Saratoga Springs is a New York resort town with great boutiques and an even better food culture. For the most part, depending how close you live to downtown, it’s a completely walkable community. During the summer, Saratoga Performing Arts Center hosts a variety of events, including The New York City Ballet, The Philadelphia Orchestra, many Live Nation Concerts, and a Wine and Food Festival. The Saratoga Race Track season begins during the middle of July and lasts until the end of August.
Saratoga Springs is the place to be during the east coast’s hot summer, promising endless fun times and an abundance of good food. What more could you ask for? On your next visit, make sure you eat your way through the best places Saratoga Springs has to offer.
1. Mrs. London’s Bakery
Photo by Alixandra Rutnik
The hot chocolate from Mrs. London’s Bakery is bomb. Why? Because they melt real chocolate into the steamy milk. Their mocha lattes are amaze too, because they’re made with yes amazing hot chocolate but also a shot of espresso.
Mrs. London’s master patissière bakes authentic french pastries, breads, desserts and assembles delish ready-to-go sandwiches—my fave is the turkey and gruyere on a baguette. My go-to breakfast at Mrs. London’s is definitely a mug of hot chocolate and a chocolate croissant to dunk in it. Channel the European lifestyle and grab a lite bite chez Mrs. London.
2. Sweet Mimi’s Cafe
Photo courtesy of @tnmadventures on Instagram
Breakfast dates are hot, and Sweet Mimi’s Café is the perfect spot for #BitchesWhoBrunch; the food is delicious and most definitely Insta-worthy. Sweet Mimi’s has the most adorable ambiance; all the tables are accented with pink napkins, you can’t get much cuter than that.
Their Belgian waffles are to die for, their baked goods are on fleek, they have a large board filled with unique and mouthwatering specials, and the servers are always very friendly. Sweet Mimi’s serves breakfast, lunch and most importantly brunch, from 8 am until 2:30 pm everyday except Tuesday.
You can never go wrong with a grilled muffin, or a homemade biscuit with butter and jam, and if you order eggs get the multigrain toast because it’s out of this world. Honestly, I could rave about this place all day long.
3. 15 Church Street
Photo by Alixandra Rutnik
Meet the chicken “under a brick.” Cooked by a flaming hot brick that sits on top of the chicken, the skin is perfectly seasoned, crispy, and delicious. If you are a chicken lover like me, you have to order the Chicken Under a Brick for yourself.
Its name alone is so intriguing, how can you not? And this is only one of their incredible menu items. 15 Church Street has two menus, an inside dinner menu and a patio menu. The outside patio has the most exquisite ambiance—perfect spot for date night.
4. Druther’s Brewing Company
Photo courtesy of @screendesigninc on Instagram
One order of Druther’s Mac and Cheese legit serves four people, maybe even five. It’s ginormous and crazy good. I have only tasted their regular mac and cheese, which is amazing, but apparently they have chicken and waffles mac and cheese at their Albany location too.
Wow. Who wants to go try it with me? It is Druther’s Brewing Company after all, so you’re entitled to order one of their craft beers to accompany your meal.
5. Ravenous Crêperie
Photo Courtesy of @ashleyseifert26 on Instagram
Ravenous Crêperie serves yummy crêpes, sweet and savory alike. It’s very important to have two separate crêpe batters, one for the sweet kind and one for the savory kind: typically a light and sweet vanilla batter or a hearty buckwheat batter. It makes all the difference in the world, and Ravenous Crêperie knows that.
Go crêpe crazy.
6. Chianti Ristorante
Photo Courtesy of @spoon_skidmore on Instagram
Chianti is a favorite restaurant of mine, known for its exceptional Italian dishes. This penne alla vodka looks hella good. Their online dinner menu is interactive too; if you click on the photo icon you will be able to see a picture of the dish. How convenient?
Nutella lovers, do yourselves a favor and save room for one killer dessert: the Tiramisu alla Nutella. Wow.
7. Olde Bryan Inn
Photo Courtesy of @dibanez91 on Instagram
My one friend once told me that he would go “breading” in college. I looked at him puzzled, “excuse me, what?” He explained to me that he and his friends would simply go out to a restaurant, wait for the bread, eat the bread and then get up and leave, only to repeat the act at another restaurant.
Hysterical, no? As a joke I will say that this is a great place to go “breading” because the biscuits—oh my god—are so good. My passionate love for biscuits constantly makes me question if I should move to the South, but their menu pretty much covers all the bases.
8. Sperry’s Restaurant
Photo Courtesy of @saratogasperrys on Instagram
Sperry’s popovers are magical. Before eating at Sperry’s I had never tried a popover before, let alone knew what it was. They are light and airy, and taste amazing smeared with butter. Their centers are hollow, and they are served to you straight out of the oven, hot and fresh.
Popovers asides, Sperry’s raw bar selection is also a must.
9. The Brook Tavern
Photo courtesy of @brooktavern on Instagram
Skipping right to dessert, Book Tavern serves a warm chocolate chip cookie served in a skillet topped with a scoop of butter pecan ice cream. Is it shareable? Yes. Would you want to share it? Nah. When I go out with a large group of my friends to eat at the Brook Tavern, everyone is civil during the main course, but once we get to dessert, it is a straight up battle.
Dessert warfare is real people, prepare your spoons in advance—if you are a slow cookie eater you will loose out. We order one skillet cookie to share in groups of twos and threes, but everyone secretly wants the entire skillet cookie sundae to themselves.
10. Mouzon House
Photo courtesy of @the_mouzon_house on Instagram
The Mouzon House was built in 1883. It’s an old Victorian style home bursting with character, history, and great food. It’s totally classy, with a super cool ambiance, and very talented chefs.
11. Four Seasons Café
Photo courtesy of @fourseasonsnaturalfoods on Instagram
The Four Seasons Café is heaven for crazy healthy people, but that doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly tasty as well. The café itself is self serve style, so it’s a super quick and easy choice for eating in or takeout.
Most of the food options are vegan or vegetarian, and their “menu” is an ever-changing variety of prepared foods. I love soup, and the chefs at Four Seasons Café always make the most delicious soups. They even have a Natural Foods Market too.