Taste

This place has been consistent. It’s been consistently going down hill since it has opened. Could be nice but management has no idea what the hell they are doing. From my experience the owners do not practice ethical business practices. With propper management this place could have gone far

I honestly have no clue how this place keeps getting such amazing reviews, or how all the negative reviews go to the «unrecommended» side. Regardless do yourself a big favor and read through the unrecommended reviews and you’ll get the real gist of this place. I’m sorry I didn’t because this is quite possibly one of the worst restaurant experiences I’ve ever had. I don’t even know where to begin. I called at 2 in the afternoon on a Thursday for a reservation at 7 that Saturday. I was told 7 wasn’t possible but that they could accommodate a 730. Ok fine. It is a Saturday night. We (2 of us) walked in expecting the place to be packed. To our surprise when we arrived at 645 (figured we’d have drinks at the bar first) the restaurant was absolutely empty save for a single couple in a booth in the dining room. The hostess was no where to be found, so we waited in the vestibule for awhile until she finally showed up. Despite this, we were told it would be a few min before our table was ready. Umm, ok. Since we wanted drinks first it was a weird but ok whatever moment. The bar was also empty and we tried to quietly pull two chairs out to sit since it was so quiet you probably could’ve heard a pin drop and it seemed odd to make any noise.
Their cocktail menu was a bizarre mix of unexpected liquors. I don’t know if the person who came up with these drinks has ever actually drunk liquor before, but needless to say, most of the drink selections sounded less than appealing so I opted to ask for a simple espresso martini. I was told they were out of espresso (well there goes dessert, and I’m sorry, you’re OUT of espresso on a Saturday night?!) and didn’t have enough espresso vodka anyway, as I’m looking at the almost full Van Gogh bottle in front of me. Alright… I ask for a wine list and the bartender tells me they’re in the midst of changing over their wines and do not have a lot of what is on the list in stock. Strike 2.
The hostess finally comes to seat us and in an EMPTY dining room (that is an open floor plan minus 2 booths) she seats us next to the big glass divider in front of the kitchen. I was looking for a romantic evening with my man, not to hear every single thing that’s going on behind the scenes.
Looking at the menu I thought at least the food would be good but even that turned out to be a disappointment. Over cooked, under portioned, under flavored, over priced. HUGE disappointment.
Don’t waste your money. Much better places in Albany. I hear they’re closing anyway, which doesn’t remotely surprise me.

My wife and I had an 8:30 reservation on a Friday night. We arrived on-​time and were told by the hostess our table was not ready and to go wait in the bar area. Obviously, not a good start. But, then the hostess comes over, apologizes, and tells us to order whatever drinks we want, however many we want — they’re on the house. Now that’s customer service! After we were seated, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner. The waitress was fantastic and a lot of fun. The food was 4.5÷5, especially the meat, which was cooked exactly as I had requested. This was our second time to Taste. Four years prior, we had been with some friends and enjoyed it then too. A shame it’s closing. We had two fantastic experiences, and this last one was awesome.

The concept is irresistible: a prix fixe meal in a fine dining restaurant, prepared by a master chef, for $ 25 (3 courses) or $ 37 (5 courses). However, there were some disappointments in the execution. Two of the items on the short menu were not available (the waiter did not say sold out, which would have surprised me as the restaurant was about ¹⁄₃ full at 8 pm, just «not available») and a good ¹⁄₃ of the very short wine list was also not available.
A bigger issue is the way the menus are put together. I’m happy to choose between a soup or salad or between a meat or poultry or vegetarian entrée, but many of the choices by course on the prix fixe menu were just confusing. How do I decide whether to have chicken piccata (subbing for the quail), parsnips or «brandade bites» (fried balls of bacalao/​potato purée) for the third course on the five-​course dinner? Do you want to have an apple, or go for a bike ride?
In the end I got the three-​course and my dining partner the five-​course, with mixed results. The warm gazpacho, on the five-​course only, was superb. I liked the brandade bites. My thai-​style short ribs (with a hint of kaffir leaves but no fish sauce as expected) were meltingly tender. My dessert of expresso chocolate crème brulee was a good idea, but too heavy. However, the pork loin was tough and a course of fingerling potato salad had us scratching our heads: it was basically potato salad, perfect for a side but rarely seen on its own.
If you order as we did, you should be aware that no effort will be made to accommodate the three-​course diner while the other diner gets their five courses: not even an offered spoon for sharing the soup. We would also have appreciated a sweep of crumbs from the table before dessert. It wasn’t fine-​dining service though acceptable at this price point.
I respect Mark Graham a lot and I would like to see him put together ONE five-​course menu and ONE three-​course menu per night with his best recommendations and then allow diners to order other items a la carte. The gazpacho, short rib and dessert would have been a five star 3-​course meal. Add the brandade and a salad (there were some which we didn’t try) and a scaled-​up entrée with the parsnips or potato salad on the side for the 5-​course.
Net net, we had a three star experience with the challenges described above, but I’m bumping it back to four stars because of the value. If you want to have an affordable fancy meal in a fancy restaurant, I don’t think you can do better in the Cap District.

We were a bit late for the reservation due to trouble finding parking while the rest of the party was relaxing in the lounge area. The drink selections there were decent, and the prices seemed inline with downtown Albany higher end restaurants. After settling at the bar, our party approached the hostess, and we were promptly seated. Since it was our first time there, the four of us decided to try the five course tasting menu, with each person getting something different, so that we get a taste of everything there was to offer. I must say that everyone was impressed with every one of the dishes on our table. Everything from the lobster bisque, to the warm gazpacho, to the salads, entrees, and desserts was unique and excellent. Our favorites were the short ribs, the macaroons, and the brandade, but nothing was short of the mark. If it wasn’t for the price of ~$ 50/​person with tax/​tip, we’d come back here more often.

First time at Taste and I have to agree with the 3 stars trey are rated at. We did have a party of 30 persons in one of the penthouse level rooms. Salad was beautiful but the greens were wet, were not seasoned and poorly dressed. The filet was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Fall vegetables were flavorful but cold, the mashed potatoes were dry, cold and very firm. The fish was also very well prepared. The cheesecake served for dessert was the best part.

I was a little skeptical of the announced shift to value-​priced prix fixe menus (3 courses for $ 25 and, eventually 5 for $ 37), but chef Mark Graham has delivered with thoughtful preparations, «just-​right» portion sizes, and good kitchen execution. The night I went I had three course menu for $ 25 that started with a warm lobster and potato salad. The potatoes were perfectly cooked and the lobster meat, including a nice sized claw perched on top was generous for the price. The 6−0z beef tenderloin did not disappoint, and the Chocolate-​chili semifreddo was a wonderful ending. Think of a mousse that has been frozen, with just the right hint of spice that enhances, but does not dominate the chocolate.
Taste also provides two other choices for each course, with vegetarian friendly and gluten-​free offerings.
I also ordered wine pairings with each course for $ 15 bucks total. Taste has a much narrower wine list, but the choices have been well-​curated. The glasses were a white, red, and riesling ice-​wine (the first two were offered at $ 10/​glass) Pours would be a touch larger than if you ordered by the glass, but the prix fixe pairings are still generous enough to satisfy
I sat at the bar area, and service was attentive despite a fairly busy happy hour.
Taste should be applauded for this new business model, and I encourage you all to give it a try. $ 40 for a 3 course meal with wine pairings from a chef of Mark Graham’s caliber is hard to beat.

I’m not sure what happened, but this restaurant is nothing like it used to be and I would never recommend it. The food lacks creativity and is sadly just not of the same quality. Bring back the old menu options!

This is a very interesting place. Its staff makes much of the use of local foods.
The décor is interesting, in a modern sort of way. The service is without fault. One mishap, overcharging for a couple of items, was corrected promptly when we called attention to it.
The food was also interesting, though not extraordinary. My wife’s wild mushroom and white asparagus soup was the star of the meal. My «bella terra primavera» salad and monkfish, and my wife’s duck, were tasty but unexceptional.
I would consider this as a place to eat if I happened to be in downtown Albany at mealtime. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t bother to make the trip.

I’ve been to taste twice. Once to enjoy the band outside and then I returned to enjoy the indoor menu.
We had a fantastic time when we went to watch the band. The outdoor menu was fun, creative, and most importantly, tasty! I knew I wanted to come back and sit inside.
I brought my family to Taste because I enjoyed the outdoor menu so much. Now, before you keep reading — please know that I do not mind paying for a great meal but I do think we overpaid significantly at Taste. We ordered the pork belly as an appetizer and it was okay. For dinner, I had the tenderloin and again, it was just okay. The meat was cooked perfectly but I wasn’t excited to eat it. My sister ordered the lamb — it was better than the tenderloin but again, nothing exciting.
We ordered «half bottles» of wine. Don’t so that. It’s way more expensive and you get less wine. We paid $ 55 – 60 on two half bottles when we could have gotten a full bottle for $ 25-​$ 35. The server suggested the half bottles and we ordered without looking at the price. We felt a that was a little misleading. We paid a high price for something (in my opinion) wasn’t great.
I HIGHLY recommend the outdoor menu when a band is playing. I will definitely go back for a fun girls night but I can’t see myself returning for a dinner date night.
Overall, taste is a nice capital region restaurant. Check it out — swing by on a summer night and enjoy a band, dancing, and good food.

Tucked away in a not particularly nice part of downtown Albany, near the large decrepit parking lots and highway overpasses, Taste does not impress at first sight and never really gets better.
I’ll start with the good. The hostess, waitress, and bartender were very friendly and we went on a Saturday evening with live jazz, which helped the ambiance. The menu is exciting with interesting flavor combinations and a variety of proteins you would expect from a nice restaurant in NYC. If only words were edible.
Now we come to the food. Ouch. My wife had the vegetarian spaetzle with artichokes, cherry tomatoes and toussaint. Unfortunately, the chef left the chokes in the dish — in fact, they seemed to be spread out on top of the spaetzle, as if to suggest that they were a fancy topping like black truffle or a fine pecorino. Nope, just plain old chokes from an artichoke. Even discounting the artichoke snafu, the rest of the dish was woefully bland. Big miss.
The stone fruit salad was another odd offering, as it was composed of unripe, out-​of-​season, and flavorless fruit. I had the rabbit, which was not bad, but it was kind of a rabbit sausage, rather than a freshly butchered, on-​the-​bone rabbit, which is the norm when not otherwise specified.
One exception to the otherwise mediocre food was the tomatillo and apple soup, which delivered an interesting flavor combination and a pleasant tartness.
Overall rating for Taste… meh.

Let me start by saying I use Unilocal frequently when dining out but never reviewed a restaurant until today. I understand that restaurants and servers have bad nights and Unilocal can take down a business quickly, so I try to find some redeeming quality in a restaurant to not bash it online. This was not the case with Taste.
We had a reservation with taste on a Saturday night at 8pm. We arrived early (around 7:40) due to our event ending early at the times union center next door. The hostess explained that they were waiting on a party to leave and directed us to the bar. There were five in our party and we were all given drink menus. Three ordered espresso martinis from the menu and were promptly told that there was only enough espresso chilled for one. This is a Saturday night with their featured cocktail. I didn’t necessarily understand why more espresso could not be made, but we moved on.
Around 8:15 we were told our table was almost ready and we asked to transfer our bar tab to the table (while leaving a tip for the bartender). She told us this couldn’t be done and we had to settle up at the bar prior. All forgivable sins at that point. We waited another 20 minutes and in that time had another drink (cash only). Around 8:35 our table was finally ready. We were escorted into the dining room which was very intimate (only about 15 tables). Our waitress came over to tell us they were out of venison, rabbit and the catch of the day. This left little to the actual menu and the protein variety is probably a drawing factor for most of the clientele that goes there. We ordered our meal at 8:40.
Around 9:15 our server came out to notify us that our salads were taking so long due to the fact that the 5 yr old in our party (my son) ordered pasta and they have to make that to order. At 9:25 (45 minutes later). We received our salad and my son, his pasta. They made it sound initially that they were making fresh dough in the back, what he received was undercooked box pasta in a pool of water with some Parmesan on the side. Hardly a reason to hold up our salads for 45 minutes. The salads were forgettable and we moved on to appetizers. We ordered the prawns. Well the $ 14 pawn dish turned out to be 3 u50 shrimp over raw carrots in a broth of vinegar. Are you serious? What a disappointment! At this point we were starving for some decent food. The next hour and 15 minutes we waited, and waited, and waited for our entrees. The only reason we didn’t get up and leave is because we had a gift certificate to the restaurant and we knew we never wanted to come back. Not once in that time were we approached by the server, for a drink, to bring bread, an explanation, Nothing! We could clearly see the kitchen from our table and watched our server talk to the chef for 30 minutes, neither doing anything. When we complained to the server after waiting for 90 minutes, she seemed shocked like it never crossed her mind that our food should have been ready by now. She told us she would check and came out with some sugar watered ice for a pallet cleanser, for what? This was just insult to injury. Our meal finally came at 11pm. The duck was disgusting. None of the fat was cooked off and it was raw, tough and small. The strip steaks were cooked wrong and poorly seasoned. The portions were laughable. At the end of the night we were all laughing at how bad it was and then we got the bill for almost $ 300. Our Server knew better than to even ask is if we wanted dessert.
I really wanted to like this restaurant. The menu looked great and we were really excited to try it. This is a prime
Example of a restaurant that tries to slap a trendy type name on their door and sells you garbage under the guise of
Fine dinning. The meal was a total fraud. The entire staff short of the hostess was cold and uninterested.
Run away.

after enjoying their fall restaurant week menu, I finally tried their regular dinner menu, thinking it would be even better. however, wbile the dinner menu was not bad, I was slightly disappointed and found the restaurant week menu tastier.
from the dinner menu I had beef barley soup, which was good. and for entrée I had bacon wrapped chicken. it was rather dry and surprisingly had close to zero flavor. so much for bacon.

I called at 5 and made a reservation for 5:45. The woman who answered the phone was very friendly and sweet. It was Friday but we had no trouble.
They have valet parking but there were spots open right in front on the street so we didn’t have to bother.
We both really liked the décor and atmosphere in the restaurant. We had a nice booth for two. It was upscale but not stuffy.
Our server was answered all of our questions cheerfully and there was always someone around to fill our water and clear plates. I had the duck and my husband had the steak. The large portion of duck was HUGE and so delicious! I was so glad I got to make two dinners out of it. The root vegetables that came with it were perfectly cooked.
Great wine list too. I think they had happy hour specials in the bar on weekdays from 4 – 6 maybe? I’d go back for wine and apps if I was ever around during those hours.

We came her for our anniversary and were pleasantly surprised (I had come for a bachelorette party and had the wine sampler for parties and liked many of the offerings and thought that we should give it another shot.)
We had a delicious Guiness short rib appetizer followed by one of the best pieces of fish that Mike says he has ever eaten out. It was served on a pea and zucchini risotto that he raved over. I had a steak w/​a garlic demi glaze that was quite nice. Our wine was delicious and very reasonably priced. For desert we shared a butterscotch crème that was yummy (and very very rich — we were grateful for the fresh crème it was served on.)
I would come back. The service was very good and there were several other items on the menu that looked intriguing.

Came here during Albany Restaurant Week with a large group and the service was impeccable, the food was tantalizing, and the drinks were generous. The environment is best for after-​work with colleagues or the first few dates. Dress to impress!

This was my first foray to a «fine dining» restaurant. It wasn’t a typical sit-​down dinner — I was accompanying my boyfriend to his company’s party at the penthouse portion of the restaurant. The food was buffet-​style with three different types of macaroni and cheese (including lobster), chicken satay, and some random other appetizer-​like foods. The mac and cheese was okay, but I could have made my own (much better) mac and cheese at home. The lobster tasted like canned shrimp and the chicken was dry and bland.
Despite the mediocre food, the penthouse was very nice. The nighttime view of downtown Albany and the Hudson was beautiful. The service was great, and the bartenders were very nice and accomodating. I would probably never come here on a regular day for dinner, though. The food didn’t seem like it was worth the price, and besides, if I didn’t have detailed directions in front of me, there’s no way in hell I’d ever be able to find the place again. It’s practically hidden!

Summary– Bar/​Drinks, service, and décor (which is a carry over from Dale Miller) keep this review out of one star status. I won’t be back for the food. I must not be the only one, it was straight up empty on a Friday night, maybe 4 tables total and a half full bar. Dale Miller is sorely missed.
We went for an awesome Charity event, and were a wee bit hungy as the apps at the event just weren’t doing the job.
Food– 1.5 Stars
We got 5 Tapas to split between 4 people. We actually ordered four but they brought out one wrong one at let us keep it.
–Oysters– Some odd pumpkin migonette on top was not good. Also ²⁄₃ were improperly shucked. If you can’t do Oysters well then don’t put them on the menu.
–Shortrib Sliders– These were the 2^nd best thing that came to the table, they were OK but I could make them better at home. The Aioli was heavy on some, tasteless/​non-​existent on others. A bit larger than I think of a slider as.
–Nano Chips– Also pretty decent, although not quite cooked enough (a little soggy)
–Spicy Fried Chicken was pan fried not nearly enough and was not spicy… at all. Pieces were also borderline undercooked. Not even remotely good.
–Portabella was fine if not a bit sloppy. The plate was kind of a mess, but the flavors were OK.
Service– 3.5 Stars
Bartender was serving us as we sat at high top in bar, he was nice, proficient, and funny. He also comped us the chips when he made the mistake.
There was also nobody at the hostess stand when we came in or went out (carrying drinks which I found to be funny if we hadn’t been going back up to the event). Probably because there was nobody there to seat.
Atmosphere– 3 Stars
I (still) like the inside of Taste, but the seats near the end of the bar where they have enclosed fires and a waterfall thing (both show some wear, not working 100%) were way too warm. I was toasting over there.
Drinks– 3.5 Stars
Excellent drinks, then the last Manhattan that was ordered was blah, more Bourbon than anything else. Overall solid though.
Value– 1 Star
I could think of 10 places without even searching Unilocal that I would rather go at this price point.

This review is for lunch only.
When it comes to expensive restaurants I place a premium on two things:
1) The quality of their ingredients
2) The ratio of price to value
At lunch, Taste excels at these two things. Especially when it comes to their hamburger. Because theirs isn’t just any burger, it is made from Kilcoyne Farms beef. This is a collective of ranchers in the North Country of New York State that supply pasture raised beef.
A burger of the stuff, topped with cheese and bacon and served with fries costs about ten bucks. Now for any old hamburger that might be a bit pricey. But for a burger with special beef, served in a beautiful setting, with thin rimmed water glasses, white linen, and heavy silverware, it is among the best burger bargains anywhere.
The picture above is their rare, and it was quite tasty.
You may notice that the bun looks out of proportion to the rest of the burger. Sadly that is true. Next time I’m in, I will see if they can toast or grill the bun, which may lessen it’s breadiness, which really detracts from the burger, especially in those magnificent middle bites where the domed bun comes to a peak.
Oddly their desserts are priced the same as the burger. So you may want to go elsewhere for a bite of something sweet after the meal. Or not. A burger is pretty darn filling on its own.

Any review written prior to 1÷18÷11 should be considered out of date. Not only did the name change from «Dale Miller» to «Taste» but the chef and menu changed also. It should be noted that the ownership has not changed.
With that, I’ll say that we had a pleasant experience and dinner for four on Saturday.
Taste offers size options when selecting many items from the menu. This applies to both appetizers and entrees.
For our appetizers we chose to share Chorizo-​Filled Dates w/​pancetta chip; Roasted Baby Beet Salad w/​arugula, goat cheese, and passion fruit vinaigrette; and Shrimp & Grits Andouille w/​vidalia onions, and roasted tomatoes. The dates were a real pleaser. The shrimp, grits and andouille could have used a bit more spicing. The salad looked attractive with multi colored beets and seemed average in flavor.
The chosen entrees were Pomegranate Glazed Bison Short Ribs with Warm Radicchio Slaw; Guinness Brined Kobe Flank Steak with Roasted Shallots and Brussels; a Butter Poached Maine Lobster of the chef’s choice of preparation; and an entrée from the «Trio of taste» section of the menu entitled MooMoo Platter — Crispy Veal Sweetbread Nugget, Chorizo Filled Veal Roulade, and Veal Osso Bucco.
I didn’t pay full attention to the description of the chef’s preparation of the lobster, but it was quite unique since it arrived with a strawberry foam. The meat had been removed from the claws, knuckles and tail so there was no mess to deal with. Since this was not my selection, of an entrée, only an offered taste of the foam left an impression on my memory. I seem to recall my taste of the lobster was typical lobster. Properly cooked but apparently not memorable for me.
My choice of the bison short ribs was a good one. Flavorful and tender, easily removed from the bone.
The companion who chose the kobe flank steak thought there was a bit more fat than desired on the cut. The taste that I tried had no indication of fat and but all were in agreement that the meat was full of flavor.
The veal trio of sweetbread, chorizo/​veal roulade, and osso buco was a wonderful medley of tastes (no pun intended).
I don’t recall the desserts that were shared other than the one that made the strongest impression on me. A fantastic restaurant-​made rum ice cream!
A woman who was later identified as the owner of the restaurant was most helpful in assisting our party in choosing an appropriate wine. Service over-​all was excellent, from our waiter who sought out answers to any esoteric question we posed, to the staff who kept the water glasses filled and cleared the table. An additional nice touch was a visit from the chef at the end of dinner to ask how everything was and to answer any further questions.
Before I forget, our complements to the bartender. Pre-​dinner drinks were properly prepared by an attentive and pleasant gentleman.
Finally, I have to say if you are celebrating a special occasion such as an anniversary or birthday, there is no need to worry about ruining a classy evening with staff gathering about your table to sing. Recognition is provided in an unobtrusive fashion by having the appropriate greeting scripted on your dessert plate. Another nice touch!