Manhattan Exchange

Friends and DH gathered at ME for a meeting and dinner about our upcoming cruise… As we all wanted separate checks so we wouldn’t want to divide and add to figure out what we owed the waitress was very accommodating. I know it’s more work for her. I ordered Buffalo Chicken Wrap, chicken lettuce, blue cheese wrapped in flour tortilla. It was quite tasty. My DH had Philly Steak Sandwich with fries and he said it too was good… They carry Lambrusco my favorite wine… I’ve got it down to a science now which places in town carry it! My friends son in law to be Jesse is the bar tender there so it’s nice to go places where you know people… will be back soon! I’ve been meaning to go there on Wednesday’s when they have $ 5. burgers!

My husband and I will never come to this venue ever!!! My husband order the BBQ chicken and it was under cooked very tough, and I order the crab sandwich which that was very yummy. However, I asked my waitress if it came with French fries she said no it comes with macaroni salad, which I agreed to get and was looking forward to it. When my sandwich came out all I got on the side was coleslaw, and I assumed they were still making the macaroni salad, in meantime she asked me if I wanted refill I replied yes, 20mins no refill no macaroni salad. I was highly annoyed she asked if we wanted to check, I said yes this is ridiculous I did not get what I was suppose to and my husband food was awful. Be aware they don’t have much help. I checked Unilocal before we went and I told my husband I didn’t think it was a good idea.

⁵⁰⁄₅₀ experiences here so far.
The first time I came here it was fantastic! The service was on point, the food was delicious — best calamari I’ve had in a long time, and the drinks were flowing.
The second time left a lot to be desired. It wasn’t busy by any means, but it took forever to get service. We actually went to the bar to get our own drinks. After waiting for quite some time, we finally flagged the waitress down for menus. We basically had to ask for everything as she was walking past us — can we get menus, we’re ready to order, can we get more drinks. And the food this time around, not great. A lot of our apps were cold which led us to believe they were sitting out for a while while we were being overlooked.
Not sure I’m in a rush to go back.

Service sucks, portion sizes have gone down, and the quality of food has gone down hill.

The food was ok, but the service was disastrously slow. There were 10 tables, 2 servers, 2 table bussers & the restaurant was running a limited menu for restaurant week. The limited menu had some great choices, and were designed to be prepared quickly so that tables could be turned quickly. However, after an hour & a half, our dinners arrived. We had to politely ask if could get a second glass of wine and cocktails during dinner. Water was never refilled until one of our party started choking. We did not have any water left, nor did the rest of us have any left in our glass to offer him. We tracked down the busser to ask if she could get our choking friend some additional water. She promptly filled his, but the rest of us were still out of luck. The waitress was rude and would snap at us if we tried to get her attention. Completed plates & extra glasses were left on the table for over 30 minutes until I started to place them on the tray that was located next to our table. Dessert did not arrive until 2 ½ hours after we walked into the door. Asking for our check was a painful experience as well as our server snapped at us again. After 3 hours we finally departed the restaurant.
The food was ok, (nothing exceptional) but the awful service made sure that we probably will not return any time soon.

I try to go here often as it is close to home and find I’ll only go in the nice weather to sit outside. The bartender is never nice! Crowd has been there on the same stool for years and if your new you are made to feel as you don’t belong. Not a home town feel. You think they would be nicer as ever time I’ve been it is dead in there. Food is good no complaints there.

Aside from a random late night cocktail I normally stop here on a Saturday afternoon. The bardetnder/​waitress has been Lori everytime I’ve stopped in. She always stops what she’s doing and greets me right away and grabs me a cocktail, and engages me in conversation with other guests at the bar. The salads at this place are huge and by far better than I’ve had at most places. Usually I get the Manhattan salad, get it. Despite my love for greens I am obsessed with their French Dip, never fatty, I add cheese, then I eat every bite. Homeade soup is key during the winter and this place has a delicious selection every time I go. Love it.

It’s been over fifteen years since I had been at the restaurant. Not because of a bad experience but because I just wasn’t in that area very often.
We had a party of 9, and a lively crowd I might add. Our waitress Danielle rolled with the comments and in general all the fun we were having with her. When we finally got around to ordering we could not get over how reasonable the prices were.
When dinner arrived we were amazed at the portion sizes, and don’t let me forget that everyone’s food was delicious and the steaks were cooked to perfection.
Of course most of us were not able to finish, but the owner Debbie came over later and bought the table an after dinner drink because of all the fun we were having.
I look forward to a return visit and HIGHLY recommend the restaurant.
Bob Belive

I work in an office building a few blocks down, so I’ve tried all the restaurants on that block and I can say hands down, Manhattan is the only one that I enjoy. The food is inexpensive, they have a card where you get a free meal every 8^th meal you buy, the portions are large and ALWAYS delicious. It’s cozy. (I recommend the taco wrap, or the Thanksgiving wrap when they have it on their specials menu. Yum) Also, I can’t believe anyone had a bad experience here. Take it from me, impossible.

When the weather is warm, it is hard to find a nicer patio with decent food that arrives in such copious quantities and so inexpensively, especially in comparison with the other choices on the block. In the winter, if you have to feed a large group, and you want to do it without going broke and with food that will satisfy any taste in a decent and completely acceptable American way, you can book a table upstairs. Your guests may not be overly impressed, but they will not complain that their meals lacked taste or that they left hungry. Most will likely take food home with them because a) they enjoyed it, and b) they received more than they could eat at one sitting. When I want to sit outside, and enjoy a summer’s evening with my wife, Manhattan Exchange is one of my favorite restaurants. And when I have to feed my daughter and her college friends, Manhattan Exchange is one of my favorite restaurants — no matter what the weather!

I’ve actually come here for the food, as opposed to the alcohol. They have a decent selection of wraps, plus their linguine dish was very tasty, I thought. I was seated in a quiet upstairs dining room area, which seems to be open for dinner hours at least. I’d come here again.

With 20 North right up the street, and the Bier Abbey next door, there is absolutely no reason to step foot into this place (unless you desperately want free popcorn). There is a lack of seating, the drinks are overpriced, and the crowd leaves something to be desired.

Average price drinks, friendly bartenders/​clientele, and a cozy place to hangout.

Whenever I go back to Schenectady, my friends and I go to Manhattan Exchange. They have cheap drinks (well, actually, I don’t know what cheap drinks are in Schenectady but they’re cheap by my NY standards…$ 4 for an Amaretto Sour is fine by me) and they give you free popcorn! I mean, FREE popcorn. I’m such a sucker for free food it is unreal. But it’s generally low-​key, it’s a pretty small bar but it’s easy to park outside and they have a jukebox. Oh, and did I mention free popcorn?

1 star for easy parking and location and 1 star for inviting front yard.