Bookmakers Restaurant and Lounge - Saratoga Springs (NY)

5 /5 Monroe Marshall: Ashley was our server and he was such a pleasure from the moment we entered the restaurant to the moment we left. He made sure we were comfy at all times and was super attentive despite being the only one working in the dining area at the time. My wife and I felt so welcome and appreciated. We came for restaurant week ($35 3 course meal/ person) during our anniversary weekend, and we both enjoyed churro sundaes for dessert, preceded by our entrees (butternut squash tortellini, beer braised short rib) and appetizers (apple pumpkin bisque, maple pulled pork sliders). I want to come back in the future as some of their regular menu items looked great.

3 /5 John Mortka: Im giving Bookmakers 3 out of 5 stars. I took my mother out to dinner for her birthday tonight. Shes a very picky eater, so after exploring all the options, we settled on Bookmakers. I made several attempts to call to make a reservation to no avail, until I called the hotel front desk, where a very friendly woman took my reservation. When we arrived, I was unsure that we were even at the right place because the restaurant was more or less empty. However, we were promptly seated by a very friendly waitress. After we were seated, several other tables were sat shortly after us, at which point it became evident that the waitress, who was new, was the only one working the dining room. I ordered the Reuben Chowder, and my mother got the Irish poutine; both were delicious. We both ordered the chicken Bruschetta, hers without parmesan. They both came out without parmesan or the white wine butter sauce. We sent them back to get sauced, and when they came back, they were fine (though I still didnt have parm). Personally, I would have preferred more than a sprinkle of basil on a Bruschetta dish, but my mother loved it. For dessert, she got the chocolate cake, and I got the banana bread waffle sundae. The chocolate cake was good, but the banana bread waffle was dry. The bartender was helping out as he could, and the person I assume was the manager on duty was running food. Everyone was very apologetic for how the night was going, but I dont think it was fair to have someone new working the dining room alone on the Saratoga restaurant week Friday night. Our drinks for the night were comped for the inconvenience, which was appreciated, and we tipped 20% on what the bill would have been with the drinks. Im giving 3 out of 5 stars instead of 2 because of how we were treated, but its unfortunate because restaurant week is supposed to be for local businesses to showcase their products to gain new repeat customers. After tonight, I dont plan on returning to Bookmakers. As a side note, there was something weird happening the lighting. One minute very its bright the next kinda dark. If theres a problem with the lighting they might wanna have an electrician check it out.

1 /5 Sean Rossley: My boyfriend and I were excited to come here for Saratoga Restaurant week. He had never been before and I have been in the past and it has been very enjoyable. Tonight they only had one person seating and serving and I felt bad for her. She was clearly new and was given little to no assistance. People who were seated after us got waited on before us and received their food first. We waited 20 minutes at our table before we even got our order taken or a glass of water. Then we waited another 30 or so minutes after our appetizers before our entrees came out. My entree came and the pasta was supposed to have a white wine butter sauce. It came out dry with a chicken breast on top. Then we asked for our desserts to go and the check. They brought it out on regular plates without the check so we had to ask again. Then they told us they were out of one of the desserts we ordered at the beginning of our meal. Which is something that should have been told to us before. This was not even worth the restaurant week cost of $35 a person. Overall, it took us over an hour and half to have a simple dinner. If you don’t have the help, then don’t participate in Saratoga Restaurant week. Also, the server was clearly overwhelmed, yet they continued to seat tables. That wasn’t the best idea. All of this on top of the fact that the lights clearly weren’t working and kept going on and off. This establishment did not set up their staff for success. I used to work in the restaurant industry and I just feel bad for the staff here. I will definitely not be coming back any time soon.

4 /5 Bonnie Esrig: Visited for restaurant week. Our server, Christine, was excellent and made the meal a very pleasant experience. The portions were extremely generous and many of us brought some of our dinner home. The dishes were nicely plated but the actual quality of the food wasnt consistent. My Haddock Au Gratin was warm and delicious - the star of my meal. The Irish Onion Soup was disappointing, thin and did not have the richness of flavor you would get with a French Onion Soup. And I found the large slice of cold, hard brownie pie underwhelming (the people who ordered the mixed berry crisp made a better choice). Free, convenient parking was a plus.

5 /5 Shannon: Came here for Saratoga restaurant week yesterday. Their braised short rib was amazing, the best was their pumpkin pie waffle dessert! They should definitely put that on their menu. We ate it up so quickly. But the star of the night was their margaritas. Most places charge you $13 and you get a drop of watered down tequila. Here, it was actually worth the $13 because they put a good amount of tequila in it where you didn’t feel like you were getting ripped off. I would HIGHLY recommend coming here. Especially if you like margaritas.