Tesoro

Great food, unique menu with a lot of different authentic Italian options. Highly recommend for special events as they have a private banquet room and offer great catering options.

I’ve been to Tesoro twice and both time I was disappointed.
The first time I stopped in was a Sunday night and it was very slow. I ordered an appetizer as my entre and asked the server to bring it out with dinner. She asked me why and told me she was going to bring it out with my salad. So, there it sat until dinner came out so I can enjoy my meal with my company. The server had a bad energy and I did not enjoy my experience at all.
The second time, it was the same experience. The food was not great and the server (who happened to be the same one) seemed annoyed with everyone anytime we asked a question.
I do not plan on going back. :(

Tesoro is one of the only Italian restaurants I will frequent. I can cook italian at home, so I rarely crave going out for it. That said, when there is a craving, Tesoro is the place to go. They have a decent wine menu, affordable prices, and a great atmosphere. The lighting is dimmed but not so dark you can’t read the menus. Tables are spaced enough that you don’t hear the conversation next to you, and the food is Devine. The chef/​owner Raphael is there most nights and he/​his wife Michele make sure customer’s are enjoying their meals. Our go-​to appetizers are: lobster ravioli (DELICIOUS), bruschetta, shrimp cocktail (gigantic!), and Jeff loves the rice balls. My favorite entrée is the classic linguine and clams in a white wine garlic sauce. Jeff loves all things veal and switches it up from time to time. Occasionally we split a dessert — the bombas are great, cannoli are delicious, and Jeff loves the tiramisu. We have yet to be disappointed by Tesoro and will definitely keep going back.

Comfortable setting, very competent an d friendly wait staff and solid traditional Italian fare. It is not over the top fabulous but the pasta dishes that I have tried were all very good.

Decent classic Italian joint. Vitello, pesce, pollo, crostacci and lots of pasta dishes prepared in various familiar incarnations. My wife had the cotoletta alla parmigiana. Breaded, fried veal cutlet baked in tomato sauce topped with mozzarella. Simple and satisfying. I ordered the scallopine fiorintina. Scallops of veal sautéed in lemon and butter on a bed of spinach topped with mozzarella. Veal was tender but the dish was very bland and had way too much cheese. Entrees included a basic salad and side of pasta. Homemade cavatelli and gnocchi are available for an up charge. I had the cavatelli which were perfectly cooked. The tomato sauce was bright and fresh tasting. Highly recommended. The wine list was a bit disappointing. Not much to choose from although prices were reasonable. Overall, Tesoro is a good choice if you are looking for classic Italian cuisine in the Guilderland area. Nothing special here however that differentiates this place from all of the other neighborhood red sauce joints located throughout the capital district.

Delicious, authentic Italian dining experience. The kind of food that should be served at a true Italian restaurant.
My wife and I have been eating dinner here for years. This restaurant goes above and beyond the typical Italian restaurants in the area. We are not fans of Macaroni Grill, Olive Garden, or Bucca de Beppo. We look for the real deal when it comes to authentic Italian dining and this place is the real deal. The sauces and pasta are deliciously homemade and the atmosphere feels like a big Italian dining room. We often see large families there for dinner having an incredible time.
The servers are very knowledgeable and friendly, we even have a few favorites that we enjoy seeing there whether they are serving our table or not.
5 stars for sure. Also, always ask about the specials, they come up with some wonderful dishes.

We went to this restaurant for a family members birthday, we made reservations and were waited on immediately. Tesoro’s is a nice little Italian restaurant in Guilderland. They have lots of seating and a bar. I ordered the chicken parm, I thought that it was a little thin but very tender and tasty. The staff at Tesoro’s were very nice. Our waitress came by quite a bit to check on us and to ask for refills etc. Tesoro’s wasn’t very busy when we got there at 4:30 but by the time we left at 6:00 it started to fill up.

I used to LOVE this place due to what I remember as amazing food. However, the last two visits have been disappointing. This evening we dined at the bar and the service was surprisingly dismal. Sitting at the bar waiting 30 minutes for a drink while the bartender deals with tickets for the waitstaff and does not notice the empty glasses we have pushed forward. The food was okay, not great like it had been in the past. My shrimp (5 pieces for $ 22) was warm, not very hot and was good, but not great. My husband had steak and potatoes, which were okay, not robust with flavor, the potatoes were a bit greasy. The staff which spent a lot of time at the bar, smelled like cigarettes and commanded much of the bartenders attention, so much so that my husbands soup was forgotten. I guess I would come back, but a lot of time will have to pass in order for me to want to return.

We went to dinner midweek and were seated immediately. My husband had the special — appetizer, salad, entrée and dessert. He had the homemade mozzarella fritters for the appetizer, white fish in an herb and butter sauce for the entrée and chocolate mousse for dessert. He said everything was made well, and you could taste the freshness. I had the pasta with eggplant, which was fantastic and I had more than enough for lunch the next day. Next time I won’t fill up on so much bread, but with the piping hot, crispy bread and the flavored oil to dip in, I couldn’t pass it up.
We were served by Sarah, who was very friendly.
This will be our new neighborhood spot when looking for comforting Italian food.

Amazing! I’ve organized a few different parties here and also dined just for dinner a few times and was not disappointed. The food is filling and extremely flavorful, and the owners go out of the way to make sure you’re enjoying yourself.
After holding my wedding rehearsal here, I had a bunch of my friends going here for dinner in the weeks after the wedding because they were so impressed.
Definitely some of the most authentic Italian food you will get outside of Italy.

I came in with my family on a Sunday evening with no reservation, no problem. Our server was very sweet and helpful, except at the end of our dinner when we needed the check but she had disappeared for around 10 minutes.
I ordered the restaurant week special — caprese salad, baked whitefish, and tiramisu. The caprese had chopped basil, almost to the consistency of pesto, which lost some of that whole leaf basil flavor. The whitefish was good and simple. The tiramisu came in a cup and was completely drowning in marscapone with only a little tiramisu in the center — the ratio was way off.
Everyone else loved their food and I did love the fish, so I will leave it at 3 stars. Next time we come to that area on a Sunday, I hope we can try Sage Bistro like we originally planned.

I was invited to this place with 6 others, I was in the Albany area visiting and I have special dietary needs. I was told how amazing their food was… Well, I asked if I could have one of the chicken dinners done without breading and was told the chief refuses to make such a dinner… I have NEVER been refused by a chief to broil or pan cook a piece of chicken until this point. I believe the server was lieing and never spoke to the chief. I do not recommend this place to anyone who can’t just point to something as is on the menu.

good italian food upstate? in guilderland? if i hadn’t eaten here myself i wouldn’t have believed it either… as a life long downstate resident (minus my 4 years at SUNY) i’ve had my fill of what most would consider quality italian grub, and i have to say i was pleasantly surprised with most of what i found at tesoro… calamari appetizer was fantastic — nicely seasoned batter, unbelievably hot & crispy, everything you’d want it to be… eggplant parm was also very tasty, not the best quality mozz i’ve ever had but not anything to balk at either… i guess the only food i wasn’t thrilled with was my side pasta that i requested bolognese on… sorry guys, throwing some chunks of meat in your tomato sauce does not qualify as a bolognese in my book… others at the table genuinely enjoyed their meals as well, staff was very friendly & helpful… in all it was a nice meal & a pretty good experience

My friend held her bridal shower here recently, and I was definitely impressed with Tesoro. We were in a side room that you can reserve for special events, and it was the perfect size for our group. The room has a fireplace at the front of it and is painted in a warm yellow colors, so it set a nice, happy atmosphere for the shower.
For lunch, I had the whitefish topped with breadcrumbs and butter. The fish was flaky and well-​prepared, and while I am not normally a fan of breadcrumbs, they were not overwhelming in the dish. It was nice that my dish also came with a side of pasta with tasty red sauce as well as a run-​of-​the-​mill salad. I also really appreciated how accommodating they were for my friend who is allergic to shellfish and many other foods in addition to having dietary restrictions during Passover (basically gluten free). Although there were only 3 food options for the shower, the waiter suggested several substitutes and asked a lot of questions to make sure that there was nothing in the dish she couldn’t have.
Overall, a great experience. I would definitely recommend this place!

A woman that I work with told me about this place. She rand and rave about any of their veal dishes and she also loves their red sauce. It took me a while but I finally had the opportunity to try this place. Two words… NEVER AGAIN!
I made reservations, and I ended up calling because my wife and I were running late. The gentlemen that answer the phone said no problem. We arrived and was sited right away.
I ordered a glass of Chianti, and for dinner ordered the veal special of the night. My wife ordered shrimp alfedro. The way the server described the veal dish that I ordered was it was veal medallions in a marsala/​red sauce with shrimp. I was intrigued about the sauce so that is one of the main reasons why I ordered it, plus I love veal. No salads are served with our dinners, which puzzled me because that is pretty much a standard thing when dinning out this days.
Our entrees came out and by looking at my wife’s dish the pasta was way uncooked. She is a fan of al dente pasta but this was not even close to being al dente. She eat it anyway which I wish now looking at the dish, she should have returned it. (see pic) My entrée was not acceptable. No chef should ever put out veal that is chewy. When people think of a veal dish, they think wow I can’t wait to eat a nice tender NOT tough or chewy piece of veal. I ended up sending my dish back and the waiter ask me if I wanted anything else. I settled for chicken parm, something fast and easy. It came out fast put it was less than desirable. It was more greasy than anything.
Needless to say I will not be returning to this place.

I had the Veal Luciano for dinner last night, As I bit down the crack of the crust revealed The Prosciutto and the Veal perfectly counterbalancing each other while whipping my taste buds, acting as the horsemen to the slave ship of my mouth as the herbs did back flips on my tongue. Topped off with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella; signature ingredients yet never overpowering, just tinged with enough flavor to remind me of their presence as they play peekaboo with my mouth with every succulent bite. Peeka Booo Peeka Boo. For an out of body food experience, go to Tesoro Italian Restaurant.

Love this place. The homemade Italian dressing is incredible. And my favorite dish is the pesce a la pescatora. Simple healthy and the sauce is just unbelievable.

Summary– Solid and inexpensive Italian in comfortable clean atmosphere.
Food– 4 Stars
Pretty darn solid Chicken Parm for lunch, and decent red sauce.
The other two diners with me enjoyed there meals as well, one got a special ravioli that looked awesome (again) and the other got eggplant parm that also looked super good.
Service– 4 Stars
Nice and timely.
Atmosphere– 4 Stars
Nice inside, nothing special but clean and well thought out. nice new outside seating area too.
Value– 3 Stars
Seemed reasonably priced, lots of food for like $ 8.

Best red sauce I’ve had outside of Italy. I look forward to my visit each week.

Tesoro is overall a really nice place with very good food. I came here with a group of friends for a joint birthday dinner and we were pleasantly surprised with the atmosphere of the restaurant. It’s located within a shopping complex and the inside of the place is much nicer than the outside would suggest. Our meal started off with some good Italian bread with very good olive oil (always a good start) and we ordered some garlic bread for an appetizer. The garlic bread was very aromatic and tasty and had slivers of garlic on the bread itself (nice touch). I ordered a veal dish that came with prosciutto, fontina cheese, and a special veal sauce. It was amazing! The veal was very tender and the veal, prosciutto, and fontina cheese were so incredibly delicious. The sauce was very flavorful and let the natural flavors of the foods emerge and mingle together. My friends had gotten a variety of dishes including spaghetti and meatballs, fettuccine alfredo, and veal francese and everyone loved their dishes. For dessert, I got Spumoni Bomba that consisted of a baseball-​shaped, chocolate-​covered portion of strawberry, pistachio, and chocolate gelato that is cut in half and served on a plate. It was very, very good, but they put the rounded side down on a plate, so it’s a bit hard to eat without getting messy (not a big deal really, just made it harder to eat). Everyone else enjoyed their desserts as well, but I was too focused on mine to notice what everyone else got, oops!
The only downside was that the waiter was not particularly knowledgable about the dishes. In fact, he didn’t even know how to pronounce half of the dishes and that’s just bad form. Also, he refused to sing Happy Birthday to our birthday guests, saying that «we don’t do that’.
Aside from the somewhat rocky service, Tesoro’s is a great place. The food is very flavorful and delicious and prepared well. I highly suggest the veal and the desserts and you’ll have a great meal here.