I stop in for a drink and a bite two or three times a week and always have an enjoyable experience whether at the bar or at a table. Â The staff is friendly, knowledgeable and appear to strive to make your experience pleasurable. Â The food only seems to get better each time I try something new.
Review Source:It pains me to do this. Â And I have been holding off on writing an update, but it must be done. Â
The last 2 meals that I have had at Daisy Baker's over the course of the last 365 days were very much meh. Â
The waitstaff is all but completely absent and you have to make an effort to get their attention. Â
I don't know how hard it is to prepare 3 filet mignon medium rare, but some how guess its super difficult because each steak came out at different levels of done-ness (medium, med-well, and well), all of which I find to be inedible. Â My mother, sister, and I all bit the bullet and ate the over cooked meat because we were "starving" after waiting about 35-45 minutes for entrees to arrive after ordering. Â
The pairing of the vegetables and starch choices usually provoke an out right "yuck" or a "blah blah bland". Â Often times the sides are cold, which just seems wrong, particularly in the middle of the fall or winter. Â
I am so sad that Daisy's has fallen down like this. Â It use to be my favorite "nice" place to go for dinner in Troy; now I go to the Illium Cafe down the block instead. Â
What is going on in the kitchen, y'all?
I ate here based on a newspaper review and the mis-reading of the Yelp reviewers. Â My friend told me it wasn't a very good place, but had changed and was now getting great reviews. Â We went for dinner. Â We were the fifth table to sit in what was a lovely church previously with organ pipes at the far end. Â Woodwork, elegant. Â The menu was lean with the protein leading the way and two wine menus.
Our waitress seemed to be working alone and she returned about ten minutes later after I needed to turn around and stare to get her attention.
We ordered a bottle of Argentinian Malbec which was on sale at $22. Â There was another bottle of the same wine, which was rated differently and they charged a different price for. Â Since none of the wines on the wine list had years, it was impossible to guess which year was rated what and therefore not possible to know if you were getting what you were being charged for.
We ordered a cup of today's soup, a beef with rice and vegetables, a beet salad, the shrimp and pasta and the salmon with risotto.
About ten minutes later we got our wine and then the appetizers. Â The beets were very good, but had goat cheese, which did nothing for the rest. Â The soup was about 80 degrees and frankly showed no care whatsoever.
The entrees came about a half hour later and the salmon plate was attractive, with risotto and the grilled salmon on top. Â On top of the salmon was caramelized onion, salt and some small leaves and next to it was a cucumber and onion salad.
The salad had absolutely no flavoring, but the cucumber was fresh. Â The onion was overpowering for the unflavored, but oiled cucumber. Â The salmon had a hit of salt on top and slightly steam table washed out flavors. Â The risotto was pleasant, but nothing on the plate went together with any other thing on the plate flavor wise.
My friends shrimp dish was shrimp scampi within pasta and 1/3 high soup plate of liquid. It was under seasoned, undistinguished and blah.
Upon leaving after paying an $86 tab plus tip, I asked my friend to rate the meal on a 1-10 and she said 3. Â I agree.
Frankly, having just gone and read the last five reviews before this, had I looked at the distribution of their ratings, I would have never gone here.
People who are in love with giving 4 and 5 stars to local diners and fast food restaurants have no idea what is worth $100 for dinner. Â
This isn't.
So we decided to give the place another shot Wednesday night.  This time we went straight to a table in the dining room.  We had an excellent, friendly, knowledgable server.  We went later in the evening and decided to split some appetizers between the two of us.  We got the seared tuna, the calamari, the mussels.  We also split a burger.  Everything was amazing!  The favors were delectible, everything was fresh and perfectly cooked.  We drank Grolsch beer with the ceramic stoppers.  We also got to watch people swing dance.  I think they do this every week.  It was fun to watch and the music was great.  At some point  someone started playing some sort of horn for the dancers.  It was great!  We stayed for more drinks but remained at our table instead of going to the bar. We are glad we went back.  Next time we will try some entrees since the appetizers were so tasty.
Review Source:I love Daisys. It's my favorite local watering hole, and one with class at that. It's the kind of place that looks stellar while offering a super laid back atmosphere.
* Outdoor seating in nice weather is where you want to be.
* A glass of wine on their comfy leather couches or at a dark wood hightop are like a welcoming hug in the cold months.
* Recently hired a new chef, and his new menu is and good mix of small and dinner plates.
* Burgers are some of the best in the area, IMHO. I've had the regular and kobe. They both come with homemade french fries that are thin, crispy and salty.
* Bar service can be slow (depending on the crowd and waiter), but it's never bothered me as the atmosphere is one that makes you want to sit back and take a moment. And even still, 8 times out of 10 the service is not slow.
* New owner has done a bang up job of giving the place new life; new menu, new seating, and new drink specials! The crowd of regulars continues to grow.
* Happy hour specials every day, and Tuesdays is half price drinks all evening, which you cannot beat.
* Great crowd, between Daisys and Bacchus below.
* The waitstaff is awesome.
I know one place I will not be returning to when I visit our RPI guy... Â Unless I'm coming to watch a swing or tango, I really have no reason to return. Â I checked in with my fellow yelpers upon hearing our son's recommendation and made a reservation to enjoy what he felt were great drinks and memorable bruschetta (assuming the food would follow suit...). Â The martini was a disaster, his gin and tonic was tonic infused with gin, and we had THE WORST prime rib and mashed potatoes EVER. Â Do not bother to order the "carbonara" - unless you enjoy pasta cooked "al chef boyardee" mush and obnoxious amounts of cream - its more a mush meets alfredo and had a bad date. Â Interesting architecture, boring service and food that quite frankly wasn't worth the paper our bill was printed on - save yourself some dead presidents and order pizza in... Or just go dancing, stick with water, and get your high somewhere else in town...
Review Source:So I still haven't been here for food. But I've been to the bar on Troy Night Out after parties, and for the most part, I'm over the bar.
The last few times I've tried to order a drink they've either completely ignored me (and other patrons), or made undrinkable drinks. And I'm talking a rocks drink undrinkable. Since when is whiskey green? Stick with beers or wine.
The bar wasn't busy. I waited five minutes, got annoyed, and walked off. Came back, made eye contact, had cash out, and still waited 10 minutes without so much as a hello or "I'll be right with you". One of the bartenders even left a tap running for several minutes, while some nice patrons reached over the bar to turn it off.
The bartenders were all over the bar, instead of handling halves/sides of the bar. They tended to people who already had drinks, for inane requests, like filling the drinks up with more soda. People with tabs found a way to get their attention by waving manically as the bartenders walked by. I wish I were kidding about this.
I gave up on getting a drink - if you don't want me as a customer, fine, I don't want a drink from you. When a bartender finally got around to my friend, there was no apology or acknowledgement for the wait.
This has happened enough times that, sorry Daisy's - I'm probably never going to give you money ever again. I've been a bartender. I know that being in the weeds SUCKS. But what's even worse is being in the weeds when it's not even busy. I don't even want to know how they handle busy nights. But you know what? An apology goes a LONG way with customers, not blatantly ignoring people hoping they'll go away.
All I know is I miss the stellar old school bartender from the night I went with Jess. He was a craftsman and true professional. I also am not ruling out dining here, and am perfectly open to the idea. But self service at the bar is out of the question.
It doesn't seem right that it's possible to enjoy this stately Edwardian dining room at such a modest price.
We only had lunch, and maybe dinner happens at a slightly higher price point, but I felt like I should be paying more for the privilege of soaring mahogany and stained glass, or eating something more refined than a sandwich under art nouveau naiads frolicking in fresco.
But this is not to complain. Portions were generous, food was hearty and soul-warming on a freezing day, and the full bar was open at lunchtime so yes I did help myself to a hot boozy coffee, thank you.
Daisy Bakers is one of my fav's...... the food is excellent and the decor is astounding.
If you are on a first date, or an anniversary dinner, a birthday, a reunion....you name it, its perfect.
as for the other review about the noise level....well considering it was a banquet and it was a reunion, the noise level in a cathedral space is going to be high, however for a sat night dinner, its perfect the noise is a common predictable level.
you have to go just for the atmosphere if anything, and a cocktail.
This is a great place to go for drinks. The interior is gorgeous, full of beautiful old architecture. I've never had the food, but I'm tempted.
The real star here is the bartender. He's awesome. He's old-school, and knows his stuff. No sidecar, Tom Collins or fill-in-the-blank cocktail has him confused. And every drink we've tried has been perfectly executed, including perfectly mixed, poured and presented.
Can I vote him best bartender of the Capital Region?
Went here for my husband's high school reunion on Saturday night (probably had nothing to do with the migraine the following day!!). Â I think they had reserved the whole place since I didn't see anyone without a lame name tag.
It was a cash bar with appetizers and a buffet for dinner.  For $40 per person, I expected something better.  The drinks weren't really too highly priced,  but not great either.  I had a margarita (came in a small martini glass?!) for $7.  Not the worst one I've ever had, but far from the best.  The appetizers were fair as well but nothing to write home about.  Caprese salad (tomatoes and mozzarella but nary a basil leaf to be seen!), fresh fruit with a  cute presentation (cut in slices with toothpicks in it's original shells),some kind of fruity yogurt dip substance , crudite. and an italian meat platter with low grade proscuitto, salamis etc.
The buffet dinner was passable. Â Tortellini two ways, one in a very good alfredo sauce, and one in a red sauce which I honestly didn't even taste. Â Plus a chicken and veggie stir fry with the rice mixed in, covered in a sweet sauce that I'm going to go out on a limb and guess was teriyaki.
Nothing was awful, but really, for $80 a couple? Â
The worst thing was the noise level! Â Or maybe the heat! Â Saturday was a beautiful day but it had to be 90 degrees in there - most of us went outside to escape the temperatures inside! Â And the noise - if a place can't handle 100 people who are talking, they shouldn't book 100 people - unless it's a mime convention. Â You had to yell into the ear of the person next to you to even have a chance of being heard.
On the plus side - hence the three stars, it is a really beautiful place. Â The room is full of dark wood, a mural on one wall and really comfy couches near the end. Â The waitstaff was unfailingly helpful (although as a "spouse" at a reunion, even when I asked nicely, none of them was willing to kill me!), and professional. Â
I'd like to try it again for dinner sometime, but I am a little afraid of the noise issue. Â 100 sitting diners would make almost as much noise - would it be as bad?
Troy is full of architectural gems, and this is one. It reminds me of the college dining hall in New College at the University of Edinburgh ( <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thunderdog.co.uk%2Fnewcollege.jpg&s=2a51e044a20fbfc71a31be8ade7d8f4189ef3fb637b4607c6048d4ae5624f284" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.thunderdog.co…</a> )- lined with dark wood, curving ceiling beams, and a pipe organ at the end of the room. And a nice long bar separated from the main space by a divider. The pipe organ gives a hint to its history - it was originally a chapel, part of the YWCA.
I'd been for drinks before and finally had dinner recently. How's the food? Very good, but shy of 5 stars b/c it's pricey (esp. the wine list) for what and where it is, and some things aren't quite perfect. I expected the grilled brie to ooze out of its moldy shell but it was surprisingly firm on the inside - my guess is that it had gone from fridge to grill, rather than ripening at room temperature prior to the grill. Pear salad was excellent. Filet mignon wasn't as peppery as I'd hoped from the peppercorn rubbing but otherwise very good. It also came a little too quick, which made the meal feel a little rushed. But I'll be back.
(a quick update - the Troy Night Out afterparty (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftroynightout.org%2F&s=d6fa9565388b32a8f4b0ed7ce82a79d6865a2809412a6133f650685235d2d82e" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://troynightout.org/</a>) was here a few days back, & it was a great party venue since you could take drinks out to their outdoor tables on the street. Pounding electronica, video art & the pipe organ made for a cool juxtaposition, too).
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