V & R Italian Ristorante

Amazing chicken soup .love this place and people. I am shocked at the low star reviews. I would encourage any one to give it a try. Never had a bad meal here.

not that great. shotty food, okay wine selection but not a great experience over all

I have been here a number of times and enjoyed a good meal. Tonight restaurant week lines out the door but they had a full crew and was handled well-​they only offered the event menu but had 8 choices of entrees! Starters of mozzarella cypress was a bit bland despite a nice presentation. A little basalmic would have helped. The eggplant was delicious the veal a bit dry but given the hectic night I applaud them. Got dessert to go. Tiramisu and carrot cake;)

it was pretty good but not the best food

I can’t look the other way. The food averaged okay. However, sanitation is not their strong suite. We got there at 5 on a Tuesday, no other patrons were there, so out of all the tables we could have been sat at we’re second closest to the door and sit down to a dirty linen! It looked like candle waxed had dried on to the linen, which happens, but there were huge, unattractive white stains all over the red linen and to be the first thing you see, it was definitely a turn off. When the waitress went to fill out water, I noticed there was something in my cup. Not being a «germaphobe,» I went to brush whatever it was out of the cup and it smudged across the inside of the glass. No can do. I asked for a new cup and the waitress just swapped it with another tables and never replaced it when that party arrived. Maybe she forgot, but now I’m picking up on a trend. Once she did fill out water, the waitress spilt it all over the table, she is human, but didn’t apologize or change the linen, just took my friends cup and ran it through the puddle to spread it out. It was unreasonably comical and the sequence of events, on top of the fact that she was training a new waitress that night, made it even more hilarious. The icing on the cake in all reality was when I asked, «is the tiramisu a standard, home made tiramisu?» the waitress goes, «is our tiramisu sanitary?!» We lost it. Internally of course. The whole thing made for a quiet dinner followed by a very noisy ride home! Food-​wise: the bruschetta appetizer was very good and so was the «sanitary» tiramisu, but the shrimp Vanessa wasn’t something I’d order again. Aside from it being rather bland in the flavor department, the shrimp was like cardboard. Maybe they just didn’t bring the a-​team that day, but I wouldn’t go to this place again or recommend others to do so.

Friendly, quick service, and the calamari was the best I’ve found in some time. Definitely coming back soon.

I can’t completely trash this place though I did go in with very low expectations based on Unilocal reviews. The place looks elegant & fairly upscale even tho it’s not in my opinion an upscale restaurant. The appearance was very pleasant.
I stopped in for lunch so pricing wasn’t bad at all, $ 30 for two people (we didn’t take desert or appetizers). My companion ordered a spaghetti with chicken which they allege was fairly good. I personally ordered manicotti and I thought it was good (average). My meal didn’t blow me away but it wasn’t nasty either. For the price I’m not complaining but only got 2 slices of manicotti, I woulda liked three.
Overall it’s not completely terrible but I do wish there were better options, I was just pressed for time.

Had a fabulous dinner last PM before the Capital Rep performance
Food was outstanding
I had Veal Parm which was tender and fresh
Eggplant Rollatini Wonderful
The Shrimp Alla Venessa was perfect.
The Service was prompt, friendly and attentive.
Look forward to going back.

I’ll gladly write a review in the hopes that more people take the opportunity to visit. I’ve been 4 – 5 times now and each has been into a very non-​crowded restaurant.
This is great Italian food and the restaurant feels authentic. I’ve had the same server each time I’ve visited, not sure of her name but she is very friendly and knowledgeable of the menu. The prices are a bit high, but what I would expect to pay for good food in a classy environment. The last time we went, just this past weekend, we used an Entertainment book coupon that is for buy one entrée get one free, up to $ 15. They honored the coupon but also gave it back and encouraged us to come again. We will.
I suppose the downside is that (I don’t think) they do not have a parking lot, but we rode the bus in anticipation of having a few glasses of wine. :) Speaking of which, they have an excellent wine selection and again, the server could guide us through the choices.
If you’d like the same excellent food but avoid the dinner prices, head there for lunch. One of my favorite places to go and please expect leftovers.

I was hesitant to eat here because of all the negative reviews, but was taken here anyway by my future in-​laws who live up the street. Upon entering, the V&R dining room wasn’t exactly bustling. There were only a handful of couples dining there when we arrived around 8pm. We were seated promptly by our Host/​server Sasha. She was serving/​bussing & bartending as well as running food all by herself. She still was able to give us attentive & prompt service. We ordered hot antipasto for 4 which was not on the menu per se but they made for us no problem. It came w clams, mussels, calamari & eggplant rollatini. The seafood was so fresh you could still taste the ocean in them. It was accompanied by a basket of the most delicious, crunchy Italian bread. For our entrees we went with various chicken & veal dishes which ranged from $ 20-​$ 25 & came with a house salad&pasta which I thought was great value for the price with the amount of food you were recieving. The entrees were exactly what you expected, cooked& seasoned properly with no surprises. V&R is an old school red sauce restaurant & that is exactly why you come here & what you get. I enjoyed my experience @ V&R & left thinking that they deserved a better review than the ones they were getting.

I had purchased a groupon deal to V&R. The groupon requested you notify staff of your groupon when making a reservation (required). When I phoned to make our reservation I noticed the person on the phone was very friendly until I mentioned the groupon. When we arrived we experienced a similar welcome– friendly until I mentioned my name, which I assume she tied to the groupon deal. I Made an attempt to overlook this disdain however the food was mediocre and we were never provided with the salads which were included with the entrée according to the menu. The entire restaurant was very quiet/​empty for a Friday evening at dinner time with only one wait staff for waiting on tables, greeting guests, etc so I assume it is usual for this place to be so quiet. We sat by the window which was nice for a few moments– until several buses and cars went by providing a cloud of exhaust. There were also several people from the neighborhood and street shouting, yelling, cursing, threatening others– not a great location. Bottom line– I often use a groupon to try a new place and see if I would like to return– I would never return to V&R!

Came for Restaurant Week, knowing that it had negative reviews prior and hoping that they were by mean people. Found out that the negative reviews were unfortunately warranted.
Negatives: First, the restaurant was practically empty at 8:30 on a Friday. Then, it took them ten minutes to prepare our table, which we had reservations for. 3^rd, the bread was stale except for a very small bit in the very center of the center piece. Then, the waitress herself expressed her shop’s poor wine choices, and told us how most of the time the wines listed are not even available. I got the eggplant parm — which was decent — very fried and clearly mostly prepped prior and not fresh. It was not the worst, but I wouldn’t seek it out.
Pros — the waitress we had was pretty awesome, despite everything else we experienced. We had a really fantastic time here. Mostly because we were the only ones there, and didnt have to worry about being too loud and obnoxious.
I had such high hopes and wanted to add a positive review, but sadly I cannot. I will not be coming back here. Sorry, I tried.

Just had dinner there, under a Groupon. Very quiet, service was terrific, and so was the food. Waitress was engaging, patient, and fun. My veal Sorrento was fresh and tasty, the appetizer and bread with oil was fresh and delicious, and my gf loved here tortellini. Music in background was stellar – opera, FS, Tony Bennet, real jazz. In sum, a quiet, delicious meal in a friendly and interesting environment.

Like another reviewer, I can’t t figure out why this restaurant has received so many negative and downright insulting reviews. (Perhaps an orchestrated campaign to keep its ratings down?) We have dined there twice in the past few months, and both times have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The service has been attentive but non-​intrusive, and the food has been excellent. Chicken piccata is highly recommended! The décor is really interesting and fun. Do yourself a favor and give this place a chance. We thought it was much better than Lombardo’s, right across the street — I think that Lombardo’s coasts on its historic reputation (and fabulous neon sign) and doesn’t offer nearly as many choices, or food that is on a par with V&R’s.

I don’t know why this place has such bad reviews. I’ve been there a couple of times and my food has been very tasty. The portions are large and the food is fresh. Love the crusty bread! My server was friendly and efficient. I had no problems with the $ 40 for $ 20 voucher… they took it without hesitation. I have left-​overs in the fridge from my meal so I’ll have a tasty lunch too!

I would give this place zero stars if I could. We purchased the $ 20 for $ 40 coupon and despite no restrictions on the deal, they decided not to honor the coupon just bacause «it’s a Holiday»… We tried to explain to them that we don’t live in Albany and had already paid $ 20.00 but they made the situation very awkward. I tried to reason with them as a fellow small business owner — stating that despite the coupon — our party of three planned to spend $ 75.00 — $ 100.00 but they did not care (which is suprising that they would turn away business in this economy with the restaurant ¾ empty).
While I cannot rate the food, I can say that before the above situation went down, we sat at our table for 15 minutes and were ignored. No bread or water was brought to us.
I was fortunate that Unilocal got back to me and refunded my money, However, do yourself a favor and avoid this place at all costs!!!

My boyfriend and I took the bus up to Albany to visit my brother and we were starving upon arrival. We decided to walk to my brother’s since he lives close enough to the bus station to make that reasonable and to grab food along the way. We came in at lunch time and no one was in here. I think the woman (owner?) fired up the grill for us. We ordered chicken parm and lasagna. The chicken had way too many tough bits. I hate biting into chicken and getting what feels like a knuckle in my mouth. I barely ate it. The lasagna was entirely unremarkable. I barely ate that either. My boyfriend devoured both things though and just shrugged when I said I didn’t like it. The bread they included with our take out order was decent though and I did soak up some of the sauce with that so I at least would feel less hungry.

Alas, V&R has seen better days — much better. It is competing with too many other Italian restaurants in the same block, and can not keep up.
Indifference is the impression we had this last visit. We were the only diners for the first 25 minutes, then 1 other couple entered. We waited over 25 minutes for our appetizer of Clams Oregonata. Low and behold, there was no oregano — or garlic in them, and the clams were not fresh tasting. The bread was over heated so that it was toast. When we asked for some more bread with our entrees and requested it to be «less toasty» — it came out the exact same way.
Sad wilted salads. My Veal Marsala looked beautiful, but had no taste. The meat was not pounded thin enough and there was grizzle in it. Hubs veal dish was better. My side of pasta was good, but his penna was mushy.
We have had 3 other meals here that we enjoyed, but will not be back. Service should have been much better on such a slow night and there was no reason for the kitchen to be that slow, and the food not to have better seasoning and flavor.

This place does not look much from the outside but was a pleasant surprise inside. I had the chicken picatta and I have to say it may have been the best Italian meal I have ever had. My friends and I went to two other more popular and higher rated restaurants on Unilocal that week, Marche at 74^th Street and Albany Pumping Station, but we all agreed that V&R was by far the best. Along with great food, they also provided excellent service. I am a big fan and will be returning there soon. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone.

this place is located near both lombardo’s and café capriccio. the only reason we ate here was that the other two had a wait and we were hungry and not willing to wait. we should have.
while the décor is much nicer than lombardo’s and brighter than café capriccio, the food was only so-​so. my white sauce was way too thick (i had a carbonara something or other) and made me feel both full and slightly ill right away. the other’s thought their meals were mediocre as well, especially for the price. the price is closer to CC’s instead of L’s.
but i have a friend who loves it so perhaps i was there on an off night (i haven’t gone back to check). if anyone feels differently please feel free to let me know. it is one of those cases where i have been burned but still wonder if the flame is going to be AS hot next time.