Best Restaurants in Albany

Sitting on the corner of North Allen and Madison Avenue since 2017, Kismet Mediterranean Grill has become a local favorite in Albany. The restaurant offers an intimate dining space enhanced by the delightful Turkish décor, with modern grays, Acropolis pillars, and beaded Moroccan lamps, and the food gives the diners a one-way ticket to the streets of Istanbul. The best seats in the house are by the front window, where the flashing lights and busy intersection give the restaurant a more urban feel. Chef-owner Chingiz Zafarov leads the charge in this East Mediterranean restaurant specializing in Greek and Turkish cuisines. Meze, kavurma, gyros, and shish kebabs are some of the dishes loved by diners. Diners can enjoy craft beer or a selection of wines alongside their meal, and an excellent way to taste all three of their popular appetizers is by ordering the trio of meze to share.

Yono’s Restaurant on Chapel Street in downtown Albany has been making waves in Albany’s brasserie scene since 1986. Yono’s Restaurant is an intimate upscale restaurant and has been Albany’s exclusive restaurant for several years now. Diners are ushered into a cocooned, windowless modern dining room through swanky double doors. The contemporary dining room has neutral colors, a large fireplace, crystal chandelier, floral displays, and bronzed mirrors. Yono’s Restaurant’s choice of cuisine can be described as a blend of American and Asian cuisine with offerings like braised short rib rending, dashi miso fingerling potatoes, and furikake-crusted Atlantic tuna being particularly popular. The kitchen is helmed by chef Yono Purnomo and his wife Dona, and most of the menu draws from their respective native cultures of Indonesia and New York. Yono’s 4-star service, elegance, and innovative menu have earned several accolades, including recognition from Wine Spectator, DiRoNA and The American Culinary Federation, Santé, and the James Beard Foundation.

Since 1986, Nicole’s Restaurant has been serving up upscale Italian cuisine to diners in Albany. It is a family-owned restaurant along Delaware Avenue. On the inside, diners are welcomed into an intimate dining room with a 1930s tin ceiling, leather banquettes, and romantic lighting—the ideal setup for a good experience. The restaurant also offers outdoor dining in the summer months and private rooms for people looking for a chic space to host their events. Nicole’s offers a diverse menu of classic Italian cuisine with a touch of continental and new American influences. The restaurant is driven by a team of chefs working to create new and exciting dishes while retaining the favorites such as fried calamari, classic Italian meatballs in tomato sauce, and short rib ragu.

IL FARO Restaurant and Bar is a top Italian restaurant that opened along North Pearl Street in 2015. For several years now, the restaurant has been a beacon to the people of Albany, serving classic Italian fare under the leadership of chef Christian Lofaro. Diners get to enjoy their repasts in a cozy atmosphere with wooden tables, ambient lighting, and comfortable chairs. The mission at IL FARO is simple, to serve tasty and affordable Italian dishes to diners. The specialties include Marsala cream stuffed chicken, penne primavera, chef Chris’ meatloaf, and sole meunière.

MezzaNotte Restaurant, or the midnight restaurant as the name translates, is an ideal spot for diners looking for a romantic venue for some date-night delights. The cuisine is classic Italian, beautifully presented in an upscale dining room with a midnight-blue ceiling, subdued lighting, and photos of Italy at night. Diners will find all their classic Italian dishes as well as modern innovative twists on old classics at MezzaNotte Restaurant. There are many vegetarian options, fish and lobster dishes, and good pasta and risotto selections. Some local favorites include Chilean Sea Bass, NY Strip, scallops, and “crazy” lasagna. With each meal comes a good selection of Italian and international wines. MezzaNotte Restaurant has been operational since 2007 in suburban Guilderland along Western Avenue. Restaurant owner Connie Cannistraci-Ware plays an active role in running this chef-d’oeuvre while executive chef Scott Krause is the talent in the kitchen, breathing new life into Italian cuisine.

Recognized as one of the top 50 Greek restaurants in America by the National Herald, Athos Restaurant is the only restaurant devoted to serving classic Greek cuisine in the Capital District. Located in suburban Guilderland along Western Avenue since 2008, Athos Restaurant brings a taste of Greece to Albany. Diners have three choices of setting. People are welcome to dine in the relaxed mahogany-paneled Taverna area, the spacious dining room with tables and booths, or the private Ithaka dining room. Athos Restaurant serves classic Greek cuisine with a modern twist, incorporating ingredients, seasonings, and flavors with Turkish, Venetian, and Balkan influences. The menu is packed with many Greek specialties, but classic Greek offerings like baklava, spanakopita, and moussaka remain some of the favorites. The chicken souvlaki with a side of tzatziki sauce is a popular option representing Athos Restaurant. Executive chef Lou Agostinello is the powerful presence at Athos Restaurant’s kitchen and has a talent for providing contemporary twists to classic cuisine.

In the heart of Albany’s Downtown Theater District sits Angelo’s 677 Prime, an upscale steakhouse that opened its doors in 2005, under the founding chef and now owner Jaime Ortiz. 677 Prime offers diners the finest of steaks, freshest of seafood, and luscious desserts. It is a fine dining restaurant with an upscale feel ideal for everything from a romantic evening to a business luncheon. Diners are welcomed to a chic dining room with hardwood floors, plush leather seating, and cherry walls. The restaurant features a second floor with three banquet rooms, ideal for business meetings or intimate wedding ceremonies. Executive chef Ken Kehn leads the culinary team, and together with owner and chef Jaime Ortiz, they have come up with a chef-driven menu featuring USDA prime steaks, innovative seafood dishes, over-the-top desserts, and modern twists on traditional steakhouse classics. The menu is complemented with an international wine list with over 500 selections, and an in-house sommelier helps diners with their choices.

Since it opened its doors in 1982, Café Capriccio has been offering innovative and diverse Italian dishes in Albany. It is located in Downtown Albany, along Grand Street, and is one of the top spots to dine on Italian cuisine. Walking through the doors, diners encounter a beautiful long wooden bar, crisp white table linen, intimate tables and leather booths, wood-paneled walls, and subdued lighting, setting up an ideal backdrop for a memorable evening. Proprietor chef Jim Rua helms the kitchen and comes up with the menu, which is anything but constant. Inspired by trips to his home country, chef Rua tweaks the menu every few months but also retains some of the favorites on the roster, such as calamari neri, the eggplant appetizer with four kinds of cheese, and homemade tagliatelle with zingy puttanesca sauce. The risotto remains one of the favorites and a good choice, and it comes in a tomato and Gorgonzola sauce. Metroland Magazine has named Café Capriccio the best restaurant in the Capital District for several years. Café Capriccio is not the place to skip dessert.

Toro Cantina opened its doors in 2020 in Albany along Wolf Road. It is a restaurant specializing in classic Mexican and New Mexican cuisines and is helmed by proprietor chef Jaime Ortiz with his trusted lieutenant Joe Schulte who runs the kitchen. The interior décor is gorgeous, with fresh blue teal dominating the interior and exterior, and the restaurant offers both indoor and patio dining. Toro Cantina’s menu includes a lot of classic Mexican and New Mexican offerings, and expect to find Toro’s signature blue-corn tortillas as well as steak tacos, stewed steaks, and churros on the menu. Diners can pair their meal with various drinks from the bar, including margaritas, sangria, or tequila.

Black and Blue Steak and Crab entered Albany’s restaurant scene back in 2015, and since then, it has been a gem of Western Avenue, bringing diners their favorite delights from classic American and New American cuisine. The restaurant is tastefully designed and offers unparalleled ambiance, ideal for lunch meetings, special occasion dinners, or executive business events. The restaurant is helmed by executive chef Jeffrey Tabakian whose menu includes classic American favorites such as ribeye and porterhouse steaks as well as fish and shellfish. House specialties include short-rib, organic roasted chicken, mushroom pappardelle, and a rack of lamb.