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Muza
Categories: Restaurants Polish Restaurants Hungarian Restaurants German Polish, Hungarian, German [Edit]
1300 15th StTroy, NY 12180
(518) 271-6892
- Hours:
Tue-Thu 4 pm - 9 pm
Fri-Sat 4 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Dogs Allowed:
- No
Conor T. said: "Ahh Wolff's. It's such a fun place to be! First, there's the beer. A nice, but not overwhelmingly large, selection of imported bottles and drafts, all of which are unique in their taste. My current favorite is the Ayinger…" read more »
15 reviews for Muza
Review Highlights
"...authentic golumpkies, perogies, and kielbasa, you have to..."
(in 3 reviews)
"The sole waitress is the owner/chef's daughter."
(in 4 reviews)
"...I haven't liked was the stroganoff, which was too heavy on..."
(in 3 reviews)
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15 reviews in English
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Review from Regular G.
Troy, NY
8/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
The food here is always good. When you walk in, I was immediately treated like part of the family. I even see the family around town and they speak like we're old neighbors. I especially love the kisses from grandma, she's gotta be my favorite. Everyone is so nice. Now, the food..... Delicious. Authentic old world Polish and Hungarian food. The hot or cold kraut, the potato pancakes and the Vienna schnitzel. Delicious, and it pairs so well with the Polish beer. My wife loves the perogies and golumpkis. Remember to try the desert crepes, they're definitely on the radar
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Review from Sharon K.
Troy, NY
12/13/2011
I have been here only a few times & had the same experience each time. Good food, service so slow you think they harbor resentment against you. I was starving. I begged the stoic waitress (a blond teenage gal) to pretty please at least bring the potato salad. "It is coming." Yeah,15 minutes later! Very good food, no complaints at all about the food, but the service is worrying. Stuffed cabbage, pierogis, potato salad... everything delicious.
I don't have all day to wait for lunch to be served. If the service were faster & friendlier, I would suck it up & return. -
Review from Michelle B.
Albany, NY
Muza is being bumped up to five stars for their consistent fabulousity. Authentic Polish food is a rarity in this area, and you can't beat their prices. My favorite things include the red borscht soup, pierogi, chicken marsala, tilapia with tomato sauce and the sautéed cabbage (side dish). The Husband opts for the heartier dishes, like the Polish Sampler, golombkis or kielbasa. Every dessert we've tried has been great. The only thing I haven't liked was the stroganoff, which was too heavy on the pickle flavor for my liking.
The food is great every time we come, which is pretty often. Very friendly service, and the atmosphere is casual but cozy. It's obvious based on the interactions you see that they have a lot of regulars, and the draw is no surprise.
The only con is that the restaurant is small and only seats about 25-30 people. You may want to call ahead to make sure they can accommodate a larger party of five or more. Also, if you come at peak time (think 6pm on Fri or Sat) you might find that the place is packed.Listed in: Capital Region 5-Star…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/15/2010
Muza offers friendly staff, excellent food, generous portions and very reasonable prices. Don't be… Read more »
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Review from Kate H.
Castleton-on-Hudson, NY
2/26/2011
I have to start out by saying I LOVE THEIR FOOD before I put anything negative in cyberspace.
This is a small, family run restaurant. Dad and I think a cousin run the kitchen while the daughter waits tables. When we arrived we were seated by the daughter in the top section of the restaurant. And then we waited and waited. When she finally got a break from down below she came up to see us. We ordered a glass of wine and a beer and weren't ready to order dinner (we had a sitter and really wanted to savor our first time out alone in months). After we sat a while longer she brought our drinks and we ordered our dinner. I had the potato pancakes and kielbasa, my husband had golomkis, kielbasa, potato pancakes and sauteed cabbage. The food was delicious but I wish I'd gotten some kind of cabbage to go with my food.
The big thing is we have a new strategy when we go eat there next - before we even get seated we order our drinks and then we can actually spend some time thinking about what we want to eat. And I'm already planning what it is! -
Review from Josh K.
Albany, NY
3/19/2011
"The Old World (A Better World?)"
by Josh K.
Behind RPI, in the heart of Troy, built into a hill, lies a tiny blink-and you can miss, European looking house. A yellow banner in the front reads "European Food".
Entering, you are immediately put in front of the kitchen where familiar smells waft. A small dining room is to the left for larger groups, but we are brought to the small dining section to the right which has a few tables downstairs and a few upstairs as well.
Just like home, the restaurant was cozy, intimate, and most of all- casual.
At Muza, the ambience is that of being specially invited over to a family's house for a traditional Sunday night dinner. You get the feeling that the soups have been simmering over the stove for hours, the meats ordered from the butcher earlier in the morning, and the fish bought from the local fisherman returning with today's catch-Tilapia.
My father's side is of Eastern European Jewish descent (Galician to be exact). At the turn of the century, Galicia was a tiny country sandwiched in between Poland to the North and the Austrian-Hungry Empire to the South. Russia was to the East. After World War 1, Galicia became part of Poland, and after World War 2, it was the Soviet Union. Nowadays, it is part of the Ukraine.
It is no wonder then, that growing up, staples such as pork chops (we didn't keep kosher) over egg noodles, red beet soup (borscht), goulash, stroganoff, and potato pancakes (we called them latkes) were all common meals eaten on a Sunday night. My grandmother learned the recipes from her mother in-law (bubby), and she passed them down to my mother, who is of Irish-Sunday roast and potato- loving decent.
We were a family of peasants. My ancestors made a living farming the land. Like Irish food, Eastern European food is all about using the ingredients around you to survive-cabbage, potatoes, eggs, cabbage, beets, rice, potatoes. There is no limit to how much meals you can make out of such food when that is all that you have. Cabbage soup, potato soup, beet soup, fried potatoes, stuffed cabbage.
Muza is the only Polish and Eastern European restaurant that I know of in the Capital Region. The owners are Polish but they also serve the standard fare of neighboring Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary. The namesake beers of each of these countries are also represented in the stocked fridge near the kitchen.
Hungry and indecisive, I ordered the "Polish Feast". For 13 dollars I was served two pirogues, stuffed cabbage, a bratwurst, and sauerkraut. Spicy mustard and sour cream were served on the side. My companion, new to this type of food, ordered the Vienna Schnitzel (Fried Pork patty topped with the compulsory fried egg) on top of egg noodles and served with sauerkraut ($12). We both shared our meals and there wasn't an item that was not devoured.
The pork in the schnitzel was beaten till tender and delicately fried. The accompanied egg noodles matched perfectly and gave the meal the hearty home style taste. The sauerkraut seemed to be homemade and was excellently seasoned (pepper and paprika?)
As for my Polish Feast, all the food on my plate was delicious, but the highlight was the stuffed cabbage which was served in a familiar gravy. Eating the meal, I felt as if I was immediately transported back to my childhood house on 31 Sonat Road, where my grandparents would visit from Kingston every weekend. My grandmother and mother would be in the kitchen the "boys" would be watching sports or playing a game in the family room.
Both my grandparents and my father have passed away. Although fading as time passes, I can still taste and smell these times long gone. Muza Restaurant helps bring them back in their own way. And for that, I am eternally thankful and grateful it is around.
We washed down our meal at Muza with a cold bottle of Poland's national brew- Zyweic. A refreshing beer, I hadn't drank it since visiting Krakow, Poland during my European backpacking trip in the summer of 2004. Pirogues and borscht I of course ravenously ate in Krakow too. Thus, it was pleasant to be reminded of that trip as well.
We were thoroughly full and satisfied but couldn't resist the soup of the day-borscht. So for dessert, we got a hot bowl of sweet red beet soup. I perfect end to a hearty meal served by family for family. Our friendly and attentive waitress was also the daughter of the owners.
It's comforting to know that restaurants like Muza and Spiaks still exist. These are the restaurants that need to be more abundant. Unfortunately, like the cooking of our grandparents, they are fast disappearing. -
Review from Daniel H.
Troy, NY
10/18/2010
The potato pancakes were good, and extremely fried. I mean, they were thin, crunchy, and dripping with grease. It was great. I got two things of apple sauce, because the waitress thought I would want some--I didn't ask, she just decided to be extra nice. The staff is extremely friendly; it's all an in-house family operation. Even their website was designed by the owner's son.
I had the Banana crunch, described on their website as:
Two Fried Bananas topped with a crunchy Peanut butter, Vanilla cream, & brandy sauce.
but described more accurately as an orgasm for your mouth. Eat it. Eat it. -
Review from Jess P.
Santa Cruz, CA
7/17/2009
I'm kind of obsessing over Poland right now. I'm actually headed there this fall and decided I should give this place a shot as sort of a jumping off point.
Muza reminds me of someone's Polish grandmother's house. In fact, much of the decor is frightening similar to items left behind by my Polish great-grandmother. The paintings are the same style as one that now hangs in my grandparents' home. So I can only assume that it smacks of authenticity in that area. After my trip to the "homeland" this fall, I'll have to report back with observations on the culinary authenticity.
Boyfriend had the meat pierogies, which he enjoyed although he wished there was more of a sauce to go with them. I tried the "Polish vegetable salad," which turned out to be basically a potato salad-type concoction made with diced potatoes and other veggies. We Poles aren't exactly known for our haute cuisine, but as homestyle, comfort food goes, this salad was weirdly tasty. I say this as someone who really doesn't even care for mayo.
I had the golumbkies, which I really loved. The cabbage was perfectly soft and wrap-like with no toughness to speak of. How do they get it that way? Even when I try boiling the crap out of cabbage leaves, I can't get them like this. The meat-and-tomato filling was also really tasty and the portion was large enough that I took one home. Not bad for $8. I think our total bill came to about $20 and we were both stuffed and carrying doggy bags when we left.
As previously mentioned in another review, the sole waitress is the owner's daughter and she's a doll. I chatted with her about my upcoming trip. She's never been to P'land herself, but her parents are, in fact, from there.
Muza isn't going to wow you or cause you to experience a mind-blowing foodgasm. That's not what it's trying to do. Think diner food, Polish style. You'll leave full and content, with barely a dent made in your wallet. And really, isn't that what you want sometimes when you go out to dinner? Sometimes I don't need bells and whistles. And apparently, sometimes I just want to feel like I'm in my ancestors' living room. -
Review from ThinkAnd D.
Albany, NY
4/20/2008
This Polish restaurant is a chore to find (we were here on a Saturday night and the place was virtually empty), unprepossessing on the exterior, and tiny (seats twenty at most) but comfortable. The walls are covered with hand painted and pleasantly disorienting bas-relief murals. The sole waitress is the owner/chef's daughter. We just loved her, and she was very generous with her time.
Their pierogies, golombkies and potato pancakes are really well prepared... just remember, in slavic peasant food spiciness is kept to a minimum, so don't expect an explosion of flavors. This cuisine is very modest in terms of aspiration, but when it's bad, it's awful. I'm happy to say Muza is the best example I've had beyond the Lower East Side or Prague. We'll definitely come here again.
Oh, no beer or wine license. You can bring your own, though. -
Review from Chris F.
East Greenbush, NY
6/22/2010
Went in for dinner about a week ago. It's a very small place, so you should expect to wait a while before being seated. It all depends on when you go in. If it's at the dinner hour, be prepared for a 20-30 minute wait. It's worth it though!
The food is amazing. We started off each ordering a cup of soup. One was a barscz, and the other a very creamy vegetable. Both were outstanding! We both got the polish sampler. All I can say is that for the quality of the food at the price they offer, you'd be crazy to miss eating at Muza at least once if you're in or around Troy. -
Review from SUSAN R.
Brunswick, NY
11/14/2008
Polish Food is pretty heavy stuff.....Golumpki ...you know?
But Muza has an exceptional Borsht and very tasty, albeit greasy, potatoe pancakes. Charming owner/hostess/waitress was exceedingly busy with every table filled on a Thursday night - so much so, that she brought us our check before asking if we wanted dessert or coffee! The tiny place is cute and cozy. We will be back to try the Polish Platter, because the keilbasa, pierogies, and stuffed cabbage looked very good. The beef stroganoff was slim on beef and heavy on mustard in the sauce. My husband loved it; I did not. Very reasonable prices. I do not see how they can make money without a liquor license, but word is getting out and they are busy. 'Hope that they are able to hire another server soon! -
Review from Amy W.
Maspeth, NY
12/21/2010
Amazing Polish food for Troy, NY. I haven't been there since they stopped serving lunch here.
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Review from Emily D.
Rensselaer, NY
6/6/2009
I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch today at Muza and will be back! My boyfriend and I enjoyed meals off the lunch special menu, I had pierogi, braised short ribs and sauteed cabbage, he had german potato salad and fish fry. We both enjoyed our meals and plan on returning. The fried fish filet was actually served on top of a green salad, which was a nice change of pace from the usual greasy fries, and it was very crispy. My pork ribs were moist and tender, and the pieogi were steamed and topped with delicious sauteed onions. Next time, I'll try the potato pancakes and possibly the fried pieorgi.
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Review from Tianjiao G.
Troy, NY
5/25/2011
pretty good food, nice decoration and cheaper than expectation
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Review from Jason C.
Albany, NY
3/29/2010
If you enjoy authentic golumpkies, perogies, and kielbasa, you have to try Muza's "Polish Feast"! I've tried other places that serve Polish in the area, and only Muza has a chef that can make something comparable to Mom's recipe. Nice job!
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Review from Jamie B.
Albany, NY
6/21/2010
I can't tell you how much i LOVE going to dinner at Muza. The 1st time i went was when i organized a small birthday party for my boyfriend's mother. the place is tiny but not cramped and you can't help but feel relaxed and comfortable. Everything about the food and atmosphere truly says home-made polish awesomeness! i agree with the previous poster about the Polish Feast- i have had quite the aversion to golombkies since growing up with friends who's mother's would make them for dinner and i'd find a reason to leave early but the golombkies at Muza made me a convert. It is a gift to have such authentic cuisine without having to travel to Warsaw.
