11 Best Restaurants in Albany and Central New York, New York

Utica's Italian community has gathered for years at Delmonico's, which bills itself as a steak house but really dishes up some of the region's most authentic Italian food. For an appetizer, try some Utica greens—sturdy greens cooked with olive oil, hot and sweet peppers, ham, and cheese. Rachel Ray did, and loved them so much she devoted a show to them. If you're not too full from the huge portions, sample the chicken Sinatra, which is simmered with hot peppers, mozzarella, and mushrooms. A waitress in pinstripes and a fedora will bring your food and offer you a selection from a long and tasty wine list.

Everyone knows this big, busy restaurant 3 mi north of Amsterdam—including Hillary Clinton, who lunched here during her 1999 Senate campaign. Dining is casual, in cozy booths or at tables in wood-paneled nooks. Specialties include beef-and-seafood combo plates, such as salmon and filet mignon or Alaskan king crab and prime rib. Help yourself at the soup-and-salad bar.

At this Italian restaurant you can enjoy an intimate meal or just sip cocktails at the bar and listen to live piano music. The walls are covered with photographs of celebrities who have visited since the place opened in 1908. The menu offers pasta and seafood dishes as well as traditional preparations like manicotti and chicken cacciatore. The fried meatballs (greasy and rich as they are) are a popular appetizer. The cocktails are imaginative and generally well mixed. Try the Savoy Manhattan for a smooth, refreshing twist on an upstate favorite. The bar, separate from the dining room, has intimate seating.

Thanks to the meticulous owners, you'd never know that this 1860 castle, now a fine American restaurant, had survived fires and years of abandonment. The place is said to be inhabited by ghosts, and that's not hard to imagine. Stone archways separate the five cozy dining rooms, where white cloths cover the tables. The food doesn't detract from the haunting ambience. Many entrées come grilled, such as pork loin with compote or honey-glazed duck with fig relish. Meat-free dishes like terrine of grilled vegetables also appear on the menu. For a really spooky treat, have a drink in the dungeon, located in the castle's basement. The restaurant is 6 mi east of the center of Little Falls.

This family restaurant, a favorite for two decades, occupies a brick storefront with tin ceilings and Tiffany lamps. The kitchen serves traditional Italian dishes as well as local specialties such as chicken "riggies" (bite-size chunks of chicken breast tossed with pasta, hot and sweet peppers, cheese, and onions). Sip a selection from the nice wine and cognac list.

Young professionals, important legislators, and out-of-towners flock here to eat northern and southern Italian fare in a dining room where casual clothes mix easily with jackets and ties. Lombardo's is known for veal, pasta, and seafood dishes, and has some of the best waiters in the region. The lengthy menu manages to be a mix of sophistication and comfort food. The shrimp wrapped in savory prosciutto and silky mozzarella and baked in tomatoes is a winner.

The restaurant is part of the Beeches, an estate with a lovely manor house. The place serves top-quality Continental fare that's full of flavor and attractively presented. Rack of pork, rarely encountered on menus in these parts, is marinated and slow roasted so that it melts in your mouth. Salmon steaks are broiled and dressed with the restaurant's tasty dill sauce. The dining room, with a large fireplace and hand-painted ceiling panels, exudes 1920s style. The chandelier, crafted by Raulli Ironworks of Rome, is original.

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.

On your way upstairs to the dining room, you pass the chef working in an exposed kitchen. The comfortable brick-and-mahogany room overlooks the Troy marina on the Hudson River. The eclectic menu changes frequently to reflect the seasonal ingredients available and incorporates Asian, American, Mediterranean, and other flavors. The menu changes often, but some recent offerings included flat-iron steak and duck with a sauce of port, balsamic vinegar, and blackberries. A caveat: the service can be slow.

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.