New York Eats · Albany, Capital Region

Albany restaurants: bagels & dim sum

454 restaurants, cafés, bars and bakeries in Albany; 2 places on our hand-checked guides, checked open in October 2026.

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Albany at a glance

Our directory counts 454 places to eat and drink in Albany. Bar & Pub (76), Coffee & Café (48), and Pizza (29) lead the kinds of food. 168 hold an on-premises liquor license from the State Liquor Authority. 90 are locations of a chain with five or more in New York. 2 are on our hand-checked guides.

Health inspections here

In Albany County, the New York State Department of Health publishes each place's latest inspection: its date and the counts of critical and other violations. There is no official grade there, and we don't make one. Albany County inspects on its own system, and only part of the results reach the state's open data, so many places there have no state record here. We matched 136 of the 454 places in Albany to a state inspection record; each one's latest inspection date and counts are in its panel in the web search, with NYSDOH's own disclaimer.

On our guides in Albany

Every place in Albany on our hand-checked guides, most honored first (honors and years at the address; not a rating).

  1. Pearl's Bagels & Bakery

    16 Picotte Dr, Albany

    Bagels Known for: hand-rolled vegan bagels, Challah Pockets, rugelach

    Small-batch scratch bakery making hand-rolled, boiled and baked vegan bagels plus challah pockets; walk-in only, Wednesday to Sunday mornings.

    pearlsalbany.com

  2. Shining Rainbow

    209 Central Ave, Albany

    Dim sum Known for: mushroom pork shui mai, rice noodle rolls, chicken feet, turnip cake, Portuguese custard tarts

    Central Avenue Chinese restaurant with a dim sum menu of about 46 items alongside its regular menu.

    Latest state inspection Nov 20, 20250 critical violations, 6 other violations (NYSDOH)

Hand-checked classics near Albany

The 6 nearest places on our guides outside Albany, within 20 miles of its center, closest first.

  1. Hot Dog Charlie's

    150 Columbia St, Rensselaer · 2.8 mi from Albany

    Hots Known for: mini hot dogs, chili meat sauce

    Family-run mini hot dog shop known for its chili meat sauce; this is the Rensselaer shop.

    hotdogcharlies.com

  2. Gus's Hotdogs

    212 25th St, Watervliet · 6.3 mi from Albany

    Hots Known for: mini hot dogs, "the works" (mustard, onions, meat sauce), Greek burger

    Walk-up window in Watervliet serving 4-inch Capital District mini dogs plain or with the works, plus burgers.

    Latest state inspection Apr 21, 20250 critical violations, 0 other violations (NYSDOH)

    gusshotdogswatervliet.com

  3. Famous Lunch

    111 Congress St, Troy · 6.4 mi from Albany

    Hots Known for: mini hot dogs with meat sauce, mustard and onions · At this address since 1932

    Downtown Troy lunch counter serving the Capital District's mini hot dogs since 1932.

    Latest state inspection Dec 24, 20250 critical violations, 2 other violations (NYSDOH)

    worldfamouslunch.com

  4. Hot Dog Charlie's

    629 Saratoga St, Cohoes · 7.3 mi from Albany

    Hots Known for: mini hot dogs, chili meat sauce

    Family-run mini hot dog shop known for its chili meat sauce; this is the Cohoes shop.

    Latest state inspection Mar 20, 20260 critical violations, 5 other violations (NYSDOH)

    hotdogcharlies.com

  5. Hot Dog Charlie's

    472 5th Ave, Troy · 9.1 mi from Albany

    Hots Known for: mini hot dogs, chili meat sauce

    Family-run mini hot dog shop known for its chili meat sauce; this is the Lansingburgh shop.

    Latest state inspection Mar 2, 20260 critical violations, 3 other violations (NYSDOH)

    hotdogcharlies.com

  6. First Prize Mike's

    1135 Erie Blvd, Schenectady · 13 mi from Albany

    Hots Known for: hot dog with meat sauce

    Family-run Schenectady diner-style restaurant built on its hot dog with meat sauce; I LOVE NY lists it among Capital District mini-dog spots.

    Latest state inspection Jul 30, 20260 critical violations, 2 other violations (NYSDOH)

    mikesfirstprize.com

Albany by street

The streets in Albany with the most places to eat and drink: Central Ave (80), Western Ave (48), Madison Ave (30), Wolf Rd (29), New Scotland Ave (21), Lark St (20), Albany Shaker Rd (15), Delaware Ave (15), Crossgates Mall Rd (14), and Washington Ave (12).

What Albany eats

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More cities and boroughs

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About the inspection results

Outside New York City there is no official restaurant grade, and we don't make one. Where shown, the date and counts are from the New York State Department of Health's latest inspection on file (health.data.ny.gov), records through Sep 24, 2026. In NYSDOH's words:

“Any use of this data to develop a restaurant grading system is not supported or endorsed by the New York State Department of Health.”

Any analyses, interpretations or conclusions here are ours, not NYSDOH's. Places are never ordered by these counts.