Berben and Wolff's Vegan Delicatessen

Had a delicious Reuben sandwich here back in October. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable about the area, and gave me recommendations of things to do while I was visiting Albany. I also had a slice of cake, which was incredibly dry, but I had come in close to closing time and grabbed the last slice, so it wasn't entirely unexpected.

This place is the cream of the crop, by a wide margin the best vegan restaurant north of NYC, and I only say that because I've never been south of it since going Vegan. have had everything on their current menu, and all are delightful (I have not had the jackfruit but only due to past bad experiences with it, no fault of this fine establishment) BYOB too!

Small menu, but everything is vegan and it's all great! plus they have vegan brownies, cupcakes, cookies etc. A little expensive but you pay for quality :-D.

The food was beyond delicious, would highly recommend the Popcorn Mushroom PoBoy! Had a great staff and environment. I'm hope I'm back in the area soon and can try another sandwich!

We stopped here twice on way to and from conference. The food and the service was great. We have had the Ruben, the Tempeh Chickpea Salad, the Sunflower Berger, and the TLT. All were great!

While my husband and I didn't have much time to relax and enjoy Berben and Wolffs as we were in a rush to get to a concert on time, this little vegan delicatessen made a big impression on us both despite the amount of time we were there!

The baked goods! Wow, I was not expecting a delicatessen to have about 10 different kinds of cakes, cupcakes and other sweet treats. I ordered 4 'fun lotus' cupcakes and 2 'garden cakes' to go. The fun lotus cupcakes are INCREDIBLE! I'm not exaggerating when I say that it's the best cupcake I have ever had. EVER. And I've had a lot of cupcakes over the years. It's a candied ginger cupcake with a green tea frosting topped with a little pink lotus blossom made of whats either gum paste or modeling chocolate. I do hope it's a permanent fixture in the bakery case! The garden cake was very good as well, a little miniature lemon poppy seed cake with a lavender icing. Very unique in a good way!
My husband (who is an omnivore) ordered a wing burger and was blown away by how delicious it was! He said he'd never have known it wasn't chicken if he hadn't been told beforehand that this was a fully vegan establishment. He thoroughly enjoyed it!

I know that we will for sure be stopping in to this little eatery every chance we get whenever we're in Albany, and I recommend you do so as well!

Updated from previous review on 2016-08-20

This place has amazing versions of classic sandwiches with seitan (homemade), tempeh, tofu, mushrooms, etc. I had the buffalo wing burger and it was amazing. Served with chips and a pickle, classic style. Save room for dessert, they have lots of delicious options and everything is vegan!!! Wish this place existed when I attended college in Albany!

Great vegan sandwiches.

Wonderfully made sandwiches with the perfect combination of meat and veggies and sauces they're wonderful.

The wing burger is a must, best ever!

I go to Berben and Wolf probably twice a week, sometimes more. I've never had a bad meal. The staff is always excellent. You never have to wait long for your food. These folks are pros.

The Rueben is excellent and from what I hear it's their most request sandwich. If you like dijon, the Cubano is excellent. You'll probably have the best setian philly cheese steak of your life here, featuring thinly sliced seitan, house made cheese sauce and crunchy roll. Don't worry, they have gluten free options as well.

There's a 'grab and go' case featuring a changing cast of salads and deserts. If you're there on a day when they have the buffalo chicken mac and cheese consider yourself very lucky. For desert, the chai cake and pineapple upside cake are totally perfect.

Whatever you put in it, sandwich making is an art, and these guys(?) really know how to do it. I've had several and each was a classic of its kind. My favorite so far has to be the Rueben. You can taste each ingredient from the toasted marble rye to the warm sauerkraut, cheese and pastrami, but together they are greater than the sum of their parts and make a great sandwich whether your vegan or not.
If I have any quibble about B&W, it's only that the name and intensity of their coffee, Deathwish, is all to accurate.

Stopped in while passing through and had the best Philly Cheesesteak of my life. I am a bit of a connoisseur of vegan cheesesteaks and have had many of them all over the country including a trip to Philly where I tastes six in a day.
Also had a buffalo chicken mac and cheese to-go and had it for breakfast the next day. Also really good, and craving it now.
I told the staff (maybe owner) how impressed I was, and they were very happy to receive the compliment, and seemed genuinely happy and humbled.

Everything here is handmade and delicious. No favorites, try everything! Berben is sexy too!

A heartfelt and hearty welcome to the neighborhood, my newest and bestest culinary heroes!

The room will be familiar to patrons of the most excellent previous cafe, but they've opened it up some. More tables for more people. And the people were out in force!

The menu is a delight. So many choices! I had the cubano. Nearly wept as this was my first ham and cheese experience in the last sixteen or so years. Perfect! The ham was hammy. The cheese, cheesy. The mustard mustardy. The roll, well you get it. I am not a good food writer.

I also had a taste of the chicken sandwich and a gander at the popcorn mushroom po' boy. No shortage of things I need to try NOW!

Desserts! our table split two cupcakes. I haven't had better. Very light hand with all the flavors. Wanted more!

So I am delivering an enthusiastic twenty seven thumbs ups! Thank you! See you soon!