Illusive Restaurant & Bar: A Hidden Gem for Cocktails and Comfort Food

Food and service was amazing! The drinks and burgers were top notch. Can't wait to come back and try more! 10/10 must try!

Amazing food, not run of the mill. Taste and flavor are very important and they nail it! The fries are amazing!!; burger was a smash burger with flavors that were amazing and the chicken sandwich too die for!! Service was amazing! They were also setting up for a individual who was going to homecoming!

I brought my son here for a big night, and the people that worked there went waaaaaay above and beyond to make him feel special! I was so touched by their kindness. Our food was amazing, and there was so much of it. We tried the tots poutine for an appetizer, and we ate so much of it, that I had to bring most of my burger home. But Im sitting here, eating it straight out of the box now, and it's delicious. Thank you to this amazing staff for being so wonderful!

I really enjoyed my first-time visit. It’s a tad hard to find, as Ferry St isn’t large. Trust your google maps to get there, because it’s near both 787, Rte 9&20, and the train station. The space was delightfully decorated for the season (Halloween) and the staff was super friendly. We had two salads: the famous Cobb and the one with strawberries. As mentioned in other reviews, I did find the chicken a bit salty for my taste, but it was still delicious and an appropriately sized meal. Mom finished her entire salad, but I took some of mine home. The nice people seated next to us were repeat customers. We would definitely come back.

UPDATED::Coming here for the first time I thought I was pulling up to an abandoned building. Ordered the Mick Jigga burger. Its just a burger right? Nope. It was outstanding. Great food, great music, great drinks, great prices, great bartenders, how was I to know? Update:: Again don’t let this place fool you. This isn’t “bar” food. The burgers are award winning level. Hint:: Don’t substitute or change anything. You won’t regret it. Oh, did I mention a glass of decent Merlot is $6. Guess they didn’t get the price gauging memo. A REAL homerun.

I’ve been living in Rensselaer for 7 years, and this was my first time trying Illusive—so good. The food was packed really well, no plastic containers and no mess at all. We ordered three burgers with fries and some chicken wings. Everything smelled amazing and tasted great. You can tell how fresh and flavorful it is from the first bite. Definitely the best bar in Rensselaer in my opinion. We’ll for sure be coming back!

Stopped here on our way to a friend’s house. We’re from out of town and when we saw the reviews, we knew we had to stop in to try it for ourselves. My friend raved about his big Anthony sandwich and I had the Madison salad (undoubtedly one of the top five salads I’ve had in my life!) and my husband had the Caprese sandwich. Everything was super fresh and next level. We are completely blown away. We had the tater tots and they were really fresh and didn’t taste greasy at all. If you’re a foodie, you’ll love this place. Our waitress Megan was amazing and even brought us a to-go container without us even having asked. We hope to come back again soon, but we will tell all our local friends about this gem! Note: Don’t judge this place by the exterior. Trust me, it’s a delight.

10/10 service, environment and food. I really enjoyed dinner. The wings were crispy yet saucy, and definitely seasoned well. Great portions as pictured