The Washington Tavern

My friends and I have been coming here for trivia since our friends started hosting a few months ago. We weren’t thrilled about service but got better as we kept coming. We had a regular server who must have been a student who already went home. We missed him horribly tonight.
First it was overcrowded I guess cause schools out. We didn’t have anywhere to sit. We managed to get a patio table brought inside so we could eat and play. We eventually got menus. The girl who’s usually hear but not typically waitstaff as we could tell took our order. I ordered a burger first along with the other 4 people at our table. Two rounds of food came out no burger. Brought two sets of silverware, then two more, umm burger please? She asked me what I ordered and it wasn’t put in. I cancelled on principal. Ordered another beer.
After a minute realized I did want food ordered fries, told me already put in on the house, only reason for two over one star. Still no beer after got fries. Asked again was told put in. 15 minutes or so later I asked for a water got that with beer finally.
Extremely frustrating. Then when check came after I got two rounds (happy hour 2 for 1), there was three on the bill and 20 minutes later when she came back she looked at us like we were lying about the beers I got. I’m never spending another $ 1 in this shit hole. I will still come for trivia with my friends, but refuse to give my money to such horrible service.
So my teammates can use gift cards we rarely win how they like.

If you go before 9 you can enjoy a tasty meal and happy hour! The pleasant waitstaff is an extra plus.

Best wings in Albany! Spinach and garlic pizza is delicious and they have really good beer specials most nights.
At nights it gets frat-​ish so I like going for lunch or around 7ish at night

Great food and drinks. However the place is rather dirty and the bouncers tend to be hot headed individuals, who antagonize and create conflicts with customers.

Absolutely horrible! Took forever for a few burgers and I never got my beer. Totally incompetent servers. All of our burgers were ready at the same time, as we saw through the door to the kitchen, but we’re brought out ten minutes apart.

I’d heard that WT’s was a good spot for beer and wings from some of my co-​workers who are relatively recent college grads so I was forewarned about the college atmosphere of. you go before 9ish. About a week later a couple visiting the area asked for a recommendation for a late lunch and he was particularly interested in getting a beer as well. I work in Troy so I recommended Brown’s (which I love,) but I remembered the high praise for WT’s and they were staying in Albany so I sent them there.
The next day the guy called me and said «hands down the best wings ever!» So after work that day, I had to try it myself.
My wife wasn’t so hungry but I was starved. So I ordered the Tuscan panini with chicken figuring we could share that and the wings.
The food came out and the wings were definitely the best I’ve had in the capital district. In fact they are among the best I’ve ever had. The Tuscan panini was great too but the wings were pretty close to perfection!
A couple of weeks later we took our college aged daughters to WT’s. They ordered fish and chips and a turkey sandwich. Wife and I split wings and Tuscan panini again. Our food came out and the turkey sandwich and fish n chips got good marks but and free tasting a wing each of them lost interest I their meals. We ended up carrying theirs out and ordering more wings for them.
I’ve been back since then and will be back again soon/​often!
Service was very good to great on each of my visits which makes it all the better!

Typical college bar. Went on a Friday night where they were selling beer and well drinks for $ 4. Bartenders were friendly and attentive and never had to wait too long for a drink. Decent music but the dance floor felt like an awkward middle school dance.

College bar right across from the Alumni Quad of SUNY Albany. Very crowded for back to school night on a August. Pitchers of beers are $ 4 and Patron are approx $ 8 a shot.

Really really good food. I’ve tried their dinners and apps and everything has been delicious. Surprisingly good chicken wings and the pizza roll ups are so yumm. Not my choice for a bar hang out, but the food is definitely worth it. Apps are half price during happy hour, which is a good deal even after 7 pm. Only thing that’s confusing is the bar and the dining room are billed separately, so if you start a tab at the bar, you can’t continue it at your table which is kind of inconvenient.

I went with a group of 9 people and the hospitality for our table was very good. The staff was attentive and very helpful. We wanted beer, wings, pizza, mozzarella sticks and we wanted to try the Buffalo chicken egg rolls. We also were outside, which was very pleasant on a summer evening. The wings were classic — we had hot and medium, and decided the medium actually had more flavor, and the hot were plenty hot. The spinach specialty pizza was good! We added mushrooms, which were fresh, not canned. We also tried the sausage pizza, which was link sausage that was sliced, not sausage crumble. I think the crowd assessment was «meh», since there were slices left over. The Buffalo chicken eggrolls were… odd. I’d re-​do the cheese. With a party that large a lot can go wrong, however I think the Washington Tavern staff was watching out for us, and so I’m giving the four-​star rating. My only complaint is that the last order of wings was rushed to get it out ahead of the pizza, and the result was sub-​par fare. We took advantage of the special «free pitcher of beer with 10 wings» and when all was said and done, two large pizzas, three orders of wings, three pitchers of beer and an order of Mozz sticks and and order of egg rolls was $ 14.00 each. It was a great dinner party with ok food and good service in a nice spot for a VERY modest price.

Came here on a Monday looking for a good happy hour. The website advertised ‘All you can eat pizza and a pint’ as well as two-​for-​ones on draft beer. We decided to go for the pizza and each ordered a Bud Light as part of that package, which was $ 10.95, slightly below menu price. Next we learned the deal didn’t actually cover any toppings so we chose to just switch to the two-​for-​one since we already had the bud lights. The waitress told us the ‘two-​for-​ones’ were 8 oz beers and our 2 pints counted as 4. At this point we just went to the bar to cash out, where the total for the 2 draft beers was $ 11.34… I questioned the total, feeling mislead at this point and the bartender confirmed it was correct. Gotta say, almost 12 bucks for 2 pints on a two-​for-​one happy hour won’t have me coming back.

Definitely a college bar, I’ve had mixed experiences. Sometimes it’s very good and other times it’s very bad. I suppose it all depends on the staff that night.

I’ve been coming here since my college years, and until recently I would have written this off as another midtown college bar, but I was shocked at the dinner I had here the other night. My husband and I come here often since it’s within walking distance of our house, but usually stick to pub fare.
I’ve been sorely disappointed at the lack of decent fish and chips in the Capital Region, so when I ordered it I did not have high hopes. Congratulations, WT’s, I was pleasantly surprised! The batter didn’t do that weird, mushy thing that happens at most other places in the area.
Another favorite is the Irish nachos, which I’ve loved since one afternoon in grad school grading papers.
I also tried the spinach and artichoke dip, which includes a generous amount of artichokes and bread for dipping.
And, as a sucker for weird fun facts, I have heard that this is the only technically legal watering hole in Albany due to some obsolete law that requires a hitching post outside a bar. Not sure if this is true or not, but I like to believe it.

Great food and great deals. The waitresses are always pleasant and accommodating. I tried the fish and chips recently and the homemade tarter sauce was delicious. They also have a special for 10 wings and a pitcher of beer for 10 dollars — can’t beat it! It does turn into a college bar at night, but if you’re out of there by 9pm you should be fine. Highly recommend for lunch and/​or dinner.

Food is great! Made fresh and delicious every time! The spinach artichoke dip is phenomenal! But the Sante Fe Salad is my all-​time favorite! Plus the beer is always cold!

I’ve been in and out of the WT for almost 50 years now. In fact, I tried my first Guinness there on one of those early trips! I didn’t have another Guinness probably for 25 or 30 years! But that’s another story.
We were recently invited to go there for a 70^th birthday party celebration for a friend who is a regular there — «regular» in this case means he’s been going there since he was 18. The back room with its bar was reserved for the party of about 30 people. A separate bartender was assigned to the party and our tables were even covered with white linen. I tell you this because if you know the WT as a college bar through the years, you should be made aware that it has the ability to raise that bar considerably when hosting events in that back room.
Upon our arrival, there were several platters of very tasty Hummus with Toasted Pita and Veggies set up to munch on while we all socialized and made the acquaintance of other friends and family of the birthday boy. Once everyone had arrived, the rest of the food began to come out of the kitchen. First was a pizza with sliced tomatoes, mushrooms, broccoli, and cheese. It had a nice golden crust and a thin bottom that required two hands to get that first couple of bites up to your mouth. It was really quite tasty,
Quickly on the heels of the pizza server came a tray of Stuffed Mushrooms and house-​made Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls. The mushrooms were really delicious, but my favorite of the night had to be those Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls with the crumbled blue cheese on top.
Many customers come to the WT not just for the camaraderie and booze, but also for their Wings. We were served both mild and medium Wings. I’m not a connoisseur of chicken wings, so while these may have been meaty, I think I would have liked them a bit more if they were more succulent.
My second trip to the serving table brought back several more of those delicious stuffed mushrooms, a larger number of the Buffalo chicken egg rolls (Yum!), and a slice of a sausage pizza this time. I hope this gets the attention of the Unilocal TTTT planner. Once the colleges graduate, there is less likely to be competition for table space.

Best wings I’ve had in Albany. The Friday $ 10 bucks for 10 wings & a pitcher of beer is so quality. Along w/​the great service and half off apps it’s a must go for all around the area.
Who woulda thought the bar a lot of us college students go to Thursday & Friday nights have such quality food?

Okay pub food with a college crowd – well, at least most look college aged but act not college educated.
Good beer selection, with a lot of NYS breweries on tap. And they have Utica Club on tap for $ 1 on Tuesday nights.

I had an awesome New England clam chowder. Potatoes done perfectly and plentiful clams, served hot as it should be. Friend had mushroom and Brie soup very tasty. Excellent waitress Jada, whom knew her beer and cuisine, bartenders were not team players, she was by herself and there sat the pint 10ft away from our table fore 5 min or more. Wings have a complex sauce not to be reckoned with. Excellent seasonal draft selection; ask for a taste. Harp is serves at temp. I’ll be back for sure!

Beware, Thursday through Friday is college bar night. Overcrowded and deafening loud music.
I’ve never been on a weekday nor have I eaten Tavern food, so i’m judging this establishment solely on it’s prime time night life.
Negatives: If you think you’re going to the bathroom or sitting in an actual seat your sadly mistaken. A few positives, they have cheap drinks and surprisingly responsive bartenders.
WT’s is A-​OK.