Vault 244

I’m glad I finally tried out the Vault because I’ve been curious about it for years, as it turns out its an easygoing place with great drinks. The happy hour menu has a lot of good things to try, like the $ 3 truffle mac and cheese. The staff is great and Andrew the bartender mixes his drinks well. The License-​to-​Illuminate and Pearfection are my favorites.

My favorite place in Albany. People say it’s too pricey, but I guess they’ve never come during happy hour where you can get a decent morsel of food for unbelievably cheap. My favorite is the simple yet divine Caprese salad for only $ 5 but since that isn’t on the menu anymore I think I’ll stick with the new Greek Yogurt and Feta chicken Satay for the same price. Killer deal and amazingly delicious.
The bartenders are awesome, Justin, Jason & Andy are my favorites. They are so helpful and genuinely nice guys and they make amazing drinks. I always get the spicy Fire & Ice with Thai chili infused vodka. It really is spicy and so good. I’m addicted.

My wife and I has a selection of appetizers and were pleased by the generosity of the portions and the pricing. Everything we ate was delicious. Planning a trip back for dinner.

Six of us came in to celebrate my mother-in-law’s birthday. Great ambiance, greeted immediately by a friendly host. We had reservations, so we were seated quickly. Drink orders went smoothly, as did the ordering of salads and entrees. I just had a Hefeweizen, but most everyone had a custom cocktail and raved about the awesomeness. Salads arrived promptly and were great! Two caesars, four dinner salads. I had a caesar, the romain was grilled and the dressing was really good. Here is where it goes down hill. We wait an hour for our entrees! Two tops were sat around us during this time were served their salads and entrees, and were almost done with dessert before we were served our food!!! I know this was the kitchen wanting to knock out all the small tables before our party of six. I believe that to be unacceptable. When the food did arrive it looked pretty epic. I had the lobster mac and cheese that was super mediocre. Sauce was more alfredo, way too much flour in roux. On the plus, tons of lobster. It was good, I guess I just had higher expectations. Everyone else raved about their meal, my wife’s salmon was cooked perfect. It was the first night of the new menu, so I am willing to give them another shot. Service was great, aside from being neglected by the kitchen because of the size of our party. Would never return with more people than just my wife.

I was pleasantly surprised for my first time here. The atmosphere was professional but warm and inviting. It was recommended that I order the lavender Lemon drop martini by a woman who was leaving and I could not have been happier. My server was Mandy and she was very pleasant and engaging! I will be back another time when I am in the area and would highly recommend this to friends!

We have eaten at the Vault quite a few times. It is one of the nicer restaurants in town. The menu has a nice variety. It is a little dark and makes it feels like the upscale dinner house it is. A great place to go for special occasions without having to drive to Portland. The prices are similar to what you would spend at a good restaurant in a big city.
Service has always been good. There is a table right in front of the fireplace which is really cozy if you like to be really warm (yes great for me who is always cold).
I have never had a ‘just ok’ meal here. Everything has always been good to fantastic.
The owner, Lane recently opened Brick & Mortar a few doors down. That serves breakfast and lunch only.
We have also had a new years eve dinner here if you are looking for something special to do.
Nice wine selection.

So this is one of those places that’s trying to be way more than it can pull off.
One floor person to greet, seat, take orders, wait and bus the tables. Way under staffed.
The drinks are so out of line on price it’s ridiculous. The food is fair but define you not gourmet and don’t command the prices they are asking.
I have them an extra star for the cool ambiance they have going. That’s about all they have to offer.

I work right down the street and offer pop in for desert and drinks with clients. There speciality drink menu always keeps me coming back but the thing that had me raving was the chocolate hazelnut torte. That and a glass of bourbon and I’m in heaven.

Do not go here, if you are short on time—
The waiters have to bus (owners wake up) & no host–
The tapas fish tacos bleagh—
Now“
Waiter, who was running was polite and helpful–
Clam chowder and Ceasar sald very good–
Seared scallops (12 u) were as good as any and better than most–
Passion fruit cake – not cloying sweet and simply great
Ambiance in interior upscale but friendly

I eat here whenever I can. They are open Mondays now and we have been able to sit outside all summer which is awesome.
Absolute worst service in the north west (thus the three stars). Not the servers fault? Hard to say. I am a restaurant professional and eat out every single night when I’m not at table and find the Vault perplexing.
Sat in there with boyfriend one night and there was only one other table. There were two servers. And they could. not. get. the. drinks. to. the. table.
But once they did the drinks were delicious, but then it took forever to get the next drinks and the order in and… hard to know what the problem is other than don’t go there if you have any plans to leave within 2+ hours.
Once the food does come it is tasty indeed. At certain tables you can see inside the kitchen and it’s like the cooks basically graze while they cook, which is a little troubling when it might be your plate they are picking.
Anyhow, Albany is a cool town, and getting more cool all the time, lots of potential, and it’s good these restaurants are there and more incoming. If they can catch up culturally a bit (to Portland) Albany could well become THE place in the central valley area.

This is still my go-​to restaurant when I’ve had a long, hard day… but now it is more for their bar than their food. If you are having a liquid dinner, this is your place. If you want 5-​star food to go along with it… this is more of a 4-​star place right now. Overpriced for what you get, food-​wise. Perhaps it was just an off night. Dunno… but I won’t be rushing back.

Not gluten free. If true allergy do not come here. If just by choice then you’ll be fine.

Vault 244. Wow. I was impressed. The food, drinks and service were above my expectations and my expectations were very high due to the price tag that I knew I would be in for. For two people and a drink on us for our good friend I paid $ 150 for the bill and that does not include full entrees (we went for smaller plates to share), but it does include a rarely found Scotch that they carried which would be unheard of outside of Portland. If you decide to save up money for one great night at a restaurant/​bar, I recommend you do it at Vault 244.
We sat at the bar with our group who had been there before and recommended sitting at the bar for the fun and personable interaction we could have with the bartender who made our drinks right in front of us with flare. He also took our food orders as we decided to place them (which was at random) and generally treated us like kings and queens without a pretentious attitude. He was personable and fun. He talked about his family while he made our drinks, spinning the bottles Las Vegas style. He made us custom drinks of his own design off of the top of his head based on what we told him we liked. We wanted basil, champagne and vodka, he constructed a amazing drink. We simply had to tell him what we were craving and he would present a drink that did not fall short of delicious. We even pushed the point of having so much fun with him, we asked for crazy flavor combinations. Everything he put out was awesome. He liked the challenge. His name was James.
Hands down, great atmosphere. We tried a few appetizers that apparently change from time to time. Everything was delicious. The Pork Belly Buns in particular made my night. I think of them often. The Gnocchi was pillowy and savory. The beef tips were tender and salty. It was all excellent food. I have a difficult time imagining anything off of their designer menu not being absolutely mouthwatering.
I cannot wait to go back. Simple as that.

What a gem! My husband and I just moved to the area and have heard nothing but good things about Vault.
We went on a Saturday night. We were expecting it to be crazy, it wasn’t. It was pleasantly vibrant. The kind of crowd that elevates the mood by adding energy to the overall environment. Even though it wasn’t necessarily bustling or crazy busy they still asked us if we had a reservation and had us wait for a table. I looked on their website before going and it doesn’t indicate a reservation is necessary. They should probably make that suggestion on their website. The restaurant has beautiful décor and ambiance. Lighting would have been a little too dark for some. But I liked it.
The staff were also great. Our waiter was helpful, funny, and on the ball, he never made us feel rushed and so was attentive we were never left wanting or needing anything.
We had the brussel sprouts appetizer. Flavors were all there, bacon, sauce, roasted veggies. My only critique is that brussel sprouts are large and, in my opinion, should be cut in half for roasting because the center of the vegetable just gets cooked, it doesn’t get roasted and doesn’t get any of the flavor it is cooked in. It’s just a hot, soft brussel sprout. Ha. But overall, great appetizer. There were 4 others I really wanted to try, but they will have to wait.
They have an amazing selection of cocktails and liquors. And their cocktails are a good price! I had a lavender lemon drop, probably the best one I’ve ever had.
For dinner my husband had the Pork Two Ways. It was INCREDIBLE! I’m not much of a pork person but I could eat this every single day! The meat was tender. The pork belly was melt-​in-​your-​mouth. They put bacon on it too, and bacon makes everything better!
I had the Stuffed Chicken Florentine. Flavors were good in the chicken, but minimal. It left me wanting more. The vegetables and orzo were pretty amazing though. The orzo was flavor packed and cooked perfectly!
We were pretty full so didn’t stay for dessert. Next time.
We’re still new here and trying out other places, but I think we may come back the Vault a lot more in the future!

My husband and I came to Vault 244 for our date night and it was amazing. We had warm olives, caprese salad, and chicken satay at it was all delicious. Our drinks were made flawlessly, and our desserts (I had the passion fruit crème cake and my husband had crème brûlée) couldn’t have been better! Andy was our server and she was awesome. our desserts were delayed and she took them off the bill. Overall, we had excellent service and food and we will definitely be back!

Absolutely Perfect! One of the best restaurants I have ever been to. We went here for a special occasion and it was stellar. The food was outstanding and the service was equally as good. Courtney, our server, was world class. If I could give 6 stars, I would.

I was quite happy with my visit here. Not having been before, I didn’t realize that reservations are highly recommended particularly if you have a group of 4 or 5. The staff was very accommodating and happy to help. We were happy to peruse the lengthy drink menu and order drinks from the waiting area.
The food was outstanding. The Artichoke Dip was the best I have ever had (seriously, we scrapped the bowl clean). The chicken and waffles was delightful as were the bacon wrapped Brussels sprouts. The Mango Cream Cake was heaven and defied my expectations. As did our drinks, we each ordered something different but agreed that they were some of the best we’d had. Smooth, refreshing, balanced.
The quality of the service was good. They seemed truly interested in our enjoyment of our experience; however, it was extremely slow. Even our drinks took over 20 minutes. Luckily we enjoyed each others company and didn’t mind a long evening but timeliness could stand improvement.

Great ambience, excellent food, and great service!!! The tapa dishes were excellent. And my two favorite drinks the lavender lemon drop and fire and ice hit the spot. The waiter was new and always apologetic for forgetting something… But he was friendly, genuine, and very sincere. That’s all you can ask for … Great food and great service.
Will always return to the vault!!!

Across many visits, I’ve had 2-​star, 3-​star, 4-​star and 5-​star service and food at the vault. And that is the issue. They’re too inconsistent.
Last night, it took 45 minutes to get our salad course, which was plopped down with our dinners. My pork was too salty. My husband’s fish tacos fell apart. But one week earlier, I LOVED my chicken and waffle, and my husband’s fish tacos were perfect! The service last week was top notch (we miss you, Jason!). This week, the bar was a disorganized mess of bad service.
We took a break from the vault, because my husband just couldn’t take it anymore. I finally convinced him to give it another try — and then we’re reminded why we stopped coming in the first place.
Maybe they can afford to be inconsistent, because they’re in Albany — but I hate going out to dinner, only to be left with the feeling that we could have cooked a better meal at home, and wouldn’t have had to suffer bad service.

An amazing anniversary dinner. My wife and I realized we hadn’t eaten at Vault 244 in quite a while, and thought we would give it a shot for our 7 year. What a great meal and time! Melinda was an excellent server and took care of our every need without being intrusive. We started with the clam chowder and Caesar salad. Their salad is the best one I have ever had, and the clam chowder was damn close, if not the best I have had. My steak was perfectly cooked, as well as my wife’s chicken dish. I am kind of mad at myself for not coming here more often. After the experience we had last night, we will definitely be making it back in more often. I would even go so far as to say this is the best restaurant in Albany. Thanks for the great night Vault!