Thirsty Owl Outlet & Wine Garden

What a great little spot! I was at Saratoga Springs for a conference. I was alone staying at the Holiday Inn. So after the days meeting I walked through downtown an the headed back out of town and stumbled across this cute restaurant. I went in sat on the patio and had white sangria and black paella. Both were delish! The service was great. When it Saratoga Springs, check it out.

We came into town for the Mumford and Sons concert and we looked at a couple of restaurants on Unilocal and this restaurant got good reviews so we decided to go. First we ordered the meat and cheese board and it looked beautiful and then we noticed a piece of bread with mold on it. We told the waiter and he came back with more bread which was stale and looked liked it had just a little bit more mold or it was on the verge of molding. We also ordered the truffle fries and 2 Spinach and Quinoa salads (one with salmon and one with shrimp). We get the truffle fries and it literally tastes like just regular french fries. We get the salads and realize there is no quinoa in them which is one of the main ingredients!!! So we tell the waiter (who was very nice and apologetic) and he comes back with two little dishes of quinoa but when we get it we could clearly see that the chef gave us UNCOOKED quinoa… like really? We obviously ordered the salad knowing there was quinoa in it… did the chef (who by the way is the owner and manager of the restaurant) really think he could pass off uncooked quinoa to us… it was actually quite insulting. So the waiter offered us 2 free desserts but we kindly declined because we really didn’t want anymore food from this establishment and asked to speak to the manager who we then realized was the chef. He initially offered to take $ 10 off of our bill and we explained to him that he should be a little more accommodating considering that our bread was moldy and that the other half of our main ingredient from the salad was missing so he did end up taking $ 34 off the bill.

I’d like to leave 5 stars for this meal but the server was a little bit of a «ghost» at times. To her defense there was a private party at the wine bar that was taking up her time and when she did come around her personality more than made up for it! Also, all of the servers pick up the slack and approach the table if they see empty dishes (sometimes dishes with still a couple of bites left… it was so yummy I wanted that last one!)
Food was delicious, we had the Scallop appetizer on the menu with mango, small plate Black Paella, and then tuna salad and surf and turf for dinner, everything was very well made and put together!

Used the $ 20 for 10 $ special which worked at the wine bar. We did the tasting, only 5 $ per person, it was great. Our bartender was very knowledgeable about each and every wine we tasted and was able to answer all of our follow up questions. After we stayed to have a drink. My boyfriend had wine and I had a glass of sangria. I don’t like when sangria is too sweet so she made it differently than they usually serve it and it was delicious! Will definitely be back to wine tasting for a girls day!

Such a cute place! There was a bridal shower going on in the tasting room so we were sat in this little room in the back and served and attended to right away. The salads were HUGE and delicious! The wine was great and the server was SO incredible knowledgeable and helped us all choose the perfect wine! The décor was so cozy and cute and owls EVERYWHERE. It was such a nice little spot in town and somewhere I’d want to return if I was back again.

Last time I was at Thirsty Owl was probably at least 1 ½ years ago — maybe even longer. Went there for a quiet dinner with a friend.
1. The wine was better than I recall.
2. #1 is the best thing I can say about the experience.
We ordered 4 tapas plates and shared some of each.
1. Grilled littleneck clams. Wow. Clams were so so — they taste like clams. Were served with a bacon-​like substance that was somewhat over-​cooked — each grilled clam had a little square of bacon inside. The real problem was the «broth». Sharp, bitter, extremely oily. You wouldn’t want to dip your bread in that. A real mystery how you would even make the broth. Bottom line — thumbs down.
2. Arugala salad. Bagged, «Sysco» salad mix, basic vinaigrette — not bad, but not good either. Way Way to much. Absolutely nothing interesting about this salad, visually or flavor-​wise.
3. Crab cakes. I have never seen a crab cake that looked like this. The best crab cakes have nice lumps of crab meat, with some breadcrumbs, seasoning and possibly egg or a binder to hold it together. They are delicate, flakey and very «crabby». They would be nicely, lightly browned on the exterior, after having been perhaps dusted on the outside with some flavored bread crumbs. Their crab cakes were discussing. Like canned crabmeat, flaked, with boring, institutional flavor. The crab cakes were «coated» with a «shell» that was the color of vanilla pudding. Some sort of fried coating. I can’t imagine the cook did that himself — looked like something that came from a food distributor. Who would buy that? Possibly a nursing home. Two big crab cakes, my companion and I split one, and never touched the second one. An abomination.
4. Shrimp «Tempura». Any chef should know that Tempura is a light, fluffy, crispy, not fatty, preparation. Any tempura dish has a very light coating and does not overwhelm the food. There were four large shrimp. They were coated in this extremely thick, oily batter that was mildly sweet. Couldn’t eat the them. Had to peel the batter off, and just eat the shrimp. The shrimp were obviously frozen, almost tasteless, but I needed some protein, since we couldn’t eat the crab cakes. Served with some gloppy soy-​based syrup that added nothing.
Overall, a bomb. Four small plates, 2 glasses of wine each. $ 120 for a wretched meal. None of the dishes were anything I would ever eat again. I will say that, in general, if I get a mediocre meal somewhere I tend to not bother to write a review. Most of my reviews are of places that I really think are doing a lot right. But once in a while, you have a meal that is so bad, you have to let people know. This meal is in contention for the worst restaurant meal I’ve ever had.
By the way, ambience. Awful. They have two small dining rooms. My friend arrived first and asked to sit at a particular table. The waiter never mentioned that a large group was reserved for that same room. About 12 people, celebrating, very noisy. Very hard to talk. Wish they had told us about the group — we would have asked for a different table, in the other room.

Still a solid 4 stars — both for the wine tasting and for the food. There are components of both that could be improved (a few more complex wines, some evolution to the menu), but overall this has always been an enjoyable place to visit — and a reasonable value at that.

The Thirsty Owl is a delightful ambiance with excellent service and mediocre to poor cuisine. Their «award winning» chowder was seafood anemic. Cream of potato would be more fitting. I also had the displeasure of experiencing a chewy lamb shank rich in grizzle and limited in taste. The crab stuffed jumbo shrimp proved the oxymoron while floated in 90+ grams of fat from frothy butter. They overcooked the risotto. Its consistency resembled mushy instant oatmeal.
Their NY State wine is whats to be expected from local vineyards. Proper pairing would still require better cuisine. This is no more than a wine tasting and cheese board venue.
Until management fires this chef and begs for former culinary expert that departed the Owl for greener pastures to return, avoid or limit your expectations.

Valentines Day wasn’t so spectacular. I think they were understaffed since our poor waitress was sprinting back and forth the whole time. She did the best she could, but every time we needed something she would just fly by — again, not her fault, there should have been more staff. Food was meh, I’m pretty sure I could have cooked that meal and had it taste the same. When I pay that much for a dinner I want it to be really good or taste like a chef cooked it. My husband was disappointed in his steak, he said the same thing. I’ve been there before and it was WAY better and I’d go back again, I just wouldn’t go back on a holiday or a busy day.

Cute place, and the execution was pretty well done. The host/​greeter at the front door is extremely nice and pleasant, and made us feel very welcome. Wines and beers are good, and I think next time I would only come here again is for tastings and stay at the wine bar.
The restaurant part in the back was pretty empty, and the food was… meh. Service was kind of slow (only one waiter) and we found a hair in one of our food… gross. Would have liked if they offered another or at least took half or full off the bill but they just put the food on a new plate… bleh.
Probably won’t be back.

For a New Years Eve celebration with a fixed menu at fixed cost, how do you botch it up so badly. Our server was clearly overwhelmed by the ¾ full house and, with a fixed menu of 4
Entrée selections, how do you run out of ingredients ½ way through the night? Was this their goat stab at a New Year’s Eve seating?
The Good — the wine. Both kinds were very good. Raspberry truffles were good.
The Bad — we waited 45 minutes for soup and salad, (salad astonishingly, had no dressing… I was hungry so I ate it as is). The medium steak with glazed carrots was served well done (read raw hide), with carrots that looked an awful lot like asparagus (see picture). They ran out of sides. Shrimp appetizer was warm to room temp at best. At a higher lever, the tone of the staff was not very festive for New Years… had I not pillaged some noisemakers and hats, you would have thought it a normal Thursday. The champagne tasted oddly like Canada Dry.
The ugly — probably the thing that will keep us from eating there again. We had a great view into the kitchen — I watched a pallet of eggs side on the counter for 3 hours, no refrigeration. The sea bass was prepared by the chef at 2:00 medium setting… Yes folks, that’s microwaved!
Anyway — disappointing evening considering the better options available in Saratoga.

We wandered in after dinner elsewhere in town, partially to do something while we were out, and partially, because of the good reviews here — we just had to check it out.
The bar was sparsely populated, which worked to our advantage as Rick, the gentleman behind the bar, was able to spend time explaining all about the wines, and offering a few tastes, before we decided what we wanted. He made our experience here special, and added to our education on New York State wines.
I can’t comment on the food, since we were too stuffed even to look at a menu, but the wines we sampled were superb! I ended up with a Shiraz, and Bestie had the Pinot Noir, after we sampled a goodly number of reds. All of them were excellent quality, and if it wasn’t so late (for us, at least) and having a bit of a drive ahead of us, we would have each had a glass of a different variety.
We went on a Saturday night, so there was entertainment — a lone guitarist who was very good. The acoustics in the room aren’t the best, however, and even sitting close to him, it was really difficult to hear his singing clearly.
If you like wine and viticulture, make sure you go when Rick’s on — his enthusiasm and passion for what he does is contagious, and we’re excited about going back sometime.

Discovered the Thirsty Owl via a «living social» deal several months ago. Finally made it there last night.
First impression was great; super friendly people and the interior is much bigger than I expected. I’ve passed this place many times and always thought that it would be tiny inside. There’s also plenty of outside seating along the wrap around porch and the small garden area. The only downside to sitting outside is the constant flow of traffic (near a pretty busy intersection) and the odd little hotel/​motel across the street.
The waiter was great — knows the menu and the wines — and he was pretty funny, too.
We decided to try the red blend and the malbec. Both were really nice and surprisingly good for upstate NY wine.
We stuck to the tapas menu and shared the following:
–Black Paella with squid ink: delicious — pieces of calamari were cooked just right (not too chewy) and the rice, shrimp and scallop were seasoned beautifully. Nice portion for an appetizer/​tapas
–Scallops — served over corn and bacon bits — VERY flavorful and the scallops were cooked perfectly. They were also clearly fresh and not frozen… not an ounce of fishiness to those (very large) scallops
–Salad with lump crab meat — good sized salad with mixed greens and a balsamic reduction drizzle — very light with a decent amount of shredded crab meat
–Artichokes — these are served wrapped in bacon — really large pieces of bacon which tended to overwhelm the flavor… but it was still a hearty portion (3 large artichoke hearts and a nice pile of greens in the middle)
–Crab cakes — very different from other crab cakes that I’ve had in the past but really good. There is a light crust on the outside and the inside is moist and delicious… not greasy at all… we both enjoyed these a lot
We finished up by sharing the blueberry bread pudding. I’m not a big fan of bread pudding in general but really enjoyed this version of it — served with a small dollop of vanilla ice cream and toasted coconut shavings. The blueberry situation made it that much better. Served hot!
The waiter was telling us about nightly specials and «goings-​on» at the Thirsty Owl:
–Monday night is half price tapas (heck yes!!)
–Tuesday and Wednesday there’s something going on… but I honestly can’t remember what he told us… the Monday and Thursday situations are the ones that stuck in my brain…
–Thursday is something like five wines for 2 dollars!!! (call a cab or bring a designated driver that doesn’t like wine…)
There is a small lot available for parking — otherwise that’s a challenge for this place. It’s a bit on the outskirts of town, so the municipal parking lots might not be an option for some. There are side streets nearby for additional parking. I’m only mentioning this since folks that live north of NYC tend to be a bit funny when it comes to parking…(I admit that I’ve become quite spoiled living in this area and take parking spaces for granted sometimes).
It was pretty quiet there last night. I’d like to see this place survive… they’re still pretty new and they have a creative menu that is actually in the process of changing as we speak. Give them a try and see what you think.
I’m looking forward to going again.

Very under attended but wonderful porch setting (I typically like to watch more activity) the tapas were very good and the NYS chardonnay was much better than expected. (Good, actually). Too much food but good for leftovers.
Service was good, friendly and helpful

True culinary pros. We got the A+ prime time experience, and the owner/​manager was very happy to welcome us despite showing up a half hour before the kitchen closed. The bartender was very detailed in describing the wines — all we did was order a few samples! — and treated us extremely well. Live music added to the atmosphere. The salmon dinner was incredible. This is the kind of stuff you expect at a high-​end restaurant; more than a wine bar!
It was one of the best dining experiences we’ve ever had, and we can’t wait to go back.

Went here twice during my week stay… great wines, beers, drinks etc! The bartender is top notch! Very personable. very knowledgeable… overall experience was awesome! Now that being said… the food here was just delicious! I had the ribs one night (OMG They were awesome) and the burger (OMG!!) the next time… I should be back here again and I’m gong to try their lobster mac and cheese… This place rocks!

Do not buy their voucher if you want to use it during the track season!
I really dislike merchants who do not specify the terms and conditions in their promo and you only find out when you are trying to redeem it!
The tapas are amazing here! The cheese and meet platters are HUGE and dont order both if that’s what you are thinking!

Crab chowder was very good.
Crab cakes were very good.
Our waiter was WONDERFUL!
Delicious bread pudding — highly recommend.
The house restoration is amazingly done.
The wine tasting room and bar is very well-​designed.

Big hits, a few misses. I like it that they swing for the fences at Thirsty Owl rather than presenting the same old Saratoga fine dining standards.
Note that most of the dishes have suggested wine pairings. I passed this time, but I’ve tasted here before. I’d say the wines are typical of the Finger Lakes, mild and pricey. As I recall the Meritage is the best of their offerings.
Caesar Salad: a creamy dressing with shaved manchego cheese and a big fat white anchovy – not a fillet but the whole fish, sans head and guts. 5 stars if you ignore the cherry tomatoes.
Fried calamari: a smallish portion but perfectly cooked and tender with caper and chive aioli my dining companion scooped out of the cup. 5 stars.
Burger: tender ground short rib with scallion aioli, blue cheese and sautéed onions and mushrooms (you can vary these toppings). Delicious but the bun was burnt. But the accompanying potato home fries and spicy catsup pull it up to 4 stars.
Stuffed shrimp: three magnificent giant shrimp stuffed with fresh mozzarella, wrapped like a mummy in Serrano ham and served on a bitter balsamic reduction. Flavors just didn’t go together at all. 2 stars.
Pork belly: it always amazes me how cooks are able to make pork belly tough, as this one was. But the polenta and barbecue sauce on top were great. 3 stars.
Shortbread «bar» with blackberry and cinnamon crème dessert: The shortbread was stale, otherwise a nice treat. 3 ½ stars.
That’s a net of 3.75 stars but I’m rounding it up due to the pleasant surroundings and creativeness of the menu. Service was extremely leisurely, by the way; don’t stop in her for a quick bite on the way to the movies.

It’s more than a Wine Company, it’s a restaurant too. Well, a Bistro, and a nice one at that. Entering from the parking lot at the rear of the building you will arrive at the wine tasting room. If you want to eat, you can choose to sit there at the wine bar or be seated in a small narrow dining room toward the front of the building. In good weather there also appears to be an outdoor patio/​porch for dining.
We decided to «taste» and «dine» at the tasting bar with it’s high ceilings and chandeliers. A tasting of 5 wines is $ 5. There were 13 whites, 9 reds, and 2 desert wines. Between my wife and I we were able to try 10 of the 22 available wines (two were sold out). Typical to New York State wines, the whites were better than the reds.
To go with your wine sampling, the Tapas menu offers a Cheese Board ($ 20), a Meat Board ($ 20), or a combination of the two Boards ($ 20/​$ 38). There are also soups, salads, and 15 Tapas dishes (generally $ 9 to $ 14). The one exception being the Seared Foie Gras, Grilled Persimmon, with Yucca Chip and Thirsty Owl Ice Wine Reduction ($ 19).
Still hungry? There are approximately a dozen Entrees between $ 24 and $ 37 and four desserts were available the evening we were there. The menus are prominently labeled as to which dishes are gluten free or vegetarian.
We decided to order four dishes from the Tapas menu and two full additional glasses of wine, after our tasting, to go with the Tapas. The wines we chose to enjoy with our food were the semi-​sweet 2012 Snow Owl Riesling ($ 12.95) and the 2012 Dry Riesling ($ 15.95). For food we chose the Papas Bravas drizzled with spicy sauce ($ 6), the Black Paella with scallops, shrimp, calamari, and roasted red peppers ($ 13), the Lamb Stuffed Piquillo Peppers with Pinot Noir and mint cream sauce ($ 10), and the Lightly Fried Calamari with lemon aioli ($ 10).
The Fried Calamari was average, nothing special, and the aioli just ok. The Papas Bravas were nicely cubed potatoes that reminded us of hash browns, and their spicy sauce was not very spicy. The Lamb stuffed Piquillo peppers were excellent. You’ll have to take just my word for it since my wife won’t eat lamb. But we both raved about the pinot noir and mint cream sauce that came with it, choosing to also dip some of the other dishes we had in that sauce. The Black Paella was a piece of art work, and very tasty too.
Overall, we were very pleased and plan to return to try some additional dishes and maybe some additional wines. Because we also bought a bottle of wine to go, a 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Ice Wine ($ 39.95), which was a double gold medal winner, one of our wine tastings ($ 5) was credited to our bill. Nice atmosphere, good food and friendly, knowledgeable service.