WHERE TO EAT ON A MONDAY NIGHT IN DOWNTOWN ALBANY
With Albany’s Clinton Market Collective, Empire Live + MVP Arena all booking Monday night events, we have 9 restaurants open late for drinks + dinner downtown.
Story: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Susie Davidson Powell/The Dishing
Whether you’ve attended a Monday night Siena Saints basketball game or you work in the restaurant industry and Monday is your night off, we’ve all heard the familiar question, “What’s open in downtown Albany on a Monday night?” Many downtown bars from Ama Cocina to The Copper Crow, Lost & Found, Albany Distilling Co., DeFazio’s Pizza, all in the Warehouse District, are closed on Mondays. So we’ve got a reliable 9 that stay open for sports fans, lobbyists and politicians alike.
McGeary’s Irish Pub | Visit
McGeary’s needs no introduction. Open most days from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. - including Mondays - this staunch Bills bar is the clear downtown spot for a beer on the patio or Sunday live music inside, but when it comes to food, the popular move is wings. Sure, they have burgers and more for those looking for Irish pub basics, but the kitchen will fire wings to any level of crispiness with a variety of sauces. Sticky fingers for the win.DPs: An American Bistro | Visit
Tucked inside the Hampton Inn and Suites, DP’s is a destination in itself with craft cocktails, an excellent wine list from sommelier and owner Dominick Purnomo, and a mix of dinner, happy hour and late night menus. Small plates, Black Angus burgers, fresh pastas, handhelds — something for everyone served in stylish surroundings with a popular bar. Extra busy on Palace theater nights; a mainstay of the political staffers.Viva Empanadas | Visit
Viva Empanadas vibrant, almost tropical restaurant and bar keeps going from strength to strength. Originally more of a daytime spot, Viva has more recently expanded its dinner hours to 9 p.m. most nights while Latin weekends go to midnight with salsa dancing and early dance classes. Serving Peruvian rotisserie chicken, Cubano sandwiches, Ecuadorian arepas, Brazilian-style Churrasco grilled skirt steak, and owner Veronica Agama’s famous flaky empanadas (available gluten-free), you’ll be glad they’re open on a Monday night.677 Prime | Visit
This upscale steakhouse may not win any awards, but the standards are there from surf and turf to oysters. This is the land of pricy wines, average cocktails, overflowing seafood towers and massive Tomahawk steaks including a “hanging” version for two torched tableside ($179.) Sit at the bar or among dining room tables occupied midweek by suits expensing business dinners.Tanpopo Ramen & Sake Bar | Visit
On the opposite end of the scale, you have the diminutive Tanpopo Ramen houses in a the former Miss Alban railroad car that was also featured in the movie, Ironweed. Order piping hot ramen in the wooden booths, at the counter or seated on the fixed-to-the-floor stools at a communal table.Olde English Pub & Pantry | Visit
While we aren’t currently fans of the food, this historic house with a London phone booth upfront has one of the best, winding, leafy beer gardens perfectly hidden in downtown Albany at the start of the new walkable Skyway that connects downtown to the waterfront. This is the spot for an excellent pint and a pretty average meal, so use that knowledge wisely and opt for things that are hard to mess up like hearty chili or chicken soup, the house burger or, sometimes, an excellent beer-battered fish and chips (depending who’s cooking it.) The old world pub feel is excellent and cozy, so go nonetheless. Always a friendly vibe.Albany War Room Tavern | Visit
This is a little bit of a walk heading up State Street, past The Renaissance Hotel (we would include Wellington’s if the kitchen and bar didn’t consistently close so early) and along Eagle Street to the Albany War Room which might be the only place you can get a steak at 10 p.m. If you get there a little earlier, you’ll be in luck with Saso or Jimmy making some of the best sushi in the 518.Ophelia’s | Visit
Part college, part grunge rock, this live music and DJ venue is exactly what downtown Albany needed - along with Empire Live - to reboot the music scene. But once Slidin’ Dirty took over food ops, suddenly it resurrected a bar menu of sliders, avocado fries, Po’Boys, chopped cheese, and short rib French dip. Comfort food for the late night crowd, but sticky tables for those who care so check your pearls at the door. Sidewalk patio.The City Beer Hall | Visit
This fairly cavernous German-style beer hall stays open til midnight and although they no longer give out their free pizza slices, they do have the onsite Blu Pizza serving either “until 10 p.m. or until no mo’ dough.”Honorable mention: Loch & Quay | Visit
Loch & Quay is a slim all-day pub serving craft beers, burgers, and American comfort food, to the downtown politicos. Sadly they close at 7 p.m. on Mondays. Open til 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day bar Saturday when they close early at 5 p.m. Sidewalk patio.