Restaurants in Canandaigua

The Holloway House was first opened in 1808 by blacksmith Peter Holloway, who wanted to give pioneers a resting point on their journey west. The latest in a long line of owners, the Wayne family has helmed the colonial eatery for more than 50 years, reconstructing its original brick fireplace and crafting a menu of old-fashioned American cuisine. From daily offerings, such as the roast duck with peach chutney and the seared scallops in lemon-wine butter, to weekly specials, such as Wednesday’s family-style turkey dinner, the chefs make their business good, simple food, and plenty of it. Times may have changed, but families will always need delicious vittles before a major endeavor, whether it’s saddling up for a new life in the territories or taking a horse to the movies.

Pizza for breakfast? Eastside Café's Chef Sal Cimino can make it happen. He and his crew are up early anyway, crafting daily batches of dough that become buns for grinders, crusts for gourmet pizzas, including a Loaded Potato Pie with bacon bits and cheddar cheese, and calzones served with homemade dipping sauce. During dessert, their handiwork is fried and transformed into signature cinnamon pillows, tossed with butter, cinnamon, and sugar, providing an airier alternative to the signature sallyoos––battered, deep-fried Oreos dusted with powdered sugar, topped with whipped cream, and sprinkled with the remnants of shredded New Year's resolutions.

The Eastside Café team also raises another kind of dough to combine its support of local artists with a passion for helping those in need. In 2010, the crew hosted an art exhibition in which artists were invited to create pieces on site using watercolors, pencils, and other media. The works were then displayed on the walls and raffled off to benefit a charitable organization that helps children in Haiti.

At Label 7, fresh ingredients such as crisp shaved fennel and gruyere cheese garnish entrees inspired by the light, healthy cuisine of California's Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Wicker chairs flank tables in the softly lit indoor dining room. Oversized white flowerboxes stand guard along the perimeter of a canal-side patio, where a brigade of umbrellas shields patrons from splashing during nearby diners’ attempts to literally wade through the wine list.

The soft sounds of live jazz flow through a low-lit restaurant, easing guests into a comfortable state as the aroma of grilled steak and seared fish fills the air. It's just another night at Bistro 135, a multi-level space that hosts local musicians throughout the week on a balcony stage, who spice up the atmosphere as diners savor a fusion of international and American cuisines. Pairs can share blackened jumbo scallops and manchurian cauliflower at high-top tables in the bar area and enjoy their meals in the cozy outdoor courtyard to soak in the warm weather or surprise eclipses.

At Juan & Maria's Empanada Stop, a bell chimes regularly throughout the day, ringing along with the festive Latin music in the background. Its sound does not indicate the time, however—it greets every 50th customer to the empanada hot spot and rewards him or her with $5 worth of complimentary Spanish cuisine. When Chilean couple Juan and Maria Contreras opened their stand in 2000, they rarely had the opportunity to use the bell, as they were serving between 10 and 20 customers on any given Saturday. Today they dish out their empanadas to more than 1,000 guests, vying to beat their current record of 1,404 patrons in eight hours.

Their popularity stems in part from a commitment to traditional, healthy cooking methods. Each of their empanadas is handmade and stuffed with one of 12 types of filling, including 90% lean beef and pork as well as vegetarian options. The deep fryers are filled with light salad oil, and none of the menu items include chemicals or preservatives. Juan and Maria extend the same homemade treatment to their fruit juices, which can be frozen and sold as "Juan-sicles," and their four hot sauces: green gold, red gold, spanish mayo and spanish ketchup.

Attitude accounts for a second element of the pair's success. Their mix of hospitality and cultural pride draws diners to the light-blue shop, where Juan exuberantly lists the specials to newcomers. They have hosted the Juan & Maria's International Spanish Festival for the past four years, showcasing customs from 20 Spanish-speaking countries alongside their empanadas.

In the historic, three-story Spring House, Monroe's Restaurant surrounds patrons with hardwood floors and chandelier lighting as they taste savory family recipes. Where ballroom dancers once glided across spring floors, high-backed booths now cozy up next to a fireplace, warming up diners as they explore lunch plates of paninis and flatbread pizza. Chefs arrange colorful dinner dishes of filet mignon and housemade gnocchi soaked in a sauce of your choice alongside salads of baby arugula, crispy pancetta, goat cheese, dried cranberries, and a port wine vinaigrette. Occasional live entertainment wafts music into the air around the dark wood of the bar, exposed-brick pillars, and diners sampling sips from an expansive wine menu.