A J's Seafood & Oyster Bar

It Stinks... Literally!

I'm a local and I've been in the place several times over the years. What can I say? It stinks with a sour rancid smell that hits you in the face as you enter. How this place passes the health inspections is a real mystery. The smoke alone is overwhelming.

I went in around 9:00p on a Saturday and the place was packed. Is Albany so desperate for seafood, or is it one of the few places you can still smoke and eat at the same time? They do have a glass divided space for non-smoker. But, the bathrooms are in that side, so the door opens between the two areas so often that it is useless.

I sat at the bar and asked for a wheat beer... I could tell on the girls face, she had no idea what I was talking about. If you like your bartenders mixing your drinks with super long ashes dangling off their Marlboros... then this place is for you.

The food; I ordered some hushpuppies and shrimp cocktail. Both were average at best. I use the hush puppy as the benchmark for seafood places. They were not impressive enough to overcome the long list of other negatives.

OVERALL: Don't do it. You'll be much better off going across the street to the Red Lobster... as hard as it is for me to recommend it.