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We've compiled the best of the best in Saratoga Springs - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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.
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.
