Albany NY Italian Restaurants: 7 Places to Know

The Italian restaurants in Albany, NY that come up most often are Café Capriccio downtown, Rosanna's in Center Square, Villa di Como on Lark Street, Grappa '72 on Central Avenue, and Nicole's on Delaware Avenue. Two long-running favorites, D'Raymond's in Loudonville and Caffe Italia in Guilderland, sit just outside the city line. This guide covers what each place is known for, how reservations work, and where to look if you want Mexican food or a downtown dinner instead. Hours and policies change, so check each restaurant's website before you go.

Albany Italian restaurants at a glance

Italian restaurants in the city of Albany

Café Capriccio (downtown)

Café Capriccio has been on Grand Street since 1982 and calls itself "Albany's Authentic Italian Table." The kitchen focuses on house-made pasta, cured meats and cheeses, with local and organic sourcing and ideas drawn from the owners' trips to Italy. Its website lists dinner service daily from 5 to 9 p.m. and takes reservations through OpenTable. The restaurant family also runs food and beverage at Pinehaven Country Club in Guilderland, which is worth knowing if you are planning a larger event.

• Address: 49 Grand Street, Albany, NY 12207
• Best for: a sit-down dinner within walking distance of the Capitol and the downtown offices

Rosanna's (Center Square)

Rosanna's occupies 23 Dove Street, a building the restaurant describes as an Albany landmark for 175 years and a restaurant for about 90 of them. From 1978, Italian immigrants Felix and Rosanna Bongiorno ran Bongiorno's here for 41 years, and Rosanna's is named in tribute to them. The current menu reworks Italian-American dishes with seasonal ingredients, served across a patio and three indoor rooms. Executive chef and partner Rachel Mabb leads the kitchen.

• Hours listed on its site: dinner Monday to Wednesday 5 to 9 p.m., Thursday to Saturday 5 to 10 p.m.
• Reservations: walk-ins are welcome. Parties of five or more need a $50 card hold, charged if you cancel within 24 hours. Parties of eight or more should call or email.
• Best for: date nights, groups and private parties in a historic setting

Villa di Como (Lark Street)

Villa di Como is one of the smallest Italian rooms in the city, with seven tables in the main dining room plus a private dining room. Owner and executive chef Ali Celik, originally from Lake Como, bought the two Lark Street buildings in 2016, restored them over three years, and opened 288 Lark Wine & Tap in 2019 and Villa di Como in 2020. The menu covers pasta, Northern Italian tiramisu, cheesecake and cannoli, and personal-size pizzas made with "00" flour. The restaurant also sells house-made limoncello and jarred sauces.

• Reservations: dining is by reservation only, booked through the restaurant's website. There is no takeout or delivery.
• Contact: the restaurant does not take phone calls; it asks guests to text 518-475-7777.
• Best for: a quiet special-occasion dinner. Book early, since seven tables fill fast.

Grappa '72 (Central Avenue)

Grappa '72 opened on April 6, 2010, and describes itself as "casual Italian fine dining." Owner Armond Lule says the aim is to show Italian cooking from every region of the country. The website lists dinner hours of 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, with lunch listed as temporarily closed. It also offers online ordering.

• Address: 818 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12206
• Best for: a relaxed weeknight dinner with a broad regional menu

Nicole's Restaurant (Delaware Avenue)

Nicole's is a family-owned restaurant serving upscale Italian food with continental and modern American influences. Discover Albany, the county's tourism bureau, notes the dining room's 1930s tin ceiling and a secluded back deck that opens in summer. The restaurant highlights its regularly changing chef's specials.

• Address: 556 Delaware Avenue, Albany, NY 12209
• Hours listed on its site: Monday 5 to 9 p.m., closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 5 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 to 10 p.m., Sunday 4 to 8 p.m.
• Best for: a neighborhood dinner in the Delaware Avenue area, or outdoor seating in warm months

Worth the short drive: Loudonville and Guilderland

D'Raymond's (Loudonville)

D'Raymond's is a family-owned Italian restaurant on Osborne Road in Loudonville, a few minutes north of the city. Discover Albany says it opened in 1979, and the restaurant's own site says it has been named Best Local Restaurant and Best Italian Restaurant in the Capital District 15 years in a row. The menu covers pasta, chicken, veal and fish.

• Address: 269 Osborne Road, Loudonville, NY 12211
• Kitchen hours on its site: Monday to Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 9:30 p.m.; Saturday 3 to 9:30 p.m.; closed Sunday
• Reservations: highly recommended, and taken by phone (518-459-6364) or in person only, not online. Same-day takeout can be pre-ordered.

Caffe Italia (Guilderland)

Caffe Italia has been family-run since 1975 and serves what it calls classic Calabrese and Neapolitan cuisine. For decades it was a Central Avenue fixture in Albany; it now operates at 2080 Western Avenue in Guilderland. Discover Albany points to long-standing dishes such as eggplant parmigiana, chicken marsala and veal scaloppini. The restaurant also bottles its own marinara and tomato sauces, which it sells online and at area stores.

• Hours on its site: Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday
• Reservations: through Resy

Restaurants in downtown Albany, NY

If you are staying near the Capitol, the Empire State Plaza or the convention center, these options are within a short walk or ride:

• Café Capriccio on Grand Street is the main sit-down Italian option downtown.
• DeFazio's Pizzeria, the Troy pizzeria, runs an Albany outpost at 75 Livingston Avenue inside the ADCo cocktail bar space, according to the DeFazio family's website. It is a good casual choice for wood-fired pizza.
• Iron Gate Cafe at 182A Washington Avenue, on the edge of Center Square, is a family-run breakfast, brunch and lunch spot established in 2004, with a garden patio.
• Rosanna's on Dove Street is a short walk west of downtown in Center Square.

The Downtown Albany Business Improvement District keeps a current dining directory on its website, which is the easiest way to check what else is open near your hotel or office.

Mexican restaurants in Albany, NY

If your group is split between pasta and tacos, two established options are close to the same neighborhoods as the Italian spots above:

• El Mariachi at 289 Hamilton Street serves Mexican food, including mole poblano, cochinita pibil and paella. Its sister spot, El Mariachi Tapas, is at 271 Lark Street, close to Villa di Como. The restaurant's site lists hours of 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with later hours on Friday and Saturday and a 3 p.m. Sunday opening.
• Viva Cinco de Mayo at 809 Madison Avenue, near Washington Park, is described by Discover Albany as a family-owned and run authentic Mexican restaurant. Call (518) 650-8605 to confirm hours, since online listings disagree.

How to choose and book

• For a small, special dinner: Villa di Como, but reserve online well ahead and do not expect to walk in.
• For a group or a party: Rosanna's has several rooms and handles private events; D'Raymond's and Caffe Italia have larger dining rooms outside the city.
• For a weeknight without much planning: Grappa '72 and Nicole's both list dinner most nights of the week.
• Before you go: confirm the day's hours. Several of these restaurants close one or two days a week, and holiday closures are common.
• Parking: street parking is the norm in Center Square and on Lark Street. The restaurants outside the city, such as D'Raymond's and Caffe Italia, are in suburban settings where parking is easier, but confirm with the restaurant.

Frequently asked questions

What is the oldest Italian restaurant on this list?

Among the places covered here, Caffe Italia dates to 1975 and D'Raymond's to 1979. Café Capriccio has been on Grand Street since 1982. The Dove Street building that houses Rosanna's held Bongiorno's from 1978 for 41 years.

Which Albany Italian restaurants take walk-ins?

Rosanna's says walk-ins are welcome. Villa di Como is reservation only. D'Raymond's strongly recommends reservations and takes them by phone.

Where can I get Italian food to take home?

D'Raymond's offers same-day takeout pre-orders, Grappa '72 has online ordering, and Caffe Italia sells its jarred sauces; check its current menu for take-and-bake availability. Villa di Como sells sauces and limoncello but does not offer takeout meals.

For more ideas, Discover Albany publishes a roundup of Italian restaurants in Albany County, and individual restaurants such as Rosanna's and D'Raymond's post current hours and booking rules on their own sites.