Restaurant Review

On Saturday afternoon, with nowhere in particular to go and nothing to do, my best friend and I decided to take a ride up to Albany to visit Druthers Brewing Co. My friend and I are particularly susceptible to targeted marketing, and we had both been getting ads on our respective Instagram feeds for Druthers, so we figured it was about time we went for a visit. 

Druthers Brewing Co. has locations in Albany, Clifton Park, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs. We went to the Albany location, which is located just off of Broadway on Bridge Street. There is parking available on Bridge Street, but space is very limited, so we ended up parking on Broadway. 

We arrived for our reservation just shy of 7 o’clock and the place was jumping. Nearly all of the tables were full and the bar was completely packed. The brewery is in a gorgeous building that formerly served as a warehouse, with high ceilings and ample seating. Big windows on the bar side allow guests to see into the brewery room next door that houses all of the brewing tanks. 

We got seated at a high top on the bar side, but despite the place being packed with people chatting, we were still able to converse comfortably without having to shout, which is rare in restaurants with such high ceilings. 

Excellent food + beer

My friend and I aren’t huge beer drinkers (don’t ask me to tell you the difference between an IPA or a lager, please), but it was only appropriate that I order a beer while at a brewery. 

I was very intrigued by the Double Berry Double Dare, which is a sour. Unfortunately, our lovely waitress explained that they had sold out of it earlier in the day. I quickly pivoted and decided on the Guava Passionfruit Dare, another sour. It was a bit more tart that I had anticipated, but it had a good fruity flavor. 

My friend, who was far more excited for the food than the beer, ordered a Nine Pin Cider. (Side note: if you’re also a cider lover, Nine Pin Cider Works is located just up the street from Druthers Brewing Co!)

For starters, we chose the beer cheese dip and the smashed potato poutine. The beer cheese was incredibly smooth and delicious, and the pretzel bites were toasted and seasoned to perfection – chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside. 

The smashed potato poutine was also out of this world. I’m used to poutine being served with fries, so the smashed potatoes were a welcome change. Little did we know, it also would’ve been enough to feed us both as a dinner. It came out in a medium sized cast-iron skillet, with the potatoes mounded with gravy and cheese curds. So, so good. 

As per usual, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, and we went ahead and ordered main courses following our appetizers, even though we were barely able to finish the starters. 

I ordered the Southern Fried Chicken Sandwich, which came with buttermilk fried chicken, bacon bits, cheddar cheese, and carolina bbq sauce (I asked that they please hold the dill pickles). The fried chicken was super crispy and delicious and the bacon bits added a welcome crunch.

My friend ordered the Loaded Griddled Cheese, which came with pulled chicken, crispy bacon, cheddar and muenster cheeses, carolina bbq sauce, and ranch. 

Even though we filled up on appetizers and barely ate our meals (we took them home and ate them the following day – and they were just as yummy!), we somehow decided that it would be appropriate for us to order dessert. 

We had our eyes, hearts, and stomachs set on the warm chocolate chip cookie skillet, which came served in another cast-iron skillet with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. However, the universe must have deemed us unworthy of dessert because we didn’t finish our dinner, because our waitress explained that they had just sold the last cookie skillet of the night. 

Mildly heartbroken, but knowing it was probably for the best, we asked her to package up two Druthers Brewing Co. beer glasses for us and asked for the check. 

Final thoughts

Overall, we had a great experience at Druthers. The food was incredible, I was happy with the beer that I had, and the service was spectacular. 

Our waitress checked in and communicated with us regularly, even once to apologize for the wait and explain that the kitchen got a little backed up. We completely understood, as the place was completely packed, and we were too busy enjoying the atmosphere and chatting to even really notice. 

I would highly recommend Druthers Brewing Co. to anyone who is a beer connoisseur, or who is simply looking for a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere with delicious traditional American food. We’re looking forward to visiting their Saratoga Springs location this summer! 

To make a reservation at Druthers Brewing Co. visit their website here. To follow them on Instagram, visit this link.