9 Best Restaurants in Saratoga Springs, Albany and Central New York

A hostess dressed in a kimono is likely to greet you at this bright and airy restaurant with pale wood furnishings. A sushi bar serves a large selection of sushi and sashimi combinations; entrées include teriyaki, tempura, and kutsu dishes as well as Thai curries and noodles. Try the ika yaki (grilled squid in teriyaki sauce) or the fried soft-shell crab for a truly delicious indulgence.

The menu of this tiny basement eatery offers a smattering of inexpensive dishes from Thailand, Mexico, England, Italy, and the Middle East. There's counter service only and just a few tables. Top a quick chimichanga with fresh fixings from the salsa bar.

Since 1938 this casual restaurant has been serving such Southern favorites as fried chicken, ribs, pork chops, and jambalaya—a warm welcome to those born south of the Mason-Dixon. Meals include homemade biscuits and corn bread and a choice of sides, including macaroni and cheese and sweet potatoes. In nice weather you can eat on the courtyard patio. Inside, tables—in checkered cloths—crowd together; overhead fans and a banging screen door keep the air circulating. The place does not take reservations in July and August; you just show up and wait.

You can smell the smoke pit for miles before you pass this '50s-style drive-in. Seating at this seasonal local favorite just south of Spa State Park on U.S. 9 is either under a roof shared with the kitchen and order counter or at outdoor picnic tables; a small section has table service. Chicken, ribs, and beef brisket are the specialties, but you can come just to have ice cream, listen to the DJ spinning oldies, and gaze at the classic cars that congregate in the lot on Saturday night.

With high ceilings, draped tables, and mahogany-stained paneling, this restaurant in the Saratoga National Golf Club's Victorian-style clubhouse exudes quiet elegance. The food lives up to the decor. The menu might include Russian caviar, Australian rack of lamb, or seared ahi tuna. A lounge with a granite-and-wood bar and an outdoor terrace are more-casual dining options.

Savory and dessert crepes are the focus at this small eatery furnished with plain wooden tables and chairs. Side orders of Belgian-style frites (fries) come in paper cones sized for an individual or a table of diners, and may include several kinds of dipping sauce. The Mamma Mia crepe wraps up Italian sausage with sweet and spicy peppers—a ubiquitous ingredient in upstate.

The 1930s art-deco design at this restaurant on a narrow side street includes a black-and-white tile floor and equestrian art. Try the specialty, soft-shell crab (in season), or Maryland crab cakes, swordfish, or steaks. The restaurant also has a wine-by-the-glass menu that stretches for several pages, and tantalizing appetizers like the plate of smoked meats and olives. Reservations are not accepted in August.

You can see fettuccine, lasagna, and other pastas squeezing out of the pasta machine in the front window of this main-street restaurant. Traditional Italian dishes share menu space with more creative fare. Smoked salmon, caviar, and scallions adorn angel-hair pasta in Alfredo sauce; the same sauce dresses breaded breast of chicken filled with asparagus mousse and served with tomato-tinted pasta. For a truly regional experience, try the handmade gnocchi—pasta made of potatoes and called "hats" in some parts. There are 24 wines by the glass.

A sealed cigar room makes this one of the few restaurants in New York where you can still smoke. The lamb chops and the ahi tuna are two of the more popular items on the mostly American menu; small plates, with smaller prices, also are available. More than 40 wines are offered by the glass, but the bar pours other libations, too. Live musicians play on the weekends.