Restaurants in Lackawanna

Chefs at Amici Ristorante stir pots of their house made sauces to pair with linguini and tortellini or bake with their veal parimgiana. Along with their menu of classic Italian dishes, the restaurant owners also stock their bar with wines from Italy and around the world.

The Buffalo News raves equally over this unique restaurant's fresh cuisine and its dual dining rooms: a hibachi room, whose tables each center on a grill where chefs’ deft knife work synchronizes with dancing flames, and a room of traditional seating. USDA choice steaks and South African lobsters, hibachi-grilled to perfection, sate hunger in both rooms. Expertly crafted custom sushi rolls are stuffed with ingredients sourced from across the globe, uniting international flavors as effectively as the food-only Olympic Games. Steaming bowls of udon noodles, fragrant teriyaki, and other Japanese fare diversifies the menu, and cocktails such as the popular Asian pear martini—as well as vintages from full bar’s eclectic wine menu—delight the palate.

Inside the kitchen at Gramma Mora’s, cooks flip sizzling shrimp and assemble four-cheese enchiladas, preparing succulent entrees that earned the restaurant the title of Best Tex-Mex Eatery in Buffalo from the readers of Artvoice in 2011. Seated at tables inset with tile, diners can taste dishes made from century-old recipes passed down through the Mora family. A vibrant mural of a Mayan pyramid in a lush jungle decorates one wall, next to guests consuming pork smothered in green-chili sauce or steak chimichangas. Caramel-glazed flan and lime margaritas provide notes of sweetness for diners who otherwise would have had to carry scoops of ice cream to the table in their pockets.

A bubbling fish tank beckons diners in the doors of New Shanghai Buffet, where they kick off a culinary expedition with classic Chinese dishes that range from general tso's chicken and sweet-and-sour pork to littleneck clams and artfully crafted sushi. Covered buffet stations flaunt crab legs and barbecue spare ribs in their gleaming metal vessels, and an expansive takeout menu keeps diners from wheeling buffet tables home when the staff's back is turned. Amid a mélange of leafy plants, grand prints of Asian landscapes pair with traditional Chinese baubles to adorn the dining room's floral walls.

Prospero Restaurant chef William Ponholzer pays homage to his eatery's wizardly namesake by conjuring rustic Italian dishes from local ingredients, fresh veggies, and carefully simmered pasta. Cheeses such as mozzarella and ricotta stuff meaty entrees such as sautéed veal cutlets and bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin. And with the create-your-own pasta option, patrons can choose to douse plates of spaghetti, penne, or other noodles with their choice of sauce.

Ever since Cindy Barrett opened Comfort Zone Cafe in 1997, she and her family have worked tirelessly to meet her vision of what a coffee house should be. From the fair-trade Arabica coffee to the free WiFi, everything is geared to make patrons feel welcome.

In the mornings, cooks prepare sandwiches and toast bagels for breakfast served all day. They then begin grilling paninis and simmering made-from-scratch soups as morning ages into afternoon. Guests can sip café drinks such as the Almond Joy latte or the Emerald Champagne–a medley of pineapple, celery, and fruit juice served over ice. On Saturdays, musicians come to the café to perform original songs or play dramatic background music for patrons' conversations.