Clinton’s Ditch

I think someone must have a campaign going to trash Clinton’s Ditch. Having just eaten lunch there, I can’t give any credit to that campaign.
I walked in, got seated, ordered a «do it yourself» quesadilla, got one and ate it. It was spectacularly good. I had no trouble with waitpersons, bartenders, other customers, or anything else. I’d go back any time.
I’ve always thought Clinton’s Ditch was one of the best restaurants in Schenectady, at least for «pub food» and the like. Nothing has happened recently to change my mind. The multiple single-​star ratings seem to me to be seriously off base.
And I’m not connected with the management, and I haven’t received anything in exchange for this review other than a great lunch. Rethink your downgrades, people.

Better bring a water bottle! Went here a few weeks ago with some colleagues and found they started charging for tap water, which is ridiculous enough. We were then told they couldn’t split our check because it was too time consuming and they get charged to run a card. However, they had no problem suggesting we use the ATM and have us pay whatever ridiculous fee that was. We work for a good size local business and my colleagues and I will not be returning.

Has a varied menu and food is good. Service needs help. Waitresses and bartenders were more interested in socializing with each other than helping guests. Bartender seemed bothered when I asked for a clean glass (my beer was served in a visibly filthy glass i.e. Food stuck to it). Would probably rate place 4 – 4.5 if service was good.

Good place gone terrible. Waitresses share tables and it causes way more confusion then needed. They charge for water– what’s the deal with that ??
We needed to split the bill and they not only gave us a hard time but when we left and were waiting for our to go order the owner was complaining to other patrons about us trying to split a check.
I work nearby and a large group of us will no longer be dining at this nazi establishment.

Those saying you have to pay 0.50c for water weren’t kidding! I can’t believe an establishment would actually charge for water. The food was awful, everything was bland and tasteless, and over-​fried. The staff is kind of annoying, hitting on each other instead of working. Not a great experience, won’t be returning!

I go here regularly and it’s always a great time.
Ryan’s and Kristen are two of the most attentive, friendly and fun servers around.
You can get others that aren’t so nice.
The food is fantastic and they don’t give you a hard time for customizing your order. The drinks are delicious as well — try the Grateful Dead.

Very good menu for lunch, I like to stop in on their patio or dining room when the giant door is open for summer lunch breaks. Wings are above average here, and their hot sandwich section of the menu is good. However, for a popular bar, I’m always surprised by their lack of quality beer choices — all run-​of-​the-​mill unexciting options. Also have had pretty slow service there on more than one occasion

Avoid this place at all costs! The waitstaff is rude and unfriendly. Our waitress at lunch time acted annoyed by doing her job and acted like splitting a check for business people at lunch time was unheard of. The place charges for waters, which I’ve never before seen at a restaurant. The food was too salty and unappetizing and the restaurant ended up overcharging us after finally agreeing to split the bill, which unfortunately included gratuity, as a tip would not have been my choice. Do yourself a favor and avoid all frustration by going somewhere else!

Clintons Ditch COULD be a really good place, the place is clean, you just can’t beat the 2 dollar pints, and the food, though limited, is fairly decent. The thing that gets me is that they have good service, but the head bartender, I think her name is Chris, is completely devoid of any happiness. It appears she is like the pit boss, and the staff is about ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ on the personality thing. I know from personal experience that bartenders/​wait staff will make a LOT more if they do a couple of SIMPLE THINGS. Um… let’s see… SMILE…say your NAME… you just don’t get that here, and it starts with the leader. The owner is real nice, greets patrons, will even do a sandwich of your name, if you suggest one, and he likes it. That’s a cool touch ! You can get in and out pretty quickly, but if you sit outside, sometimes I’ve waited a long time for service. The food is bar fare, with daily specials. The food is real good, although once I got cold, wet fish, which I can get at Ron’s, but that’s another review. The parking can be non-​existent if it’s crowded, you have to park at DMV, or try to find a spot in the Stockade. The extension building is nice, but it came at the expense of parking, and most of the days, even in summer when you WANT to sit there, they close it, seemingly for the waitresses convenience. The deck out back is O.K. But it’s like sitting in a walled box with umbrellas, and astonishingly UNCOMFORTABLE, and impossible to sit on bar stools. If they get some real waitresses that aren’t so stuck up and are friendly, I’d make it a place I’d go to more often, as it is now, I semi-​avoid the place.

The food is good. Our waitress was very friendly and efficient. However, if you choose water over another beverage, it will cost you $.50. The explanation given is that water, straws and lemon cost money. A welcoming place factors these costs into the price of the meal.

Sitting at a table and bar with a party of 9 drinking and ordering food and they kicked us out of our table. What a slap in the face! Find a nicer place that appreciates your business. Will not come back

This was the second time I was here to have a meal. The first, I was so upset by my experience and service that I emailed the owners on their website and was disappointed when I receive no response.
I met my parents for lunch yesterday and my Dad really likes Clinton’s Ditch so I decided to give it a second try after the miserable first experience. To make a long story short, we received absolutely no service as I had to place my drink order at the bar (we were sitting outside on the covered patio,) place my dinner order with the bartender, and pay at the bar as our server refused to come to the table and make eye contact with us. Oh and by the way, we weren’t the only customers outside as it was before a Proctor’s show. Anyways enough about the negative ten star experience.
Like I was saying the only reason I was there was because my Dad likes it. We sat at a high top table inside by the garage doors. I ordered the southwest wrap which was pretty unremarkable and not even spicy. It didn’t really have a taste. My mom got the turkey wrap which looked good with waffle fries and my Dad ordered the sausage sandwich with peppers and hot cherry peppers which looked great.
My two stars are for my mother’s waffle fries which were good, my crunchy chips with my wrap, and my Dad’s sausage sandwich which looked really really good. I don’t think i will come back because of my first horrendous experience and my food wasn’t that great the second time. Oh, and I had the second half of my southwest wrap today and it didn’t taste like anything at all. There was no taste, so there’s for thinking it will get better overnight. The service was also very Very slow. Unremarkable place and it’s really just too bad.

Most crabby bartenders I have ever seen in my life. 3 people at the bar and the waitress won’t even speak to you. I would avoid this place like the plague. It is a flipping joke

This place is hit or miss. One day you will get great service, the next a bartender that has the personality of a herpes infected ballsack. Don’t waste your time.
EDIT: I was fairly intoxicated when I initially wrote this review (from the bar, I might add), so I figured it was only fair to follow up with more detail.
My very big issue with this place was the bartender. There was a party going on upstairs, so aside from two girls, we were the only ones at her station. Not only did she seem completely uninterested in serving us, she could not even be bothered to engage in the smallest of conversation. We arrived more than willing to spend money, but ended up leaving after two drinks because we felt like we were a nuisance to bartender.

It is a bar with a great atmosphere and better than average food. The prices are good for the quality of food offered. The only reason I didn’t give 5stars is the lack of parking.

I came here for lunch while on a business trip and a suggestion from a coworker. They mentioned we should take advantage of the amazing weather and not get cooped up in our office. This was a great patio setting that had decent pub food at reasonable prices. I really love how they re-​purposed the old buildings into a great bar.
We sat outside and the service was just working all the tables really quickly. I got a chicken cajun wrap with waffle fries. For $ 9, I was happy with the size and how quickly it came. The fries were a bit heavy with oil but it had a decent crunch to it. The wrap wasn’t spicy but it was filled with good veggies and that made me a happy person. The chicken had a bit of char to it so it added to the flavour. My colleague ordered their burger and he loved it… he said it was juicy and had the right amount of pink in the middle.
With the great patio in the back, you can really just sit back and relax and enjoy the warm weather. We arrived and left within 50 minutes so it’s a perfect place for a work day lunch… personally I would have loved to stay there for a few more hours and enjoy the sun on the patio!

Been here a couple of times now. During the summer, there is a nice patio behind the restaurant and they are even expanding. However, while this may be a reasonable place for a beer, I wasn’t too enthused with Clinton’s Ditch in terms of their food. My party and I found the food portions to be rather small for the prices they charge. One of my friends was not impressed with the prices they charge for a glass of Maker’s Mark, either.

Nachos were all right – wasn’t a fan of the cheese sauce over shredded cheese (overkill?) but my whiskey and ginger was strong like I liked it and my chicken salad wrap and waffle fries made up for the nachos. Everyone else enjoyed theirs as well.

Perfectly acceptable place to hang out while you are visiting sweet ass Schenectady. I did a bit of bar hopping this past weekend with T-​Dow and JV, and the Ditch held it’s own.
It was kind of quiet for a Saturday night but it was cold and raining.

It’s a bar.
It’s a bar with food.
It’s a bar with really good bar food.
And the beers really good too!
Good to great service.
Good to great looking waitresses.
burger, wraps (buffalo chicken, southwest chicken) worth eating
real wings
BLUE MOON on tap… cold… fresh…cold…fresh…YUM