Wine Bar and Bistro

The wine was overpriced… coming from Connecticut, it’s laughable that Albany thinks it can get away with this kind of buffoonery. The food was thoroughly mediocre… a deadly mix hence another one of these phony places bites the big one. Rarely trust a local Albany native whose perspective is about as accurate as American Guinness.

«A» for ambience. «F» for the food. Spaghetti was clumpy and not well sauced. Looked like ramen noodles only worse. Shame because place is cool looking and staff is great. I had high hopes given reviews and first impressions but fell flat once food was served. A real shame because I think there is a lot of potential.

Went here on a whim for a friend’s birthday, I was so impressed. Food was outstanding and wine choices were amazing. I will definitely be going back! I really enjoyed the atmosphere, we sat outside and it was such a good experience. Reminded me of eating out in Manhatten. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a nice place to get together with girlfriends or a date night.

Wine selection is terrific. Food is okay, not exceptional. Entrance is hard to find and not very appealing. Once inside nice ambiance if a bit cramped.

Tucked away in Albany’s Lark St, this Wine Bistro has the ambience of a cozy Brooklyn or New Orleans wine bar. Though we couldn’t stay on the patio for long due to rain, it was one of te more attractive outdoor seating areas I’ve visited.
We ordered the Ravines 2013 Cabernet Franc. It eas complex, smoky, and fruity; the novice red wine drinkers in our group were happy. The servers were knowledgeable and polite, and poured our wine with measured expertise.
The food, however, was mediocre. While i enjoyed the kale salad, the whipped sweet potato was overly spicy and the fritatta was, in fact, a quiche. The crème brûlée was the biggest disappointment — the egg was clearly curdled, giving the custard a distinctly eggy flavor. This is a mark of a chef who doesn’t know what he’s doing, and this was confirmed by an obviously frozen flouerless chocolate cake.
Overall, a cute place and a nice contribution to the Albany nightlife scene. I’d return for the wine, but not the food.

So, updating 4 years later. Is the food at Jason Baker’s level? No; and the service on a recent visit had declined somewhat, a perceptible downturn. Feels a bit as though they may be coasting: the patio was still perfectly pleasant, and the food was unobjectionable, but there’s no longer the reason to make plans around a visit here the way that there used to be.

Well Hidden I walked into this place with my wife one night (thank you Unilocal). Great food also great wine selection the people here are super nice, my wife asked to tasted their wine they gave her 2 different samples at no cost. The food was amazing omg you guys have to try it!

We had a wonderful experience at wine bar! A girlfriend of mine was visiting from out of town and we were looking for something classy but casual as well as a great glass of wine-​and wine by exceeded our expectations. We were seating in a cozy booth near a fire place, our waitress was awesome and offered great suggestions. We started out with the cheese plate which was delicious and one of the best ones Ive had. We each had a few glasses of wine-​all of which were amazing. They have a vast selection of whites and reds. We split a steak entrée which was also delicious and perfectly cooked. I will definitely be back to sample more!

Tiny, cozy and yummy with a smallish, but varied menu. Good wine selection (of course). Great for date night

I had a wonderful evening at Albany WB&B. Pretty perfect escargot. Perfect crabcakes, made with a touch of cornmeal. Cheesecake was superb.
The waitress’ wine knowledge was lacking. Quick fix: educate the staff! A WB staff should be knowledgable enough to ‘talk-​wine’ with customers seeking specific recommendations.
Staff was, however, accommodating. And food service was fast.
I chose a bottle of 2005 Shiraz from the Barossa valley, and it was FANTASTIC.

Wine list is great. Well put together, good range, depth, good value. I’d come back for the wine, but not the food.
Burrata appetizer was good, but the entrees were not. With the porkloin, the Risotto was like minute rice with cheese mixed in. lamb chops came out black & blue and had to be re-​heated. Butternut squash soup was a bit grainy.

We ate here last year on NYE and while the food was fairly good, the service was pretty horrible because the staff was SO unfriendly. They made us feel like we were doing something wrong and a couple over 60 was next to us and they were attentive as hell to them, but practically ignored us. For reference, we are in our mid-30’s and from New York City — we were in town for a concert.
I could overlook the service one time since I live in NYC and the place is just adorable so we decided to give it another shot. I called them yesterday to make a reservation for NYE and the young woman who answered said, «We do not take any reservations.» I gently said that the website states clearly that is the case, but the two exceptions are Valentine’s and NYE. She literally said to me, «Well the website is wrong.» If the website is wrong, freaking update it. IF THE WEBSITE IS WRONG, maybe she could have said, «We are sorry, we are making some changes and that is no longer the case.» I could live with that — business change their services all the time, but her tone coupled with the reminder of how we were treated last year left a bad taste in my mouth. So honestly while I touted this place as good in the past, they lost us as customers and I absolutely would remark that you find another, friendlier place to dine. No one needs that type of treatment while trying to have a nice dinner. In Albany of all places — where nearly everyone is friendly. Yono’s in the Hampton Inn has just as good food and SUPER nice staff. So that’s where we will be going. Setting the bar sort of low if a place in a Hampton Inn is better than this…(no offense to poor Yono).

Don’t even try going here if you’re under 40 years old. The staff is incredibly rude if they think you’re not going to spend money. I came in at 9pm with my boyfriend for a few glasses of wine and was blatantly ignored by the staff for so long that we left without being served. The restaurant was not crowded and there were plenty of open tables. The waitress came to our table and we were ready to order our first glass. She asked us about our specials and we replied «no thanks, we’re just here for the wine» and she immediately left the table without taking our order. She walked by several more times but never stopped so we walked out.
If you want to be a restaurant and not cater to young professionals who want to enjoy a few quiet drinks, don’t call yourself «The Wine Bar».

The Lark St. Wine Bar is without a doubt one of the best restaurants in Albany.
Amazing ambiance, the space is warm, cozy and romantic. They have a limited menu that is always changing. The food is fantastic at prices that are reasonable. They have an outstanding wine list.
We stopped in for dinner tonight. Probably the 5^th or 6^th time we’ve been. As always, our dishes were delicious, the service was excellent, and we had a memorable time.

Really cool place and the food is good!
Organic plates, cheeses and a great selection of wines from all different areas of the world.
We sat outside at the patio seating, which was really nice.
We had the cheese platter, all cheeses from NY. Very good.
The appetizers were Korean short ribs and the asparagus with mushrooms and egg. Yummy.
For entrees we ordered the pork loin and i had the cauliflower steak, which was a nice creative combo of grilles cauliflower, with a pesto sauce, barley salad. Delicious, it almost did not feel like it was a vegetarian dish.
Yummy crème brûlée for dessert.
The service was ok, a bunch of younger almost college girls work there, don’t expect NYC treatment so be prepared.
The downside is that servers were not really experienced it seemed like.
Also, our server had paint stains on her arms like she has been painting her house all day (i kid you not). And the way they are all dressed is overly informal.
Overall though the place was nice.

What a beautiful, relaxing experience. The courtyard in the back is decorated wonderfully, you’ll forget you’re in Albany!
We were there for drinks and desserts so I can’t speak to the food but from what we could see it looked wonderful. The wine and cocktail list is extensive.

OVER-​RATED. Too expensive, too small… the food is cheap but neatly presented and if you will be listening in on everything because people are sat on top of each other.
Never Again.

My lifelong friend and I came here last night for Dinner. This place is so cozy. It’s great for a romantic evening or just to hang out with friends. Our waitress was so nice, when we asked her questions about the menu, she was honest about what she thought was good, she recommended the house made red wine a Garnacha — it was very good! I had 2 glasses! The place has several fireplaces, so it felt so warm & cozy, Loved that! We shared our entrees, which were Delish! As well as our appetizer which was light and Yummmy!
I will definitely go back some day, it was memorable. The prices are reasonable too.
Take your wife/​girlfriend here guys — You won’t regret it, Trust me!

Love love love wine bar. All of their food is local and delicious. They have a fabulous cheese plate, and wonderful wines. You can easily just «nosh» for dinner on appetizers and cheese and wine and be a very happy camper! Last night I got the Gouda Risotto and Pea Soup and both were great. The cheese plate had three kinds of cows milk cheeses from local farms that were excellent as well.

Wine Bar and Bistro is an excellent choice, always.
They have a delightful cheese plate that showcases 3 thoughtfully selected cheese with apples and honey and nuts and bread (I asked for a few extra apple slices because I cannot have the bread and the waitress brought me essentially a whole cut up apple… sweet!). I believe the selection changes weekly.
The entrees are not «American Sized» but they are exactly the size they should be for the quality of the ingredients and price. I’d even argue that Wine Bar offers a very good value.
On my last visit I had a wonderful salad with grass-​fed flank. After the cheese board (and a few glasses of wine) it was exactly the right protein and vegetable punch I was craving. The blue cheese on the salad was a little more pungent than I expected and tasted out of balance with everything else, but separate the cheese from the salad and both were excellent.
This is a local place that is doing it right.