners
  • Diners' Choice WinnerHot Spot
  • Diners' Choice WinnerVibrant Bar Scene
Diner Reviews
  • "The Hollow is a fun, friendly restaurant with two bars. One is within the main restaurant and the other is in an attached space where bands perform. We were greeted by a very friendly hostess who accomodated the seating request I had made. Our server and runners were all very attentive and friendly. We greatly enjoyed the atmosphere and the vitality of the place. The food was very good. I had the eggplant stack which consisted of delicious roasted eggplant, sauce and cheese stacked with asparagus. I must say that although the eggplant was delicious, including about a half pound of asparagus really overwhelmed the dish. A mixture of seasonal vegetables as described on the menu would have been better."
    Dined on 7/26/2014
  • "This is my second time at this place and the food is absolutely delicious! The first time here I ordered the gnocchi, this time i ordered the Marsala with chicken, both times I've cleaned my plate! The menu has an awesome variety of meals. Their special jar drinks are very tasty, plus i love craft beer and they have a great variety of craft beer on tap. What i do appreciate is that there is a section on the menu that recommends what kind of wine and beer would go with each meal. Both times I've been here the chef comes out of the kitchen and asks how the meal was, he seems like a really nice person and you can tell her cares a lot about the quality of his food, and boy does it show! I will definitely be dining here again and again."
    Dined on 7/25/2014
  • "We had dinner before attending Broods concert. Fantastic! I had the blackened tilapia w/homemade slaw - generous portion & delicious. Tablemates had the house burger, quesadilla, and the mozzarella sticks. We were all very happy. Attentive waitress. Nice intimate concert venue - I've signed up for concert updates. It was fantastic for my 17 y.o. daughter & friend."
    Dined on 7/9/2014
  • "We ate here and had a delicious meal - they had a yellowfin tuna special that evening that was delicious. Plus, they had a kids menu, which worked great for our younger diners. The decor is really cute and inviting. The downside was that while our waitress was very nice, food service was slow. They were very apologetic and made an effort to give us an update when asked. We made a reservation for 5:45 because we were going to a show up the street at 8:00 and I am glad we did because had we booked it any later, it would have been a little stressful. Overall, I would recommend and would dine there again."
    Dined on 7/5/2014
  • "Found it on OpenTable while passing through Albany and told our local friends to go. Attentive and welcomng waitstaff, great food (yes, chef does come out to see how you liked his cooking!) and the view from the picture window across to historic Kenmore Building was a bonus."
    Dined on 7/4/2014
  • "The menu had something for everyone. The draft beer selection was better than most. The bar was quite busy, so its not a quiet place. The bartenders were attentive. The hostess was very helpful. The only knock on the place I can give was our waitress. If you flagged her down, she was fine. If you didn't, you'd never see her. Not once did she ever glance our way - at one point I debated getting up and getting her. Other than that, I liked the place quite a bit. And I'd return."
    Dined on 6/20/2014
  • "We recently tried to make reservations at The Merry Monk before a concert at The Palace only to find that they were booked solid. I asked the person who answered the phone if he had any alternate suggestions and he suggested the Hollow which was able to give us a reservation. This turned out to be a nice find. They have a great beer list, and interesting and varied food. Our only real complaint was the noise level which was VERY high. Granted-- this was a Friday night at 6:00 so that's understandable. Still, the noise spilling into the dining room from the adjacent bar made conversation all but impossible. I wish there was some way for them to dampen the noise without changing the ambience of the dining room which was very nice."
    Dined on 6/20/2014
  • "When we arrived no one was waiting to seat customers, after about 5 minutes I had to ask the bartender to be seated. It took our waitress about 15 minutes to make it to our table to take our drink order. Once we placed our drink order, it took another 15 minutes or so to receive our drinks, one of which was horribly flat. She asked our food order when she brought our drinks, and did not stop back at all for another 20 minutes, during which my boyfriend sat there with a flat drink. Finally she stopped back to tell us that our food would be "just a few more minutes" at which time she retrieved a slightly less flat soda for my boyfriend. Another 15 minutes or so pass, and FINALLY we get our food... more than AN HOUR after we were seated."
    Dined on 6/12/2014
  • "The Hollow has spectacular food, great service, friendly staff and the ambiance is perfect with the mason jar lights that hang over the tables - it was a great dining experience."
    Dined on 6/7/2014
  • "The hollow is a great place. Awesome burgers, great beer and wine list and very vegetarian friendly. Super friendly service. The French onion soup is a must try! They also have a ton of great music! "
    Dined on 5/30/2014
  • "Arrived at 6:30 for our reservation. Spent 15 minutes looking for a hostess and trying to get a waiter to help us. Several employes said they would look for a table. None of them came back. Walked around restaurant. Didn't see any free tables. Left after we heard people complaining that they had waited 30 minutes for their food. To be fair there was a concert nearby that night so the place was packed. Given their location they should be used to handling crowds. Heard the food is great sorry we didn't get the chance to try it. "
    Dined on 5/13/2014
  • "There was no hostess so it was confusing to try to hunt someone down to seat us. After we sat down, it took over an hour to get our food. We were trying to make a show a block away at 7:30 and the reservation was at 6pm. We though this would give us enough time to leisurely eat and have a couple drinks. We ended up rushing to eat and get to the show. Our orders, though still good, didn't include special add on items. I'm not sure if we were charged for them because we were in such a hurry to get to the show. "
    Dined on 5/12/2014
  • "We waited approx. 45 min for our meals. Apparently there was a staff shortage in the kitchen. One entree was not as described but still good."
    Dined on 4/12/2014
  • "I ate at the Hollow because I had tickets to a concert there that night. The food was REALLY good, with lots of vegetarian options, and locally raised meat for the carnivores. It was really crowded, but we got right in with our Open Table reservation. It was very loud (the band was still doing sound check) but the ambiance overall was fantastic. The music venue was small, - so get in early if the show is going to be well-attended!"
    Dined on 4/11/2014
  • "The food was decent, but the server took a half hour to get out drinks, and overall had us stuck there for two hours on a school night. I was unimpressed with the service. The wine was awful, I got a wine flight and all the selections were terrible. I will onlu return for the music."
    Dined on 4/7/2014
  • "The atmosphere was very relaxed and friendly. Our server was welcoming and warm. First, I had their pasta fagioli soup which is my favorite soup. It was excellent! One of the best versions of it that I ever had! It was rich and spicy. Next, I had their nightly steak which was a sirloin on top of a bed of cavatelli, mushrooms, and peppers. It was very flavorful. The steak was a little tough that I would have preferred especially since I got it medium rare, but overall the dish was very good. Lastly, I had their chocolate chip cookie cheesecake, which was very good. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a great night out to dinner and drinks."
    Dined on 4/7/2014
  • "The restuarant and atmosphere was nice, however there was an extremely loud and rude table sitting approximately 20 feet away and because of their noise I could barely have a conversation with my dinner date, several peopel seemed by be annoyed by them and our server even apologized. I know this is not necessarily in your control, but it ruined the evening for me."
    Dined on 4/4/2014
  • "My SO and I decided to go to The Hollow during Albany Restaurant Week in order to give it a try. I booked a reservation and when we got there, it was all tables of two seated along one wall. We were seated at a very unstable and tiny table right near the kitchen. I was very confused as to why I was given an un-serrated butter knife to use on my appetizer. The entree… well, my SO's steak was practically raw and I was very disappointed with the entirely too spicy pasta they shoved underneath it. However, the wait staff was so incredible and someone from the kitchen came out to apologize and make sure it was cooked properly this time. The dessert was a few sad lumps of chocolate and berries or some soggy donuts."
    Dined on 4/4/2014
  • "The Hollow served up a delicious meal with attentive and prompt service! I ordered a wine flight--glad I did, because two of them (the white and the malbec) were ok but the other two (the riesling and the cab) were great, and I might have missed out otherwise. Both my fiance and I were greateful that our appetizers were actually appetizer proportions. The gnocchi with calamari in a puttanesca was well prepared--not too spicy, and the calamari was a surprisingly good accompaniment (I took some of the gnocchi home, but gobbled up all the calamari that night!). My dark chocolate chunks with strawberries was the absolute perfect finish."
    Dined on 4/3/2014
  • "The food was very good - excellent menu and the specials were superb. The beer selection is top notch, including 95-100 scoring Beer Advocate choices. Due to an event going on at the Palace Theater, the service was a bit slow and the bar and dining areas were crowded, but I don't think that's the norm. Location-wise, Hollow is great - quick walk up N. Pearl to other bars, or to the Palace or other event locations. And Quackenbush Garage is convenient for parking. Aside: I was told upon arrival that once dinner starts, the hostess does not check OpenTable, so even though my reservation was submitted over an hour prior, they did not have it on record. We happened to get lucky and there was a table that opened up."
    Dined on 3/28/2014
  • "This is a terrific place for gourmet quality at reasonable prices, and generous quantity. I loved my gnocchi with spicy mushrooms, and my husband's eggplant stack was delicious. We noted many vegetarian options that our friends would appreciate, and will return with them. Their beer and wine selections are huge, with many local crafted choices. The waitress was very helpful and friendly. You can linger here, or dine before an event, such as live music , or a play."
    Dined on 3/14/2014
  • "Enjoyed the food at the Hollow. Bartenders were friendly and knowledgeable. We dined at the bar with a view of the kitchen. The chef came out and asked about our meals and brought us a some extra shrimp for our meal. Everything was great until I used the bathroom which for a late night dive would have been acceptable, but for a place that I was dining out was bad, really bad. Pay attention to the bathroom and you got yourself a regular"
    Dined on 3/1/2014
  • "love this place - excellent food, great atmosphere - crowd not "too young""
    Dined on 1/25/2014
  • "We , party of 6, all agree this was an overly enjoyable experience. Haven't been there in a good while. Since it was the bayou. The food and beverages were all excellent. They had a band in the other room. We paired them together. Which made our time that much better. It's was a bit expensive, but you got what you paid for. Will definitely try it again."
    Dined on 1/25/2014
  • "We went to The Hollow for the first time and enjoyed our meal. You can see that they are trying very hard to make the place successful. when we came in we couldn't find the welcome stand to check in. we ended up walking through the restaurant to do so. the place is a lot of smaller rooms with different purposes, so it's a little disjointed, but it has lots of charm with its brick walls and unique lighting in the dining room.the service was attentive and the food was good. it's a limited menu but the food we had was flavorful and delivered as expected. Overall we give it a "good." with lots of potential. we'll go again and see if they keep improving. they also need to decide if they're a pub or a nice dining place."
    Dined on 1/24/2014
  • "They are making an effort to separate the place from it's past, but there are some issues yet. The server seemed overwhelmed and inattentively busy. We waited for her for too long several times. The food came out, my Wife's was delicious, but I got the wrong dish. It was mahi-mahi instead of chicken. Luckily I just don't like seafood, because if I was allergic, I'd have been in trouble. The kitchen staff that delivered the plates apologized, but I watched my Wife eat and she watched me because mine took another 15 minutes. All we got out of that huge mistake was the wrong dish to take home. We had to remind the server of that also. The food is good, but not good enough to return."
    Dined on 1/18/2014
  • "I've only been to the Hollow a few times but can say I had the best time, great food, excellent service, terrific shows - only positives to report. I will definitely find my way there again!"
    Dined on 1/17/2014
  • "Here is an example of a helpful review: "I love the ambiance. I definitely would return to try more dishes. The apple bread pudding dessert was delicious. The service was well-timed and friendly."
    Dined on 1/15/2014
  • "This was a very average dinner. The two bars are very different. I would not go back. Nothing great on the menu; not worth going out of your way for."
    Dined on 12/28/2013
  • "I was pleasantly surprised by the Hollow. The Hollow burger is a must try! They have a great beer selection also."
    Dined on 12/23/2013
  • "There was a small dining area sandwiched between two bars and no obvious way to check in to let them know we were there! After asking the bartender (in the smaller of the two bar areas) he directed me to the middle room where I stood waiting for someone who looked like waitstaff to show up. Very informal, minimal conversation about the menu even though we said we had never been to the Hollow. I was excited to eat here, but the ambiance it did not meet expectations. Nothing glaring, just not the warm welcome I expected. I will try it again."
    Dined on 12/17/2013
  • "There is a great gastropub menu a nice beer menu as well. The service is top notch, the food is high quality, and the prices are more than reasonable. Additionally every time I have been here the Chef takes time to come out and chat for a few minutes."
    Dined on 12/13/2013
  • "Great food and nice atmosphere. It was a very warm and inviting atmosphere. Service staff were excellent. I chose a board selection and it was the perfect amount of food and blend of flavors. My husband had the ma-hi ma-hi .and said it was excellent. Can't wait to go back."
    Dined on 12/6/2013
  • "A very good dining experience on South Pearl Street. Beer selection is great. Enjoyed the beer flight. Prices reasonable and food prep. was excellent."
    Dined on 11/30/2013
  • "My boyfriend and I had a lovely time here. The music selection was awesome! Food was good, although the quinoa and salmon seemed a bit dry. Overall I would come back here again!"
    Dined on 11/16/2013
  • "Signature jar drinks excellent...fresh and not sweet. Loved the ginger minx and lemon-thyme Many craft beers to choose Baked Spring Onion Soup - excellent...meal on its own My S.O. loved the Hollow burger (w/ a fried egg?)"
    Dined on 11/15/2013
  • "The on-line reservation was great, Beer selection was awesome! Server was extremly helpful and kind. Food very good. All-in-all I had a good night out at The Hallow"
    Dined on 10/18/2013
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  • Hot Spot
  • Vibrant Bar Scene
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